LARGE APERTURE HOLOGRAPHIC OPTICAL ELEMENTS FOR SCANNING TELESCOPES

A NOVEL, LARGE-APERTURE, HOLOGRAPHIC OPTICAL ELEMENT (HOE) FOR SCANNING TELESCOPES WILL BE DEVELOPED BASED ON VOLUME BRAGG HOLOGRAPHIC TECHNOLOGY. THE NOVELTY LIES IN THE FABRICATION OF A MULTIPLE-NARROW-BANDWIDTH HOE THAT RESPONDSTO WAVELENGTHS OF 532 NM, 732 NM, 760 NM, 770 NM, 1.64 MUM AND 10.6 MUM IN A THIN COATING THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE HEAVY OPTICS AND POLISHING. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DETERMINE THE APPROPRIATE HOE FABRICATION CONDITIONS FOR EFFECTIVELY PRODUCING NARROW-BAND, MULTIWAVELENGTH-RESPONSE, HIGH-EFFICIENCY HOES WITH LARGE APERTURE, AND TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES CONCERNING THEIR SCALABILITY, STABILITY, OPTICAL PERFORMANCE, MASS PRODUCIBILITY, AND COMMERCIALIZATION. RECENT ADVANCES AND PROGRESS IN HIGH-RESOLUTION HOLOGRAPHIC RECORDING MATERIALS AND PROCESSING TECHNIQUES HAVE MADE IT POSSIBLE TO FABRICATEHIGH-DIFFRACTION-EFFICIENCY HOE USING SIMPLE HOLOGRAPHIC RECORDING METHODS. FOR EXAMPLE, A NARROW-BAND HOE RESPONDING TO 1.06 MUM, 532 NM, AND 355 NM CAN BE FABRICATEDUSING A SINGLE WAVELENGTH RECORDING IN A 20-MUM, PHOTOSENSITIVE POLYMER FILM, FOLLOWED BY WET AND/OR DRY PROCESSING. SIMILAR TECHNIQUES CAN BE APPLIED FOR OTHER WAVELENGTHS. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS OF THIS RESEARCH INCLUDE REDUCTION IN WEIGHT AND SIZE OF THE TELESCOPE, IMPROVED PERFORMANCE, AND EXTENDED LIFE OF THE TELESCOPE. A NOVEL, LARGE-APERTURE, HOLOGRAPHIC OPTICAL ELEMENT (HOE) FOR SCANNING TELESCOPES WILL BE DEVELOPED BASED ON VOLUME BRAGG HOLOGRAPHIC TECHNOLOGY. THE NOVELTY LIES IN THE FABRICATION OF A MULTIPLE-NARROW-BANDWIDTH HOE THAT RESPONDSTO WAVELENGTHS OF 532 NM, 732 NM, 760 NM, 770 NM, 1.64 MUM AND 10.6 MUM IN A THIN COATING THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE HEAVY OPTICS AND POLISHING. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DETERMINE THE APPROPRIATE HOE FABRICATION CONDITIONS FOR EFFECTIVELY PRODUCING NARROW-BAND, MULTIWAVELENGTH-RESPONSE, HIGH-EFFICIENCY HOES WITH LARGE APERTURE, AND TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES CONCERNING THEIR SCALABILITY, STABILITY, OPTICAL PERFORMANCE, MASS PRODUCIBILITY, AND COMMERCIALIZATION. RECENT ADVANCES AND PROGRESS IN HIGH-RESOLUTION HOLOGRAPHIC RECORDING MATERIALS AND PROCESSING TECHNIQUES HAVE MADE IT POSSIBLE TO FABRICATEHIGH-DIFFRACTION-EFFICIENCY HOE USING SIMPLE HOLOGRAPHIC RECORDING METHODS. FOR EXAMPLE, A NARROW-BAND HOE RESPONDING TO 1.06 MUM, 532 NM, AND 355 NM CAN BE FABRICATEDUSING A SINGLE WAVELENGTH RECORDING IN A 20-MUM, PHOTOSENSITIVE POLYMER FILM, FOLLOWED BY WET AND/OR DRY PROCESSING. SIMILAR TECHNIQUES CAN BE APPLIED FOR OTHER WAVELENGTHS. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS OF THIS RESEARCH INCLUDE REDUCTION IN WEIGHT AND SIZE OF THE TELESCOPE, IMPROVED PERFORMANCE, AND EXTENDED LIFE OF THE TELESCOPE.