• Current Optics and Photonics
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.364-371
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• 2017

Compared to one made of glass, an aluminum mirror features light weight, compact design, low cost, and quick manufacturing. Reflective mirrors and supporting structures can be made from the same material, to improve the athermal performance of the system. With the rapid development of ultraprecise machining technologies, the field of applications for aluminum mirrors has been developed rapidly. However, most of them are rotationally symmetric in shape, and are used for infrared applications. In this paper, the design and manufacture of an off-axis aluminum mirror used for a three-mirror-anastigmat (TMA) optical system at visible wavelengths is presented. An optimized, lightweight design provides a weight reduction of more than 40%, while the surface deformation caused by earth's gravity can meet the required tolerance. The two pieces of an off-axis mirror can be diamond-turned simultaneously in one setup. The centrifugal deformation of the off-axis mirror during single-point diamond turning (SPDT) is simulated through the finite-element method (FEM). The techniques used to overcome centrifugal deformation are thoroughly described in this paper, and the surface error is reduced to about 1% of the original value. After post-polishing, the form error is $1/30{\lambda}$ RMS and the surface roughness is better than 5 nm Ra, which can meet the requirements for visible-light imaging.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.233-244
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• 2012

The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute and the Department of Astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin are developing a near infrared wide-band high resolution spectrograph, immersion grating infrared spectrometer (IGRINS). The compact white-pupil design of the instrument optics uses seven cryogenic mirrors, including three aspherical off-axis collimators and four flat fold mirrors. In this study, we introduce the optomechanical mount designs of three off-axis collimating mirrors and one flat slit-viewer fold mirror. Two of the off-axis collimators are serving as H and K-band pupil transfer mirrors, and are designed as system alignment compensators in combination with the H2RG focal plane array detectors in each channel. For this reason, the mount designs include tip-tilt and parallel translation adjustment mechanisms to properly perform the precision alignment function. This means that the off-axis mirrors' optomechanical mount designs are among the most sensitive tasks in all IGRINS system hardware. The other flat fold mirror is designed within its very limitedly allowed work space. This slit-viewer fold mirror is mounted with its own version of the six-point kinematic optics mount. The design work consists of a computer-aided 3D modeling and finite element analysis (FEA) technique to optimize the structural stability and the thermal behavior of the mount models. From the structural and thermal FEA studies, we conclude that the four IGRINS mirror mounts are well designed to meet all optical stability tolerances and system thermal requirements.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.88.1-88.1
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• 2017

We report a novel design of the "linear astigmatism-free" three mirror system (LAF-TMS). In general, the linear astigmatism is one of the most dominant aberration degrading image qualities in common off-axis systems. The proposed LAF-TMS is based on a confocal off-axis three mirror system, where higher order aberrations are minimized via our numerical optimization. The system comprises three pieces of aluminum-alloy freeform mirrors that are feasible to be fabricated with current single-point diamond turning (SPDT) machining technology. The surface figures, dimensions, and positions of mirrors are carefully optimized for a LAF performance. For higher precision-positioning mechanism, we also included alignment parts: shims (for tilting) and L-brackets (for decentering). Any possible mechanical deformation due to assembly process as well as 1-G gravity, and its influence on optical performances of the system are investigated via the finite element (FE) analysis. The LAF-TMS has low f-number and a wide field of view, which is promising for sky monitoring programs such as supernova surveys.

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.155-161
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• 2015

We report the design and performance analysis of an off-axis three-mirror telescope as the fore optics for a new hyperspectral sensor aboard a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), for low-altitude coastal remote sensing. The sensor needs to have at least 4 cm of spatial resolution at an operating altitude of 500 m, $4^{\circ}$ field of view (FOV), and a signal to noise ratio (SNR) of 100 at 660 nm. For these performance requirements, the sensor's optical design has an entrance pupil diameter of 70 mm and an F-ratio of 5.0. The fore optics is a three-mirror system, including aspheric primary and secondary mirrors. The optical performance is expected to reach $1/15{\lambda}$ in RMS wavefront error and 0.75 in MTF value at 660 nm. Considering the manufacturing and assembling phase, we determined the alignment compensation due to the tertiary mirror from the sensitivity, and derived the tilt-tolerance range to be 0.17 mrad. The off-axis three-mirror telescope, which has better performance than the fore optics of other hyperspectral sensors and is fitted for a small UAV, will contribute to ocean remote-sensing research.

• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.94-100
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• 2016

A novel optical design for high resolution, large field of view (FOV) and multispectral remote sensing is presented. An f/7.3 Korsch and two f/17.9 Cook three-mirror optical systems are integrated by sharing the primary and secondary mirrors, bias of the FOV, decentering of the apertures and reasonable structure arrangement. The aperture stop of the Korsch system is located on the primary mirror, while those of the Cook systems are on the exit pupils. High resolution image with spectral coverage from visible to near-infrared (NIR) can be acquired through the Korsch system with a focal length of 14 m, while wide-field imaging is accomplished by the two Cook systems whose focal lengths are both 13.24 m. The full FOV is 4°×0.13°, a coverage width of 34.9 km at the altitude of 500 km can then be acquired by push-broom imaging. To facilitate controlling the stray light, the intermediate images and the real exit pupils are spatially available. After optimization, a near diffraction-limited performance and a compact optical package are achieved. The sharing of the on-axis primary and secondary mirrors reduces the cost of fabrication, test, and manufacture effectively. Besides, the two tertiary mirrors of the Cook systems possess the same parameters, further cutting down the cost.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.75.2-76
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• 2021

MESSIER is a science satellite project to observe the Low Surface Brightness (LSB) sky at UV and optical wavelengths. The wide-field, optical system of MESSIER is optimized minimizing optical aberrations through the use of a Linear Astigmatism Free - Three Mirror System (LAF-TMS) combined with freeform mirrors. One of the key factors in observations of the LSB is the shape and spatial variability of the Point Spread Function (PSF) produced by scatterings and diffraction effects within the optical system and beyond (baffle). To assess the various factors affecting the PSF in this design, we use PhoSim, the Photon simulator, which is a fast photon Monte Carlo code designed to include all these effects, and also atmospheric effects (for ground-based telescopes) and phenomena occurring inside of the sensor. PhoSim provides very realistic simulations results and is suitable for simulations of very weak signals. Before the application to the MESSIER optics system, PhoSim had not been validated for confocal off-axis reflective optics (LAF-TMS). As a verification study for the LAF-TMS design, we apply Phosim sequentially. First, we use a single parabolic mirror system and compare the PSF results of the central field with the results from Zemax, CODE V, and the theoretical Airy pattern. We then test a confocal off-axis Cassegrain system and check PhoSim through cross-validation with CODE V. At the same time, we describe the shapes of the freeform mirrors with XY and Zernike polynomials. Finally, we will analyze the LAF-TMS design for the MESSIER optical system.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.38.3-38.3
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• 2021

We are developing an optomechanical design of infrared telescope for the CubeSat and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) which adapts the Linear Astigmatism Free- Three Mirror System in the confocal off-axis condition. The small entrance pupil (diameter of 40 mm) and the fast telescope (f-number of 1.9) can survey large areas. The telescope structure consists of three mirror modules and a sensor module, which are assembled on the base frame. The mirror structure has duplex layers to minimize a surface deformation and physical size of a mirror mount. All the optomechanical parts and three freeform mirrors are made from the same material, i.e., aluminum 6061-T6. The Coefficient of Thermal Expansion matching single material structure makes the imaging performance to be independent of the thermal expansion. We investigated structural characteristics against external loads through Finite Element Analysis. We confirmed the mirror surface distortion by the gravity and screw tightening, and the overall contraction/expansion following the external temperature environment change (from -30℃ to +30℃).

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.56.4-57
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• 2017

The Schwarzschild-Chang off-axis telescope is a "linear astigmatism-free" confocal system. The telescope comprises two pieces of aluminum-alloy freeform mirrors that are fabricated with diamond turning machine (DTM) process. We designed optomechanical structures where optical components in the telescope system can be adjustable on a linear stage. Optomechanical deformation caused by the weight of system itself and its temperature variation is analyzed by the finite element analysis (FEA). The results show that the deformation is estimated in the tolerance range. For the optic-axis alignment of telescope system, three-point alignment (TPA) method is chosen. The TPA method uses three parallel lasers and a plane mirror. Point source images were taken from collimated light and field observation. The performance of optical system was tested by point spread function and aberration measurement of the point sources.

• Current Optics and Photonics
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• v.6 no.6
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• pp.627-633
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• 2022

To realize uniform side pumping of solar lasers and improve their output power, a solar concentrating system based on off-axis parabolic mirrors is proposed. Four identical off-axis parabolic mirrors with focal length of 1,000 mm are toroidally arranged as the primary concentrator. Four two-dimensional compound parabolic concentrators (2D-CPCs) are designed as a secondary concentrator to further compress the focused spot induced by the parabolic mirrors, and the focused light is then homogenized by four rectangular diffusers and provides uniform pumping for a laser-crystal rod to achieve solar laser emission. Simulation results show that the solar power received by the laser rod, uniformity of the light spot, and output power of the solar laser are 7,872.7 W, 98%, and 351.8 W respectively. This uniform pumping configuration and concentrator design thus provide a new means for developing high-power side-pumped solid-state solar lasers.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.66.3-66.3
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• 2020

We present the optical design of Linear Astigmatism Free - Three Mirror System (LAF-TMS) D200 for UVO-Multiband Polarizing Imager System (UVOMPIS). LAF-TMS D200 is the off-axis wide-field telescope with EPD = 200 mm, F/2, and Field of View (FoV) = 2° × 4°. Its optical mirrors are optimized to freeform surfaces for high-quality optical performance over a wide FoV. The proposed mirror holder consists of four aluminum optomechanical modules that have applied for LAF-TMS D150 which is a prototype of the LAF-TMS system. It can accurately mount mirrors and also can sustain from vibration environments. As a feasibility study, quasi-static, modal, harmonic, and random vibration analyses have been performed to LAF-TMS D150 optomechanical structure under the qualification level of the Soyuz-2/Fregat launch system. We evaluate the vibration analysis results in terms of von Mises stress and Margin of Safety.