It is possible to significantly improve the performance of astronomical spectroscopy by taking the Point Spread Function from a near diffraction-limited telescope and reformatting it using photonic technologies. This can improve the stability of a conventional instrument or provide an interface to single mode instruments developed for the telecommunications industry. We compare different options for reformatting and interfacing with different types of instruments and examine them using set metrics. We then examine the relative merits for instruments that could be developed for astronomy.

Date Published: 8 July 2014
PDF: 13 pages
Proc. SPIE 9147, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy V, 91474C (8 July 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2055581

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9147:
Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy V
Suzanne K. Ramsay; Ian S. McLean; Hideki Takami, Editor(s)