Paper 13100-113
Paper 13100-113
HARMONI at ELT: Athermal toroidal mirror mount for HARMONI Pre-Optics
21 June 2024 • 11:30 - 11:45 Japan Standard Time | Room G214, North - 2F
Abstract
HARMONI is the high angular resolution optical and near-IR integral field spectrograph for the Extremely Large telescope (ELT). It covers a large spectral range from 470nm to 2450nm with resolving powers from 3300 to 18000 and spatial sampling from 60mas to 4mas. The Instrument Pre-Optics (IPO), a sub-system under the responsibility of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), consists of several opto-mechanical mounts operating at cryogenic temperatures. Among these, toroidal mirrors stand out as the most sensitive and accurate elements of the IPO. An athermal design has been achieved by combining different materials for both the mount and the pads that define the position of the optical element. This design compensates the differential contractions during cooling, which allows the optical element alignment to be maintained within the tight tolerance when transitioning from warm to cryogenic operating temperatures. This paper presents the design of the athermal toroidal mirror mount, the tests carried out on its prototype and the final optomechanical mount.
Presenter
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (Spain)
My professional journey commenced in 2001 when I joined the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) as a mechanical engineer. In the early years, I played a pivotal role in the design, calculation, and AIV processes of the infrared spectrographs developed at the IAC, including projects such as LIRIS, EMIR, and GRIS. Subsequently, I actively participated in the FP6 design studies for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). This phase involved my contributions to VLT MASSDIMM, VLT SCIDAR, WEB, APE, and the design proposal for the M1 mount. After that, I contributed to specific work packages for the European Solar Telescope (EST). Evolving into a senior engineer, I became an integral part of the design team for the GTCAO LGS laser launch telescope and after that, I assumed responsibility for the Pre-Optics subsystem of the HARMONI instrument designed for the ELT. Presently, I am the head of the Mechanical Engineering department of the IAC.