Two major new Adaptive Optics Systems made in Bertin Alpao.

Bertin Alpao Pushes the Boundaries with Two Major Deliveries of Adaptive Optics Systems

In June, Bertin Alpao achieved a significant milestone by delivering two advanced adaptive optics systems, both entirely designed and manufactured at our Montbonnot facility.

Mavis Project – A technological breakthrough in Adaptive Optics for the VLT in Chile

For the Nasmyth A Focus of the Very Large Telescope (VLT) UT4 in Chile, Bertin Alpao has developed a new design of the Deformable Mirror featuring 3 228 actuators (DM3228 High Stability).

For this ambitious project, we collaborated closely with a consortium including members from ESO (European Southern Observatory) and INAF (Instituto Nazionale di Astrofisica) to meet their demanding requirements including a high thermal-mechanical stability.

According to Stefan Strobele, Senior Optical Expert from ESO, it is “the best Deformable Mirror ever made by Bertin Alpao in terms of performance.”

Before heading to Chile, this adaptive optics systems featuring the DM, along with its 4 electronics racks and 64 cables, will be first tested and integrated to the MAVIS AO system at INAF Padova, Italy.

The second large deformable mirror is currently under development to be ready for the integration phase of this exciting project!

Last but not least, Bertin Alpao was honored with an article in the ESO’s 2024 annual report page 88 and 124, showing again our world-class position in Adaptive Optics.

Bertin Alpao team in front of the shipping boxes meant to be delivered to the Very Large Telescope (VLT) on the MAVIS adaptive optics instrument.

Keck Project – The largest Deformable Mirror ever built by Bertin Alpao

After a long development, Bertin Alpao has delivered to the Keck Observatory in Hawaii the largest Deformable Mirror ever produced by the company.

This mirror includes:

2844 actuators
A 2.5mm actuator pitch
2 integrated heat exchangers for system cooling
An impressive pupil diameter of 142.5mm

This adaptive optics system is designed to modernize the Keck 2 telescope’s imaging capabilities, increasing resolution and enabling sharper astronomical observations. The system is scheduled for installation in August 2025.

Shipment of the Bertin Alpao adaptive optics system for the keck telescope in Hawaii

A New Era for Bertin Alpao

These two project were challenging and Bertin Alpao team put a great deal of effort into reaching all of our client’s specifications, making history with unprecedented large deformable mirrors in the world of adaptive optics.

For more informations about our solutions, contact-us