Focal Plane Optics In Far-Infrared And Submillimeter Astronomy

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Abstract
The construction of airborne observatories, high mountaintop observatories, and space observatories designed especially for infrared and submillimeter astronomy has opened fields of research requiring new optical techniques. A typical far-IR photometric study involves measurement of a continuous spectrum in several passbands between ~30 µm and 1000 µm and diffraction-limited mapping of the source. At these wavelengths, diffraction effects strongly influence the design of the field optics systems that couple the incoming flux to the radiation sensors (cold bolometers). The Airy diffraction disk for a typical telescope at submillimeter wavelengths (~100 um to 1000 um) is many millimeters in diameter; the size of the field stop must be comparable. The dilute radiation at the stop is fed through a Winston nonimaging concentrator to a small cavity containing the bolometer. The purpose of this paper is to review the principles and techniques of infrared field optics systems, including spectral filters, concentrators, cavities, and bolometers (as optical elements), with emphasis on photometric systems for wavelengths longer than 60 µm.

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