Leading experts present the latest technology and applications in adaptive optics for vision science Featuring contributions from the foremost researchers in the field, Adaptive Optics for Vision Science is the first book devoted entirely to providing the fundamentals of adaptive optics along with its practical applications in vision science. The material for this book stems from collaborations fostered by the Center for Adaptive Optics, a consortium of more than thirty universities, government laboratories, and corporations. Although the book is written primarily for researchers in vision science and ophthalmology, the field of adaptive optics has strong roots in astronomy. Researchers in both fields share this technology and, for this reason, the book includes chapters by both astronomers and vision scientists. Following the introduction, chapters are divided into the following sections: * Wavefront Measurement and Correction * Retinal Imaging Applications * Vision Correction Applications * Design Examples Readers will discover the remarkable proliferation of new applications of wavefront-related technologies developed for the human eye. For example, the book explores how wavefront sensors offer the promise of a new generation of vision correction methods that can deal with higher order aberrations beyond defocus and astigmatism, and how adaptive optics can produce images of the living retina with unprecedented resolution. An appendix includes the Optical Society of America's Standards for Reporting Optical Aberrations. A glossary of terms and a symbol table are also included. Adaptive Optics for Vision Science arms engineers, scientists, clinicians, and students with the basic concepts, engineering tools, and techniques needed to master adaptive optics applications in vision science and ophthalmology. Moreover, readers will discover the latest thinking and findings from the leading innovators in the field.

This book by one of the leaders in adaptive optics covers the fundamental theory and then describes in detail how this technology can be applied to large ground-based telescopes to compensate for the effects of atmospheric turbulence. It includes information on basic adaptive optics components and technology, and has chapters devoted to atmospheric turbulence, optical image structure, laser beacons, and overall system design. The chapter on system design is particularly detailed and includes performance estimation and optimization. Combining a clear discussion of physical principles with numerous real-world examples, this book will be a valuable resource for all graduate students and researchers in astronomy and optics.

Adaptive optics is set to revolutionise the future of astronomy; this is the first book on the subject and is set to become the standard reference.

The field of Adaptive Optics (AO) for astronomy has matured in recent years, and diffraction-limited image resolution in the near-infrared is now routinely achieved by ground-based 8 to 10m class telescopes. This book presents the proceedings of the ESO Workshop on Science with Adaptive Optics held in the fall of 2003. The book provides an overview on AO instrumentation, data acquisition and reduction strategies, and covers observations of the sun, solar system objects, circumstellar disks, substellar companions, HII regions, starburst environments, late-type stars, the galactic center, active galaxies, and quasars. The contributions present a vivid picture of the multitude of science topics being addressed by AO in observational astronomy.

Since the publication of the second edition of Principles of Adaptive Optics, the developments and applications in this area have increased tremendously. Observatories are now producing outstanding science through adaptive optics technology; components, such as micromachined deformable mirrors and very low noise detectors, are revolutionizing the f

This handbook supplies analytical tools for the design and development of adaptive optics systems to enhance their ability to adjust for atmospheric turbulence, optical fabrication errors, thermally induced distortions, and laser device aberrations. It provides recommendations for selecting, testing and installing a wavefront compensation system.

Adaptive Optics for Biological Imaging brings together groundbreaking research on the use of adaptive optics for biological imaging. The book builds on prior work in astronomy and vision science. Featuring contributions by leaders in this emerging field, it takes an interdisciplinary approach that makes the subject accessible to nonspecialists who want to use adaptive optics techniques in their own work in biology and bioengineering. Organized into three parts, the book covers principles, methods, and applications of adaptive optics for biological imaging, providing the reader with the following benefits: Gives a general overview of applied optics, including definitions and vocabulary, to lay a foundation for clearer communication across disciplines Explains what kinds of optical aberrations arise in imaging through various biological tissues, and what technology can be used to correct for these aberrations Explores research done with a variety of biological samples and imaging instruments, including wide-field, confocal, and two-photon microscopes Discusses both indirect wavefront sensing, which uses an iterative approach, and direct wavefront sensing, which uses a parallel approach Since the sample is an integral part of the optical system in biological imaging, the field will benefit from participation by biologists and biomedical researchers with expertise in applied optics. This book helps lower the barriers to entry for these researchers. It also guides readers in selecting the approach that works best for their own applications.

Adaptive optics allows the theoretical limit of angular resolution to be achieved from a large telescope, despite the presence of turbulence. Thus an eight meter class telescope, such as one of the four in the Very Large Telescope operated by ESO in Chile, will in future be routinely capable of an angular resolution of almost 0.01 arcsec, compared tot he present resolution of about 0.5 arcsec for conventional imaging in good condition. All the world's major telescopes either have adaptive optics or are in the process of building AO systems. It turns out that a reasonable fraction of the sky can be observed using adaptive optics, with moderately good imaging quality, provided imaging in done in the near IR. To move out of the near IR, with its relatively poor angular resolution, astronomers need a laser guide star. There is a layer of Na atoms at approximately 90 km altitude that can be excited by a laser to produce such a source, or Rayleigh scattering can be employed lower in the atmosphere. But the production and use of laser guide stars is not trivial, and the key issues determining their successful implementation are discussed here, including the physics of the Na atom, the cone effect, tilt determination, sky coverage, and numerous potential astronomical applications.

This proceedings volume presents the very latest developments in non-astronomical adaptive optics. This international workshop, the sixth in a biennial series, was the largest ever held and boasted significant involvement by industry. Adaptive optics is on the verge of being used in many products; indeed, at this meeting, the use of adaptive optics in DVD players was disclosed for the first time. Sample Chapter(s). Liquid Crystal Lenses For Correction Of Presbyopia (586 KB). Contents: Wavefront Correctors and Control: Liquid Crystal Lenses for Correction of Presbyopia (G Li & N Peyghambarian); Woofer-Tweeter Adaptive Optics (T Farrell & C Dainty); Wavefront Sensors: A Fundamental Limit for Wavefront Sensing (C Paterson); Direct Diffractive Image Simulation (A P Maryasov et al.); Adaptive Optics in Vision Science: A Study of Field Aberrations in the Human Eye (A V Goncharov et al.); Characterization of an AO-OCT System (J W Evans et al.); Adaptive Optics in Optical Storage and Microscopy: Commercialization of the Adaptive Scanning Optical Microscope (ASOM) (B Potsaid et al.); Towards Four Dimensional Particle Tracking for Biological Applications (H I Campbell et al.); Adaptive Optics in Lasers: New Results in High Power Lasers Beam Correction (A Kudryashov et al.); Adaptive Optics Control of Solid-State Lasers (W Lubeigt et al.); Adaptive Optics in Communication and Atmospheric Compensation: Fourier Image Sharpness Sensor for Laser Communications (K N Walker & R K Tyson); Adaptive Optics System for a Small Telescope (G Vdovin et al.); and other papers. Readership: Industry- and university-level researchers in optics and laser physics.

Written by a recognized expert in the field, this clearly presented, well-illustrated book provides both advanced level students and professionals with an authoritative, thorough presentation of the characteristics, including advantages and limitations, of telescopes and spectrographic instruments used by astronomers of today. - Written by a recognized expert in the field - Provides both advanced level students and professionals with an authoritative, thorough presentation of the characteristics, including advantages and limitations, of telescopes and spectrographic instruments used by astronomers of today