VISION: The Next Generation Science Camera for the Navy Optical Interferometer

The Visible Imaging System for Interferometric Observations at NOI (VISION) will be a versatile camera for high resolution astronomical imaging. It allows precision measurements at the Navy Optical Interferometer (NOI), with spatial resolution 200 times sharper than what is possible with the Hubble Space Telescope while furthering technological capabilities. This resolution allows one to reconstruct multipixel images of stars. VISION is a fiber-optics based beam combiner that can coherently combine up to six telescope beams using a spatially-modulated image-plane combination scheme. In comparison to NOI's current beam combiner, VISION is able to achieve a higher precision result and a better flexibility by incorporating single mode fibers for spatial filtering that removes the effect of atmospheric turbulence and also by using low-noise detectors.

The VISION project was initiated in June 2010. The team completed the optical design and system requirement studies, including simulations and tradeoff studies, for the fiber feed system and fringe forming optical system in the first step. Purchasing and installation of the mechanical and optical components including camera, spectrograph, optical table, and optical fibers were completed in December 2010. The current status of VISION is that the first throughput test of the fiber feed unit at NOI confirmed adequate throughput of the system. The control software for the camera, spectrograph, and fiber micro-positioners were developed. High quality laser fringes and first white light fringes were demonstrated in the Tennessee State University laboratory. The full system is expected to be delivered in early 2012.