Applied and Adaptive Optics laboratory in the department of physics, has an advanced research facility in optics that facilitate design, development and innovation optics instrumentation and technology. With dedicated instruments, the research excels in the field of control of various parameters of light such as amplitude, phase, spectrum, polarization and coherence leading to its application in optical imaging, sensing and metrology. Optical aberration sensing using the state of the art devices like Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensors, and their corrections using deformable mirrors find immense application in optical imaging and communication through atmospheric turbulence and scattering media. Supporting theoretical research and modelling using pseudorandom phase plates allows deeper investigation into the field. Optical metrology using interferometry, holography, spectroscopy and polarimetry using a variety of light sources such as femto-second lasers, tunable and fixed wavelength lasers, as well as with low coherent light sources and additional controls using state of the art devices such as spatial light modulators, digital micro-mirror devices(DMD) has elevated the research leading to cutting edge technologies of the future. The lab also takes up many R&D projects of ISRO for providing customized design solutions.
Dr. C.S. Narayanamurthy is Rtd. Outstanding Professor, at Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) and a distinguished researcher in optics. He was instrumental in initiating Optics research at IIST since its inception in 2007. Over the years, the Applied and Adaptive Optics Laboratory at IIST has played an important role in developing cutting-edge research in Adaptive optics, optical metrology, and sensing. A session in this conference is dedicated to Rtd. Prof. Narayanamurthy in recognition of his significant contributions to optical research at IIST. The research group in the Applied and Adaptive Optics Laboratory includes faculty members Dr. J. Solomon Ivan (Associate Professor, Physics), Dr. Dinesh N. Naik (Associate Professor, Physics), and Dr. Biswajit Pathak (Ramanujan Fellow, Physics). The lab forms the axis of research and experimentation for research scholars and supports the M.Tech in optical Engineering. At present 9 Ph.D. research scholars and 1 M. Tech optical engineering project student carry out full-time research in the laboratory.
website link : aaolab-iist.in