High-performance Fabry-Perot etalon mount for spaceflight

The construction and optical performance of Fabry-Perot etalons for spaceflight are considered. Optical mounts with sufficient mechanical firmness to handle intense vibration loads cause significant distortion of etalon plates, degrading the etalon resolving power and peak transmittance. A mount is...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optical Engineering 2000-01, Vol.39 (1), p.315-319
Main Authors: McKay, Jack A, Rees, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
etalons
Fabry-Perot
space optics
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Summary:The construction and optical performance of Fabry-Perot etalons for spaceflight are considered. Optical mounts with sufficient mechanical firmness to handle intense vibration loads cause significant distortion of etalon plates, degrading the etalon resolving power and peak transmittance. A mount is described that combines mechanical robustness with very low plate distortion. An etalon mounted in this manner survived spaceflight-level vibration testing, in two axes, without damage or degradation. The defect finesse of this etalon, measured after the vibration tests, was 46, at a wavelength of 532 nm, about three times the values achieved with previous Fabry-Perot etalons for spaceflight. ©
ISSN:0091-3286
1560-2303
DOI:10.1117/1.602361