The internal alignment and validation of a powered ADC for SOXS

Abstract

The Son Of X-Shooter (SOXS) is a two-channel spectrograph along with imaging capabilities, characterized by a wide spectral coverage (350nm to 2000nm), designed for the NTT telescope at the La Silla Observatory. Its main scientific goal is the spectroscopic follow-up of transients and variable objects. The UV-VIS arm, of the Common Path sub-system, is characterized by the presence of a powered Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector composed (ADC) by two counter-rotating quadruplets, two prisms, and two lenses each. The presence of powered optics in both the optical groups represents an additional challenge in the alignment procedures. We present the characteristics of the ADC, the analysis after receiving the optics from the manufacturer, the emerging issues, the alignment strategies we followed, and the final results of the ADC in dispersion and optical quality.

SOXS mechanical integration and verification in Italy

“…The manufacturer had to glue the optical elements to the optomechanical supports, install them inside the motors, and ship the whole unit to Padua for the final integration. Due to some error in the gluing procedure the whole realignment has to be performed again in Padua and the whole process is described in [5].…”