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Six units will be used on the ELT. The other three are destined for the VLT. That will allow the operation of the adaptive mirrors enabling unprecedented image quality of the telescopes. The design of this system is based on the four laser guide stars units as used on the VLT.
The system has been upgraded considerably compared to the units used for the VLT. Its FOV has increased to 7 arcmin (half cone). The laser power goes up to 50W and the BCDS has been completely redesigned. The BCDS is located between the laser source and the OTA that produces the Ø300 mm output beam. Maintainability and accessibility of the system have also been much improved.
Prime qualities are its insensitivity to temperature changes (static and dynamic), its accuracy and its FOV. Assembly of the first unit is finished and in January the acceptance testing of the system started. The first unit is expected to be delivered to ESO in autumn 2024.
Besides the technological challenge itself, one critical area of AOF is the AO control strategy and its link with the telescope control, including Active Optics used to shape M1. Another challenge is the request to minimize the overhead due to AOF during the acquisition phase of the observation.
This paper presents the control strategy of the AOF. The current control of the telescope is first recalled, and then the way the AO control makes the link with the Active Optics is detailed. Lab results are used to illustrate the expected performance. Finally, the overall AOF acquisition sequence is presented as well as first results obtained on sky with GRAAL.
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