2015/11/30 by Michael D. Niemack · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #astro-ph.IM #astro-ph.CO
paper · pdf · doi:10.1364/ao.55.001686
published as Applied Optics 55 (2016) 1688-96 · 9 pages, 7 figures, to be published in Applied Optics
arxiv created 2016/02/24 · arxiv updated 2016/04/20
Current large-aperture cosmic microwave background (CMB) telescopes have nearly maximized the number of detectors that can be illuminated while maintaining diffraction-limited image quality. The polarization-sensitive detector arrays being deployed in these telescopes in the next few years will have roughly 104 detectors. Increasing the mapping speed of future instruments by at least an order of magnitude is important to enable precise probes of the inflationary paradigm in the first fraction of a second after the big bang and provide strong constraints on cosmological parameters. The CMB community has begun planning a next generation "Stage IV" CMB project that will be comprised of multiple telescopes with between 105 - 106 detectors to pursue these goals. This paper introduces new crossed Dragone telescope and receiver optics designs that increase the usable diffraction-limited field-of-view, and therefore the mapping speed, by an order of magnitude compared to the upcoming generation of large-aperture instruments. Polarization systematics and engineering considerations are presented, including a preliminary receiver model to demonstrate that these designs will enable high efficiency illumination of >105 detectors in a next generation CMB telescope.