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J.A. Palmer, M.A. Greenhouse, D.B. Mott, R.B. Barclay, W.D. Powell, W.T. Hsieh (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)
A research and development effort sponsored by the NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center (GSFC) is focused on applying Micro Opto Electromechanical Systems (MOEMS) technology to create a miniature Fabry-Perot tunable filter for space and ground-based near infrared imaging spectrometer applications. Unlike previous devices developed for small-aperture telecommunications systems, the GSFC research is directed toward a novel 12 – 40 mm aperture for astrophysical studies, including emission line imaging of galaxies and nebulae, and multi-spectral redshift surveys in the 1.1 – 2.3 um wavelength region. The MOEMS design features integrated electrostatic scanning of the 11-um optical gap, and capacitance micrometry for closed loop control of parallelism within a 10-nm tolerance. The low thermal mass and inertia inherent in MOEMS devices allows for rapid cooling to the proposed 30 K operating temperature, and high frequency response. Achieving the proposed 6-nm aperture flatness (with an effective finesse of 50) represents the primary technical challenge in the current 12-mm prototype.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: palmer@stars.gsfc.nasa.gov
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 34, #4
© 2002. The American Astronomical Soceity.