WaFER: a tool to derive the focal surface of millimeter wave telescopes and characterize their optical response

M. Sandri; F. Villa; L. Valenziano

doi:10.1117/12.926078

25 September 2012 WaFER: a tool to derive the focal surface of millimeter wave telescopes and characterize their optical response

M. Sandri, F. Villa, L. Valenziano

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8449, Modeling, Systems Engineering, and Project Management for Astronomy V; 84491R (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.926078
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2012, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Abstract

In the framework of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) Technological Developments aimed at the measurement of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarization, a method to define and characterize focal surfaces of millimeter wave telescopes has been implemented in a software package named WaFER (Wave Front Error evaluatoR). The purpose of this tool is to rapidly optimize and characterize wide focal planes providing valuable information to study and optimize high performance telescope configurations. This method is based on the GRASP9 Multi-Reflector GTD for the computation of the weighted wave front error and the software output is the 3D focal surface as the region that minimizes this figure of merit, in terms of feed locations and orientations, for polarization measurements. In addition WaFER provides the main descriptive parameters of the main beams iteratively calculated with the GRASP9 Physical Optics, using the information derived for the evaluated focal surface. The method has been applied at several telescope configurations and WaFER could be used to define the focal surface of any reflector antenna system that can be studied with GRASP9. It can be used to characterize the main beam descriptive parameters also in terms of polarization properties and straylight. Finally, an estimate of the computational time is reported for each computational step (focal surface evaluation, main beam simulations, polarization alignment).

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M. Sandri, F. Villa, and L. Valenziano "WaFER: a tool to derive the focal surface of millimeter wave telescopes and characterize their optical response", Proc. SPIE 8449, Modeling, Systems Engineering, and Project Management for Astronomy V, 84491R (25 September 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.926078

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KEYWORDS

Telescopes

Space telescopes

Polarization

Semiconducting wafers

Wavefronts

Reflectors

Extremely high frequency

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