The optical design is presented for a long-slit grating spectrometer known as AIRES (Airborne InfraRed Echelle Spectrometer). The instrument employs two gratings in series: a small order sorter and a large steeply blazed echelle. The optical path includes four pupil and four field stops, including two narrow slits. A detailed diffraction analysis is performed using GLAD by Applied Optics Research to evaluate critical trade-offs between optical throughput, spectral resolution, and system weight and volume. The effects of slit width, slit length, oversizing the second slit relative to the first, on- vs off-axis throughput, and clipping at the pupil stops and other optical elements are discussed.

Date Published: 3 March 2003
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 4857, Airborne Telescope Systems II, (3 March 2003); doi: 10.1117/12.458642

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 4857:
Airborne Telescope Systems II
Ramsey K. Melugin; Hans-Peter Roeser, Editor(s)