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Schedule including this lecture.
Goddard Space Flight Center Engineering Colloquium
Date: Monday, March 26, 2001
The use of off-axis optical components is becoming commonplace in devices such as telescopes, spectrometers, low stray-light systems, and high-energy laser systems. One of the more intimidating aspects of this technology arises during the opto-mechanical assembly and alignment phase. Here, the lack of circular symmetry of the optical components and system, the unusually shaped intermediate images, etc., tend to be unfamiliar territory even for the experienced optical engineer. However, by properly recognizing key aspects of both the optical and mechanical subassemblies at the beginning of the project, optical and mechanical jigs, fixtures, tooling, and alignment devices can be constructed to allow exquisitely simple alignment of the system. Furthermore, whether the components are small or large (such as those in the Next Generation Space Telescope) the basic techniques are the same.
Dr. Ruda will discuss simple and elegant methods of finding the optical axis of a general, higher order aspheric surface and as well as other types of off-axis optical components.
Dr. Mitchell Ruda is president of Ruda & Associates, Inc., an optical engineering and consulting firm located in Tucson AZ.
Dr. Ruda's broad experience covers the complete range of optical system design, engineering, fabrication, testing, and evaluation. He has been responsible for many all-reflecting, aspheric, on-and-off-axis optical systems in both the visible and infrared regions for both laboratory and space-based use. He has contributed his expertise to a variety of program areas, including laser communications, laser radar, space-based pointing and tracking projection, lithography, and others. He was a consultant on the repairs of the Hubble Space Telescope.
Dr. Ruda teaches a course entitled "Introduction to Optical Alignment". It has been taught internationally over the past two decades and is available on CD-ROM through SPIE - The International Society of Optical Engineering.
He is a Fellow of SPIE.
Colloquium Committee Sponsor: John Wood
Engineering Colloquium home page: https://ecolloq.gsfc.nasa.gov