| 1. |
- Eberle, Sebastian, et al.
(author)
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Additive manufacturing of an AlSi40 mirror coated with electroless nickel for cryogenic space applications
- 2018
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In: International Conference on Space Optics—ICSO 2018. - : SPIE - International Society for Optical Engineering.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Advanced Manufacturing (AM) has the potential to improve existing technologies and applications in terms of performance, light-weighting and costs. In the context of the SME4ALM initiative, launched by DLR and ESA, the company Kampf Telescope Optics GmbH (KTO) in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology (IWS) have assessed the feasibility of AM to build a high-performance optical mirror for space applications. For the assessment of the AM potentials, a mirror design concept for cryogenic instruments for observations in the IR and NIR range was baselined. In a second step, Nickel-Phosphorus (NiP) was selected as optical coating. The combination of coating and mirror material is a primary design driver for optical performance. Both materials must have a very similar CTE as well as be compliant to modern optical manufacturing (diamond turning, polishing). As a promising candidate for NiP coating the AlSi40 was selected for the mirror structure. The potential advantages of AM for optical mirrors in terms of mechanical performance, cost, and manufacturing time were exploited. The achievement of those objectives was / will be demonstrated by:1. verifying AM material properties and manufacturability of AM mirrors by material sample tests and subcomponent tests2. designing AM mirror demonstrator by structural, thermal, and optical performance analysis3. applying and elaborating AM specific design methods (topology optimization, sandwich structures with internal microstructures, monolithic design, etc.)4. manufacturing, assembling, and testing AM mirror demonstrator to verify manufacturability and optical performance5. comparing optical and mechanical performance of the AM mirror demonstrator to a conventional mirror by numerical analysis to exploit potential advantages of AM
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| 2. |
- Kaeufl, Hans Ulrich, et al.
(author)
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NEAR : New Earths in the Alpha Cen Region (bringing VISIR as a "visiting instrument" to ESO-VLT-UT4)
- 2018
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In: Ground-Based And Airborne Instrumentation For Astronomy VII. - : SPIE. - 9781510619586
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- ESO in collaboration with the Breakthrough Initiatives, is adding a dedicated coronagraph to the Very Large Telescope mid-IR imager (VISIR) to further boost the high dynamic range imaging capability of this instrument. After the VISIR upgrade in 2012, where coronagraphic masks were first added to VISIR, it became evident that coronagraphy at a ground-based 8m-class telescope, even at wavelengths as long as 10 mu m, critically needs adaptive optics. For VISIR, a work-horse observatory facility instrument in normal operations, this is "easiest" achieved by bringing VISIR as a visiting instrument to the ESO-VLT-UT4 having an adaptive M2. This "visit" enables a meaningful search for Earth-like planets in the habitable zone around both alpha-Cen(1) and alpha-Cen(2). Meaningful here means, achieving a contrast of approximate to 10(-6) within approximate to 0.8 arcsec from the star. Various measures to improve the sensitivity of VISIR will be applied, especially a dedicated filter, faster chopping and a Strehl-ratio close to 100% thanks to extreme adaptive optics. This should allow to detect a planet twice the diameter of Earth in 50 h on source integration time. Key components will be a diffractive coronagraphic mask, the annular groove phase mask (AGPM), optimized for the most sensitive spectral band-pass in the N-band, complemented by a sophisticated apodizer at the level of the Lyot stop. For VISIR noise filtering based on fast chopping is required. A novel internal chopper system will be integrated into the cryostat. This chopper is based on the standard technique from early radio astronomy, conceived by the microwave pioneer Robert Dicke in 1946, which was instrumental for the discovery of the 3K microwave background. For risk mitigation all components are being tested and quali fi ed under realistic conditions in the lab at ESO headquarters before integration into the instrument. The performance or suppression of the coronagraph is so good, that a non-thermal source (vulgo a laser) is needed on the test-bench. We will give an overview of the optical changes to VISIR, the implementation of wave front sensing, the Dicke switch design and laboratory testing, the AGPM design and laboratory testing, non common path error control with a ZELDA mask, sensitivity and contrast estimates, data flow and analysis, the overall project status, plan and outlook Needless to say that this project is of critical interest for future infrared instrumentation at the next generation of extremely large telescopes aiming at surveying the solar neighborhood for terrestrial planets by detecting and characterizing them based on their mid-IR fluxes.
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| 3. |
- Mueller, Michael, et al.
(author)
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Microstructural, mechanical, and thermo-physical characterization of hypereutectic AlSi40 fabricated by selective laser melting
- 2019
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In: Journal of laser applications. - : Laser Institute of America. - 1042-346X .- 1938-1387. ; 31:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The powder bed additive manufacturing process selective laser melting (SLM) enables designers and engineers to overcome restrictions of conventional manufacturing technologies. The potential of fabricating complex lightweight structures and processing advanced materials is a key feature for enhancing further development of high performance components for space applications. Due to a high specific stiffness and a thermal expansion coefficient very close to electroless nickel, which is an advantageous optical coating material, the hypereutectic aluminum-silicon alloy AlSi40 shows great potential for the manufacturing of optical mirrors for space applications. In prior investigations, Hilpert et al.showed the feasibility to process AlSi40 by SLM [E. Hilpert and S. Risse, Materials Science & Technology Conference and Exhibition MS&T'15, Columbus, Ohio, 4–8 October 2015(Association for Iron & Steel Technology, Warrendale, PA, 2015) and E. Hilpert, “Struktur und Eigenschaften von additiv gefertigten hypereutektischen Aluminum-Siliciumlegierungen,” in Werkstoffwoche 2017, Dresden, Germany, 28 September 2017 (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Materialkunde e.V., Berlin, 2017)]. Nevertheless, in order to qualify this material for space applications, the manufacturing process and fabricated samples need to be thoroughly investigated in terms of microstructural, mechanical, as well as thermo-physical characterization. The authors present results of the SLM process development for manufacturing dense AlSi40 samples with a relative density above 99.50%. The effect of various process parameters, such as hatch distance, preheating, and scanning strategy, on the formation of defects was investigated by destructive [e.g., optical microscopy (OM)] and nondestructive (e.g., computed tomography) testing. In addition, the effect of several thermal post-treatments on the AlSi40 microstructure was profoundly analyzed by multiple methods such as OM, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy analysis. Moreover, mechanical and thermo-physical testing of manufactured specimens was conducted to provide material characteristics for component design. In conclusion, the determined material properties of AlSi40 samples fabricated by SLM were compared to bulk material properties. The gained knowledge and testing data were evaluated in order to identify correlations and dependencies.
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| 4. |
- Wagner, Kevin, et al.
(author)
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Imaging low-mass planets within the habitable zone of α Centauri
- 2021
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Nature. - 2041-1723. ; 12:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Giant exoplanets on wide orbits have been directly imaged around young stars. If the thermal background in the mid-infrared can be mitigated, then exoplanets with lower masses can also be imaged. Here we present a ground-based mid-infrared observing approach that enables imaging low-mass temperate exoplanets around nearby stars, and in particular within the closest stellar system, alpha Centauri. Based on 75-80% of the best quality images from 100h of cumulative observations, we demonstrate sensitivity to warm sub-Neptune-sized planets throughout much of the habitable zone of alpha Centauri A. This is an order of magnitude more sensitive than state-of-the-art exoplanet imaging mass detection limits. We also discuss a possible exoplanet or exozodiacal disk detection around alpha Centauri A. However, an instrumental artifact of unknown origin cannot be ruled out. These results demonstrate the feasibility of imaging rocky habitable-zone exoplanets with current and upcoming telescopes. Imaging of low-mass exoplanets can be achieved once the thermal background in the mid-infrared (MIR) wavelengths can be mitigated. Here, the authors present a ground-based MIR observing approach enabling imaging low-mass temperate exoplanets around nearby stars.
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