Characterization of the Optical Throughput Performance of Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer (NPOI)

Abstract

We have developed an approach for systematically investigating the optical throughput performance of the different segments of a Michelson stellar interferometer, and applied it to the characterization of the Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer (NPOI). We report the results of the first phase of throughput measurements on NPOI, as well as some of the lessons learned. Since the current generation of ground-based optical interferometers all suffers from varying degree of throughput degradation while the dominant causes for throughput loss are expected to vary for each individual instrument, the methodologies and approaches developed here could be of general use for the quantitative characterization of the throughput performance of the different optical interferometers, a prerequisite for its ultimate improvement.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 2006
Accession Number
ADA477240

Entities

People

  • David Mozurkewich
  • Donald J. Hutter
  • G. Charmaine Gilbreath
  • James A. Benson
  • James A. Clark Iii
  • John Thomas Armstrong
  • Nat White
  • Robert Lucke
  • Sergio Restaino
  • Xiaolei Zhang

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Acquisition
  • Avalanche Photodiodes
  • Data Acquisition
  • Delay Lines
  • Detection
  • Detectors
  • Frequency
  • Interferometers
  • Interferometry
  • Measurement
  • Optical Interferometers
  • Optics
  • Power Meters
  • Prototypes
  • Quantum Efficiency
  • Reflection

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics.
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Systems Analysis and Design