Development of a Software Tool for Rapid STOP Analysis of Distorted Mirrors

It is impossible to build a perfect optical system. Structural, thermal, optical performance analysis, or STOP analysis, evaluates the effects of the environment on an optical system. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory is developing a tool to complete such an analysis quickly, but it cannot account for effects that cause the mirror surface to distort or imperfect mirrors. The purpose of this new software tool is to allow for rapid mirror design and specification, while including the effects of mirror distortion. The ability to visualize the final image that the imperfect system produces can aid in both the design and specification of optical systems. This makes it possible to compare optical performance between different instruments and different conditions in a way that is more representative of the actual system. The new tool expands the Optometrika MATLAB library for use with finite element analysis results. The software tool finds the focal distance and focused image for both the undistorted and distorted mirror. It can additionally provide a surface mapping of angular displacements on the distorted mirror surface as compared to the non-distorted mirror. Preliminary testing with real and simulated mirror data suggests that the tool is feasible for use in mirror design and for future integration into the complete suite of tools SAO is developing. This work is supported by the NSF-REU solar physics program at SAO, grant number AGS-1850750, and NASA grant #80GSFC21C0011.