Zinc selenide-based large aperture photo-controlled deformable mirror

Realization of large aperture deformable mirrors with a large density of actuators is important in many applications, and photo-controlled deformable mirrors (PCDMs) represent an innovation. Herein we show that PCDMs are scalable realizing a 2-inch aperture device based on a polycrystalline zinc selenide (ZnSe) as the photoconductive substrate and a thin polymeric reflective membrane. ZnSe is electrically characterized and analyzed through a model that we previously introduced. The PCDM is then optically tested, demonstrating its capabilities in adaptive optics.