Requirements for MEMS mirrors for adaptive optics in the eye

MEMS is one of several emerging technologies for fabricating wavefront correctors for use in adaptive optics systems. Each technology has its own advantages and disadvantages. In order to compare devices, it is useful to define a task and make a comparison based upon the effectiveness of each device for this task. Such an approach implies, of course, that device A might be better suited for task X whereas device B is better suited for task Y. In adaptive optics, this situation is already known: deformable mirrors that are relatively effective at compensating for atmospheric turbulence are not necessarily the mirrors that one would choose for correction of the aberrations of the eye. This is essentially because the statistical modal distribution of the aberrated wavefronts in each case are different. In this talk, we shall present a method for systematically evaluating the effectiveness of different mirror (or transmissive) technologies in adaptive optics in the eye. It uses a model for the aberrations of the eye (such as that developed by Thibos et al¹ ) and a least squares fitting procedure. Results will be presented for at least 4 mirrors, including a 12×12 MEMS device. The key point is that it is the effectiveness of each actuator signal that is important, not the raw number of actuators.