Development of optical ground verification method for mu m to sub-mm reflectors

Large reflectors and antennas for the IR to mm wavelength range are being planned for many Earth observation and astronomical space missions and for commercial communication satellites as well. The challenging tasks of on-ground testing are to achieve the required accuracy in the measurement of the reflector shapes and antenna structures and to verify their performance under simulated space conditions (vacuum, low temperatures). A small number of infrared interferometers have been commercially developed over the last 10 years but their applications have also been limited due to poor dynamic range and the restricted spatial resolution of their detectors. It has therefore been considered essential, from the viewpoint of supporting future ESA exploration missions, to develop and realise suitable verification tools based on infrared interferometry and other optical techniques for testing large reflector structures, telescope configurations and their performances under simulated space conditions. Two methods and techniques are developed at CSL. The first one is an IR-phase shifting interferometer with high spatial resolution. This interferometer shall be used specifically for the verification of high precision IR, FIR and sub-mm reflector surfaces and telescopes under both ambient and thermal vacuum conditions. The second one presented hereafter is a holographic method for relative shape measurement. The holographic solution proposed makes use of a home built vacuum compatible holographic camera that allows displacement measurements from typically 20 nanometres to 25 microns in one shot. An iterative process allows the measurement of a total of up to several mm of deformation. Uniquely the system is designed to measure both specular and diffuse surfaces