KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Analog to digital converters, Design, Relays, Prisms, Image quality, Imaging systems, Cameras, Point spread functions, Optical transmission
Arrayed Wide-Angle Camera System (AWACS) is based on segmented-field corrector architecture and can be scaled to a much larger than meter-size field of view featured in Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs). In essence, the AWACS accomplishes desired field expansion via a suite of small cost-effective electro-opto-mechanical units over a telescope’s focal surface, for local and simultaneous telescope field aberration and atmospheric dispersion compensation (ADC). In our previous report, we summarized the architectural features and design examples of the AWACS and discussed the snapshots of the components/subsystems of the AWACS-Duo at various development stages. In April 2023, we had a first on-sky run on the 2.7m Harlan J Smith Telescope to commission the rest of the system functionalities. The on-sky commissioning included verifying the guiding and acquisition, imaging performance and field aberration compensation across 1.2-degree telescope field, the ADC operation and performance, and throughput consistency between two AWACS units, all with respect to the model expectations. This report summarizes the results from this commission effort and the plan forward.
Over the past two years, we have been developing the Reactive Ion-PLasma Etched (RIPLE) grating technology. Early on, we demonstrated the process to be a highly predictive, based on experimental verification of the near theoretical super-broadband diffraction efficiency from a proof-of-concept 1x1 sq. inch RIPLE grating. All measured 0th and 1st order diffraction efficiency scans from this prototype matched numerical model predictions within 2% at 1σ-level, indicating a highly stable process and non-significant level of defects on the device. The fabrication process was shown to be repeatable over the same area and grating form parameters, and we extended it to larger grating areas with deep-etched grating line features. We demonstrated area scaling to 2x2 sq. inch via an iterative etching technique and recently reached the primary 4x4 sq. inch target. We discuss the evaluation of this area scaling effort.
Randomly distributed anti-reflective nanostructures were fabricated on both surfaces of cylindrical lenses and freeform optical elements using a plasma-assisted reactive-ion etching technique. An average spectral transmission of 98% was measured across the wavelength range from 340 to 800 nm. Mid-band full-angle directional scatter measurements show a difference of six orders of magnitude in transmission intensity between specular and off-specular angles. Measurements before and after the etching process show little to no wavefront distortion for the cylindrical lenses. The enhanced transmission optics were used as part of the dual-unit arrayed wide-field astronomical camera system tested on the Harlan J. Smith telescope at the McDonald Observatory, and their performance was contrasted with conventional thin film coated component performance.
As advancing technology pushes to further miniaturize systems while increasing processing power, optical structures which offer dynamic tunability are becoming ever more valuable. Diffractive gratings popularly offer high efficiencies and can be readily designed to provide polarization sensitivity, making them useful as dynamic structured optics. Recently, slanted wire gratings compatible with fabrication by two-photon polymerization were investigated for their ability to be mechanically tuned. Potential applications for this grating may be in mechanical sensing and beam splitting. In this study, we investigate an additional degree of tunability not previously considered by exploiting the polarization sensitivity as well as the mechanical. It is observed that the population of the −1st, 0th, and +1st transmitted orders are sensitive to changes between x- and y-axis polarization.
Randomly distributed anti-reflective nanostructures were fabricated on both surfaces of cylindrical lenses and freeform optical surfaces, using a plasma assisted reactive-ion etching technique. Spectral transmission of an average 98% was measured across the range 340-800 nm. Mid-band full-angle directional scatter measurements show a difference of six orders-of-magnitude in transmission intensity between specular and off-specular angles. Measurements before and after the etching process show little to no wavefront distortion for the cylindrical lenses. As the nanostructures are etched into the optical surface their thermal and mechanical shock resilience is high, as verified by our prior work on fused silica windows.
We fabricated nanoscale random anti-reflective surface structures on a prototype Reactive-Ion Plasma-Etched (RIPLE) grating. The prototype is a binary-profile, 1767 l/mm linear structure, over a 25x25 mm2 area on a ¼-inch thick Quartz plate, E-beam patterned, imbedded into the substrate by a Reactive-Ion Etching process. We achieved an 8:1 aspect ratio between the grating’s phase depth and space-width (187nm wide). The measured 1st-order unpolarized diffraction efficiency reaches 94.5%~96% and stays greater than 70% across a 200nm bandwidth centered at 560nm wavelength. The non-patterned side was populated with AR nanostructures. We detail the fabrication and evaluation of this complete prototype RIPLE grating.
Arrayed Wide-Angle Camera System (AWACS) is based on segmented-field corrector architecture and can be scaled to a much larger than meter-size field of view featured in Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs). The desired field expansion is accomplished via a suite of small units over a telescope’s focal surface, for local and simultaneous telescope field aberration and atmospheric dispersion compensation (ADC). We constructed a dual-unit science-grade AWACS, with fully-fledged opto-electro-mechanical system including miniature ADC mechanisms, precision freeform lenses, anti reflective nanostructures, and CNC-machined mechanical structures. The current snapshots of the integration/test of this AWACS and its evaluation in the context of the ELTs are detailed.
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