Freeform wide-field-of-view near-infrared imaging spectrometer for spaceborne climate monitoring

Lien Smeesters; Luca Schifano; Dries Rosseel; Jef Verbaenen; Hugo Thienpont; Francis Berghmans; Steven Dewitte; Michael Vervaeke

doi:10.1117/12.2677406

4 October 2023 Freeform wide-field-of-view near-infrared imaging spectrometer for spaceborne climate monitoring

Lien Smeesters, Luca Schifano, Dries Rosseel, Jef Verbaenen, Hugo Thienpont, Francis Berghmans, Steven Dewitte, Michael Vervaeke

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12677, Astronomical Optics: Design, Manufacture, and Test of Space and Ground Systems IV; 126770C (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2677406
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2023, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Earth observation and greenhouse gas sensing from space provides vital information for climate and climate change monitoring, indicating the importance of novel spaceborne telescopes and spectrometers. We present a novel freeform pushbroom imaging spectrometer enabling the sensing of water vapor, carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere, while fitting within 2 CubeSats Units. The design comprises a 2-mirror freeform telescope, combined with a near-infrared (1100 – 1700 nm) spectrometer featuring 3 freeform mirrors and a reflective grating, providing both spatial and spectral information using a 2D detector. All mirrors are described and optimized using XY polynomials, enabling a nearly diffraction-limited performance. The novel design is exceeding the state-of-the-art, by showing a full FOV of 120°, a spatial resolution of 2.6 km, and a spectral resolution of 13 nm. According to our knowledge, our novel design shows the widest field-of-view that has ever been realized for space-based telescopes, nearly reaching Earth observation from limb to limb from an altitude of about 700 km. The freeform telescope mirrors were manufactured in-house using high-precision 5-axis milling and 5-axis ultraprecision diamond tooling. Finally, a laboratory proof-of-concept demonstrator was realized validating the field-of-view and focusing spot sizes, paving the way for future space missions that target wide field-ofview imaging and/or an enhanced climate monitoring.

Conference Presentation

(2023) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

Lien Smeesters, Luca Schifano, Dries Rosseel, Jef Verbaenen, Hugo Thienpont, Francis Berghmans, Steven Dewitte, and Michael Vervaeke "Freeform wide-field-of-view near-infrared imaging spectrometer for spaceborne climate monitoring", Proc. SPIE 12677, Astronomical Optics: Design, Manufacture, and Test of Space and Ground Systems IV, 126770C (4 October 2023); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2677406

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available