Compact telescope for free-space communications

Abstract

Several types of telescopes are used for free space telecommunications. The most common are Cassegrain and Gregorian telescopes. The main difference between Cassegrain and Gregorian optical systems is that Gregorian telescopes employ a concave secondary mirror located beyond the focus of the primary mirror. This results in longer tube lengths, as the distance between mirrors is slightly more than the sum of their focal lengths, which is the reason Cassegrain systems are the most common. In addition, Gregorian telescopes produce an upright image, while Cassegrain telescopes produce an inverted image. FSONA is presenting a new compact optical system, which can be described as a modified Gregorian telescope. This telescope is ideally suited for free space optical communications but also has many other applications. The compact telescope is created from a standard Gregorian system by flipping the secondary mirror over a folding mirror installed approximately in the middle of the optical path between primary and secondary mirrors. In this manner, the primary mirror is constructed with a concentric double geometry, and a central obscuring folding mirror which matches the diameter of the smaller curve of the primary is mounted a short distance in front. This double geometry is easily produced using diamond turning technology, and the result is a compact telescope approximately 1/2 the length of a regular Gregorian telescope and roughly 2/3 the length of a Cassegrain telescope. There are several advantages to using this type of telescope: 1. The system is very compact. Telescope can be as short as 1/7 of the focal length of the system. 2. For Cassegrain and Gregorian systems it is very critical to keep tight tolerances on the centration between primary and secondary mirrors. The modified Gregorian telescope will always have perfect centration because both curved surfaces are machined at the same time on a diamond turning lathe. The folding mirror is flat so no centration is required 3. The modified Gregorian system is inexpensive. Instead of two curved mirrors, there is one mirror with two curves, and one inexpensive flat folding mirror. 4. The folding mirror can be used as a steering mirror for a tracking system. 5. If the modified Gregorian telescope is constructed out of one material (ie. aluminum), it is completely a-thermal and insensitive to changes in temperataure.