A very large optical telescope array linked with fused silica fibers.

An approach to the problem of building a very large optical array telescope (aperture of 500 sq m) is proposed which makes use of single fused-silica fibers to bring together light from about 100 mirrors, each having a diameter of approximately 2.5 m. The properties of fused-silica fibers are examined, particularly their transmission as a function of wavelength in the optical and IR regions as well as the effect of fiber propagation on focal ratio. A design for a fiber-linked optical array telescope (FLOAT) which would work well with currently available fibers is presented in which single fibers are located at the prime focus of each mirror. Mounting of the mirror array and accurate pointing of each telescope are considered, and the properties of a FLOAT intended for spectroscopic observations are compared with those of more conventional telescopes. It is noted that a FLOAT is ideally suited for spectrophotometric observations of stellar objects in the wavelength range from 0.3 to 2.5 microns.