Computer-aided beam path generation and assessment for Stevick-Paul telescopes

At Deggendorf Institute of Technology a student project is currently under way to build a Stevick-Paul telescope for astrophotography. An important step in the overall development procedure of each telescope is the design of a beam-path and ensuring its suitability under optical and engineering aspects. The students performed this process in a sequential manner by using several different computer programs (e.g. MATLAB, Zemax, Creo Parametric). To accelerate the beam path design process, a Python program to automate the major part of the design process with minimum human supervision was created. The input data of the python program consists of ranges of the desired characteristics of the Stevick-Paul telescope, such as focal lengths, primary mirror diameters and tilts etc., mirror thickness and mount geometries, as well as the specific type of camera. After setting the input, the program creates 2D cross-sections of beam paths according to the formulas of D. Stevick and may introduce a flat fold mirror to reduce the overall system size as well as improve the accessibility of the focus plane. The subsequent assessment routine checks against the susceptibility for stray light and performs a complex analysis of the available installation space to ensure sufficient mechanical tolerances. In this way, collisions between mirrors, mounts and cameras are avoided and obstructions of the beam path are prevented. At any stage, the program can produce graphical representations of the beam paths. In this paper the computer-aided design of a telescope beam path with a focal length of 2400 mm is demonstrated. During development of the software, a subset of folded Stevick-Paul telescopes, in which certain components are parallel, was found. This subset may be useful to simplify the alignment procedure. In conclusion, further refinement of the software is necessary, although the program is already a useful aid for certain aspects when creating a beam path design.