Dr. Michael J. Sholl Profile

Dr. Michael J. Sholl

Engineer at Space Exploration Technologies Corp

SPIE Involvement:

Senior status | Conference Program Committee | Author

Profile Summary

Michael Sholl earned his Ph.D. Experimental Fluid Dynamics and Computational Physics from the University of California at Berkeley, 1995. Sholl was Project Manager of the Bekeley Spectrometer on ORFEUS-II, launched on STS-80 in 1996.

From 1997-1998 he worked on various programs at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space, including the Fleet Ballistic Missile and the Airborne Laser.

He was re-hired in 1998 by Berkeley to lead the Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Explorer as project manager and lead engineer. CHIPS was the only NASA UNEX class mission to reach orbit, and launched in 2003.
Sholl was Reaction Control System lead engineer at Berkeley for the THEMIS constellation, which launched in 2007. Sholl is currently optics and stray light lead engineer for the for the Department of Energy for the Joint Dark Energy Mission.

Publications (50)

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | July 10, 2018

Fabrication of the DESI corrector lenses

Proc. SPIE. 10706, Advances in Optical and Mechanical Technologies for Telescopes and Instrumentation III

KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Optical design, Astronomy, Polishing, Data modeling, Silica, Lenses, Glasses, Tolerancing, Surface finishing

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | July 10, 2018

Broadband anti-reflection coating for the meter class Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument lenses

Proc. SPIE. 10706, Advances in Optical and Mechanical Technologies for Telescopes and Instrumentation III

KEYWORDS: Antireflective coatings, Astronomy, Lenses, Coating, Computer aided design, Spectroscopes

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), currently under construction, will be used to measure the expansion history of the Universe using the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation technique. The spectra of 35 million galaxies and quasars over 14000 sq deg will be measured during the life of the experiment. A new prime focus corrector for the KPNO Mayall telescope will deliver light to 5000 fiber optic positioners. The fibers, in turn, feed ten broad-band spectrographs. We will describe the broadband AR coating (360 nm to 980nm) that was applied to the lenses of the camera system for DESI using ion assisted deposition techniques in a 3 m coating chamber. The camera has 6 lenses ranging in diameter from 0.8 m to 1.14 m, weighing from 84 kg to 237 kg and made from fused silica or BK7. The size and shape of the surfaces provided challenges in design, uniformity control, handling, tooling and process control. Single surface average transmission and minimum transmission met requirements. The varied optical surfaces and angle of incidence considerations meant the uniformity of the coating was of prime concern. The surface radius of curvature (ROC) for the 12 surfaces ranged from nearly flat to a ROC of 611 mm and a sag of 140 mm. One lens surface has an angle of incidence variation from normal incidence to 40°. Creating a design with a larger than required bandwidth to compensate for the non-uniformity and angle variation created the ability to reduce the required coating uniformity across the lens and a single design to be used for all common substrate surfaces. While a perfectly uniform coating is often the goal it is usually not practicable or cost effective for highly curved surfaces. The coating chamber geometry allowed multiple radial positions of the deposition sources as well as substrate height variability. Using these two variables we were able to avoid using any masking to achieve the uniformity required to meet radial and angle performance goals. Very broadband AR coatings usually have several very thin and optically important layers. The DESI coating design has layers approaching 3 nm in thickness. Having sensitive thin layers in the design meant controlling layer thickness and azimuthal variation were critical to manufacturing repeatability. Through use of strategically placed quartz crystal monitors combined with stable deposition plumes, the manufacturing variability was reduced to acceptable levels. Low deposition rates and higher rotation rates also provided some stability to azimuthal variation.

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | August 18, 2016

DESI systems engineering: throughput and signal-to-noise

Proc. SPIE. 9911, Modeling, Systems Engineering, and Project Management for Astronomy VI

KEYWORDS: Signal to noise ratio, Point spread functions, Telescopes, Mirrors, Spectrographs, Cameras, Charge-coupled devices, Systems engineering, Galactic astronomy, Baryon acoustic oscillations

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | August 9, 2016

Progress on the fabrication of the DESI corrector optics

Proc. SPIE. 9908, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VI

KEYWORDS: Observatories, Telescopes, Telescopes, Astronomy, Polishing, Silica, Silica, Lenses, Coating, Tolerancing, Spectroscopes, Surface finishing

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | August 9, 2016

Stray light assessment and mitigation for the DESI front-end optical system

Proc. SPIE. 9908, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VI

KEYWORDS: Observatories, Telescopes, Mirrors, Spectrographs, Astronomy, Scattering, Light scattering, Bidirectional reflectance transmission function, Stray light, Light

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | August 19, 2014

Thermal and optical characterization for POLARBEAR-2 optical system

Proc. SPIE. 9153, Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy VII

KEYWORDS: Bolometers, Thermography, Optical filters, Lenses, Sensors, Physics, Receivers, Optical testing, Optical filtering, Temperature metrology

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | August 19, 2014

The Simons Array: expanding POLARBEAR to three multi-chroic telescopes

Proc. SPIE. 9153, Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy VII

KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Astronomy, Aerospace engineering, Polarization, Sensors, Physics, Receivers, Space telescopes, Spatial resolution, Baryon acoustic oscillations

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | August 6, 2014

The DESI wide field corrector optics

Proc. SPIE. 9147, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy V

KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Optical design, Astronomy, Silica, Spectroscopy, Aspheric lenses, Astronomical telescopes, Astronomical imaging, Galactic astronomy, Tolerancing

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | July 23, 2014

Development and characterization of the readout system for POLARBEAR-2

Proc. SPIE. 9153, Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy VII

KEYWORDS: Bolometers, Telescopes, Capacitors, Polarization, Sensors, Physics, Receivers, Multiplexing, Picosecond phenomena, Inductance

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | July 22, 2014

Planning the installation of the dark energy spectroscopic instrument on the Mayall Telescope

Proc. SPIE. 9145, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes V

KEYWORDS: Observatories, Telescopes, Mirrors, Spectrographs, Safety, Computing systems, Space telescopes, Domes, Galactic astronomy, Spectroscopes

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | October 5, 2012

Mapping the universe with BigBOSS

Proc. SPIE. 8446, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV

KEYWORDS: Spectrographs, Data modeling, Spectroscopy, Error analysis, Photons, Monte Carlo methods, Distance measurement, Galactic astronomy, Baryon acoustic oscillations, Device simulation

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | October 5, 2012

POLARBEAR-2 optical and polarimeter designs

Proc. SPIE. 8452, Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy VI

KEYWORDS: Thermography, Telescopes, Optical design, Modulation, Polarization, Sensors, Receivers, Polarimetry, Space telescopes, Microwave radiation

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | September 27, 2012

The bolometric focal plane array of the POLARBEAR CMB experiment

Proc. SPIE. 8452, Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy VI

KEYWORDS: Staring arrays, Bolometers, Telescopes, Sensors, Dielectrics, Silicon, Antennas, Niobium, Reactive ion etching, Semiconducting wafers

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | September 24, 2012

The BigBOSS spectrograph

Proc. SPIE. 8446, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV

KEYWORDS: Near infrared, Spectrographs, Optical design, Cameras, Sensors, Glasses, Reflectivity, Collimators, Spectral resolution, Galactic astronomy

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | September 24, 2012

Integrating BigBOSS with the Mayall Telescope

Proc. SPIE. 8446, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV

KEYWORDS: Optical fibers, Telescopes, Mirrors, Spectrographs, Cameras, Sensors, Fourier transforms, Space telescopes, Astronomical imaging, Baryon acoustic oscillations

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | September 24, 2012

BigBOSS: a stage IV dark energy redshift survey

Proc. SPIE. 8446, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV

KEYWORDS: Actuators, Telescopes, Mirrors, Astronomy, Cameras, Sensors, Spectroscopy, Collimators, Astronomical imaging, Galactic astronomy

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | September 24, 2012

The measuring apparatus research for BigBOSS fiber-positioner

Proc. SPIE. 8446, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV

KEYWORDS: Actuators, MATLAB, Imaging systems, Cameras, Calibration, Image processing, Distortion, Kinematics, CCD cameras, Charge-coupled devices

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | September 24, 2012

The POLARBEAR-2 experiment

Proc. SPIE. 8452, Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy VI

KEYWORDS: Bolometers, Telescopes, Optical filters, Mirrors, Polarization, Lenses, Sensors, Superconductors, Receivers, Semiconducting wafers

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | September 24, 2012

The POLARBEAR experiment

Proc. SPIE. 8452, Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy VI

KEYWORDS: Bolometers, Telescopes, Optical filters, Polarization, Sensors, Calibration, Receivers, Semiconducting wafers, Signal detection, Cryogenics

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | September 13, 2012

Guide, focus/alignment system for BigBOSS

Proc. SPIE. 8450, Modern Technologies in Space- and Ground-based Telescopes and Instrumentation II

KEYWORDS: Signal to noise ratio, Telescopes, Astronomy, Stars, Sensors, Space telescopes, Back illuminated sensors, Galactic astronomy, Baryon acoustic oscillations, Camera shutters

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | September 13, 2012

Design and performance of an R-theta fiber positioner for the BigBOSS instrument

Proc. SPIE. 8450, Modern Technologies in Space- and Ground-based Telescopes and Instrumentation II

KEYWORDS: Optical fibers, Telescopes, Spectrographs, Video, Manufacturing, Robotics, Kinematics, Space telescopes, Astronomical imaging, Prototyping

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | September 22, 2011

BigBOSS: enabling widefield cosmology on the Mayall Telescope

Proc. SPIE. 8127, Optical Modeling and Performance Predictions V

KEYWORDS: Actuators, Telescopes, Prisms, Silica, Lenses, Spectrometers, Interfaces, Astronomical imaging, Galactic astronomy, Baryon acoustic oscillations

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | August 11, 2010

The ring of fire: an internal illumination system for detector sensitivity and filter bandpass characterization

Proc. SPIE. 7731, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2010: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave

KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Mirrors, Astronomy, Sensors, Calibration, Photodiodes, Radio over Fiber, Space telescopes, Light, Bandpass filters

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | August 11, 2010

An attitude control testbed for JDEM

Proc. SPIE. 7731, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2010: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave

KEYWORDS: Observatories, Mirrors, Sensors, Calibration, Computing systems, Control systems, Space telescopes, Space operations, Galactic astronomy, Stanford Linear Collider

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | August 6, 2010

Wide-field spectroscopy and imaging at two plate scales with a focal three mirror anastigmat

Proc. SPIE. 7731, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2010: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave

KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Mirrors, Prisms, Silica, Cameras, Spectroscopy, Imaging spectroscopy, Space telescopes, Spectral resolution, Baryon acoustic oscillations

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | August 6, 2010

Joint Dark Energy Mission optical design studies

Proc. SPIE. 7731, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2010: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave

KEYWORDS: Near infrared, Telescopes, Optical design, Prisms, Imaging systems, Spectroscopy, Imaging spectroscopy, Space telescopes, Galactic astronomy, Baryon acoustic oscillations

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | August 6, 2010

Off-axis telescopes for dark energy investigations

Proc. SPIE. 7731, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2010: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave

KEYWORDS: Signal to noise ratio, Diffraction, Point spread functions, Telescopes, Mirrors, Space telescopes, Galactic astronomy, Baryon acoustic oscillations, Optics manufacturing, Off axis mirrors

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | August 5, 2010

Investigation of disturbance effects on space-based weak lensing measurements with an integrated model

Proc. SPIE. 7738, Modeling, Systems Engineering, and Project Management for Astronomy IV

KEYWORDS: Point spread functions, Phase modulation, Calibration, Wavefronts, Integrated modeling, Frequency modulation, Fermium, Integrated optics, Galactic astronomy, Systems modeling

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | August 26, 2009

Observatory conceptual development for the Joint Dark Energy Mission

Proc. SPIE. 7436, UV/Optical/IR Space Telescopes: Innovative Technologies and Concepts IV

KEYWORDS: Near infrared, Monochromatic aberrations, Point spread functions, Telescopes, Imaging systems, Spectroscopy, Imaging spectroscopy, Space telescopes, Galactic astronomy, Baryon acoustic oscillations

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | September 3, 2008

CHIPS microsatellite optical system: lessons learned

Proc. SPIE. 7071, An Optical Believe It or Not: Key Lessons Learned

KEYWORDS: Observatories, Spectrographs, Visible radiation, Sun, Sensors, Satellites, Spectroscopy, Microchannel plates, Aluminum, Space operations

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | July 12, 2008

Three mirror anastigmat survey telescope optimization

Proc. SPIE. 7010, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2008: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter

KEYWORDS: Monochromatic aberrations, Telescopes, Mirrors, Phase modulation, Sensors, Space telescopes, Frequency modulation, Fermium, Stray light, Optical instrument design

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | September 20, 2007

Integrated modeling of point-spread function stability of the SNAP telescope

Proc. SPIE. 6687, UV/Optical/IR Space Telescopes: Innovative Technologies and Concepts III

KEYWORDS: Thermography, Observatories, Point spread functions, Telescopes, Mirrors, Composites, Integrated modeling, Space telescopes, Motion models, Thermal modeling

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | September 20, 2007

Comparison of on-axis three-mirror-anastigmat telescopes

Proc. SPIE. 6687, UV/Optical/IR Space Telescopes: Innovative Technologies and Concepts III

KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Mirrors, Astronomy, Phase modulation, Sensors, Distortion, Space telescopes, Astronomical telescopes, Stray light, Optical instrument design

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | September 14, 2007

Stray light design and analysis of the SNAP Telescope

Proc. SPIE. 6675, Optical Modeling and Performance Predictions III

KEYWORDS: Observatories, Telescopes, Mirrors, Contamination, Scattering, Sensors, Light scattering, Space telescopes, Bidirectional reflectance transmission function, Stray light

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | August 31, 2005

Point-spread function stability of the SNAP telescope

Proc. SPIE. 5899, UV/Optical/IR Space Telescopes: Innovative Technologies and Concepts II

KEYWORDS: Observatories, Point spread functions, Telescopes, Mirrors, Stars, Composites, Space telescopes, Galactic astronomy, Tolerancing, Anisotropy

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | October 12, 2004

An integral field spectrograph for SNAP

Proc. SPIE. 5487, Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Space Telescopes

KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Mirrors, Spectrographs, Prisms, Visible radiation, Sensors, Calibration, Space telescopes, Spectral resolution, Prototyping

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | October 12, 2004

SNAP Telescope

Proc. SPIE. 5487, Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Space Telescopes

KEYWORDS: Observatories, Telescopes, Mirrors, Sensors, Space telescopes, Frequency modulation, Fermium, Silicon carbide, Stray light, Zerodur

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | January 30, 2004

SNAP telescope: an update

Proc. SPIE. 5166, UV/Optical/IR Space Telescopes: Innovative Technologies and Concepts

KEYWORDS: Diffraction, Telescopes, Mirrors, Sensors, Wavefronts, Space telescopes, Space operations, Stray light, Optics manufacturing, Zerodur

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | December 8, 2003

EUV detector of the Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer

Proc. SPIE. 5164, UV/EUV and Visible Space Instrumentation for Astronomy II

KEYWORDS: Thin films, Optical filters, Sensors, Spectroscopy, Microchannel plates, Quantum efficiency, Extreme ultraviolet, Aluminum, Zirconium, Plasma

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | December 8, 2003

Performance of the Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer

Proc. SPIE. 5164, UV/EUV and Visible Space Instrumentation for Astronomy II

KEYWORDS: Optical filters, Spectrographs, Sensors, Calibration, Spectroscopy, Microchannel plates, Light scattering, Extreme ultraviolet, Stray light, Plasma

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | December 8, 2003

SNAP satellite focal plane development

Proc. SPIE. 5164, UV/EUV and Visible Space Instrumentation for Astronomy II

KEYWORDS: Near infrared, Optical filters, Spectrographs, Visible radiation, Mercury cadmium telluride, Stars, Imaging systems, Sensors, Satellites, Charge-coupled devices

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | December 8, 2003

Optics design and performance for the Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer (CHIPS)

Proc. SPIE. 5164, UV/EUV and Visible Space Instrumentation for Astronomy II

KEYWORDS: Actuators, Observatories, Spectrographs, Visible radiation, Sensors, Calibration, Spectroscopy, Aluminum, Space operations, Shape memory alloys

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | March 5, 2003

Integral field spectrograph for SNAP supernova studies

Proc. SPIE. 4850, IR Space Telescopes and Instruments

KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Mirrors, Spectrographs, Visible radiation, Mercury cadmium telluride, Sensors, Spectroscopy, Fourier transforms, Space telescopes, Spectral resolution

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | March 5, 2003

SNAP near infrared detectors

Proc. SPIE. 4850, IR Space Telescopes and Instruments

KEYWORDS: Infrared sensors, Near infrared, Mercury cadmium telluride, Stars, Imaging systems, Sensors, Space telescopes, Charge-coupled devices, Photometry, Galactic astronomy

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | February 24, 2003

Status of the Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer (CHIPS) university-class explorer project

Proc. SPIE. 4854, Future EUV/UV and Visible Space Astrophysics Missions and Instrumentation

KEYWORDS: Spectrographs, Iron, Sensors, Calibration, Spectroscopy, Microchannel plates, Photons, Extreme ultraviolet, Space operations, Plasma

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | February 24, 2003

Optomechanical design of the cosmic hot interstellar plasma spectrometer (CHIPS)

Proc. SPIE. 4854, Future EUV/UV and Visible Space Astrophysics Missions and Instrumentation

KEYWORDS: Mirrors, Optical design, Visible radiation, Sensors, Spectroscopy, Microchannel plates, Spectral resolution, Extreme ultraviolet, Tolerancing, Diffraction gratings

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | February 24, 2003

SNAP focal plane

Proc. SPIE. 4854, Future EUV/UV and Visible Space Astrophysics Missions and Instrumentation

KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Spectrographs, Visible radiation, Stars, Aerospace engineering, Imaging systems, Space telescopes, Astrophysics

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | December 24, 2002

Wide-field surveys from the SNAP mission

Proc. SPIE. 4836, Survey and Other Telescope Technologies and Discoveries

KEYWORDS: Near infrared, Telescopes, Optical filters, Stars, Imaging systems, Sensors, Space telescopes, Image filtering, Spatial resolution, Galactic astronomy

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | December 18, 2002

SNAP Telescope

Proc. SPIE. 4849, Highly Innovative Space Telescope Concepts

KEYWORDS: Diffraction, Telescopes, Mirrors, Sensors, Wavefronts, Distortion, Image quality, Space telescopes, Space operations, Stray light

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | December 16, 2002

Overview of the SuperNova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP)

Proc. SPIE. 4835, Future Research Direction and Visions for Astronomy

KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Mirrors, Spectrographs, Imaging systems, Sensors, Calibration, Error analysis, Space telescopes, Charge-coupled devices, Galactic astronomy

Showing 5 of 50 publications

Conference Committee Involvement (5)

An Optical Believe It or Not: Key Lessons Learned V

11 August 2019 | San Diego, California, United States

An Optical Believe It or Not: Key Lessons Learned IV

10 August 2015 | San Diego, California, United States

An Optical Believe It or Not: Key Lessons Learned III

18 August 2014 | San Diego, California, United States

An Optical Believe It or Not: Key Lessons Learned II

2 August 2010 | San Diego, California, United States

Space Missions and Technologies

5 April 2010 | Orlando, Florida, United States

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