Characterization of aerogel scattering filters for astronomical telescopes

TL;DR

This paper presents the development and spectral characterization of novel infrared-blocking scattering filters made with polymer aerogel and embedded particles, suitable for astronomical and planetary science applications.

Contribution

Introduces tunable aerogel-based scattering filters with detailed fabrication and spectral measurement techniques for astronomical use.

Findings

Successfully fabricated filters with various scattering particles.

Achieved spectral tuning through composition and particle properties.

Developed a mm-wave Fourier transform spectrometer testbed.

Abstract

We have developed a suite of novel infrared-blocking filters made by embedding scattering particles in a polymer aerogel substrate. Our developments allow us to tune the spectral performance of the filters based on both the composition of the base aerogel material and the properties of the scattering particles. Our filters are targeted for use in a variety of applications, from ground-based CMB experiments to planetary science probes. We summarize the formulations we have fabricated and tested to date, including several polyimide base aerogel formulations incorporating a range of size distributions of diamond scattering particles. We also describe the spectral characterization techniques used to measure the filters' optical properties, including the development of a mm-wave Fourier transform spectrometer testbed.