SBIR Phase I: A Novel Dense Fiber Array for Astronomical Spectroscopy

SBIR 第一阶段：用于天文光谱学的新型密集光纤阵列

• 批准号: 2111936
• 负责人: Kevan Hashemi
• 金额: $ 24.07万
• 依托单位: OPEN SOURCE INSTRUMENTS INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-01-15 至 2023-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2111936&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Novel; Dense; Fiber

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to make it possible for astrophysicists to dramatically expand their ability to collect the spectra of distant galaxies, and so to advance their understanding of the universe. The most important factor in large-scale spectrographic data collection is the number of spectra taken per viewing hour. The planned Direct Fiber Positioning System (DFPS) is mechanically simpler than the current state-of-the-art positioning systems; it will cost less to produce per installed fiber, and it will provide more fibers per unit area than any existing design. The spectra of galaxies is critical to dark energy and dark matter research programs, and these programs address the greatest open questions in astrophysics today. The relative simplicity of the DFPS mechanical components makes it a better choice for spectrographs of tens of thousands of fibers, but also for much smaller arrays of a few hundred fibers, such as could be installed on smaller telescopes. Thus, the DFPS will win a share of the small market for very large spectrographic instruments, but also to create for itself a large market for smaller spectrographic instruments.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be a small Direct Fiber Positioning System (DFPS) consisting of a 4 x 4 array of 16 fibers on a 5-mm grid. Each fiber will provide a 3.6-mm x 3.6-mm range of motion and will be controlled by electronic circuits consuming less than 20 mW. A calibrated camera will view the illuminated fiber tips, monitoring their position with an accuracy of 10 µm, to measure and demonstrate the precision and repeatability of the fiber positioner. The stability of the positioner will be determined over the course an hour in warm and cold environments, and in both horizontal and vertical orientations. The direct method of fiber movement requires accurate control of voltages applied to many fibers in parallel, which is a challenging electrical engineering problem that has been avoided by other, mechanically complex systems. If we can locate fibers with an accuracy of 10 µm in the focal plane of a telescope, we will be able to provide a new and superior type of fiber-positioner, one that will be more compact, less vulnerable to mechanical failure, less susceptible to corrosion, and more resistant to fatigue than any other existing fiber-positioning system.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是使天体物理学家能够极大地扩展他们收集遥远星系光谱的能力，从而增进他们对宇宙重要因素的理解。在大规模光谱数据收集中，计划中的直接光纤定位系统（DFPS）在机械上比当前最先进的定位系统更简单，成本也更低；每安装的光纤可产生更多的光纤，并且每单位面积将提供比任何现有设计更多的光纤。星系的光谱对于暗能量和暗物质研究项目至关重要，这些项目解决了当今天体物理学中最大的开放性问题。 DFPS 机械组件使其成为数万根光纤的光谱仪的更好选择，而且也适用于数百根光纤的更小的阵列，例如可以安装在较小的望远镜上，因此，DFPS 将赢得市场份额。大型光谱仪器的小市场，同时也为小型光谱仪器创造一个大市场。这个小型企业创新研究 (SBIR) 第一阶段项目将是一个小型直接光纤定位系统 (DFPS)，由 4 x 5 毫米网格上的 4 个 16 根光纤阵列，每根光纤将提供 3.6 毫米 x 3.6 毫米的运动范围，并由功耗低于 20 mW A 的电子电路控制。校准相机将查看发光光纤尖端，以 10 µm 的精度监控其位置，以测量和演示光纤定位器的精度和可重复性。定位器的稳定性将在温暖和寒冷环境中的一个小时内确定。 ，并且在水平和垂直方向上，光纤移动的直接方法需要精确控制并行施加到许多光纤的电压，这是一个具有挑战性的电气工程问题，如果我们能够定位光纤，那么其他机械复杂的系统就可以避免这一问题。准确地望远镜焦平面上的直径为 10 µm，我们将能够提供一种新型、优质的光纤定位器，它更加紧凑、不易发生机械故障、不易腐蚀且更耐疲劳比任何其他现有的纤维定位系统都要好。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并且通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。