Design and fabrication of the near-ultraviolet birefringent Solc filter for the NASA IRIS solar physics mission

Thomas Berger; Jason Mudge; Buck Holmes; Paul Searcy; Jean Pierre Wuelser; James Lemen; Alan Title

doi:10.1117/12.927849

11 October 2012 Design and fabrication of the near-ultraviolet birefringent Solc filter for the NASA IRIS solar physics mission

Thomas Berger, Jason Mudge, Buck Holmes, Paul Searcy, Jean Pierre Wuelser, James Lemen, Alan Title

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8486, Current Developments in Lens Design and Optical Engineering XIII; 84860G (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.927849
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2012, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The NASA Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) mission is a Small Explorer (SMEX) satellite mission designed to study plasma dynamics in the “interface region” between the Sun’s chromosphere and corona with high spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution. The primary instrument is a dual Czerny-Turner spectrograph fed by a 20-cm Cassegrain telescope measuring near- and far-ultraviolet (NUV, FUV) spectral lines in the ranges 133-141 nm and 278- 283 nm. To determine the position of the slit on the solar disk, a slit-jaw imaging system is used. The NUV slit-jaw imaging system produces high spatial resolution images at two positions in the Mg II 280 nm spectral line complex using a birefringent Solc filter with two wide-band interference pre-filters for spectral order selection. The Solc filter produces a 0.36 nm full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) filter profile with low sidelobes and a peak transmission of 15% at 279.6 nm. The filter consists of two “wire grid’’ polarizers surrounding 8 quartz waveplates configured in a modified Solc “fan” rotational pattern. The elements are optically coupled using DC200 silicon-based grease. The NUV Solc filter is sealed in a windowed cell to prevent silicon contamination of the FUV channel. The design of the sealed cell and assembly of the filter into the cell were among the most challenging optomechanical aspects of the IRIS spectrograph system.

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Thomas Berger, Jason Mudge, Buck Holmes, Paul Searcy, Jean Pierre Wuelser, James Lemen, and Alan Title "Design and fabrication of the near-ultraviolet birefringent Solc filter for the NASA IRIS solar physics mission", Proc. SPIE 8486, Current Developments in Lens Design and Optical Engineering XIII, 84860G (11 October 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.927849

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