Jan 28 2015
QED Technologies (QED), pioneer and provider of Magnetorheological Finishing (MRF®) polishing and Subaperture Stitching Interferometry (SSI®) metrology platforms for the precision optics industry, announces that the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) has awarded QED Optics a contract to manufacture precision optics for the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST).
QED Optics will manufacture a significant portion of the precision optics and assemblies that constitute the telescope's Wavefront Correction System (WCS). The WCS compensates for turbulence in the earth's atmosphere that causes image distortion. Correction of the distortion is critical to ensure sharp, precise telescopic images.
"The Wavefront Correction System is a key element of the telescope, responsible for delivering a diffraction-limited light beam to the DKIST instruments," said Erik Johansson, Project Manager, Wavefront Correction System. "Its proper operation and performance are fundamental to the DKIST meeting its basic science objectives. AURA selected QED because they demonstrated their ability to manage the entire manufacturing process and to deliver on time and on budget."
"We are excited to be part of this important project," said Mike DeMarco, Business Manager of QED Optics. "AURA is a great partner and the demands of the project fit perfectly with QED Optics' capabilities, from high precision finishing of optics to turnkey manufacturing."