Setting up hardware interfaces

Top level script

Start aolconf with loop number and loop name (you can ommit these arguments when launching the script again):

./aolconf -L 3 -N testsim

The loop name (testsim in the above example) will both allocate a name for the loop and execute an optional custom setup script. The software package comes with a few such pre-made custom scripts for specific systems / examples. When the -N option is specified, the custom setup script ./setup/setup_<name> is ran. The script may make some of the steps described below optional.

You can check the current loop number and name settings with:

./aolconf -h

The script can also launch a pre-written CPU/OS configuration script named ./aocscripts/cpuconfig_<LOOPNAME> :

./aolconf -C

Setting the DM interface

There are four options for setting up the DM:

• [A] Connect to an existing DM
• [B] Create a new DM and connect to it
• [C] Create a new modal DM, mapped to an existing DM using another loop's control modes
• [D] Create a new modal DM, mapped to an existing DM channel using a custom set of modes

Before choosing an option, select if the DM to be controlled is MODAL or ZONAL. A zonal DM is one where the DM pixel locations map to physical actuator locations on the DM, allowing spatial filtering when creating control modes. With a zonal DM, each pixel of the DM map corresponds to a wavefront control mode, and spatial filtering functions are turned off.

Options [C] and [D] are MODAL options, as the DM does not represent physical spatial actuators. These options build a virtual DM which controls another DM.

Mode [A]: Connecting to an existing DM

1. Set DM number (S command in Top Menu screen). You should see its x and y size in the two lines below. If not, the DM does not exist yet (see next section).
2. autoconfigure DM: main DM (nolink) (nolink in Top Menu screen). This command automactically sets up the following symbolic links:
   • dm##disp00 is linked to aol::_dmO (flat offset channel)
   • dm##disp02 is linked to aol::_dmRM (response matrix actuation channel)
   • dm##disp03 is linked to aol::_dmC (loop dm control channel)
   • dm##disp04 is linked to aol::_dmZP0 (zero point offset 0 actuation channel)
   • dm##disp05 is linked to aol::_dmZP1 (zero point offset 1 actuation channel)
   • dm##disp06 is linked to aol::_dmZP2 (zero point offset 2 actuation channel)
   • dm##disp07 is linked to aol::_dmZP3 (zero point offset 3 actuation channel)
   • dm##disp08 is linked to aol::_dmZP4 (zero point offset 4 actuation channel)
   • dm##disp is linked to aol::_dmdisp (total dm displacement channel)
3. load Memory (M in Top Menu screen). The dm performs the symbolic links to the DM channels.

Mode [B]: Creating and Connecting to a DM

1. Set DM number (S command in Top Menu screen).
2. Enter the desired DM size with the dmxs and dmys commands.

• OPTIONAL: set DM delay ('setDMdelayON' and 'setDMdelayval' in Top Menu screen)

1. Create the DM streams with the initDM command in the Top Menu. You may need to run the stopDM command first.
2. autoconfigure DM: main DM (nolink) (nolink in Top Menu screen). This command automactically sets up the following symbolic links:
   • dm##disp00 is linked to aol::_dmO (flat offset channel)
   • dm##disp02 is linked to aol::_dmRM (response matrix actuation channel)
   • dm##disp03 is linked to aol::_dmC (loop dm control channel)
   • dm##disp04 is linked to aol::_dmZP0 (zero point offset 0 actuation channel)
   • dm##disp05 is linked to aol::_dmZP1 (zero point offset 1 actuation channel)
   • dm##disp06 is linked to aol::_dmZP2 (zero point offset 2 actuation channel)
   • dm##disp07 is linked to aol::_dmZP3 (zero point offset 3 actuation channel)
   • dm##disp08 is linked to aol::_dmZP4 (zero point offset 4 actuation channel)
   • dm##disp is linked to aol::_dmdisp (total dm displacement channel)
3. Load Memory (M in Top Menu screen). The dm performs the symbolic links to the DM channels.

Mode [C]: Create a new modal DM, mapped to an existing DM using another loop's control modes

In this mode, the AO loop controls a virtual DM. The virtual actuators are correspond to modes controlling the zero point offset of another loop. In this section, I assume that loopA is the main loop (directly controls a physical DM) and that loopB is the virtual loop (this is the loop we are setting up).

1. Select MODAL DM (DMmodeZ in Top Menu screen)
2. Set DM number (S command in Top Menu screen). This is the DM index for loopB.
3. Set DM x size to the number of modes of loop A to be addressed by loop B's virtual DM
4. Set DM y size to 1
5. Auto-configure: DM output linked to other loop (dmolink in Top Menu screen).
   1. choose loop index from which modes will be extracted (loop A index)
   2. choose offset channel in output loop This will set up several key parameters and files:
   • DM-to-DM mode will be set to 1, and associated streams:
     • dm2dmM : loopA modes controlled by loopB
     • dm2dmO : symbolic link to loopA DM channel controlled by loopB
   • CPU-based dmcomb output WFS ref will be set to 1, and associated streams:
     • dmwrefRM : loopA WFS response to modes controlled by loopB
     • dmwrefO : loopA WFS zero point offset

• OPTIONAL: set DM delay ('setDMdelayON' and 'setDMdelayval' in Top Menu screen)

1. Create the DM streams with the initDM command in the Top Menu.
2. Load Memory (M in Top Menu screen). The dm performs the symbolic links to the DM channels.

Mode [D]: Create a new modal DM, mapped to an existing DM channel using a custom set of modes

In this mode, the AO loop controls a virtual DM. The virtual actuators correspond to modes controlling another DM stream. In this section, I assume that loop A is the main loop (directly controls a physical DM) and that loop B is the virtual (higher level) loop.

1. Choose DM index number (S) for loop B
2. Select number of loop A modes controlled by loop B. The number is entered as DM x size (dmxs in Top menu)
3. Enter 1 for DM y size (dmys in Top menu)
4. Set DM-to-DM mode to 1, and associated streams:
   • dm2dmM : loop A modes controlled by loop B
   • dm2dmO : symbolic link to loop A DM channel controlled by loop B
5. Set CPU-based dmcomb output WFS ref to 0 (see section below more enabling this option)
6. **(Re)-create DM streams and run DMcomb process** (initDM)
7. Load Memory (M in Top Menu screen). The dm performs the symbolic links to the DM channels.

Commands to the loop B DM should now propagate to modal commands to loop A.

Option: WFS Zero point offset

It is possible to add a zero point offset to mode D. Every write to the loop B's modal DM then generate both a write to loop A's DM (described above) and a write to the reference of a wavefront sensor (presumably loop A's wavefront sensor). This optional feature is refered to as a CPU-based WFS zero point offset.

To enable this feature, add between steps 4 and 5:

1. set CPU-based dmcomb output WFS ref to 1, and associated streams:
   • dmwrefRM : loopA WFS response to modes controlled by loopB
   • dmwrefO : loopA WFS zero point offset

Notes

You can (Re-)Start DM comb to re-initialize arrays and links ('stopDM' and 'initDM' commands in Top Menu screen). The initDM command will

• (re-)create shared memory streams dm##disp00 to dm##disp11
• start the dmcomb process, which adds the dm##disp## channels to create the overall dm##disp displacement
• create poke mask and maps

Setting the camera interface

• link to WFS camera (wfs to Loop Configuration screen). Select the WFS shared memory stream.

Setup script

An aosetup script may be used to perform all these operations. Inspect the content of directory aosetup to see such scripts. You may use or modify as needed. If you use a aosetup script, execute it from the working directory, and then start aolconf:

./aosetup/aosetup_<myLoop>
./aolconf