We demonstrate a method for producing a large, inexpensive, highly curved deformable mirror by stretching a thin
polymer membrane coated with a reflective, magnetic material over a rigid frame. The membrane tension, thickness
profile, and the transmembrane pressure differential determine the curvature of the mirror, while a computer-controlled
electromagnet array deforms the membrane, both to correct the figure and to compensate for an aberrated wavefront. A
telescope with an eight-inch f5 magnetic-membrane primary mirror and an adaptive-optics wavefront-measurement-andcontrol
system was built and tested. The versatility, high surface quality, large actuator stroke, and low cost-to-aperture
ratio of this design suggest that magnetic-membrane mirrors can be used to overcome many of the limitations of both
deformable and static mirrors made from solid materials.
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