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13 April 2011 Design and performance evaluation of sensors and actuators for advanced optical systems
Natalie Clark
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Proceedings Volume 7980, Nanosensors, Biosensors, and Info-Tech Sensors and Systems 2011; 798004 (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.881924
Event: SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring, 2011, San Diego, California, United States
Abstract
Current state-of-the-art commercial sensors and actuators do not meet many of NASA's next generation spacecraft and instrument needs. Nor do they satisfy the DoD needs for satellite missions, especially micro/nano satellite missions. In an effort to develop advanced optical devices and instruments that meet mission requirements, NASA Langley recently completed construction of a new cleanroom housing equipment capable of fabricating high performance active optic and adaptive optic technologies including deformable mirrors, reconfigurable lenses (both refractive and diffractive), spectrometers, spectro-polarimeters, tunable filters and many other active optic devices. In addition to performance, these advanced optic technologies offer advantages in speed, size, weight, power consumption, and radiation tolerance. The active optic devices described in this paper rely on birefringent liquid crystal materials to alter either the phase or the polarization of the incoming light. Design considerations and performance evaluation results for various NASA applications are presented. Applications presented will include large space telescopes, optical communications, spacecraft windows, coronagraphs, and star trackers.
© (2011) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
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Natalie Clark "Design and performance evaluation of sensors and actuators for advanced optical systems", Proc. SPIE 7980, Nanosensors, Biosensors, and Info-Tech Sensors and Systems 2011, 798004 (13 April 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.881924
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KEYWORDS
Phase shifts
Liquid crystal on silicon
Coronagraphy
Liquid crystals
Polarization
Stars
Molecules
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