The Discovery Channel Telescope optical coating system

Heather K. Marshall; Gary S. Ash; William F. Parsley

doi:10.1117/12.856467

5 August 2010 The Discovery Channel Telescope optical coating system

Heather K. Marshall, Gary S. Ash, William F. Parsley

Proceedings Volume 7733, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes III; 773355 (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.856467
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2010, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The Discovery Channel Telescope (DCT) is a project of Lowell Observatory, undertaken with support from Discovery Communications, Inc., to design and construct a 4-meter class telescope and support facility on a site approximately 40 miles southeast of Flagstaff, AZ. Lowell Observatory contracted with Dynavac of Hingham, MA to design and build an optical coating system for the DCT optics. The DCT Optical Coating System includes a mechanical roughing pump, two high-vacuum cryogenic pumps, a Meissner trap, evaporative filament aluminum deposition system, LabView software and PLC-based control system, and all ancillary support equipment. The system was installed at the site and acceptance testing was completed in October 2009. The Optical Coating System achieved near perfect reflectivity performance, thickness uniformity of 1000 angstroms ±10%, and adhesion conforming to MIL-F-48616, Section 4.6.8.1. This paper discusses the design and analysis of the coating system, the process of transportation and assembly as well as testing results.

Citation Download Citation

Heather K. Marshall, Gary S. Ash, and William F. Parsley "The Discovery Channel Telescope optical coating system", Proc. SPIE 7733, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes III, 773355 (5 August 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.856467

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