Optic-axis Alignment and Performance Test of the Schwarzschild-Chang Off-axis Telescope

The Schwarzschild-Chang off-axis telescope is a "linear astigmatism-free" confocal system. The telescope comprises two pieces of aluminum-alloy freeform mirrors that are fabricated with diamond turning machine (DTM) process. We designed optomechanical structures where optical components in the telescope system can be adjustable on a linear stage. Optomechanical deformation caused by the weight of system itself and its temperature variation is analyzed by the finite element analysis (FEA). The results show that the deformation is estimated in the tolerance range. For the optic-axis alignment of telescope system, three-point alignment (TPA) method is chosen. The TPA method uses three parallel lasers and a plane mirror. Point source images were taken from collimated light and field observation. The performance of optical system was tested by point spread function and aberration measurement of the point sources.