The problem of scattering in fibre-fed VPH spectrographs and possible solutions

S. C. Ellis; Will Saunders; Chris Betters; Scott Croom

doi:10.1117/12.2057108

28 July 2014 The problem of scattering in fibre-fed VPH spectrographs and possible solutions

S. C. Ellis, Will Saunders, Chris Betters, Scott Croom

Proceedings Volume 9151, Advances in Optical and Mechanical Technologies for Telescopes and Instrumentation; 91511V (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2057108
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2014, Montréal, Quebec, Canada

Abstract

All spectrographs unavoidably scatter light. Scattering in the spectral direction is problematic for sky subtraction, since atmospheric spectral lines are blurred. Scattering in the spatial direction is problematic for fibre fed spectrographs, since it limits how closely fibres can be packed together. We investigate the nature of this scattering and show that the scattering wings have both a Lorentzian component, and a shallower (1/r) component. We investigate the causes of this from a theoretical perspective, and argue that for the spectral PSF the Lorentzian wings are in part due to the profile of the illumination of the pupil of the spectrograph onto the diffraction grating, whereas the shallower component is from bulk scattering. We then investigate ways to mitigate the diffractive scattering by apodising the pupil. In the ideal case of a Gaussian apodised pupil, the scattering can be significantly improved. Finally we look at realistic models of the spectrograph pupils of fibre fed spectrographs with a centrally obstructed telescope, and show that it is possible to apodise the pupil through non-telecentric injection into the fibre.

Citation Download Citation

S. C. Ellis, Will Saunders, Chris Betters, and Scott Croom "The problem of scattering in fibre-fed VPH spectrographs and possible solutions", Proc. SPIE 9151, Advances in Optical and Mechanical Technologies for Telescopes and Instrumentation, 91511V (28 July 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2057108

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