DKIST visible broadband imager alignment in laboratory: first results

What is it about?

The Visible Broadband Imager (VBI) Blue and Red channels are the first Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) instruments that have been aligned and tested in a laboratory. This paper describes the optical alignment method of the VBI as performed in the laboratory. The objective of this preliminary alignment is to test and validate the optical alignment method that will be used during final alignment on the telescope, to measure the VBI performances and to verify that it meets specification. The optical alignment method is defined by three major steps. The first step is realized by combining the optical and mechanical models into the Spatial Analyzer (SA) software, and extracting the data serving as target values during alignment. The second step is the mechanical alignment and allows to accurately position the optics in the instrument coordinate system by using a Coordinate Measurement Machine (CMM) arm and a theodolite. This step has led to a great initial positioning and has allowed reaching an initial wavefront error before optical alignment close to the specification. The last step, performed by interferometry, allows fine alignment to compensate the residual aberrations created by misalignment and manufacturing tolerances. This paper presents also an alignment method to compute the shifts and tilts of compensating lenses to correct the residual aberrations. This paper describes first results of the VBI instruments performances measured in the laboratory and confirm the validity of the alignment process that will be reproduced during final alignment on the telescope.

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