Collaborative Research: Ultra-Precision Silicon Immersion Gratings Collaborative Research: Ultra-Precision Silicon Immersion Gratings for Infrared Spectroscopy

该项目旨在开发一种经过充分测试的配方，用于生产具有超高凹槽精度的大型（30厘米）硅浸没光栅。这些器件对于未来8米级和下一代30米级望远镜上的高分辨率近红外光谱仪至关重要。它们将使结构紧凑的仪器具有高吞吐量和宽带连续瞬时波长覆盖。高分辨率红外光谱将允许间接测量在可见光波段无法到达的物体的物理条件和化学状态，即，冷的物体和被星际和星周尘埃遮蔽的物体。这对原恒星和行星系统的演化很重要，但对行星和褐矮星的研究以及银河系的化学演化也很有用。 浸没光栅将作为新一代红外光谱仪的关键元件，增强研究基础设施。

This project is to develop a well-tested recipe for the production of large (30 centimeter) silicon immersion gratings with ultra-high groove precision. These devices are critical for future high resolution near-infrared spectrographs on 8meter and the next generation of 30 meter class telescopes. They will enable construction of compact instruments with high throughput and broadband continuous instantaneous wavelength coverage. The high resolution infrared spectroscopy will permit the indirect measurements of the physical conditions and chemical state of objects inaccessible at visible wavelengths, viz., cool objects and objects obscured by interstellar and circumstellar dust. This is important for the evolution of protostars and planetary systems, but also will be useful in the study of planets and brown dwarfs, and of the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. The immersion gratings will enhance the research infrastructure by serving as the critical element in a new generation of infrared spectrographs.