Technologies

Fibre Bragg gratings

This is the primary method used for removing background light interference in astronomical observations. At the University of Sydney, special attention is being paid to the suppression of atmospheric OH emission.

Photonic lanterns

A photonic lantern is a method for inserting single mode functionality into an otherwise multimode system. This technology allows instrumentalists to insert other devices that function poorly in multimode fibres, such as fibre Bragg filter systems.

Integrated spectrographs

Integrated photonic spectrographs are being developed as a result of the inability for current, conventional spectrographs to be simply upsized as the size of telescopes increases.

Fibre Technology

A great deal of research goes into new, more efficient optical fibres, as without good optical, the system–no matter how advanced–cannot operate. One new technology involves hexabundles for use in spectrographs.

Planar Waveguides

These waveguides combine the signals from the component telescopes of an interferometry array, which are connected by an optical network.

Laser Frequency Combs

Frequency combs allow astronomers to detect extrasolar planets by comparing the oscillation of the observed star’s line spectrum with a fixed predicted spectrum, mapped using a laser.

Adaptive Optics

The images of most objects picked up by telescopes are badly distorted by the medium in between the source and the receiver. Adaptive optics attempts to correct this.

Artificial Star Generation

A close by reference point is required in order to use adaptive optics technology. If a bright celestial object is nearby, this makes observations much simpler, but normally an artificial “guide star” is required, and is generated by a powerful laser exciting molecules in the upper atmosphere.

Liquid Crystal Polymers

Liquid crystal polymers are used in adaptive optics as the “adaptive” part, as they can be deformed depending on the nature of the correction being made by the system.

Fibre Positioning Technology

Research continues to go into the robotic fibre positioning systems used to move fibres around on the spectroscopy plates to observe the desired area of sky. The AAO produces many fibre positioners for use in instruments across the world, such as OzPoz and ECHIDNA.