High-speed detectors are increasingly moving from the traditional global-shutter, frame-based readout that has been the standard in AO for the last three decades. In Durham, we are currently investigating Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detector (MKID) arrays as potential future wavefront sensors, and these introduce unique challenges for real-time control (RTC) systems.

MKIDs provide true zero-read noise, photon-counting detectors that are capable of multi-wavelength wavefront sensing, enabling novel wavefront reconstruction and control techniques. Unlike traditional CCD/CMOS sensors, each pixel in an MKID array continuously provides a real-time stream that can be processed to determine when a photon has arrived and what its energy is. The wavelength of a photon is determined by the energy response observed by the MKID, enabling the RTC to receive real-time, timestamped energy information.

In this presentation, we will discuss the challenges associated with managing the high data rates required for Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) scale Adaptive Optics (AO) systems using MKIDs. We will explore the unique demands imposed by MKID arrays and outline our approach in overcoming them. By leveraging the capabilities of DAO, we aim to effectively handle the continuous data streams, analyse the energy information in real time, and explore new methods of reconstruction using the multispectral information from the MKID.

David Barr, Durham University