Design, development and testing of the All-Reflection Michelson Interferometer (AMI) for use in the mid-ultraviolet region

Abstract

The design of an All-Reflection Michelson Interferometer for use in the ultraviolet region is presented. Two different Mercury light sources, a pen- ray lamp and a germicidal lamp, were used to evaluate the performance of the instrument at 253 7A. The interferometer uses a pinhole aperture at the focus of an off-axis parabolic mirror to obtain a collimated input beam. A plane diffraction grating with sinusoidal grooves divides the beam into two orders. Planar mirrors reflect the beams back to the grating where they are directed to the detector. The beams recombine to form a linear interference pattern which is recorded by an ultraviolet detector. Data-reduction software was developed for this instrument. This software performs coherent addition of the interference pattern and creates a doubled-sided interferogram. The resulting spectrum is obtained using Fourier Transform techniques. The results of the data-reduction software suggest there is a sampling error associated with the detector. Overall, the All-Reflection Michelson Interferometer is well suited for remote sensing of mid- to extreme-ultraviolet ionospheric emissions from a sounding rocket, space shuttle or satellite platform. (MM)