Paper
7 August 2014 Temperature control system for optical elements in astronomical instrumentation
Author Affiliations +
Abstract
Extremely low temperatures may damage the optical components assembled inside of an astronomical instrument due to the crack in the resin or glue used to attach lenses and mirrors. The environment, very cold and dry, in most of the astronomical observatories contributes to this problem.

This paper describes the solution implemented at SOAR for remotely monitoring and controlling temperatures inside of a spectrograph, in order to prevent a possible damage of the optical parts. The system automatically switches on and off some heat dissipation elements, located near the optics, as the measured temperature reaches a trigger value. This value is set to a temperature at which the instrument is not operational to prevent malfunction and only to protect the optics. The software was developed with LabVIEWTM and based on an object-oriented design that offers flexibility and ease of maintenance.

As result, the system is able to keep the internal temperature of the instrument above a chosen limit, except perhaps during the response time, due to inertia of the temperature. This inertia can be controlled and even avoided by choosing the correct amount of heat dissipation and location of the thermal elements. A log file records the measured temperature values by the system for operation analysis.
© (2014) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Orlando Verducci, Antonio C. de Oliveira, Flávio F. Ribeiro, Márcio Vital de Arruda, Clemens D. Gneiding, and Luciano Fraga "Temperature control system for optical elements in astronomical instrumentation", Proc. SPIE 9151, Advances in Optical and Mechanical Technologies for Telescopes and Instrumentation, 91514E (7 August 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2056608
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KEYWORDS
Control systems

Sensors

Optical components

Resistors

Spectrographs

Palladium

Temperature metrology

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