FOURIER TRANSFORM SPECTROMETER

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROGRAM IS TO DEVELOP A TWO- DIMENSIONAL-IMAGING, FOURIER TRANSFORM SPCETROMETER (FTS) FOR VACUUM ULTRAVIOLET (VUV) SPECTROSCOPY OF PLASMAS. THIS INSTRUMENT WOULD BE: (1) THE FIRST FTS PRODUCED FOR SPECTROSCOPY AT WAVELENGTHS SHORTER THAN THE CUTOFF LIMIT OF FUSED SILICA, AND (2) THE FIRST TWO-DEMENSIONAL- IMAGING FOURIER TRANSFORM SPECTROMETER. THE MAJOR ADVANTAGEOUS FEATURES OF FOURIER TRANSFORM SPECTROSCOPY ARE VERY HIGH RESOLUTION, SMALL INSTRUMENT SIZE (COMPARED TO GRATING SPECTROMETERS), LARGE THROUGHPUT CAUSED BY A CIRCULAR APERTURE, AND STIGMATIC IMAGING, RESULTING IN INCREASED SENSITIVITY AND DYNAMIC RANGE IN THE SPATIAL AND SPECTRAL DIAGNOSTICS OF PLASAMS. EXTENSION OF THE PRESENT LOW-WARELENGTH LIMIT OF FOURIER-TRANSFORM SPECTROMETERS FROM 230 NM (43,500 CM-1) TO OUR GOAL OF 120NM (83,300 CM-1), ALMOST DOUBLES THE ENERGY RANGE OF ATOMIC TRANSITIONS THAT CAN BE STUDIED AT HIGH RESOLUTION. THIS VUV SPECTRAL REGION CONTAINS MANY FORBIDDEN LINES THAT ARE EMITTED BY IONS IN HIGH TEMPERATURE PLASMAS. AES INSTRUMENTATION AND WOULD BE SENSITIVE TO MANY