Optical analysis of a membrane photon sieve space telescope

Technology and opportunities of photon sieve CubeSat with deployable optical membrane

“…Therefore, the diameter of the photon sieve pinholes can be made larger than the underlying Fresnel zone width. PSs have the added benefit of suppressing higher diffracted orders by apodizing the number of pinholes in the outer rings, which leads to better image contrast and higher signal-to-noise ratios [3][4][5][6][7]. The flexibility in pinhole diameter also relaxes fabrication constraints, meaning that a given fabrication system will be able to produce a higher numerical aperture (NA) photon sieve than zone plate.…”

“…The CubeSat was designed to conduct imaging, the emphasis was on the optics rather than the deployment system, which was outsourced to MMA Design LLC. The specific wavelength used in this mission was selected because even with a narrow bandwidth and low efficiency, there would still be enough photon flux to obtain images in low-light situations [4]. The prototype master sieve was a phase PS, which meant that rather than using holes, the manufacturer used raised circular pads on a transparent substrate.…”

“…In the case that photon sieves support EOT, photon sieves would have a major advantage over conventional zone plates for optical near field applications, due to the signal enhancement from the EOT effect as well as the naturally superior image contrast of photon sieves. c) Deep celestial and dark matter imaging with PS CubeSat Photon sieve space telescopes are also a large area of interest [3][4][5][6][7] due to their enhanced image contrast and low weight. However, further benefits exist as well.…”