9,694 research outputs found
Forcing Mutual Coherence in Diode Laser Stacks
This paper will discuss both theoretical and experimental attempts to improve the spatial beam quality of diode laser stacks using an external optical system. An overview and derivation of the mathematics of both the optical system and diode lasers will be discussed. The experimental setup will be presented, as well as the fundamental theoretical and experimental results that suggest the external optical system used for this thesis fails to improve the beam quality of a diode laser stack
Endoscopic measurements using a panoramic annular lens
The objective of this project was to design, build, demonstrate, and deliver a prototype system for making measurements within cavities. The system was to utilize structured lighting as the means for making measurements and was to rely on a stationary probe, equipped with a unique panoramic annular lens, to capture a cylindrical view of the illuminated cavity. Panoramic images, acquired with a digitizing camera and stored in a desk top computer, were to be linearized and analyzed by mouse-driven interactive software
Pathfinder first light: alignment, calibration, and commissioning of the LINC-NIRVANA ground-layer adaptive optics subsystem
We present descriptions of the alignment and calibration tests of the
Pathfinder, which achieved first light during our 2013 commissioning campaign
at the LBT. The full LINC-NIRVANA instrument is a Fizeau interferometric imager
with fringe tracking and 2-layer natural guide star multi-conjugate adaptive
optics (MCAO) systems on each eye of the LBT. The MCAO correction for each side
is achieved using a ground layer wavefront sensor that drives the LBT adaptive
secondary mirror and a mid-high layer wavefront sensor that drives a Xinetics
349 actuator DM conjugated to an altitude of 7.1 km. When the LINC-NIRVANA MCAO
system is commissioned, it will be one of only two such systems on an 8-meter
telescope and the only such system in the northern hemisphere. In order to
mitigate risk, we take a modular approach to commissioning by decoupling and
testing the LINC-NIRVANA subsystems individually. The Pathfinder is the
ground-layer wavefront sensor for the DX eye of the LBT. It uses 12 pyramid
wavefront sensors to optically co-add light from natural guide stars in order
to make four pupil images that sense ground layer turbulence. Pathfinder is now
the first LINC-NIRVANA subsystem to be fully integrated with the telescope and
commissioned on sky. Our 2013 commissioning campaign consisted of 7 runs at the
LBT with the tasks of assembly, integration and communication with the LBT
telescope control system, alignment to the telescope optical axis, off-sky
closed loop AO calibration, and finally closed loop on-sky AO. We present the
programmatics of this campaign, along with the novel designs of our alignment
scheme and our off-sky calibration test, which lead to the Pathfinder's first
on-sky closed loop images
Composite mirror facets for ground based gamma ray astronomy
Composite mirrors for gamma-ray astronomy have been developed to fulfill the
specifications required for the next generation of Cherenkov telescopes
represented by CTA (Cherenkov Telescope Array). In addition to the basic
requirements on focus and reflection efficiency, the mirrors have to be stiff,
lightweight, durable and cost efficient. In this paper, the technology
developed to produce such mirrors is described, as well as some tests that have
been performed to validate them. It is shown that these mirrors comply with the
needs of CTA, making them good candidates for use on a significant part of the
array.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, accepted to be published on NIM
The CAT Imaging Telescope for Very-High-Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy
The CAT (Cherenkov Array at Themis) imaging telescope, equipped with a
very-high-definition camera (546 fast phototubes with 0.12 degrees spacing
surrounded by 54 larger tubes in two guard rings) started operation in Autumn
1996 on the site of the former solar plant Themis (France). Using the
atmospheric Cherenkov technique, it detects and identifies very high energy
gamma-rays in the range 250 GeV to a few tens of TeV. The instrument, which has
detected three sources (Crab nebula, Mrk 421 and Mrk 501), is described in
detail.Comment: 24 pages, 15 figures. submitted to Elsevier Preprin
The Active Mirror Control of the MAGIC Telescope
One of the main design goals of the MAGIC telescopes is the very fast
repositioning in case of Gamma Ray Burst (GRB) alarms, implying a low weight of
the telescope dish. This is accomplished by using a space frame made of carbon
fiber epoxy tubes, resulting in a strong but not very rigid support structure.
Therefore it is necessary to readjust the individual mirror tiles to correct
for deformations of the dish under varying gravitational load while tracking an
object. We present the concept of the Active Mirror Control (AMC) as
implemented in the MAGIC telescopes and the actual performance reached.
Additionally we show that also telescopes using a stiff structure can benefit
from using an AMC.Comment: Contribution to the 30th ICRC, Merida, Mexico, July 2007 on behalf of
the MAGIC Collaboratio
Cavlectometry: Towards Holistic Reconstruction of Large Mirror Objects
We introduce a method based on the deflectometry principle for the
reconstruction of specular objects exhibiting significant size and geometric
complexity. A key feature of our approach is the deployment of an Automatic
Virtual Environment (CAVE) as pattern generator. To unfold the full power of
this extraordinary experimental setup, an optical encoding scheme is developed
which accounts for the distinctive topology of the CAVE. Furthermore, we devise
an algorithm for detecting the object of interest in raw deflectometric images.
The segmented foreground is used for single-view reconstruction, the background
for estimation of the camera pose, necessary for calibrating the sensor system.
Experiments suggest a significant gain of coverage in single measurements
compared to previous methods. To facilitate research on specular surface
reconstruction, we will make our data set publicly available
GRAVITY: the Calibration Unit
We present in this paper the design and characterisation of a new sub-system
of the VLTI 2nd generation instrument GRAVITY: the Calibration Unit. The
Calibration Unit provides all functions to test and calibrate the beam combiner
instrument: it creates two artificial stars on four beams, and dispose of four
delay lines with an internal metrology. It also includes artificial stars for
the tip-tilt and pupil guiding systems, as well as four metrology pick-up
diodes, for tests and calibration of the corresponding sub-systems. The
calibration unit also hosts the reference targets to align GRAVITY to the VLTI,
and the safety shutters to avoid the metrology light to propagate in the
VLTI-lab. We present the results of the characterisation and validtion of these
differrent sub-units.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures. Proceeding of SPIE 9146 "Optical and Infrared
Interferometry IV
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