From Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2018
From the ultraviolet to the infrared, modern astronomical spectrographs are workhorse instruments at any wide-purpose observatory, enabling both follow-up and survey science across all fields of astrophysics and astronomy. As the critical optical element of determining the performance of any spectrograph, the key parameters of the dispersing element —resolution, throughput, bandwidth, and dispersion — must all be optimized for highest performance of the instrument. There are a growing number of alternatives in the domain of diffraction gratings and dispersing elements thanks to the development of new technologies (from holography to lithography and micromachining). Some of these technologies are not specifically developed for astronomy, but have exciting potential applications in this field. In order to make the best design choices for new instrumentation, it is necessary to understand the advantages and the limitations of each technology. Although many of the new developments will naturally focus on instrumentation for the new generation of Extremely Large Telescopes, any new developments will leverage the scientific impact of the small and medium facilities as well. In this talk, the outcomes of a dedicated workshop organized in October 2017 will be reported. The goals of that workshop were to bringing together scientists and engineers involved in the design and construction of spectrographs with our commercial partners who help produce and develop the necessary technology.
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Andrea Bianco, Rebecca Bernstein, Antonio de Ugarte Postigo, Francisco Garzón, Wayne Holland, Antonio Manescau, Ramón Navarro, and Marco Riva, "Dispersing elements for astronomy: new trends and possibilities (Conference Presentation)," Proc. SPIE 10706, Advances in Optical and Mechanical Technologies for Telescopes and Instrumentation III, 1070622 (Presented at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation: June 14, 2018; Published: 10 July 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2311704.5807231240001.