Abstract

The optical window, as a part of the collimator system, is the connector between the outside light source and the optical system inside a vacuum tank. The temperature and pressure difference between the two sides of the optical window cause not only thermoelastic deformation, but also refractive-index irregularities. To suppress the influence of these two changes on the performance of the collimator system, thermo-optical analysis is employed. Coefficients that characterize the deformations and refractive-index distributions are derived through finite-element analysis, and then imported into the collimator system using a user-defined surface in ZEMAX. The temperature and pressure difference imposed on the window seriously degrade the system performance of the collimator. A decentered and tilted lens group is designed to correct both field aberrations and the thermal effects of the window. Through lens-interval adjustment of the lens group, the diffraction-limited performance of the collimator can be maintained with a vacuum level of 10⁻⁵ Pa and inside temperature ranging from −100 ℃ to 20 ℃.

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