ZnS and ZnSe immersion gratings for astronomical high-resolution spectroscopy - evaluation of internal attenuation of bulk materials in the short NIR region
Journal Article
·
· Optical Engineering
OSTI ID:970673
We measure the internal attenuation of bulk crystals of CVD-ZnS, CVD-ZnSe, Si, and GaAs, in the short near-infrared (sNIR) region to evaluate the possibility of astronomical immersion gratings with those high refractive index materials. We confirm that multispectral grade CVD-ZnS and CVD-ZnSe are best suited for the immersion gratings, with the smallest internal attenuation of {alpha}{sub att} = 0.01-0.03 cm{sup -1} among the major candidates. The measured attenuation is roughly in proportion to {lambda}{sup -2}, suggesting it is dominated by bulk scattering due to the polycrystalline grains rather than by absorption. The total transmittance in the immersion grating is estimated to be at least > 80 %, even for the spectral resolution of R = 300,000. Two potential problems, the scattered light by the bulk material and the degradation of the spectral resolution due to the gradient illumination in the diffracted beam, are investigated and found to be negligible for usual astronomical applications. Since the remaining problem, the difficulty of cutting grooves on CVD-ZnS and CVD-ZnSe, has recently been overcome by the nanoprecision fly-cutting technique, ZnS and ZnSe immersion gratings for astronomy can be technically realized.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 970673
- Report Number(s):
- LLNL-JRNL-416015
- Journal Information:
- Optical Engineering, Journal Name: Optical Engineering Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 48; ISSN 0091-3286; ISSN OPEGAR
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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