Astrocomb development for the ELT: enhancing capability with a modern laser platform

ELT 的 Astrocomb 开发：利用现代激光平台增强能力

• 批准号: ST/W005468/1
• 负责人: Derryck Reid
• 金额: $ 14.03万
• 依托单位: Heriot-Watt University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2021 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ST%2FW005468%2F1
• 关键词: Astrocomb; development; ELT; enhancing; capability

This proposal aims to secure capital funding needed to support the continued development of laser frequency comb (LFC) technologies at Heriot-Watt University, which are needed for ultra-precise calibration of spectrographs in the next generation of new telescopes, such as the ELT. Specifically, the equipment will support research on E-ELT PPRP grant ST/S001328/1 ("The UK ELT Programme") and consortium grant ST/V000403/1 ("Precision Astronomical Spectrographs using Single-Mode Photonic Technologies"). Heriot-Watt's LFC architecture is based around a single ultrafast Ti:sapphire laser. This laser produces "ultrafast" laser pulses with durations of around 30 femtoseconds and with a repetition frequency of 1 GHz. These pulses serve as the pump source for a number of beamlines for wavelength down-conversion, visible- and near-infrared broadband supercontinuum generation, Fabry-Pérot étalon comb filtering and comb metrology / delivery. For nearly ten years, our astrocomb development has been based around an open-box Ti:sapphire laser, with limited output power, and now requiring time-consuming maintenance and realignment. For these reasons it is now poorly suited to the increasingly complex downstream systems that we are developing as a Phase B pilot for the UK ELT programme and in other wider research exploring new, robust astrocomb configurations.This single-item equipment bid is for a modern replacement laser offering 50% greater power (allowing the beam to be split across a greater number of beamlines) in a sealed zero-maintenance unit. Not only will this laser dramatically increase our productivity by avoiding many cumulative weeks of maintenance, but it is identical to the unit which is currently our laser platform of choice for adoption in the ELT-HIRES calibration unit, which requires a sealed, zero-maintenance and fully automatable laser source.Our proposal meets the assessment criteria in the following ways:(A) Strategic value within the STFC programmeThe requested laser will directly enhance research and development of basic astrocomb technologies, that must be deployed in around 10 years' time on telescopes such as the ELT. The UK (Cambridge, Durham, UKATC, Heriot-Watt) has a significant strategic role in the Italian-led ELT-HIRES spectrograph development, on which an astrocomb is needed for ultra-precise wavelength calibration. This equipment request will ensure that the UK continues to play an important role in the hardware development for the calibration of the ELT-HIRES spectrograph.(B) TimelinessAs the letter of support from Laser Quantum (Novanta) confirms, the equipment can be commissioned by 31 March 2022 as required in the conditions of the grant. Notably, projects ST/S001328/1 and ST/V000403/1 will have lifetimes of between one and three years from this date, and so the equipment will have the potential to enhance and accelerate the research programmes supported by these grants.

这项提议旨在获得所需的资金，以支持赫里奥特-瓦特大学继续开发激光频率梳(LFC)技术，这是下一代新望远镜(如ELT)超精密定标光谱仪所需的。具体地说，该设备将支持E-ELT PPRP资助ST/S001328/1(“英国ELT计划”)和财团资助ST/V000403/1(“使用单模光子技术的精密天文光谱仪”)的研究。Heriot-Watt的LFC架构基于单个超快钛宝石激光器。这种激光器产生持续时间约为30飞秒、重复频率为1 GHz的“超快”激光脉冲。这些脉冲用作多条光束线的泵浦源，用于波长下转换、可见光和近红外宽带超连续谱的产生、法布里-佩罗塔隆梳状滤波和梳状计量/传输。近十年来，我们的星梳开发一直基于开箱式钛宝石激光器，输出功率有限，现在需要耗时的维护和重新对准。由于这些原因，它现在不太适合日益复杂的下游系统，我们正在为英国ELT计划和其他更广泛的研究开发B阶段试点，以探索新的、坚固的天体梳状结构。这项单一设备招标是为了在一个密封的零维护单元中提供50%的功率(允许光束分裂到更多的光束线)的现代替代激光器。该激光器不仅可以避免数周的累计维护，从而显著提高我们的生产效率，而且它与ELT-HIRES校准单元中当前我们选择采用的激光平台完全相同，后者需要密封、零维护和全自动化的激光光源。我们的建议在以下方面符合评估标准：(A)STFC计划中的战略价值所需的激光将直接促进基本天体梳状技术的研究和开发，这些技术必须在大约10年的时间内部署在望远镜(如ELT)上。英国(剑桥、达勒姆、UKATC、Heriot-Watt)在意大利主导的ELT-HERS光谱仪开发中发挥着重要的战略作用，在该光谱仪上需要一个天体梳子来进行超精密的波长校准。这项设备申请将确保英国继续在ELT-HIRES光谱仪校准的硬件开发中发挥重要作用。(B)时间安排正如激光量子公司(Novanta)的支持函所确认的那样，按照赠款条件的要求，该设备可以在2022年3月31日之前投入使用。值得注意的是，ST/S001328/1和ST/V000403/1项目的寿命从即日起为一至三年，因此这些设备将有可能加强和加速这些赠款支持的研究方案。