Apodized square aperture plus occulter concept for TPF
Abstract
The standard approach to achieving TPF-level starlight suppression has been to couple a few techniques together. Deployment of a low- or medium-performance external occulter as the first stage of starlight suppression reduces manufacturing challenges, mitigates under-performance risks, lowers development costs, and hastens launch date for TPF. This paper describes the important aspects of a conceptual 4-metre apodized square aperture telescope system utilizing a low-performance external occulter. Adding an external occulter to such a standard TPF design provides a benefit that no other technique offers: scattered and diffracted on-axis starlight is suppressed by orders of magnitude before reaching the telescope. This translates directly into relaxed requirements on the remainder of the optical system.
- Publication:
-
Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Space Telescopes
- Pub Date:
- October 2004
- DOI:
- 10.1117/12.553029
- Bibcode:
- 2004SPIE.5487.1391J