Conceptual Design Of A 5-M Terahertz Telescope At Dome A

A 5-meter terahertz telescope is proposed by the Chinese Center for Antarctic Astronomy (CCAA) for the East Antarctica site of the Dome A plateau. The Dome A 5-m terahertz telescope (DATE 5) will be operated at sub-millimeter waveband taking the unique advantage of the transparent atmospheric windows between 200 and 350 mu m wavelengths at Dome A. A preliminary design has been conducted according to the given technical requirements and the special environmental conditions at Dome A. A symmetric R-C Cassegrain optical system is designed for the telescope, with a primary f-ratio of 0.4 and a wide field of view of 10 arcmin. The magnification of the sub-reflector is 9.4, leading to the final focal ratio of 3.76 and the focus 0.2 m below the vertex of the primary reflector. To ensure surface accuracy of the reflectors precise as small as 10 um RMS, we consider using Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) to build the backup structure (BUS) of the primary reflector and the sub-reflector itself. An alt-azimuthal mounting is adopted and a tall base structure beneath the telescope is set up to lift the telescope above the low atmosphere turbulent layer. All the mechanics, as well as control electronics, are strictly designed to fit the lower temperature operation in the Dome A environment. This paper is to generally present the mentioned systematic optical, structural and electronic design of the DATE 5 telescope.