Presentation + Paper
3 September 2021 Aluminum-based segmented mirrors for gamma-ray Cherenkov Telescopes via replication: status and perspectives
Author Affiliations +
Abstract
Current generation Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) like HESS, MAGIC and VERITAS, operated in array-mode, have opened a new astronomical window in high energy gamma-ray band from a few tens GeV to a hundred TeV, allowing to observe the most energetic phenomena on going in our Universe. New generation arrays like ASTRI, with its 9 small-class telescopes operated at Tenerife, Canary Islands, and the very ambitious Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO - with its two sites at the northern and southern hemispheres and about 70 telescopes of different classes) will need to fabricate a few thousand square meters of reflective segments of about 1 m2 area and different shapes for making the primary mirrors. Different low-cost technologies have been used so far, like the direct figuring and polishing of glass slabs, the diamond turning of pre-formed aluminum sandwiched panels and the replica of thin glass foils for making composite sandwiched mirrors. In this paper we will present a further alternative solution, based on the replica of aluminum foils - precoated with a high reflectivity and durability multilayer film - for making sandwiched mirrors. This approach will simplify a lot the production chain, allowing us to make low-cost panels entirely made of aluminum. The method of production of the aluminum replicated panels is discussed and the preliminary performance results obtained with a prototype mirror presented.
Conference Presentation
© (2021) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
G. Pareschi, P. Attinà, V. Cotroneo, R. Millul, G. Sironi, D. Spiga, L. Lessio, G. Valsecchi, Robert Banham, M. Redaelli, and Giancarlo Parodi "Aluminum-based segmented mirrors for gamma-ray Cherenkov Telescopes via replication: status and perspectives", Proc. SPIE 11822, Optics for EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Astronomy X, 1182203 (3 September 2021); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2596490
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KEYWORDS
Atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes

Gamma radiation

Segmented mirrors

Telescopes

Ultraviolet radiation

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