Related papers: Small Solutions to the Large Telescope Problem: A …
One highly desirable function of a diffraction grating is its ability to deflect incident light into a specific diffraction order with near-perfect efficiency. While such asymmetry can be achieved in a variety of ways, e.g., by using a…
This paper presents the development and application of SpectrumMate LR, a broadband, low-resolution spectrograph for small telescope use. SpectrumMate LR is designed to offer affordable, accessible spectroscopic capabilities for amateur…
The next generation of Extremely Large Telescopes (ELT), with diameters up to 39 meters, will start opera- tion in the next decade and promises new challenges in the development of instruments. The growing field of astrophotonics (the use…
High-resolution spectroscopy (R>50,000) in astronomy typically uses echelle-type spectrographs, which excel for exoplanet detection via radial velocity but compromise throughput for atmospheric characterization. We propose and test a novel…
We provide an overview of the design and capabilities of the near-infrared spectrograph (NIRSpec) onboard the James Webb Space Telescope. NIRSpec is designed to be capable of carrying out low-resolution ($R\!=30\!-330$) prism spectroscopy…
Compared with conventional grating-based spectrometers, reconstructive spectrometers based on spectrally engineered filtering have the advantage of miniaturization because of the less demand for dispersive optics and free propagation space.…
The diffraction limit is a fundamental barrier in optical microscopy, which restricts the smallest resolvable feature size of a microscopic system. Microsphere-based microscopy has proven to be a promosing tool for challenging the…
One promising application of photonics to astronomical instrumentation is the miniaturization of near-infrared (NIR) spectrometers for large ground- and space-based astronomical telescopes. Here we present new results from our effort to…
The fields of view of Extremely Large Telescopes will contain vast numbers of spatial sampling elements (spaxels) as their Adaptive Optics systems approach the diffraction limit over wide fields. Since this will exceed the detection…
Spectrograph costs have become the limiting factor in multiplexed fiber-based spectroscopic instruments, because tens of millions of resolution elements (spectral x spatial) are now required. Catadioptric (Schmidt-like) designs allow faster…
In fiber-based spectroscopy within telescopes, a prevailing limitation has been the necessity to align the fiber diameter with the telescope's seeing conditions, often characterized by the Full Width at Half Maximum of the point spread…
Optical spectroscopy is a fundamental tool in numerous areas of science and technology. Much effort has focused on miniaturizing spectrometers, but thus far at the cost of high spectral resolution and broad operating range. Here, we…
Broadband low-resolution near-infrared spectrographs in a compact form are crucial for ground- and space-based astronomy and other fields of sensing. Astronomical spectroscopy poses stringent requirements including high efficiency, broad…
Conventional surface-relief gratings are inefficient at deflecting normally-incident light by large angles. This constrains their use in many applications and limits the overall efficiency of any optical instrument integrating gratings.…
Future NASA X-ray Observatories will shed light on a variety of high-energy astrophysical phenomena. Off-plane reflection gratings can be used to provide high throughput and spectral resolution in the 0.3--1.5 keV band, allowing for…
In undergraduate optics courses, diffraction gratings are studied extensively, generally within the scalar approximation. When the vector nature of light is taken into account, so-called polarization diffraction gratings have been proposed,…
Multi-object or integral field spectrographs are recognized techniques for achieving simultaneous spectroscopic observations of different or extended sky objects with a high multiplex factor. In this communication is described a…
We present the results of our work on developing fully integrated devices (photonic dicers) for reformatting multimode light to a diffraction limited pseudo-slit. These devices can be used to couple a seeing-limited telescope…
This project presents the development and implementation of a compact spectrometer, named SPECTRUMMATE, tailored for small telescopes. Small telescopes offer several advantages: they are cost-effective, occupy less space, and are simpler to…
A photonic spectrograph can be much smaller than a conventional spectrograph with the same resolving power. Individual devices can be integrated with optical fibres to improve the multiplex gain in astronomical spectroscopy. Although…