THE AIM OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT IS TO DEMONSTRATE A NEW ARCHITECTURE AND INTEGRATION APPROACH FOR COMPACT ROBUST LARGE-FORMAT DEFORMABLE MIRROR (LFDM) SYSTEMS AND TO SHOW A FEASIBLE PATH FOR SCALING UP THAT DEMONSTRATION PLATFORM AND MANUFACTURING INTEGRATION APPROACH TO LARGER FORMATS WITH UP TO 10 000 ACTUATORS. THESE LFDMS WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF BOSTON MICROMACHINES CORPORATION'S (BMC'S) PROVEN AND SCALABLE MICROELECTROMECHANICAL (MEMS) SILICON PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY WHILE SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCING THE REQUIRED SIZE AND WEIGHT OF THE DRIVER SYSTEM AND ELIMINATING THE NEED FOR HIGH-DENSITY CABLES.