The Centre for Astrophysical Research of Lyon (CRAL) has selected Bertin Technologies to supply four image slicers for the HARMONI instrument, soon to be installed on the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT).
HARMONI (High Angular Resolution – Monolithic – Optical and Near-infrared – Integral field spectrograph) is an ultra-stable spectral observation instrument designed to cover the visible and near-infrared ranges, offering high spectral resolution with spatial sampling ranging from 4 to 40 milliarcseconds. It is one of the first light instruments of the Extremely Large Telescope, currently under construction on Cerro Armazones in northern Chile. By 2028, the ELT will be the largest optical telescope ever built, with a primary mirror 39 meters in diameter.
Under this contract, Bertin Technologies, with its Business Unit Bertin Winlight, will provide CRAL, the French laboratory specializing in fundamental astrophysics research, with its very first parabolic image slicers. Each slicer will consist of two image slicers made of 38 layers of 1-millimeter-thick Zerodur, assembled through molecular adhesion. These will become the largest image slicers ever produced by Bertin Technologies.
This project will unfold in three major phases: the first phase, lasting one year, will focus on optimizing manufacturing processes to meet the specifications of the design provided by CRAL. The second phase, lasting two years, will involve manufacturing the eight image slicers in our production facilities in Pertuis, using a co-patented manufacturing process developed with CNRS as part of the MUSE project*. The third and final phase will consist of delivering the equipment to CRAL, which will install them into their subassembly before final integration into the HARMONI instrument.
Through the acquisition of Winlight in 2017, Bertin Technologies has strengthened its expertise in the design of image slicers. Specialized in the manufacture of high-precision instruments for large telescopes, Bertin Winlight, former Winlight, has been a key player in the astronomy sector for over 25 years, as demonstrated by its contribution to the MUSE project for the Very Large Telescope. Its skills range from the manufacture of custom optical components to the provision of complete instruments for the most powerful telescopes in the world.
*MUSE (Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer): This is a second-generation wide-field 3D spectrograph currently in operation on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Bertin Winlight produced over 2500 optical components and complex subassemblies, including image slicers and spectrographs, for this state-of-the-art instrument.