Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T21:20:19.125Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

An Acousto-Optical Radio Spectrograph for Spectral Integration

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2016

T. W. Cole
Affiliation:
Division of Radiophysics, CSIRO, Sydney
D. K. Milne
Affiliation:
Division of Radiophysics, CSIRO, Sydney

Extract

From early experiments in 1966 (Cole 1968) the acousto-optical radio spectrograph has been developed at CSIRO to a sensitive, multi-channel spectral-line back-end. The principles of the instrument are described in detail elsewhere (Lambert 1962; Hecht 1977; Milne and Cole 1977). By means of a Bragg interaction between a laser beam and an ultrasonic beam derived from the radio signal, light is diffracted into an order whose light intensity distribution is accurately related to the power spectrum of the radio signal. In the earlier spectrographs the spectrum was recorded photographically (Cole 1973a, b; Hecht 1973) but this was limited to strong spectral features. To study weak spectral features a stable, linear system was needed with large dynamic range. The combination of an array of photodiodes and computer would be capable of observing these weak spectral features (Cole and Abies 1974). Development since 1974 has been a progressive identification of sources of thermal and mechanical instability and of excess noise in the spectrograph system.

Type
Contributions
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of Australia 1977

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Cole, T. W., Opt. Technol., 1, 31 (1968).Google Scholar
Cole, T. W., Proc. IEEE, 61, 1321 (1973a).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cole, T. W., Astrophys. Lett., 15, 59 (1973b).Google Scholar
Cole, T. W., and Ables, J. G., Astron. Astrophys., 34, 149 (1974).Google Scholar
Cole, T. W., Stewart, R. T., and Milne, D. K., Astron. Astrophys. (submitted for publication) (1977).Google Scholar
Fry, P. W., J. Phys. E, 8, 337 (1975).Google Scholar
Hecht, ,. L., IEEE Ultrasonics Symp. Proc., p. 98, IEEE Catalogue 73 CHO807-8SU, New York (1973).Google Scholar
Hecht, D. L., IEEE Trans., SU-24, 7 (1977).Google Scholar
Lambert, L. B., IRE Int. Conv. Record, 10, Part 6, 69 (1962).Google Scholar
Livingstone, W. C, Harvey, J., Slaughter, C., and Trumbo, D., Appl. Opt., 15, 10 (1976).Google Scholar
Milne, D. K., and Cole, T. W., IREE Aust. 16th Int. Conv. Digest (to be published) (1977).Google Scholar