• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.47.1-47.1
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• 2019

We report the design and vibration analysis for the optomechanical structures of Linear Astigmatism Free - Three Mirror System (LAF-TMS). LAF-TMS is the linear astigmatism free off-axis wide-field telescope with D = 150 mm, F/3.3, and FOV = 5.51° × 4.13°. The whole structure consists of four optomechanical modules. It can accurately mount mirrors and also can survive from vibration environments. The Mass Acceleration Curve (MAC) is adapted to the quasi-static analysis. Modal, harmonic, and random vibration analysis have been performed under the qualification level of the launch system. We evaluate the final results in terms of von Mises stress and Margin of Safety (MoS).

• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.142-147
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• 2013

In order to deduce the difficulty of fixing the Ritchey-Chretien (R-C) dual reflective optical system and enhance the stability of the secondary mirror, a compact integral structure is presented here composed of two transmitting and two reflective aspheric surfaces. The four surfaces were manufactured from a single germanium lens and integrated together. The two reflective surfaces formed by coating the inner reflecting films were assembled in one lens. It makes the installation of the two mirrors easier and the structure of the secondary mirror more stable. A design of mid-wave infrared (MWIR) compact imaging system is presented with a spectral range chosen as $3.7-4.8{\mu}m$. The effective focal length is f=90 mm. The field of view (FOV) for the lens is $4.88^{\circ}$. It has good imaging capability with Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) of all field of view more than 0.55 close to the diffraction limitation. Outdoor experiments were carried out and it is shown that the integral catadioptric optical system performs well on imaging.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.75.2-76
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• 2021

MESSIER is a science satellite project to observe the Low Surface Brightness (LSB) sky at UV and optical wavelengths. The wide-field, optical system of MESSIER is optimized minimizing optical aberrations through the use of a Linear Astigmatism Free - Three Mirror System (LAF-TMS) combined with freeform mirrors. One of the key factors in observations of the LSB is the shape and spatial variability of the Point Spread Function (PSF) produced by scatterings and diffraction effects within the optical system and beyond (baffle). To assess the various factors affecting the PSF in this design, we use PhoSim, the Photon simulator, which is a fast photon Monte Carlo code designed to include all these effects, and also atmospheric effects (for ground-based telescopes) and phenomena occurring inside of the sensor. PhoSim provides very realistic simulations results and is suitable for simulations of very weak signals. Before the application to the MESSIER optics system, PhoSim had not been validated for confocal off-axis reflective optics (LAF-TMS). As a verification study for the LAF-TMS design, we apply Phosim sequentially. First, we use a single parabolic mirror system and compare the PSF results of the central field with the results from Zemax, CODE V, and the theoretical Airy pattern. We then test a confocal off-axis Cassegrain system and check PhoSim through cross-validation with CODE V. At the same time, we describe the shapes of the freeform mirrors with XY and Zernike polynomials. Finally, we will analyze the LAF-TMS design for the MESSIER optical system.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.417-428
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• 2004

We have investigated the optical property of the KAO(Korea Astronomy Observatory) wide field telescope (named NEOPAT-3; Near Earth Object and Satellite Patrol-3) and aligned optical system. The NEOPAT-3 is restricted to V,R,I-filters because of the refractive property of the correcting lens system. Because of the fast focal ratio, the optical performance of the NEOPAT-3 is very sensitive to its alignment factors of the optical system. To make the spot radius smaller than $8{\mu}m$ in rms over 2degree${\times}2$degree field, the optical system must satisfy the following conditions: 1) The tilt error between detector plane and focal plane should be less than 0.05degree. 2) The decenter error between the primary mirror and the correcting lens system should be less than 1mm. 3) The distance error between the primary mirror and the correcting lens system should be less than 2.3mm. In order to align the optical system accurately, we measured the aberrations of the telescope quantitatively by means of curvature sensing technique. NEOPAT-3 is installed temporary on the roof of the TRAO(Taeduk Radio Astronomy Observatory) main building to normalize system performance and to develop automatic observation.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.225-228
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• 2005

Telescope structure based on Korsch type optical layout was suggested for a large aperture optical system. Korsch type optical layout is regarded as providing wide field of view and no color aberration for which high resolution space cameras greatly demand. For the suggested Korsch type telescope structure, two folding mirrors are adopted, firstly to provide for the refocusing device mounting plane on the second fold mirror assembly, secondly by double folding the light path to concisely confine focal plane assembly within the perimeter of the tube. Optical layput design and corresponding support structure design were attained.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.72.2-72.2
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• 2013

An off-axis telescope has several advantages in optical performance comparing with a conventional on-axis telescope. However, in general, an off-axis telescope has a narrow field of view due to the linear astigmatism caused by the asymmetric structure. It was shown in the previous work that the linear astigmatism can be eliminated by properly configuring parameters in a confocal off-axis reflector system. Furthermore, the third order aberrations of a confocal off-axis telescope can be minimized by optimizing the shape of the mirrors. Despite many advantages, the confocal off-axis telescopes have been evaded because of difficulties of off-axis mirror fabrication, alignment process and unaccustomed off-axis baffle design. The baffle for the off-axis telescope should be designed considering that the effects of stray lights are different because of the asymmetry of off-axis system. In this poster, the design, manufacturing, and test for the baffle and housing of an off-axis telescope are presented.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.87.1-87.1
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• 2011

Since early 90's, the solar X-ray telescopes such as Yohkoh SXT and Hinode XRT have observed coronal magnetic structures on the Sun's surface in the range of about $40'{\times}40'$ field-of-view (FOV) covering the full solar disk. Thus it has been stressed by the scientists that the optical structure of solar telescopes should be designed with care for improving the uniformity over a wide FOV. There would be, however, no unique solution in designing the optical system of a telescope for overcoming perfectly the problem of off-axis response variation. As a consequence, the correction of optical imperfectness of telescopes has become an important calibration step that should be performed beforehand when the observed images are to be used for photometric purposes. In particular, a special care should be taken when performing the temperature analysis with thin and thick filters for flaring activities observed at the periphery of the full FOV. From the analyses of both pre-launch calibration and in-flight observation data, the optical characteristics for describing the performance of solar X-ray telescopes, especially in view of their energy dependence, will be introduced and discussed in our presentation.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.39.4-40
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• 2017

According to the Korean government's Long-term Space Development Plan 2040, "Creative space science research" is included in a statement to investigate the origin and evolution of the universe by conducting a series of Korean space telescope missions: launch of space telescopes on a small satellite and an international collaboration explorer by 2020, a mid-size domestic space telescope by 2030, and a large size Korea leading international space telescope by 2040. We studied the feasibility of the future Korean Space Telescope (KST) for a mid-size domestic satellite platform. In order to pursue the uniqueness of the science program, we consider a wide range of observing wavelength (0.2um ~ 2.0um) with a spectral resolution of R~6 in the NUV and optical bands, and R~30 for NIR, utilizing an off-axis TMS(Three Mirror System) optics with a wide field of view ($2{\times}4$ degrees) which is optimized for ultra-low surface brightness sources. The main science goals of the mission include investigations of the galaxy formation, cosmic web, and the cosmic background radiation in the NUV-NIR regions. In this paper, we present the science cases and several technical challenges to be resolved along with the future milestones for the success of the KST mission.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.223-228
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• 2011

White light scanning interferometry has been employed to analyze surface features of diverse specimens. Long established in the field of materials engineering, the technique provides quantitative three-dimensional data as well as qualitative morphological images. It uses white light that is split and reflected from a reference mirror and an object. Merged together, the light generates interference patterns representing topographical contours of the object surface. The amplitude of the z-axis data is differentiated by gray scale. The technique allows the rapid, noncontact, and wide-field measurements for morphometry of biological specimens including chondrocytes, tooth enamel, and plant leaves. Quantification of the dimension of surface structures such as width, length, and elevation angle could be achievable by white light scanning interferometry. The light reflection from plant leaves has been assumed to be sufficient for the technique. Without special specimen preparations like conductive metal coating, the technique can be increasingly used for quantitative three-dimensional surface measurements of biological specimens.