Single Wavelength Coarse Phasing In Segmented Telescopes

Space observations of fainter and more distant astronomical objects constantly require telescope primary mirrors with a larger size. The diameter of monolithic primary mirrors is limited to 10 m because of manufacturing limitations. For space telescopes, the primary mirrors are limited to less than 5 m due to fairing capacity. Segmented primary mirrors thus constitute an alternative solution to deal with the steadily increase of the primary mirror size. The optical path di erence between the individual segments must be close to zero (few nm) in order to be di raction limited. We propose in this paper a new inter-segment piston sensor based on coherence measurement of a star image. This sensor is intended to be used in the co-phasing system of future segmented mirrors.