Etude et conception d'un miroir segmenté d'un télescope

Abstract

The study and design of segmented mirrors for telescopes has increasingly earned a great attention. They allow to obtain high optical performance while overcoming the limitations associated with the manufacture of large monolithic mirrors. This segmented mirror used in telescopes is made up of several individual segments joined together to form a continuous reflecting surface, usually this would be hexagonal in shape. They offer significant economic, technical and operational advantages for telescopes, such as: reduced manufacturing and transport costs, simplified maintenance and repairs, correction of optical aberrations and improvement of the quality of the transmitted or received beam, among others. The main aim of this work is to deepen the understanding of the design and performance of segmented mirrors for telescopes, we have taken as a simulation model the James Webb telescope, with emphasis on the use of Zemax software, which is a powerful optical design tool widely used in both fields, industry and research. It allows simulation and optimization of optical systems, which makes it an ideal choice for our study. By exploiting the design made to put a virtual surface that deforms the incoming wave to see the influence of the effects of atmospheric disturbances of the incoming wave in our optical system, the final image must be evaluated and analyzed by exploiting the available tools in Zemax, such as; ray aberration (Fan ray), optical path difference (OPD), spot diagram (Spot Diagram), point spread function (PSF) and MTF…