Design, Fabrication and Characterization of the Thermal Filter Assembly on the Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) on-board Aditya- L1

TL;DR

This paper details the design, fabrication, and testing of a thermal filter assembly for the SUIT instrument on the Aditya-L1 satellite, ensuring optimal UV imaging of the Sun while managing heat load and protecting the sensor.

Contribution

It presents the first-ever design, development, and qualification of a thermal filter assembly for a space-based near-ultraviolet telescope.

Findings

The TFA effectively controls heat load and reduces incoming flux to protect the CCD.

Qualification tests confirm the TFA's durability and performance in space conditions.

The TFA design successfully avoids thermo-elastic stress impacts on optical performance.

Abstract

The Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) observes the Sun in the near-ultraviolet regime on board the Aditya-L1 satellite, India's dedicated mission to study the Sun. SUIT will image the Sun in the wavelength range of 200-400 nm using 11 science bandpasses with varying spectral bandwidths between 0.1-58 nm. Within this range, the Sun provides huge incoming solar flux to the telescope that also varies by a factor of ~ 20 from the lower end to the upper end of the wavelength band of interest. Thermal Filter Assembly (TFA) is an optical component at the SUIT entrance aperture, directly facing the Sun. The TFA is used to control the heat load entering the telescope cavity and also to reduce the signal reaching the SUIT camera system and the charge-coupled device (CCD) sensor, which is limited in full-well capacity and the linear operational regime. The TFA is designed to allow only 0.1-0.45% of the incoming flux to pass within 200-400 nm. The choice of materials for substrate and coating for the filter poses several challenges in terms of contamination, corrosion/ oxidation and durability during the manufacturing process. Additionally, long-term exposure to harsh space environments and the formation of pinholes are other concerns. Direct exposure to the sun leads to a strong temperature gradient along the thickness of the filter. The design and assembly of the TFA are performed to avoid any thermo-elastic stress affecting optical performance. Different levels of qualification tests and the operation of SUIT in orbit for more than 14 months have confirmed the perfect working of the TFA. To the best of our knowledge, the design, development, and testing of such a rejection filter is the first of its kind for space telescopes in the near ultraviolet range.