title: Throughput of diffraction-limited field optics systems for infrared and millimetric telescopes.
abstract: Telescopes for submillimeter wavelengths have point spread functions some millimeters or centimeters in diameter, but the detectors may be only fractions of a millimeter in size. Thus a field aperture and collecting optics are needed. We show how to optimize the aperture by a calculation of the effects of diffraction on signal and resolution as a function of size of the collecting aperture. Our calculations are compared to experimental results from observations of Mars at submillimeter wavelengths.
authors.affiliation: University of Chicago, Enrico Fermi Institute, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Hildebrand
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Winston