Meter-Lab successfully carried out an on-site experiment to measure, in real time and with ultra-high precision, approximately a 10 m distance between the primary and secondary mirrors at the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory (LBTO) in Arizona, USA. This field trial was a follow-up to the collaborative research MOU signed between LBTO and Meter-Lab earlier this year, and is significant as the first demonstration that Meter-Lab’s proprietary spectrally-based interferometry technology can be applied to optical alignment in an actual large-scale observatory environment.
The LBT, the world’s first extremely large binocular telescope with two 8.4 m primary mirrors, requires extremely accurate alignment between its massive optical elements to ensure observational quality. Using its self-developed high-speed spectrometer modules and ultra-precise distance-measurement techniques, Meter-Lab succeeded in acquiring stable distance signals and detecting nanometer-scale distance changes even over long air paths subject to large environmental variations.
This experiment confirmed that Meter-Lab’s technology can be practically applied to LBTO’s active optics control and optical alignment tasks. Meter-Lab plans to further develop real-time position-monitoring technologies for large optical systems in cooperation with LBTO through 2026. Going forward, Meter-Lab will continue to develop ultra-precise metrology technologies demanded by the space and astronomy sectors and will expand the application scope to various large optical-system alignment and inspection fields.
