December 16, 2008--Imagine Optic (Orsay, France), a manufacturer of Shack-Hartmann wavefront metrology and adaptive optics solutions, has delivered laser metrology and adaptive optics systems to Britain's Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE). The two systems, designed by Imagine Optic and delivered by BFI Optilas (U.K.), will become an integral part of the forthcoming Orion high-power laser. Orion is set to replace the HELEN laser--which has been in operation since the 1970s--by 2010.
The adaptive optics system will be used at the end of the amplification chain for wavefront correction of two powerful chirped-pulse amplification beams that will produce 500 J in a 0.5 ps pulse. The system combines two of Imagine Optic's HASO 32 wavefront sensors and CASAO software with two monomorph deformable mirrors manufactured by CILAS.
"High-power lasers are used in domains ranging from the pure science of high-energy physics to more 'down-to-earth' applications including waste treatment and, in the medical research sector, proton therapies and imaging," says Imagine Optic CEO Samuel Bucourt. "Imagine Optic will continue to work with our customers to develop wavefront metrology and adaptive optics technologies that will respond to their growing needs."
For more information, visit www.imagine-optic.com.
--Posted by Gail Overton
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