Manufacturing process for the WEAVE prime focus corrector optics for the 4.2m William Hershel Telescope

Emilie Lhomé; Tibor Agócs; Don Carlos Abrams; Kevin M. Dee; Kevin F. Middleton; Ian A. Tosh; Attila Jaskó; Peter Connor; Dave Cochrane; Luke Gers; Graeme Jonas; Andrew Rakich; Chris R. Benn; Marc Balcells; Scott C. Trager; Gavin B. Dalton; Esperanza Carrasco; Antonella Vallenari; Piercarlo Bonifacio; J. Alfonso L. Aguerri

doi:10.1117/12.2230648

22 July 2016 Manufacturing process for the WEAVE prime focus corrector optics for the 4.2m William Hershel Telescope

Emilie Lhomé, Tibor Agócs, Don Carlos Abrams, Kevin M. Dee, Kevin F. Middleton, Ian A. Tosh, Attila Jaskó, Peter Connor, Dave Cochrane, Luke Gers, Graeme Jonas, Andrew Rakich, Chris R. Benn, Marc Balcells, Scott C. Trager, Gavin B. Dalton, Esperanza Carrasco, Antonella Vallenari, Piercarlo Bonifacio, J. Alfonso L. Aguerri

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9912, Advances in Optical and Mechanical Technologies for Telescopes and Instrumentation II; 991245 (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2230648
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2016, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Abstract

In this paper, we detail the manufacturing process for the lenses that will constitute the new two-degree field-of-view Prime Focus Corrector (PFC) for the 4.2m William Herschel Telescope (WHT) optimised for the upcoming WEAVE Multi-Object Spectroscopy (MOS) facility. The corrector, including an Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector (ADC), is made of six large lenses, the largest being 1.1-meter diameter. We describe how the prescriptions of the optical design were translated into manufacturing specifications for the blanks and lenses. We explain how the as-built glass blank parameters were fed back into the optical design and how the specifications for the lenses were subsequently modified. We review the critical issues for the challenging manufacturing process and discuss the trade-offs that were necessary to deliver the lenses while maintaining the optimal optical performance. A short description of the lens optical testing is also presented. Finally, the subsequent manufacturing steps, including assembly, integration, and alignment are outlined.

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Emilie Lhomé, Tibor Agócs, Don Carlos Abrams, Kevin M. Dee, Kevin F. Middleton, Ian A. Tosh, Attila Jaskó, Peter Connor, Dave Cochrane, Luke Gers, Graeme Jonas, Andrew Rakich, Chris R. Benn, Marc Balcells, Scott C. Trager, Gavin B. Dalton, Esperanza Carrasco, Antonella Vallenari, Piercarlo Bonifacio, and J. Alfonso L. Aguerri "Manufacturing process for the WEAVE prime focus corrector optics for the 4.2m William Hershel Telescope", Proc. SPIE 9912, Advances in Optical and Mechanical Technologies for Telescopes and Instrumentation II, 991245 (22 July 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2230648

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