Paper 14106-26
Paper 14106-26
Design and simulation of diffractive wavefront sensors for ground-based optical communication links (Invited Paper)
15 April 2026 • 17:00 - 17:30 CEST | Madrid 2/Salon 4 (Niveau/Level 0)
Abstract
Diffractive sensors consist of a diffractive mask located in the common focal plane of a 4-f optical system. A camera is placed behind this system, detecting multiple versions of the entrance pupil, each with its own modified spatial frequencies. From these, the wavefront slopes can be extracted. This type of sensor is compact, robust, and offers high resolution. This presentation introduces the fundamentals of diffractive sensors and shows some examples. It also demonstrates that wavefront retrieval is simple and can be performed almost in real time. Although it is a developing technology, it shows very promising prospects compared to other more established sensors.
Presenter
Diego Ayala Cajas
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (Spain)
Diego Ayala Cajas studied at the National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics, and Electronics (INAOE Mexico), where he conducted his master's work focused on improvements in Single Pixel technology. This work resulted in a new fractal curve for space filling published under the name "Aztec Curve," as well as a new method for image compression (Compressive Sampling for Image compression) that has advantages over the well-known JPEG format. He is currently a PhD Candidate at the Astrophysics Institute of the Canary Islands, where he is developing different techniques that incorporates spatial light modulators, digital coronagraphic masks, adaptive optics, and lucky imaging, intending to create a multi-instrument demonstrator for medium to large sized telescopes.Also he is collaborating with optics communications group.