This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 7739, including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, Introduction, and the Conference Committee listing.

Large aspheric primary mirrors are proposed that use hundreds segments that all must be aligned and phased to approximate the desired continuous mirror. We present a method of measuring these concave segments with a Fizeau interferometer where a spherical convex reference surface is held a few millimeters from the aspheric segment. The aspheric shape is accommodated by a small computer generated hologram (CGH). Different segments are measured by replacing the CGH. As a Fizeau test, nearly all of the optical elements and air spaces are common to both the measurement and reference wavefront, so the sensitivities are not tight. Also, since the reference surface of the test plate is common to all tests, this system achieves excellent control for the radius of curvature variation from one part to another. This paper describes the test system design and analysis for such a test, and presents data from a similar 1.4-m test performed at the University of Arizona.

Optics for telescopes - on ground and in space - is getting more and more into complex geometries. Weight reduction and new materials together with aspherical shape and off-axis set-ups increase the need for deterministic processes. With the advent of free-form surfaces having no symmetry at all, a new chapter for fabrication issues is opened. This paper describes our current achievements to combine different fabrication and measurement technologies to cope with the increasing demand in precision and complexity. We will explain our fabrication approach covering the full range from the raw material to the coated and measured component. Several examples of current and recent projects are shown. The variety of materials used ranges from Zerodur® to SiC.

An ultra precision large optics grinding machine, BoX®, was developed and produced at Cranfield University. BoX® offers a rapid and economic solution for grinding large off-axis aspherical and free-form optical components. Grinding high accuracy surfaces with low subsurface damage reduces subsequent polishing time. This efficient grinding process provides the capacity to grind 1.5 m parts. This paper presents an analysis of Astrositall® optical ground parts: a hexagonal 84 m radius of curvature mirror of 1 m across corners and an off-axis 350 mm diameter mirror. The 1 m hexagonal part is representative of segments under study for making extremely large telescope (ELT) segmented mirrors. The second part was machined off-axis to demonstrate free-form fabrication capability. These operations demonstrate the scalability of the rapid grinding process developed for large free-form optics. The use of an error compensation procedure improved an initial ground form accuracy to +/- 1 μm p-v over 1 metre surface. The results highlighted the effect of grinding parameters and machine dynamics on form accuracy and fabrication time.

JSC LZOS under the contract with firm AMOS is carrying out the manufacturing works of Primary and Secondary Mirrors of Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT) for Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES). Primary mirror specifications: diameter is 3700 mm, vertex radius is 14639 mm (F/1.96), conical constant is -1.03296, asphericity is 111 microns. Secondary mirror specifications: diameter is 980 mm, vertex radius is 4675 mm (F/1.78), conical constant is -2.79561, asphericity is 47 microns. The current progress status under this project is presented here in the manuscript.

Aspherical surfaces for imaging or spectroscopy are a centerpiece of high-performance optics. Due to the high alignment sensitivity of aspheric surfaces, reference elements and interfaces with a tight geometrical relation to the mirror are as important as the high quality of the optical surface itself. The developed manufacturing method, which accounts for the shape and also for the position of the mirror surfaces, allows controlling and precisely correcting not only the form, but also the alignment of reference marks, interfaces or even other mirrors in the sub-assembly using diamond turning. For Korsch or TMA telescopes it is also possible to diamond turn whole sub-assemblies containing two or more mirrors with a relative position error as low as the machine precision. Reference elements allow the correction of the shape and position of mirrors as well as the position of interfaces for system integration. The presented method opens up a novel manufacturing strategy to enhance the relative positioning accuracy of optic assemblies by one order of magnitude.

The primary mirror of the Giant Magellan Telescope consists of seven 8.4 m segments which are borosilicate honeycomb sandwich mirrors. Fabrication and testing of the off-axis segments is challenging and has led to a number of innovations in manufacturing technology. The polishing system includes an actively stressed lap that follows the shape of the aspheric surface, used for large-scale figuring and smoothing, and a passive "rigid conformal lap" for small-scale figuring and smoothing. Four independent measurement systems support all stages of fabrication and provide redundant measurements of all critical parameters including mirror figure, radius of curvature, off-axis distance and clocking. The first measurement uses a laser tracker to scan the surface, with external references to compensate for rigid body displacements and refractive index variations. The main optical test is a full-aperture interferometric measurement, but it requires an asymmetric null corrector with three elements, including a 3.75 m mirror and a computer-generated hologram, to compensate for the surface's 14 mm departure from the best-fit sphere. Two additional optical tests measure large-scale and small-scale structure, with some overlap. Together these measurements provide high confidence that the segments meet all requirements.

Advanced shapes can now be produced for the corrective optics placed near a reimaged pupil, or even a deformable mirror surface. These surfaces can be improved and even apodization added to improve contrast. In this paper, we describe a special form of Narrow Ion Beam Figuring (NIBF) developed at L-3 Tinsley. In contrast to existing Ion Beam Figuring (IBF) machining schemes, the FWHM beam width is controlled in a much narrower band while still providing high beam currents.

Pending critical spaceborne requirements, including coronagraphic detection of exoplanets, require exceptionally smooth mirror surfaces, aggressive lightweighting, and low-risk cost-effective optical manufacturing methods. Simultaneous development at Schott for production of aggressively lightweighted (>90%) Zerodur^® mirror blanks, and at L-3 Brashear for producing ultra-smooth surfaces on Zerodur^®, will be described. New L-3 techniques for large-mirror optical fabrication include Computer Controlled Optical Surfacing (CCOS) pioneered at L-3 Tinsley, and the world's largest MRF machine in place at L-3 Brashear. We propose that exceptional mirrors for the most critical spaceborne applications can now be produced with the technologies described.

Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics & Technology (NIAOT) is investigating two types of sub-aperture polish technique for manufacturing aspheric components in large astronomical telescopes. One technique is computer controlled optical surfacing (CCOS). It removes material by a small polish tool through traditional mechanical and chemical process. The other is ion beam figuring (IBF) technique. It employs a neutralized ion beam to physically sputter material form optical surface. Although the basic mechanism of the two techniques is different, they true share the same mathematical model and fabrication diagram which will be put forward firstly in this paper. Then tool design and material removal function in CCOS will be studied following by a fabrication instance using CCOS. After that some recent progresses achieved in IBF is presented. The last part will focus on the complementary relationship of CCOS and IBF. Using them alternatively optimal combination of surface precision, efficiency and edge control could be obtained. Simulation is provided to support this view and experiment will be done in near future.

The stress polishing method is well suited for the superpolishing of aspheric components for astronomy. The main advantage of this technique is the very high optical quality obtained either on form or on high spatial frequency errors. Furthermore, the roughness can be decreased down to a few angstrom, thanks the classical polishing with a large pitch tool. We describe here the results obtained on the three toric mirrors for the ESO/VLT-SPHERE instrument, dedicated to exoplanet direct imaging. On going work on variable off axis aspherics is presented in the frame of the ESA/ASPIICS-Proba3 mission for solar coronography and applications for Exoplanet detection and solar observations are discussed.

ITT has patented and continues to develop processes to fabricate low-cost borosilicate mirrors that can be used for both ground and space-based optical telescopes. Borosilicate glass is a commodity and is the material of choice for today's flat-panel televisions and monitors. Supply and demand has kept its cost low compared to mirror substrate materials typically found in telescopes. The current technology development is on the path to having the ability to deliver imaging quality optics of up to 1m (scalable to 2m) in diameter in three weeks. For those applications that can accommodate the material properties of borosilicate glasses, this technology has the potential to revolutionize ground and space-based astronomy. ITT Corporation has demonstrated finishing a planar, 0.6m borosilicate, optic to <100 nm-rms. This paper will provide an historical overview of the development in this area with an emphasis on recent technology developments to fabricate a 0.6m parabolic mirror under NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) grant #NNX09AD61G.

In the last decade a new window for ground-based high energy astrophysics has been opened. It explores the energy band from about 100 GeV to 10 TeV making use of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs). Research in Very High Energy (VHE) gamma-ray astronomy is improving rapidly and thanks to the newest facilities as MAGIC, HESS and VERITAS astronomers and particle physicists are obtaining surprising implications in the theoretical models. New projects have been started as the European Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) and the U.S. Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS). The aim is to enhance both the sensitivity and the energy band coverage to perform imaging, photometry and spectroscopy of sources. In this framework, tens of thousands of optical mirror panels have to be manufactured, tested and mounted into the telescopes. Because of this high number of mirrors it is mandatory to develop a technique easily transferable to industrial mass production, but keeping the technical and cost-effectiveness requirements of the next generation of TeV telescopes. In this context the Astronomical Observatory of Brera (INAF-OAB) is investigating a technique for the manufacturing of stiff and lightweight glass mirror panels with modest angular resolution. These panels have a composite sandwich-like structure with two thin glass skins on both sides of a core material; the reflecting skin is optically shaped using an ad-hoc slumping procedure. The technology here presented is particularly attractive for the mass production of cost-effective mirror segments with long radius of curvature like those required in the primary mirrors of the next generation of Cherenkov telescopes. In this paper we present and discuss some relevant results we have obtained from the latest panels realized.

Modeling of the thermal expansion behavior of ZERODUR® for the site conditions of the upcoming Extremely Large Telescope's (ELT's) allows an optimized material selection to yield the best performing ZERODUR® for the mirror substrates. The thermal expansion of glass ceramics is a function of temperature and a function of time, due to the structural relaxation behavior of the materials. The application temperature range of the upcoming ELT projects varies depending on the possible construction site between -13°C and +27°C. Typical temperature change rates during the night are in the range between 0.1°C/h and 0.3°C/h. Such temperature change rates are much smaller than the typical economic laboratory measurement rate, therefore the material behavior under these conditions can not be measured directly. SCHOTT developed a model approach to describe the structural relaxation behavior of ZERODUR®. With this model it is possible to precisely predict the thermal expansion behavior of the individual ZERODUR® material batches at any application temperature profile T(t). This paper presents results of the modeling and shows ZERODUR® material behavior at typical temperature profiles of different applications.

Today's space applications increasingly utilize lightweighted construction concepts, motivated by the demands of manufacturing and functionality, and by economics. Particularly for space optics, mirror stability and stiffness need to be maximized, while mass needs to be minimized. Therefore, mirror materials must possess, besides high material strength and manufacturing versatility, high thermal conductivity combined with low heat capacity and long-term stability against varying thermal loads. Additionally, optical surfaces need to be compatible with reflective coating materials. In order to achieve these requirements, the interplay between material properties and mirror design on one hand, and budgetary constraints on the other must be considered. In this paper, we address these issues by presenting an FEM design study of open and closed-back mirror structures with extremely thin reinforcing ribs, with the goal of obtaining optimal physical and optical characteristics. Furthermore, we show that ECM's carbon-fiber reinforced SiC composite, Cesic^®, and its newly developed, HB-Cesic^® , with their low CTE, low density, and high stiffness, are not only excellent mirror materials, but allow the rapid manufacturing of complex monolithic optical structures at reasonable cost.

There is growing interest within the Astronomical community in the development and use of very large aperture telescopes which will incorporate the latest advancements in optical materials. Two of the most notable of these large size telescope projects, the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) and European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), will use mirror segments in the actively controlled primary mirrors. In this paper we present the results of a material characteristics study on Ohara CLEARCERAM^®-Z HS large diameter blanks which includes data on the CTE, CTE uniformity, residual stress and internal quality targeting potential use in the TMT Primary Mirror Segment Banks.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Optical Telescope Element (OTE) consists of a 6.6 m clear aperture, allreflective, three-mirror anastigmat. The 18-segment primary mirror (PM) presents unique and challenging assembly, integration, alignment and testing requirements. A full aperture center of curvature optical test is performed in cryogenic vacuum conditions at the integrated observatory level to verify PM performance requirements. The Center of Curvature Optical Assembly (CoCOA), designed and being built by ITT satisfies the requirements for this test. The CoCOA contains a multi wave interferometer, patented reflective null lens, actuation for alignment, full in situ calibration capability, coarse and fine alignment sensing systems, as well as a system for monitoring changes in the PM to CoCOA distance. This paper will introduce the systems level architecture and optical layout of the CoCOA and its main subsystems.

The 1.5 m primary ZERODUR® mirror of the solar telescope GREGOR incorporates 420 pockets at the backside for active cooling to avoid the thermal load impact of the sun deteriorating the observation. This design is also under consideration for the 2 m Indian Solar Telescope and for the 4.2 m European Solar Telescope (EST). The tip and tilt M5 mirror of the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) requires an even more demanding approach in light weighting. The approximately 3 m × 2.4 m elliptical flat mirror is specified to a weight of less than 500 kg. During the successful manufacturing of the GREGOR light weighted mirror, SCHOTT developed a systematic approach for processing such complex and long lead items which are capable for being up-scaled to a dimension of 4 m. In parallel SCHOTT has tested the machining of challenging aspect ratios of rib thickness and pocket height to prove the machinability of the E-ELT M5 design suggestions. The improved data on the bending strengths of ZERODUR® enable aggressive designs for light weighted 4 m class mirrors.

The Giant Magellan Telescope has a 25 meter f/0.7 near-parabolic primary mirror constructed from seven 8.4 meter diameter segments. Several aspects of the interferometric optical test used to guide polishing of the six off-axis segments go beyond the demonstrated state of the art in optical testing. The null corrector is created from two obliquelyilluminated spherical mirrors combined with a computer-generated hologram (the measurement hologram). The larger mirror is 3.75 m in diameter and is supported at the top of a test tower, 23.5 m above the GMT segment. Its size rules out a direct validation of the wavefront produced by the null corrector. We can, however, use a reference hologram placed at an intermediate focus between the two spherical mirrors to measure the wavefront produced by the measurement hologram and the first mirror. This reference hologram is aligned to match the wavefront and thereby becomes the alignment reference for the rest of the system. The position and orientation of the reference hologram, the 3.75 m mirror and the GMT segment are measured with a dedicated laser tracker, leading to an alignment accuracy of about 100 microns over the 24 m dimensions of the test. In addition to the interferometer that measures the GMT segment, a separate interferometer at the center of curvature of the 3.75 m sphere monitors its figure simultaneously with the GMT measurement, allowing active correction and compensation for residual errors. We describe the details of the design, alignment, and use of this unique off-axis optical test.

The most challenging of the metrology needs of multi-objects instruments is the registration of the pupil on the deformable mirror which corrects the wavefront errors. Pick-off mirrors in multi-objects instruments and specially spectrographs (MOS) require accurate positioning and simultaneous viewing of the pupil on the deformable mirror (DM) and the focal plane image on the image slicer at the sub-micron level. A laboratory test prototype simulating the telescope (E-ELT), the beam steering mirror (BSM) and the pupil imaging mirror (PIM), is presented to confirm the correct positioning of the pupil on the DM and to provide the movements of the moveable optical elements to achieve it. The opto-mechanical design and testing of this prototype is shown. The BSM stages (Goniometric cradle, Rotation, & Linear) provide the key mechanical system elements, with precision alignment, resolution, and repeatability . The design and behaviour of the control system is discussed; the ultimate aim of which is to adjust the BSM and PIM to correct for any slight mis-positioning of the pick-off mirror and any temporal drift of all the components to achieve the required alignment. The control system can also cope with flexure effects when required.

Since last years and at present days LZOS, JSC has been producing a range of primary mirrors of astronomical telescopes with diameter more than 1m under contracts with foreign companies. Simultaneous testing of an aspherical surface figure by means of a lens corrector and CGH (computer generated hologram) corrector, testing of the corrector using the CGH allow challenging the task of definite testing of the mirrors surfaces figure. The results of successful figuring of the mirrors with diameter up to 4m like VISTA Project (Southern European Observatory), TNT (Thai National telescope, Australia - Thailand), LCO telescopes (Las Cumbres Observatory, USA) and Russian national projects and meeting these mirrors specifications' requirements are all considered as the sufficient evidence.

The construction of the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) was largely completed by the end of 2005. At the beginning of 2006, it was realized that the telescope's image quality suffered from optical aberrations, chiefly a focus gradient across the focal plane, but also accompanied by astigmatism and higher order aberrations. In the previous conference in this series, a paper was presented describing the optical system engineering investigation which had been conducted to diagnose the problem. This investigation exonerated the primary mirror as the cause, as well as the science instruments, and was isolated to the interface between the telescope and a major optical sub-system, the spherical aberration corrector (SAC). This is a complex sub-system of four aspheric mirrors which corrects the spherical aberration of the 11-m primary mirror. In the last two years, a solution to this problem was developed which involved removing the SAC from the telescope, installing a modification of the SAC/telescope interface, re-aligning and testing the four SAC mirrors and re-installation on the telescope. This paper describes the plan, discusses the details and shows progress to date and the current status.

This paper will focus on the metrology of multiple complex surfaces that are to be integrated into the KBand Multi- Object Spectrograph (KMOS). KMOS is a multi-field astronomical spectrograph designed for integration with the 8.2m diameter European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope (VLT). There are 1080 separate optical surfaces in the design, many of them complex freeform surfaces. Optical surfaces were manufactured in aluminium by precision freeform diamond machining. This flexible technique allows the fabrication of extremely complex surfaces with an accuracy of better than 15 nm RMS over a 20 mm aperture, giving the designer great freedom in generating powerful and unorthodox designs. However, the complexity of these freeform surfaces poses a challenge to their accurate characterisation. This paper will discuss in detail the metrology of a specific freeform component in the instrument. The form of these complex astigmatic surfaces was measured using spherical wavefronts by adapting a tilted Twyman-Green Interferometer arrangement. There are eight separate designs for this type of component, each with a different orientation and magnitude of astigmatism. Careful mechanical fixturing is essential to align the astigmatic axis to the test set up. The impact of mechanical tolerances on measurement uncertainty will be discussed in detail.

We have developed a metrology system that is capable of measuring rough ground and polished surfaces alike, has limited sensitivity to the nominal surface shape, and can accommodate surfaces up to 8.4 m in diameter. The system couples a commercial laser tracker with an advanced calibration technique and a system of stability references to mitigate numerous error sources. This system was built to guide loose abrasive grinding and initial polishing of the off-axis primary mirror segments for the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), and is also being used to guide the fabrication of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope primary and tertiary mirrors. In addition to guiding fabrication, the system also works as a verification test for the GMT principal optical interferometric test of the polished mirror segment to corroborate the measurement in several low-order aberrations. A quantitative assessment of the system accuracy is presented, along with measurement results for GMT, including a comparison to the optical interferometric test of the polished surface.8

Aspheric surfaces, such as telescope mirrors, are commonly measured using interferometry with computer generated hologram (CGH) null correctors. The interferometers can be made with high precision and low noise, and CGHs can control wavefront errors to accuracy approaching 1 nm for difficult aspheric surfaces. However, such optical systems are typically poorly suited for high performance imaging. The aspheric surface must be viewed through a CGH that was intentionally designed to introduce many hundreds of waves of aberration. The imaging aberrations create difficulties for the measurements by coupling both geometric and diffraction effects into the measurement. These issues are explored here, and we show how the use of larger holograms can mitigate these effects.

The Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) Wide-Field Upgrade (WFU) will be equipped with new metrology systems to actively control the optical alignment of the new four-mirror Wide-Field Corrector (WFC) as it tracks sidereal motion with respect to the fixed primary mirror. These systems include a tip/tilt sensor (TTS), distance measuring interferometers (DMI), guide probes (GP), and wavefront sensors (WFS). While the TTS and DMIs are to monitor the mechanical alignment of the WFC, the WFSs and GPs will produce direct measurement of the optical alignment of the WFC with respect to the HET primary mirror. Together, these systems provide fully redundant alignment and pointing information for the telescope, thereby keeping the WFC in focus and suppressing alignment-driven field aberrations. We describe the current snapshot of these systems and discuss their roles, expected performance, and operation plans.

Aspherical optics are widely used in modern optical telescopes and instrumentation because of their ability to reduce aberrations with a simple optical system. Testing their optical quality through null interferometry is not trivial as reference optics are not available. Computer-Generated Holograms (CGHs) are efficient devices that allow to generate a well-defined optical wavefront. We developed rewritable Computer Generated Holograms for the interferometric test of aspheres based on photochromic layers. These photochromic holograms are cost-effective and the method of production does not need any post exposure process.

At the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), in collaboration with FOGALE Nanotech, we have been testing the recently-developed new generation inductive edge sensors. The Fogale inductive sensor is one technology being evaluated as a possible replacement for the now defunct capacitance-based edge sensing system. We present the results of exhaustive environmental testing of two variants of the inductive sensor. In addition to the environmental testing including RH and temperature cycles, the sensor was tested for sensitivity to dust and metals. We also consider long-term sensor stability, as well as that of the electronics and of the glue used to bond the sensor to its supporting structure. A prototype design for an adjustable mount is presented which will allow for in-plane gap and shear variations present in the primary mirror configuration without adversely disturbing the figure of the individual mirror segments or the measurement accuracy.

An interferometric null Test Method is described for testing convex aspheric surfaces, such as found in secondary mirrors of Cassegrain telescopes or variations thereof such as Mersenne and Ritchey-Chrétien. A family of test designs is described covering a wide range of mirror diameters, radii of curvature, and aspheric shapes as described by conic constants and/or polynomials. The Test Method has been used successfully for testing the convex hyperboloid surface of the 244-mm diameter secondary mirror of the NASA 3-meter IRTF telescope. The Test Method is currently being used to test the 120-mm diameter, convex paraboloid secondary mirrors of the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer (MROI). Test designs exist on paper for both Keck secondary mirrors (0.53-m and 1.4-m diameter), the HST secondary (0.3-meter diameter), and secondary mirrors of some of the extremely large telescopes of the future, such as the TMT secondary (3.2-m diameter). In typical test embodiments, the simplicity of the Test enables rapid implementation at a fraction of the cost of comparable Hindle-Sphere or Hindle-Simpson tests.

The new giant telescopes can be compared to space projects. They will require ground-based test support equipment to fully characterize the optical sub-system functionalities and performances before costly commissioning on the telescope. The support equipment must be designed to reproduce the telescope or the front optical system's aberrated wavefront. We show that the aberrated wavefront can be generated at low cost by a magnetic liquid deformable mirror. A prototype 91- actuator liquid deformable mirror having a diameter of 33 mm was built and used to simulate the off-axis aberrated CFHT's primary mirror up to 0.5 degrees FOV.

The scanning pentaprism system for testing the 8.4 m off-axis segments for the Giant Magellan Telescope has recently been completed. The system uses a fiber source and a carriage mounted pentaprism to scan a 40 mm collimated beam across the surface of the segment under test. Since the scanning beam is parallel to the optical axis of the parent mirror, it comes to focus on a detector at the telescope's prime focus, where displacement of the spot is proportional to the slope error. A second collimated beam from a stationary reference pentaprism is used to compensate for any changes in the relative positions of the optical components during testing. The optical components are suspended over the mirror on a rail system that can be rotated so that scans can be made across any diameter of the segment. The test is capable of measuring wavefront slope errors to 1 μrad rms, adequate to verify that power, astigmatism, coma, and other low-order aberrations are small enough to be corrected easily at the telescope with the segment's active support system.

The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) recently (2008) abandoned attempts at using capacitive mirror edge sensors, mainly due to poor performance at a relative humidity above ~60%, a not infrequent occurrence. Different technologies are now being explored for alternative sensors on SALT. In this paper we describe the design and development of a novel prototype optical edge sensor, based on the application of the interferential scanning principle, as used in optical encoders. These prototype sensors were subsequently tested at SAAO and ESO, for potential application on SALT and E-ELT. Environmental tests, conducted in climatic control chambers, looked at temperature and relative humidity sensitivity, long term stability and sensor noise. The temperature sensitivity for height and gap were, respectively, 10nm/°C and 44nm/°C, while for relative humidity they were 4nm/10% and 50nm/10%, respectively. These either met, or were close to, the SALT specification. While there were significant lags in response, this was due to the sensor's relatively large mass (~200 gm per sensor half), which was not optimized. This is likely to improve, should a revised design be developed in future. Impressively the sensor noise was <0.015 nm RMS, over three orders of magnitude better than the specification. Our conclusions are that optical edge sensing is a viable technique for use on segmented mirror telescopes.

Volume phase holographic (VPH) gratings are increasingly being used as diffractive elements in astronomical instruments due to their potential for very high peak diffraction efficiencies and the possibility of a compact instrument design when the gratings are used in transmission. Historically, VPH grating (VPHG) sizes have been limited by the size of manufacturer's holographic recording optics. We report on the design, specification and fabrication of a large, 290 mm × 475 mm elliptically-shaped, mosaic VPHG for the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) spectrograph. This high-resolution near-infrared multi-object spectrograph is in construction for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS III). The 1008.6 lines/mm VPHG was designed for optimized performance over a wavelength range from 1.5 to 1.7 μm. A step-and-repeat exposure method was chosen to fabricate a three-segment mosaic on a 305 mm × 508 mm monolithic fused-silica substrate. Specification considerations imposed on the VPHG to assure the mosaic construction will satisfy the end use requirements are discussed. Production issues and test results of the mosaic VPHG are discussed.

The Vector Vortex Coronagraph is a phase-based coronagraph, one of the most efficient in terms of inner working angle, throughput, discovery space, contrast, and simplicity. Using liquid-crystal polymer technology, this new coronagraph has recently been the subject of lab demonstrations in the near-infrared, visible and was also used on sky at the Palomar observatory in the H and K bands (1.65 and 2.2 μm, respectively) to image the brown dwarf companion to HR 7672, and the three extra-solar planets around HR 8799. However, despite these recent successes, the Vector Vortex Coronagraph is, as are most coronagraphs, sensitive to the central obscuration and secondary support structures, low-order aberrations (tip-tilt, focus, etc), bandwidth (chromaticism), and polarization when image-plane wavefront sensing is performed. Here, we consider in detail these sensitivities as a function of the topological charge of the vortex and design features inherent to the manufacturing technology, and show that in practice all of them can be mitigated to meet specific needs.

MATISSE (Multi AperTure mid-Infrared SpectroScopic Experiment) will be a mid-infrared spectro-interferometer combining the beams of up to four telescopes of the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope Interferometer (ESO VLTI), providing phase closure and image reconstruction. Matisse will produce interferometric spectra in the LM and in the N band (2.3 to 13.5 micron) and is as such a successor of MIDI. The instrument will be developed by a consortium consisting of Observatoire de Nice (warm optics), NOVA-ASTRON (cold optics), MPI-A (cryostats) and MPIfR (detectors). Beams of up to four Unit Telescopes or Auxiliary Telescopes (UT - AT) pass the warm pre-optics and in the cold optics all beams recombine on the detector where they create a spectral interference pattern. An innovative MAIT plan drastically shortens the MAIT phase and therefore reduces cost. The MAIT plan comprises the assembly and alignment procedure of about 220 cryogenic optical components for which a mirror mount clip has been developed. Alignment accuracy and stability specifications are of the order of nanometers and arcsec, which requires over 50 degrees of freedom in cryogenic alignment mechanisms for e.g. Tip/Tilt and detector Tip/Tilt/Focus. The design, realization and test results of these mechanisms are presented. A cryogenic electrical switch significantly reduces the complexity of the electronic cabling and improves reliability.

We discuss the C_lover cryostats, which are dry cryostats containing three stages of cooling; a pulse tube cooler, a sorption fridge and a continuous miniature dilution refrigerator. We describe the thermal architecture of the system and present thermal data for the various stages including its performance when tilted.

The Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) developed by EADS Astrium GmbH for the European Space Agency (ESA) is a spectrograph covering the 0.6-5.0 μm waveband to fly on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). NIRSpec will be primarily operated as a multi-object spectrograph but also includes an integral field unit (IFU) allowing a 3×3 arcsec field of view to be sampled continuously with 0.1 arcsec spatial resolution. The IFU, based on an advanced image slicer concept, is a very compact athermal unit made of aluminium. It contains three 30-element monolithic mirror arrays forming slicer, pupil and slit mirrors, and single-surface image relay and plane fold mirrors, produced using 5-axis diamond-machining techniques. Many of the mirrors have complex surfaces like toric sections with 3rd-order corrections in order to achieve the required performance within a small allowed volume, and could only have been fabricated with the most advanced free-form machining. The mechanical design accommodates the differential expansion between the aluminium IFU and its titanium parent assembly across a 250K drop to operating temperature using an isostatic mounting system. This paper presents the development of the IFU from the design and diamond-machining techniques to the optical and cryogenic testing of the assembled flight model unit.

The Mid Infrared Instrument (MIRI) aboard JWST is equipped with one filter wheel and two dichroic-grating wheel mechanisms to reconfigure the instrument between observing modes such as broad/narrow-band imaging, coronagraphy and low/medium resolution spectroscopy. Key requirements for the three mechanisms with up to 18 optical elements on the wheel include: (1) reliable operation at T = 7 K, (2) high positional accuracy of 4 arcsec, (3) low power dissipation, (4) high vibration capability, (5) functionality at 7 K < T < 300 K and (6) long lifetime (5-10 years). To meet these requirements a space-proven wheel concept consisting of a central MoS2-lubricated integrated ball bearing, a central torque motor for actuation, a ratchet system with monolithic CuBe flexural pivots for precise and powerless positioning and a magnetoresistive position sensor has been implemented. We report here the final performance and lessons-learnt from the successful acceptance test program of the MIRI wheel mechanism flight models. The mechanisms have been meanwhile integrated into the flight model of the MIRI instrument, ready for launch in 2014 by an Ariane 5 rocket.

Infrared radiometers and spectrometers generally use blackbodies for calibration, and with the high accuracy needs of upcoming missions, blackbodies capable of meeting strict accuracy requirements are needed. One such mission, the NASA climate science mission Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO), which will measure Earth's emitted spectral radiance from orbit, has an absolute accuracy requirement of 0.1 K (3σ) at 220 K over most of the thermal infrared. Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) has a blackbody design capable of meeting strict modern accuracy requirements. This design is relatively simple to build, was developed for use on the ground or onorbit, and is readily scalable for aperture size and required performance. These-high accuracy blackbodies are currently in use as a ground calibration unit and with a high-altitude balloon instrument. SDL is currently building a prototype blackbody to demonstrate the ability to achieve very high accuracy, and we expect it to have emissivity of ~0.9999 from 1.5 to 50 μm, temperature uncertainties of ~25 mK, and radiance uncertainties of ~10 mK due to temperature gradients. The high emissivity and low thermal gradient uncertainties are achieved through cavity design, while the low temperature uncertainty is attained by including phase change materials such as mercury, gallium, and water in the blackbody. Blackbody temperature sensors are calibrated at the melt points of these materials, which are determined by heating through their melt point. This allows absolute temperature calibration traceable to the SI temperature scale.

The Euclid mission is currently being developed within the European Space Agency's Cosmic Vision Program. The five year mission will survey the entire extragalactic sky (~ 20 000 deg²) with the aim of constraining the nature of dark energy and dark matter. The spacecraft's payload consists of two instruments: one imaging instrument, which has both a visible and a near-infrared channel, and one spectroscopic instrument operating in the near-infrared wavelength regime. The two channels of the imaging instrument, the Visible Imaging Channel (VIS) and the Near-Infrared Imaging Photometer Channel (NIP), will focus on the weak lensing science probe. The large survey area and the need to not only image each patch of sky in multiple bands, but also in multiple dithers, requires over 640 000 operations of the NIP channel's filter wheel mechanism. With a 127 mm diameter and a mass of ~ 330 g per element, these brittle infrared filters dictate highly demanding requirements on this single-point-failure mechanism. To accommodate the large filters the wheel must have an outer diameter of ~ 400 mm, which will result in significant loads being applied to the bearing assembly during launch. The centrally driven titanium filter wheel will house the infrared filters in specially designed mounts. Both stepper motor and brushless DC drive systems are being considered and tested for this mechanism. This paper presents the design considerations and details the first prototyping campaign of this mechanism. The design and finite element analysis of the filter mounting concept are also presented.

TNO, together with its partners Micromega and SRON, have designed a cryogenic scanning mechanism for use in the SAFARI Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) on board of the SPICA mission. The optics of the FTS scanning mechanism (FTSM) consists of two back-to-back cat's-eyes. The optics are mounted on a central "back-bone" tube which houses all the important mechatronic parts: the magnetic bearing linear guiding system, a magnetic linear motor serving as the OPD actuator, internal metrology with nanometer resolution, and a launch lock. A magnetic bearing is employed to enable a large scanning stroke in a small volume. It supports the optics in a free-floating way with no friction, or other non-linearities, enabling sub-nanometer accuracy within a single stage with a stroke of -4 mm to +31.5 mm. Because the FTSM will be used at cryogenic temperatures of 4 Kelvin, the main structure and optics are all constructed from 6061 Aluminum. The overall outside dimensions of the FTSM are: 393 x 130 x 125 mm, and the mass is 2.2 kg.

The Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT) is a 64 meters (diameter) single dish radioantenna which is in the building phase in Italy. One of the most challenging characteristics of SRT is its capability to observe up to a frequency of 100 GHz thanks to its main reflector active surface. The active surface is composed by 1008 panels and 1116 mechanical actuators which may modify the segmented shape of the main reflector making possible the correction for wavefront distortions induced by the gravitational and thermal deformations. In order to observe at a frequency of 100 GHz the surface shape must be accurate below of a value of 150 μm r.m.s.. This value may be reached during the initial alignement phase using the microwave holography but it cannot be maintained during the scientific operations because of the (dynamical) deformations. In order to permit the observations at any time, a system able to measure the surface deformations with the necessary accuracy and a time-response of few minutes (the time-scale of the deformations) must be operative. We propose here three simple and robust methods to measure the relative deformations of the segmented panels with respect to an initial aligned surface (reference surface). The ultimate choice on which one of the three systems will operate on SRT will be taken after final testing on all of them. Prototypes of each system have been realized and two of them have been also successfully tested on the active optics radiotelescope of Noto (Italy). The test on the third system will be done in the next few months.

The complexity and size of instruments for next generation telescopes demands innovative approaches to existing problems. Within this framework, we present MAPS; a Micro Autonomous Positioning System for mirror deployment in an E-ELT instrument such as EAGLE. The micro-robots have a 25mmx25mm footprint and utilise RF communications and small rechargeable batteries to be completely wireless. Coarse positioning and fine alignment is achieved through the use of miniature gear motors and gearheads. Positional information is determined externally and corrective motions relayed to the robots. This paper reports on the challenges which such a system presents, current developments, and areas of expected future research.

We report on the technological achievements of our latest Starbug prototypes and their implications for smart focal plane fiber positioning applications for wide-field astronomy. The Starbugs are innovative self-motile miniature robotic devices that can simultaneously and independently position fibers or payloads over a field plate located at the telescope's focal plane. The Starbugs concept overcomes many of the limitations associated with the traditional 'pick and place' positioners where a robot places fixed buttons onto the field plate. The new Starbug prototypes use piezoelectric actuators and have the following features: (i) new 'lift-and-step' method (discrete step) for accurate positioning over different surfaces; and (ii) operate in an inverted hanging position underneath a transparent field plate, removing the need for fibercable retractors. In this paper, we present aspects of the Starbug prototypes, including the theoretical model, mechanical design, experimental setup, algorithms, performance and applications for astronomical instrumentation.

The two antenna transporters of the ALMA Observatory are used to relocate 12-meter antennas and to move them between low (3000m) and high altitude site (5000m). When analyzing the dynamic response of the transporters to road ripple of critical height and inter-distance, it turned out that transporter accelerations exceeding the seismic accelerations cannot be excluded. This is considered as a remote risk however with possibly catastrophic consequences for the equipped antennas. The problem was analyzed by ESO experts for dynamic simulations and an additional damping system was designed to limit the loads to acceptable values. This paper describes the design of the additional damping system including its concept, the model-based design using dynamic simulations and verification tests on site.

Generally, panels of radio telescopes are mainly shaped in trapezoid and each is supported/positioned by four adjustors beneath its vertexes. Such configuration of panel supporting system is essentially hyper-static, and the panel is overconstrained from a kinematic point of view. When the panel is to be adjusted and/or actuated, it will suffer stress from its adjusters and hence its shape is to be distorted. This situation is not desirable for high precision panels, such as glass based panels especially used for sub-millimeter and shorter wavelength telescopes with active optics/active panel technology. This paper began with a general overview of panel patterns and panel supports of existing radio telescopes. Thereby, we proposed a preferable master-slave active surface concept for triangular and/or hexagonal panel pattern. In addition, we carry out panel error sensitivity analysis for all the 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) of a panel to identify what DOFs are most sensitive for an active surface. And afterwards, based on the error sensitivity analysis, we suggested an innovative parallel-series concept hexapod well fitted for an active panel to correct for all of its 6 rigid errors. A demonstration active surface using the master-slave concept and the hexapod manifested a great save in cost, where only 486 precision actuators are needed for 438 panels, which is 37% of those actuators needed by classic segmented mirror active optics. Further, we put forward a swaying-arm based design concept for the related connecting joints between panels, which ensures that all the panels attached on to it free from over-constraints when they are positioned and/or actuated. Principle and performance of the swaying-arm connecting mechanism are elaborated before a practical cablemesh based prototype active surface is presented with comprehensive finite element analysis and simulation.

After suffering from serious problems in the course of the SiC 1.5m M1 manufacturing, the existing design of the M1, it's cell and the associated mirror cooling system was investigated in terms of modification efforts to be compatible for a different M1 substrate (Zerodur). The analysis included the system requirements, the M1 design, the M1 support system, the M1 cooling system as well as the M1 cell. The investigations resulting in a modified design of the above mentioned system. Driven by the choice of material, different requirements became design driving factors. The consequences on the detail design of the M1 Mirror as well as on the support system and the cooling system are presented.

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) utilizes an 8.4-meter cast borosilicate primary/tertiary mirror (M1M3). This mirror system has stringent vibration and stiffness requirements because the LSST optical system does not include a fast steering mirror and the mission requires a short slew and settling time. The position stability of the M1M3 relative to the mirror cell is controlled by six displacement controlled actuators (subsequently referred to as "hardpoints") that form a large hexapod. This design is based largely on previous hardpoints implemented for borosilicate mirror positioning. Traditionally, all dynamic forces applied to these mirrors are reacted through their hardpoints. Consequently, the characteristics of these hardpoints critically affect the ability of the telescope to meet the stringent dynamic requirements without overstressing the mirror. The hardpoints must have a high stiffness of 120 N/um in the axial direction, while protecting the mirror by limiting the loads in all six degrees of freedom. The non-axial direction loads are limited by flexures. The axial loads are limited by a pneumatic breakaway mechanism. Since the hardpoints react the dynamic mirror loads, the axial breakaway force may limit the telescope's slewing accelerations. The travel of the breakaway mechanism must accommodate the transfer of the mirror from its active supports to its static supports. The hardpoint positioning mechanism must have sufficient travel and resolution to properly position the mirror relative to the mirror cell. Fulfilling these functions also requires numerous sensors, including a precision axial load cell which is paramount in determining the figure control actuator forces.

The drive and bearing technologies have a major impact on the static and dynamic performance of steerable structures such as telescope and dome. Merging drive and bearing system into friction drive mechanical devices (bogie) can reduce the complexity and cost of the design. In the framework of ELT design study (European FP6) a breadboard test setup was realized to test and evaluate the static and dynamic behavior of such bogies. In this paper some of the characterization test results are presented. Characterization of the bogies and the setup structure in the frequency domain, quantification and measure of the most important parameters of the friction forces, the control of the bogies and the tracking performance of the test setup are among the main results discussed in this paper.

The Magdalena Ridge Interferometer (MROI) is a project which comprises an optical array of up to ten relocatable 1.4m telescopes arranged in a "Y" configuration. Each of these telescopes will be housed inside a Unit Telescope Enclosure (UTE) which can be lifted and moved onto any of 28 stations. This paper presents a general description of how the constraints imposed by the requirements for the close-pack configuration and relocatability led to the design of an innovative, compact and light-weight enclosure of small diameter and high structural strength. The unique internal layout gives sufficient space inside to house, not only to house the telescope mount, but also associated electronics, nasmyth table opto-mechanical equipment and beam relay system interface.

Deformable mirrors actuated by smart structures are promising devices for next generation astronomical instrumentation. Thermal activated Shape Memory Alloys are materials able to recover their original shape, after an external deformation, if heated above a characteristic temperature. If the recovery of the shape is completely or partially prevented by the presence of constraints, the material can generate recovery stress. Thanks to this feature, these materials can be positively exploited in Smart Structures if properly embedded into host materials. This paper will show the technological processes developed for an efficient use of SMA-based actuators embedded in smart structures tailored to astronomical instrumentation. In particular the analysis of the interface with the host material. Some possible modeling approaches to the actuators behavior will be addressed taking into account trade-offs between detailed analysis and overall performance prediction as a function of the computational time. We developed a combined Finite Element and Raytracing analysis devoted to a parametric performance predictions of a SMA based substrate applicable to deformable mirrors. We took in detail into account the possibility to change the focal length of the mirror keeping a satisfactory image quality. Finally a possible approach with some preliminary results for an efficient control system for the strongly non-linear SMA actuators will be presented.

Deformable mirrors actuated by smart structures are promising devices for next generation astronomical instrumentation. The piezo technology and in particular piezoceramics is currently among the most investigated structural materials. Fragility makes Ceramic materials extremely vulnerable to accidental breakage during bonding and embedding processes and limits the ability to comply to curved surfaces (typical of mirrors). Moreover lead-based piezoceramics typically have relevant additional masses. To overcome these limitations, we studied the applicability of composites piezoceramics actuators to smart structures with these purposes. We developed a combined Finite Element and Raytracing analysis devoted to a parametric performance predictions of a smart Piezocomposites based substrate applicable to deformable mirrors. We took in detail into account the possibility to change the focal length of the mirror keeping a satisfactory image quality. In this paper we present a specific type of Piezocomposite actuators and numerical/experimental techniques purposely developed to integrate them into smart structures. We evaluated numerical and experimental results comparing bonding and embedding of these devices.

The solar telescope EST is currently in the conceptual design phase. It is planned to be build on the Canary Islands until end of the decade. It is specialized on polarimetric observations and will provide high spatial and spectral observations of the different solar atmospheric layers. The diameter of the primary mirror blank is 4.2m. Different types of mirror shapes were investigated with respect to thermal and mechanical characteristics. To remove the absorbed heat an air cooling system from the back side will be applied. Additional an air flushing system will remove remaining warm air from the front side. A major problem of a large open telescope will be the wind load. Results of the investigations will be shown. To achieve optimal optical performance an active support system is planned. The primary mirror cell needs to be stiff enough to support the primary mirror without deformation at strong wind in case of the open telescope option, but sufficient room for the active support system and cooling system below the backside of the mirror is also required. Preliminary designs and analysis results will be presented.