Novel micromachined membrane mirror characterization and closed-loop demonstration

Micromachined electrostatic membrane mirrors have been in use for several years in active and adaptive optics applications. We introduce a deformable mirror with small static aberrations and resistant to damage during electrostatic snap-down in an architecture designed so that a multi-layer dielectric coating that can be applied before the mirror is released. We also make laboratory performance measurements and produce a closed-loop control algorithm.