Flight-Qualified Temperature Sensors for Space Applications
ENABLING INTERFEROMETRIC IMAGING AT SWIR WAVELENGTHS
Metrology of Optics and Imaging Systems
Quantum Design UK and Ireland is part of the Quantum Design International (QDI) group QDI is a global laboratory equipment manufacturer. The company distributes scientific and industrial instrumentation through an international network, with subsidiaries in every major technological centre around the world.
WITH CONTENT CONTRIBUTIONS FROM OUR PARTNERS:
FOREWORD
With these ever-changing landscapes, we at Quantum Design UK and Ireland are always looking to develop and grow to provide you the best solutions for todays challenges.
Our suppliers are responsible for supporting the development of iconic inventions such as the James Webb Space Telescope and the Mars Perseverance Rover. The QDUKI team are happy to introduce a taster of our full solution for space and spacequalified testing in this new magazine.
The
Quantum Design UK and Ireland Sales Team
Dr. Shayz Ikram TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Dr. Luke Nicholls TECHNICAL SALES MANAGER
Dr. Alex Murphy TECHNICAL SALES ENGINEER
Enabling Interferometric Imaging at SWIR Wavelengths
Long baseline optical interferometers are groundbased observatories that study the cosmos in high resolution at visible and infrared wavelengths
An interferometer works differently to conventional imaging telescopes. Starlight is captured with small telescopes that are separated from each other by distances up to a few hundred metres The output of each telescope is a collimated beam around 10 cm in diameter
These beams are relayed towards a centralised laboratory where they are reduced in size to around 1 cm in diameter, then combined with beams from other telescopes to form interference fringes on a detector By analysing the fringe patterns obtained from multiple pairs of combined beams, we can reconstruct an image of the target under observation.
Figure 1: Aerial view of the Magdalena Ridge Observatory site overlaid with graphics of the buildings and infrastructure for the Interferometer. The ten unit telescopes are configured in a Yshaped array. The telescopes can be lifted and relocated to vacant pads to optimise the interferometer for viewing features of different sizes.
The Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer (MROI), depicted in Figure 1, is located on 1,000 acres at 10,600 feet in the Magdalena Mountains of the Cibola National Forest in Socorro County, New Mexico This multi-use research and educational observatory is built and operated by the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NMT) with offices located on the NMT campus in Socorro, NM
It can harness ten 1 4 m-diameter telescopes to conduct observations at wavelengths from 600 nm to 2400 nm. It is able to resolve features that would only be possible with a conventional optical telescope 350 metres in diameter (i e something that would be impractical to build)
Figure 2: Truth and simulated interferometric reconstruction by the MROI of the surface of a red supergiant star at a distance of 11,000 light years. From left to right: 1. “Truth” (Chiavassa, A., Plez, B., Josselin, E., Freytag, B., “Radiative hydrodynamics simulations of red supergiant stars. I. interpretation of interferometric observations”, Astronomy and Astrophysics, 506, p1351 (2009)). 2. Reconstructed image with 10 telescopes, 3. With 7 telescopes, 4. With 4 telescopes. A more faithful image results from using greater numbers of telescopes, particularly with regard to the locations of hotspots.
Figure 2 depicts the simulated performance of the MROI when imaging the surface of a distant red giant star Figure 3 (overleaf) demonstrates an application closer to Earth in which the MROI will image geostationary satellites to enhance space situational awareness
Interferometric measurements are incredibly sensitive to the alignment of the pairs of beams being combined For example, an angular drift of 10 µrad during observations is intolerable
An Automated Alignment System (AAS) has been developed for the MROI that will, prior to nightly observing, align the ten beamlines with minimal human interaction. As the night progresses, the AAS will correct thermallyinduced drifts
Furthermore, its optional compatibility with the GigE interface has been critical in our application in which the controlling computer is located far from the cameras. Multiplexing the ten cameras will be trivial since their images can be streamed to any PC connected to the network
Figure 4: Images captured by BEASST when illuminated with a reference alignment source (left) and with stellar light (right). The low gain mode of the Owl 640-II was used to maximise dynamic range when the reference source was used, while the high gain mode was used to maximise sensitivity when the stellar beam was used. The stellar beam profile is randomly speckled due to its passage through the turbulent atmosphere
Figure 3:
Left: “Truth” image of an Odyssey satellite.
Right: Reconstructed image of this satellite based on the simulated performance of the MROI when using 10 telescopes. The satellite is 17 m in length and 35000 km away, so this situation is comparable to imaging a £1 coin from a distance of 50 km.
At the heart of the AAS is an alignment detector called BEASST that is placed in the beam combining laboratory Similarly to a ShackHartmann sensor, it samples the beam pupil with a microlens array A Raptor Owl 640-II is placed at the focal plane of the microlenses Figure 4 displays typical image readouts from BEASST, which consist of an array timescale
5: Raptor Owl 640 built into a setup for diagnosing the collimation of an invisible light beam.
Recently a prototype of BEASST was deployed at the Observatory The Owl 640-II was essential for a number of commissioning measurements For example, it was used to diagnose the collimation of an invisible reference light beam (see Figure 5).
In another application it streamed images at 120 Hz to identify the cause of high frequency alignment disturbances (see Figure 6)
Figure
Figure 6: Characterisation of alignment disturbances using BEASST images that were captured at 120 Hz by the Raptor Owl 640-II. Plotted against elapsed time are the extracted beam alignment parameters: the angle (tilt), coloured red, and the position (shear), coloured blue. The top and bottom plots correspond to the horizontal (X) and vertical (Y) directions, respectively. We identified fluctuations at frequencies up to 60 Hz
The Owl 640 II is the next iteration of the highly successful Owl 640 With even smaller mechanics and the implementation of the smaller SDR Camera Link connector, the camera is even more compact and lightweight than before The Owl 640 II is a rugged, high sensitivity digital VIS-SWIR camera Using a 640 x 512 InGaAs sensor from SCD, the camera enables high sensitivity imaging from 0 6µm to 1 7µm With less than 50 electrons readout noise (rms), the Owl 640 II enables a high VIS-SWIR detection limit
Figure 5: “First light” pupil images captured by BEASST using light from star HIP 102422. The hyperspectral range of the Raptor Owl 640-II between 600 nm and 1700 nm allowed observations at various bandpasses that assisted the interpretation of the results. Note that these images are reduced from the style of images shown in Figure 4 (i.e. they are not direct images of the star). O W L 6 4 0 I
What’s your application?
Contact our Technical Director
Dr. Shayz Ikram
Telephone: (01372) 378822
Email: shayz@qd-uki.co.uk
Here at Quantum Design UK and Ireland, we only want to send you the information that you would like to see. When filling out the form, please tick the particular fields and product suppliers that interest you, and we will make sure you are kept up to date with ONLY the most relevant information.
OPTICAL FILTERS FOR ASTRONOMY APPLICATIONS
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Please contact our Technical Sales Team if you have a custom filter requirement or have any questions regarding our standard product range
CAPABILITIES
Manufacturing wavelength range:
200 – 3000nm
Spectral evaluation:
Routine transmission measurements expressed in %T across relevant spectral range
Optical and surface quality:
Research grade optical quality
Coating process:
Reactive magnetron sputtering
Coating materials:
Metal oxides and metals Silicon oxides and silicon
Engineering:
Customised thin film coating design for custom filters
Key filter product lines:
Fluorescence microscopy
Biomedical instrumentation
Raman spectroscopy
Machine vision
Remote sensing
NGC 281A.
LOCATION : London, UK
DATE : September—October 2015
TELESCOPE : Skywatcher Esprit 100ED (Taken during High moon transit)
CCD : QHY9S MONO CCD
Ha 1200s x 18; SII 1200s x 10; OIII 1200s x 10
Mount iOptron CEM60
FILTERS : Chroma Technology 3nm spectral line filters: H-alpha, OIII and SII
ASTRONOMY FILTERS AND FILTER SETS
Extremely durable coatings withstand humidity changes and extreme temperature fluxes and remain spectrally accurate in centre wavelength (CWL) and band pass adherence
No reflections leading to image distortions or "back reflections"
All Chroma Astronomy filters are coated on 3 0mm thick substrates, and are parfocal with other Chroma Astronomy filters, with the exception of the LoGlow Light Pollution Filters (27030), which are manufactured on 1 1mm LCD.
All filters are manufactured with durable, sputtered hard coatings using single substrates of the best glass All primary filter coatings are applied on the front surface and anti-reflection coatings on the rear surface to prevent ghosting and to maximise transmission.
The large dark nebula that makes up this "gaping mouth" is a molecular cloud made up predominantly of molecular hydrogen, but also dust and other gases. New generations of solar systems are being forged within its cold interior. Once these young stars’ fusion engines switch on, they will irradiate their surroundings–heating up, ionising and eroding away the remaining dark material from which they formed.
Originally the whole Pac-Man nebula would have been one large dark molecular cloud. The stars that formed early on at its centre have progressively hollowed out the centre of the nebula. The gas in and around this central region is ionised by the copious UV radiation emitted by the central open star cluster (IC 1490), causing it to glow and provide the light by which this narrowband image was taken.
Jaspal Chadha
ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY FILTERS AND FILTER SETS
Durable sputtered coatings
Thickness: 3.0mm
Filters designed for use with CCD and for f/4.0 or slower
Transmitted wavefront better than 0 25 waves/inch
LRGB/HALRGB FILTERS AND FILTER SETS
Durable sputtered coatings
Thickness: 3.0mm
Filters designed for use with CCD and for f/4 0 or slower
Transmitted wavefront better than 0 25 waves/inch
H-alpha filters are not for solar observation. Optical filters are anglesensitive and shift to the blue with fast focal ratios. 3nm filters shift enough to compromise transmission at the wavelength line of interest. Chroma has made a set of Ha, OIII and SII 3nm that are optimised for F/3 beams by moving the centre wavelength slightly into the red so they will shift to the blue when used in an F/3 beam, thus maximising transmission at the nominal wavelength. For beams faster than F/3, we recommend using 5nmwide or wider bands.
Running Man Nebula: The Orion Nebula is the brightest nebula visible from the Northern Hemisphere. It’s located in the sword of Orion, just below the belt, and lies 1,344 lightyears from Earth. This two-panel mosaic was photographed under northern skies in Valencia. Integration four nights; Chroma Filter LRGB filters; AG14 Newtonian astrograph; camera: Starlight Xpress Trius SX-814
ABOUT ANDOVER CORPORATION
Andover Corporation was established in 1976 with the purpose of designing and manufacturing high-quality optical filters and coatings. Over the years as the company has grown, the focus has remained on quality
The Andover facility is custom-designed and state-ofthe-art, and includes automated coating, glass polishing, and fabrication equipment
Andover's testing capabilities are extensive, including both automated spectrophotometers for broadband spectral measurements, and ultra-high-resolution spectrophotometers for narrowband measurements.
The optical metrology lab features a customdesigned, computer-controlled tuneable interferometer to measure transmitted wavefronts beyond the capabilities of a traditional laser interferometer
Andover manufacture filters and coatings for a wide variety of applications, including medical instrumentation, fluorescence studies, machine vision, agricultural imaging, ground-based and space-borne astronomical observation, telecommunications, military and civilian surveillance systems, and defence targeting systems
Andover Capabilities
Andover is a vertically integrated manufacturer of thin film optical coatings and assemblies allowing them the flexibility to control the design and manufacturing process, ensure consistent quality, and meet demanding lead times.
Fully-automated systems for excellent repeatability and rapid turnaround
Continuously updated manufacturing processes
Products that far exceed industry standards for quality
ASTRONOMY TIMELINE:
Want to learn more about Andover?
Contactour
TechnicalDirector:
Dr.SatyamLadva
Telephone(01372)378822
Emailshayz@qd-uki.co.uk
With almost 45 years of experience in the optical filter Industry, Andover Corporation has played a vital role in a large number of prestigious astronomical and space borne projects supplying some of the best image quality filters on the market. The timeline shows just a few of these projects:
MatISSE (Maturation of Instruments for Solar System Exploration)
The most powerful interferometric instrument in the world at mid-infrared wavelengths It will use high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy to probe the regions around young stars where planets are forming as well as the regions around supermassive black holes in the centres of galaxies
A NASA funded shoe box sized CubeSat designed to demonstrate that a small satellite can carry instrument technology that’s capable of reducing the cost and size of future weather satellites and has the potential to collect reliable weather data.
SODISM (Solar Diameter Imager and Surface Mapper)
An instrument on the PICARD satellite with an investigation dedicated to the simultaneous measurement of the absolute total and spectral solar irradiance, the diameter and solar shape, and to the Sun's interior probing by the helioseismology method These measurements obtained all along the mission will allow the study of their variations as a function of the solar activity. May,
SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy)
The successor to the Kuiper Airborne Observatory During 10-hour, overnight flights, it observes celestial magnetic fields, star-forming regions, comets, nebulae, and the galactic centre On October 26th, 2020 the SOFIA continued to amaze us with the discovery of water on the Moon
In 2022 SOFIA maps the first magnetic fields of a galactic bone in their entirety
HMI (Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager)
HMI's primary goal is to study the origin of solar variability and to characterise and understand the Sun’s interior and the various components of magnetic activity
HUBBLE Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most versatile, well known both as a vital research tool and as a public relations boon for astronomy
In
2022, MATISSE helped uncover a hidden supermassive black hole - read more on the following page
High-Cooling Power Test Chamber
The chamber shown is designed to provide a cryogenic work environment with an available temperature range of 20 K to 300 K NASA intends for this chamber to become a multi-purpose instrument, capable of performing a wide variety of experiments. Initially, NASA will use the chamber to test and evaluate the performance of spacequalified stepper motors These motors will be used on rover vehicles in future Moon and Mars missions The output of the stepper motor will be connected to a dynamometer outside the chamber, and the power, torque, and other performance characteristics will be measured at various temperatures
Products for ExoAtmospheric Research and Astronomy
Under the umbrella of the custom cryogenics line, Janis Research has cooperated with NASA on several programs This cooperation has extended over several areas of interest.
The ARC Argus program, the successor to the ATLAS program, investigated the upper atmosphere from a balloon platform (See photo to the right.) Of interest to the program was the tracking of inert tracer molecules for determining direction and speed
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in cooperation with Janis, produced the first viable test hardware on the SIRTF program. This project involved a mirror test and qualification operating at liquid helium temperatures Sponsored by the LTS&E group, Janis received a Public Service Group Achievement Award for this program.
NASA GSFC worked with Janis on the AImS camera testing requirements Working with UMD and the GSFC Planetary Systems group, Janis developed a test enclosure to mimic the Mars environment for earth-bound terrain testing.
Solid Neon Shielded Superfluid Helium Cryostat for Micro-Gravity Studies in the Space Shuttle Environment
In 2000, Janis received its second NASA Public Service Group Achievement Award, again from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory This time it was for Janis’ performance on the FACET program, the development of a cryostat to comply with the Shuttle Hitchhiker program, and providing a platform for microgravity experimentation This second PSGAA, for a small company, is without precedent in the history of the JPL program and perhaps in all of NASA
Learn more about Cryostats
SILICON DIODES USED BY NASA
Temperature sensors part of cryochamber instrumentation
At the 23rd Space Simulation Conference, November 2004, Edward A Packard presented details of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM)CryogenicComponentTestFacility.TheTIS5 TestObjectivewas:
• To determine the emittance of candidate thermal control coatings for the JWST/ISIM InstrumentAssemblyfrom30Kto293K
• To minimise associated error bars in determiningemittancevalues(goal<5%)at30K
The cryochamber instrumentation included Lake ShoreDT-470-CU-13standardcurvesilicondiodes used for panel and tube monitoring to LHe temperatures
Learn
Want to learn more about Temperature Sensors?
DT-670
Though discontinued, the diodes used on the JWST ISIM TIS5 test have been replaced with the DT-670 range
DT-670 Series silicon diodes offer better accuracy over a wider temperature range than any previously marketed silicon diodes Conforming to the Curve DT-670 standard voltage versus temperature response curve, sensors within the DT-670 series are interchangeable, and for many applications do not require individual calibration.
Flight Qualified temperature sensors for space applications
The HR Series is a line of high reliability cryogenic temperature sensors for mission-critical applications. A family of off-the-shelf sensors that have already undergone extreme testing steps to assure you of extra reliability.
In situations where cryogenic temperature control or monitoring forms a critical component of a system and the cost of sensor failure far exceeds the cost of the sensor, subjecting sensors to a higher level of scrutiny becomes vital. Projects where outcomes are worth far more than the sum of their parts are prime examples of this and include:
QDUKI PARTNER 4D TECHNOLOGY
BringingInterferometrytoYou
For over 20 years, 4D Technology has been a leader in innovative metrology products for measuring surface quality and surface defects on precision surfaces, as well as the surface and wavefront quality of optics. 4D’s patentedDynamicInterferometry®technology enables measurements in difficult environments, where vibration, air turbulence or rapid motion have traditionally prevented accuratemeasurement.
During that time, 4D interferometers have been used to assure the quality of some of science’s most challenging telescope projects,bothterrestrialandinspace.Anearly customer was NASA, which used several instruments to measure the James Webb Space Telescopes multi-mirror components, the alignment of those mirrors, and the supporting structure for them, both in air and incryo-andvacuum-chambertests.
Yourcontactfor4DTechnologyproductsinthe UK and Ireland is QDUKI's Technical Sales Manager,Dr.LukeNicholls.
ContactTel:(01372)378822 | Email:luke@qd-ukicouk
"With the patented technology behind the PhaseCam from 4D Technology, customers can finally take vibration insensitive measurements of their optical systems in real time"
Dr.LukeNicholls,TechnicalSalesManager,QDUKI
Learn more about 4D Technology
Mars 2020 is a Mars rover mission forming part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program that includes the rover Perseverance, the small robotic, coaxial helicopter Ingenuity, and associated delivery vehicles.
Perseverance landed in February 2021 inside Jezero Crater, which mission scientists have said hosted a lake and a river delta billions of years ago
The launch of the Perseverance Mars rover signified the 10th time that a Moxtek component had been launched into space flight. This rover, developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), includes seven important instruments intended to explore and seek evidence of past life on Mars
One of these instruments, the Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL), is a compact x-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer mounted at the end of the rover’s robotic arm and is designed to provide accurate identification of the elemental composition of rock and soil on Mars' surface
The PIXL system uses three Moxtek components including a miniature x-ray tube and two DuraBeryllium x-ray detector windows NASA/JPL chose Moxtek x-ray windows because of their exceptional dependability in harsh and remote environments and chose the Moxtek x-ray tube because of its compact design, rigidity, and lowpower consumption
The Moxtek x-ray tube was specifically designed to couple directly to an x-ray polycapillary optic, developed by X-ray Optical Systems (XOS), for the purpose of elemental mapping Moxtek’s x-ray tube and window enable the PIXL system to provide increased spatial resolution and improved measurement sensitivity The PIXL system will analyse samples at each test site to determine the abundance and distribution of various chemical elements
Learn more about X-Ray Sources
ther Magazines
Cryogenics
Highlights:
Customisable Cryostats
Focus on Temperature Sensors
The Next Generation of Helium Recovery
view here
Imaging Cameras
Highlights:
Advancing Geology with Hyperspectral Imaging
Avoiding Contamination in the Food Industry
SWIR Cameras for Telecommunications Applications
Streak Cameras in Action (videos)
view here
High Tech Instrumentation
Highlights:
Customisable Cryostats
Focus on Temperature Sensors
The Next Generation of Helium Recovery
view here
4D is proud to be one of the primary metrology partners in the development of the James Webb Space Telescope, and on dozens of other projects to explore space and understand our planet.
Extreme environments
Cutting edge aerospace and defence optics are being lab-tested under field conditions. Field conditions may include cryogenic freezing, turbulence, vibration, vacuum conditions and more.
Learn more about 4D Technology
"Because 4D’s dynamic technology is the best way to obtain good measurements in extreme environments, we offer the best choices and the greatest experience in measuring in these circumstances."
Products to characterise spacebound optics
4D PhaseCam Twyman-Green interferometers are the industry choice for measuring concave spherical optics, from several millimetres to tens of meters in diameter
PhaseCam systems can measure over long path distances despite air turbulence, and into environmental test chambers despite the heavy vibration from pumps associated with the chambers
Learn
4D ACCUFIZ
AccuFiz Fizeau interferometers can measure flat, concave and convex spherical optics, with a wide range of reference optics to match test parts
High resolution systems like the AccuFiz 6MP can measure steep slopes. They can measure through view ports to test optics at cryogenic temperatures in vacuum chambers
4D PHASECAM
SUB-PPM
CONTAMINANT DETECTION OF QUARTZ WINDOWS USED IN SPACECRAFTS
through Sigray's Attomap-310
Synchrotron Grade MicroXRF
Want to learn more about Sigray and the Attomap-310?
The properties of glass used in space-based applications is very important as high heat resistance and thermal expansion are required for many applications, so understanding the composition of the glass can be vital to ensuring high performance for spacecrafts, satellites and other space vehicles.
Quartz is widely used by many space agencies and, with Sigray’s high vacuum Attomap 310 MicroXRF and patented SiC X-ray tube, the composition of and contaminants in the quartz was detectable on the order of sub-ppm sensitivity A wide range of the trace contaminants were easily detected in a small field-of-view. With the combination of highspatial resolution and sensitivity, the Attomap310 achieves data on par with synchrotron technology
Sigray Attomap µ-XRF system
Highest Resolution XRF Microscope on the Market. Large Stage Travel and Enclosure
The powerful sensitivity and high resolution of the AttoMap produces synchrotron-quality elemental distribution mapping of trace elements for a wide range of research applications, spanning from the life and materials sciences to industrial use for pharmaceuticals, natural resources (oil and gas, mining) and semiconductor failure analysis
