Novel infrared-blocking aerogel scattering filters and their applications in astrophysical and planetary science

TL;DR

This paper presents the development and testing of novel infrared-blocking aerogel scattering filters, demonstrating their suitability for astrophysical and planetary science observations across various cryogenic experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a new type of aerogel scattering filter, with successful fabrication, modeling, and cryogenic testing for use in advanced astrophysical instruments.

Findings

Filters meet mechanical and scientific requirements for multiple experiments.

Prototype filters withstand cryogenic cycling to 4K without degradation.

Thermal simulations predict effective performance in cryogenic receivers.

Abstract

Infrared-blocking scattering aerogel filters have a broad range of potential applications in astrophysics and planetary science observations in the far-infrared, sub-millimeter, and microwave regimes. Successful dielectric modeling of aerogel filters allowed the fabrication of samples to meet the mechanical and science instrument requirements for several experiments, including the Sub-millimeter Solar Observation Lunar Volatiles Experiment (SSOLVE), the Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor (CLASS), and the Experiment for Cryogenic Large-Aperture Intensity Mapping (EXCLAIM). Thermal multi-physics simulations of the filters predict their performance when integrated into a cryogenic receiver. Prototype filters have survived cryogenic cycling to 4K with no degradation in mechanical properties.