Report
Teaser, summary, work performed and final results
Periodic Reporting for period 2 - ICARUS (Towards Innovative cost-effective astronomical instrumentation)
Teaser
Enabling disruptive technologies has always been crucial to trigger revolutionary science discoveries. The daring challenges in astronomy and astrophysics are extremely demanding in terms of high angular resolution and high contrast imaging, and require extreme stability and...
Summary
Enabling disruptive technologies has always been crucial to trigger revolutionary science discoveries. The daring challenges in astronomy and astrophysics are extremely demanding in terms of high angular resolution and high contrast imaging, and require extreme stability and image quality. Instruments based on current classical designs tend to get bigger and more complex, and are faced to ever increasing difficulties to meet science requirements.
This proposal has the clear objective to propose breakthrough compact optical architectures for the next generation of giant observatories. The project focus on the niche of active components and is structured in two main research pillars to (I) enable the use of additive manufacturing (3D-printing) to produce affordable deformable mirrors for VIS or NIR observations, (II) pave the road for a common use of curved and deformable detectors. Extensive finite element analysis will allow to cover the parameter space and broad prototyping will demonstrate and characterize the performance of such devices.
Both pillars are extremely challenging, the fields of detectors and optical fabrication being driven by the market. For that we will orientate the activities towards a mass production method.
To maximize the impact of this high gain R&D, the pillars are surrounded by two transverse activities: (i) design and optimization of a new zoo of optical systems using active mirrors and flexible detectors, and (ii) build a solid plan of technology transfer to end-user industrial companies, through a patenting and licensing strategy, to maximize the financial return and then perpetuate the activities.
The pathway proposed here is mandatory to develop affordable components in the near future, and will enable compact and high performance instrumentation. These high potential activities will dramatically reduce the complexity of instruments in the era of giant observatories, simplify the operability of systems and offer increased performances.
Work performed
Every WP has been addressed during the first half of the project, resulting in the achievements listed here:
WP0: the very first objective of this WP was to define a frame for the recruitment and supervision of the ICARUS team targeting gender balance and international relations. Among the recruited persons we count: 3 female and 3 male researchers, 1 female and 1 male Research engineer. We also count 4 non-French persons, ie half of the total workforce (the 4 post docs, Italy, Spain, Russia and Burkina-Fasso). Two of the 4 post docs already got a permanent job right after the end of their contracts. The two other still work in the team.
WP1: This fundamental WP produced a certain number of publications in peer-reviewed journals describing: new approaches for optical design (Muslimov+, Optics Express 2017, Optics Letters 2018, 19 describing a new polynomial basis for the optical optimisations, and describing the gain provided by the use of spherical and toroidal detectors versus the classical designs with flat detectors), applications to the astronomical instrumentation: LUVOIR/Pollux study for the NASA decadal Survey, VLT-BlueMUSE study for the 3rd Generation VLT instrumentation, Folded Schmidt telescope study for the Calar Alto observatory [Muslimov+ Applied Optics 2017].
WP2&3 consisted in exploring the use of 3D printing for the manufacturing of astronomical mirrors. This is the work of PhD student Melanie ROULET, co-supervised by a senior researcher at UK-ATC. The results of the work have been presented in many conferences (SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation 2018 and ICSO 2018). The process developed by the student is now the base line for the manufacturing of all the off-axis parabolas of the Coronagraphic instrument of the NASA/WFIRST mission to be launched in 2025-26. The LAM will now deliver 16 superpolished off axis mirrors to the Jet Propulsion Lab/NASA, using this process. In addition, student Melanie Roulet took the lead of an activity for the 3D printing of mirror’s prototypes, together with European institutions such as UK-ATC, TNO (NL), Konkoly Observatory (HG), and Sheffield University (UK).
WP4&5 are focused on the development of a mass production process for curved detectors. We produced the first prototypes of 12MPix CMOS sensors. Post doc Simona Lombardo published a paper describing the excellent performance of the preliminary prototypes produced in the early days of the project (Lombardo+2018, Applied Optics), and she is now in charge of the realization of the bi-folded Schmidt telescope for Calar Alto observatory, using a curved detector. This will be the very first academic demonstration of the use of a curved CMOS sensor for astronomical applications on-sky.
Also, Simona Lombardo is now supervising the recently recruited PhD student Kelly Joaquina, who is today working on the curved sensors manufacturing process’ performance and scalability. This activity is directly feeding WP6.
WP6 is dedicated to the strategies in terms of tech transfer and valorization. We made concrete actions: We published one patent in 2017, extended to Europe in 2018 (Chambion&Hugot17) on the mass production of curved sensors. We created the start-up CURVE-ONE in 2018, aiming at developing the mass prod and commercialization of curved sensors and associated cameras. We protected the know-how developed in WP4&5 and we transferred it to the start-up. I obtained a ERC-PoC program which starts in May 2019, focused on this activity. We have been exposing our curved sensors and a functional camera at the Phtonics West congress in San FRancisco in Feb. 2019.
To conclude: The team building is successful and we respected our objectives in gender balance, internationality and follow-up of the persons hired. We published a certain number of papers either on fundamental studies than on concrete applications of the methodology we developed. We developed a process to deliver all the mirrors of the NASA/WFIRST Coronagraphic
Final results
The activity triggered new projects:
1/ We have been selected by the EU-ATTRACT funding for the development of a curved-sensor based system for brain imaging,
2/ We have been selected in the H2020-OPTICON program for freeform mirrors metrology development and 3D printing for astronomical applications,
3/ We have been selected by ESA for the study of a UV wide-field camera for Aurora Borealis survey.
4/ We are the first to propose a simple way to produce off axis parabolas with a super-polished quality (ie a roughness lower than 5 Angstroms) and we will be the first to send stress-polished mirrors in space.
5/ Also, we are the first to propose to put curved sensors on the market. The process we developed is dedicate to mass production and its industrialization is part of the ERC-PoC program I obtained.
Until the end of the project, we expect:
1/ To see the first on-sky demonstration of a telescope with a curved sensors, that we will install at the Calar Alto Observatory in 2021,
2/ To deliver the first off axis parabolas to the WFIRST NASA project at the Jet Propulsion Lab,
3/ To deliver the first commercial curved sensors.