Compared to the large monolithic primary mirror, an array of smaller segmented primary mirror is considered as a more feasible solution for both ground and space telescopes with large aperture. Active optics is the key technology to ensure the imaging quality of a segmented mirror, in which edge sensors are used to monitor and provide feedback on the relative position information of the sub mirrors for the surface maintenance of the segmented mirror. The edge sensor needs to maintain a nanoscale measurement accuracy under conditions of large temperature span and long observation period, which is the most demanding and challenging core device in active optics technology. In this paper, a thermostatic cover is designed to remain a relatively stable working environment for the edge sensor. When the external temperature environment changes, if there is no thermostatic cover, the edge sensor working area longitudinal temperature difference changes more than 3°C, in the conditions of a thermostatic cover, the longitudinal temperature difference is not more than 0.3°C; transverse temperature difference is nearly zero. FEA model of fluid-solid heat transformation is built to simulate and analyze the thermal conducting characteristics of the system with sub mirror, the edge sensor, and thermostatic cover. Simulation results show that the thermostatic cover can effectively reduce the temperature influence of the external environment.
The edge displacement sensor, serving as a core component in large-aperture astronomical telescopes, plays a crucial role in maintaining the co-focusing of mirrors by measuring tiny displacements between sub-mirrors. Therefore, the performance of the sensor is of paramount importance to ensure that the telescope can obtain clear and accurate images. The challenging on-site environmental conditions place high demands on the sensor's performance. The key characteristics of the edge displacement sensor include nanometer resolution, low nonlinearity, minimal temperature drift, and temporal stability. Simultaneously achieving all these performance criteria poses significant challenges. We have developed an ultra-stable eddy current edge displacement sensor with a resolution better than 1nm (RMS) within a range of 250μm. During on-site testing at the Guoshoujing Telescope (the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope LAMOST) telescope, the sensor exhibited a temperature drift within ±2nm/°C after temperature compensation and achieved a drift of less than 25nm over 5 weeks. The environmental temperature varied within the range of - 17~+14°C, and humidity fluctuated between 20% and 80% RH during the testing. Additionally, a co-focusing test was conducted on a small system composed of three selected sub-mirrors. Six sets of sensors were installed on this small system, enabling real-time measurement of sensor outputs for attitude correction. The test results indicate that, by relying on sensor feedback, the telescope has the potential to achieve high-quality co-focusing over extended periods and significant temperature ranges, thereby enhancing the operational efficiency and observation quality of the telescope.
The segmented mirror active optics technology is one of the key technologies for the extremely large telescope, while edge sensor is one of the essential core components of active optics for the co-phasing maintenance of all segmented mirrors. The main properties of these edge sensors are of high precision of nanometers, high linearity, and low sensitivity to temperature and humidity fluctuations as well as high reliability. This paper presents an eddy current edge sensor design developed cooperatively by Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics and Technology and University of Science and Technology of China. The stage work performance results of eddy current sensor prototype under representative operational conditions are also presented.
KEYWORDS: Sensors, Telescopes, Active optics, Astronomical telescopes, James Webb Space Telescope, Mirrors, Segmented mirrors, Space telescopes, Inductance, Large telescopes
Edge sensor is one of the most important technologies for the extremely large segmented primary telescopes like Keck, Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) and Chinese Future Giant Telescope (CFGT) for control of out-of-plane degrees of freedom. Different from the capacity edge sensor from Keck and TMT, one kind of an inductance edge sensor is proposed and applied with the similar principle and configuration, fine aligned and tested in this paper to try to realize the same co-focusing or co-phasing maintenance purpose and high accuracy of relative piston and tip/tilt degrees of freedom of the segments. The sensor is also considered and modified to much more sensitive to dihedral angle between the neighboring segments. Finally some preliminary conclusions are reached.
KEYWORDS: Sensors, Active optics, James Webb Space Telescope, Telescopes, Space telescopes, Mirrors, Actuators, Segmented mirrors, Image segmentation, Astronomical telescopes
Extremely large telescopes with more and more large apertures are pursued, proposed and constructed by astronomers and technicians all over the world in the coming next years to satisfy the great demand of scientific progress. Segmented mirror active optics is the most important technology to co-phase the large primary for optically perfect segmentation. Based the experimental platform and test work in Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics and Technology in China, we introduce the latest co-phasing progress on fine segment support, edge sensor and close-loop co-phasing correction in China in this paper. Finally some conclusions are given based on the test results.
A telescope with a larger primary mirror can collect much more light and resolve objects much better than one with a
smaller mirror, and so the larger version is always pursued by astronomers and astronomical technicians. Instead of using
a monolithic primary mirror, more and more large telescopes, which are currently being planned or in construction, have
adopted a segmented primary mirror design. Therefore, how to sense and phase such a primary mirror is a key issue for
the future of extremely large optical/infrared telescopes. The Dispersed Fringe Sensor is a non-contact method using
broadband point light sources and it can estimate the piston by the two-directional spectrum formed by the transmissive
grating's dispersion and lenslet array. In this paper we introduce you the current research progress of the successful
design, construction and alignment of our dispersed Hartmann sensors together with its design principles and simulations
for indoor segmented mirror experiment system and outdoor segmented mirror experiment system. We also conduct
many successful real phasing tests and phasing corrections in the visible waveband using our existing indoor and outdoor
segmented mirror optics platform. Finally, some conclusions are reached based on the test and correction of experimental
results.
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