Design, development and verification of optical systems

Organizational Unit
Description

The optical design process for a given astrophysical instrument begins with the translation of the global scientific requirements of the instrument to the technical requirements of the optical systems that will compose it. After this first phase and with the help of specialized software, the design stage begins completing the set of parameters defining every optical component and the maximum allowed errors in each one of them, in order to reach the detailed manufacturing specifications. Afterward, supervising the manufacturing process of the different optical elements also requires a high level of specialization and knowledge on the part of the engineering team. In this phase, faced with the usual difficulties in the optical manufacturing processes, it is necessary to make quick decisions on the capacity of the design to absorb manufacturing errors, not initially allowed, but very costly to correct. Finally, it is necessary to carry out the appropriate set-ups to perform the verification tasks of the elements and systems, both in the laboratory and in the telescope. The IAC engineering team already has numerous examples of scientific instrumentation whose optical systems have been designed and verified in our facilities. The design and verification of systems for the detection and transport of optical signals have a clear application in many technological and industrial areas.

Related Technical facility
General view of one of the rooms (A) of the optical laboratory. Elongated laboratory with metal tables with holes and various optical and mechanical elements on top of them
Optics Laboratory

The Optics Laboratory is specialized in the realization of all type of optical measurements, alignment and integration of instruments, prototype tests and characterization of components and optical systems in general.

José Luís
Rasilla Piñeiro
Roberto
López López
View of the interferometer on a optical table in the laboratory. Optoelectronic device with in front of a large prism and a lens with a computer monitor with graphics on the back
Interferometer

Optical quality measurement interferometer