No Arabic abstract
The paper analyzes and compares some spectral filtering methods as truncated singular/eigen-value decompositions and Tikhonov/Re-blurring regularizations in the case of the recently proposed Reflective [M.K. Ng, R.H. Chan, and W.C. Tang, A fast algorithm for deblurring models with Neumann boundary conditions, SIAM J. Sci. Comput., 21 (1999), no. 3, pp.851-866] and Anti-Reflective [S. Serra Capizzano, A note on anti-reflective boundary conditions and fast deblurring models, SIAM J. Sci. Comput., 25-3 (2003), pp. 1307-1325] boundary conditions. We give numerical evidence to the fact that spectral decompositions (SDs) provide a good image restoration quality and this is true in particular for the Anti-Reflective SD, despite the loss of orthogonality in the associated transform. The related computational cost is comparable with previously known spectral decompositions, and results substantially lower than the singular value decomposition. The model extension to the cross-channel blurring phenomenon of color images is also considered and the related spectral filtering methods are suitably adapted.
Inspired by the theoretical results on optimal preconditioning stated by Ng, R.Chan, and Tang in the framework of Reflective boundary conditions (BCs), in this paper we present analogous results for Anti-Reflective BCs, where an additional technical difficulty is represented by the non orthogonal character of the Anti-Reflective transform and indeed the technique of Ng, R.Chan, and Tang can not be used. Nevertheless, in both cases, the optimal preconditioner is the blurring matrix associated to the symmetrized Point Spread Function (PSF). The geometrical idea on which our proof is based is very simple and general, so it may be useful in the future to prove theoretical results for new proposed boundary conditions. Computational results show that the preconditioning strategy is effective and it is able to give rise to a meaningful acceleration both for slightly and highly non-symmetric PSFs.
ASTRI is a Flagship Project of the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research, led by the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics, INAF. One of the main aims of the ASTRI Project is the design, construction and verification on-field of a dual mirror (2M) end-to-end prototype for the Small Size Telescope (SST) envisaged to become part of the Cherenkov Telescope Array. The ASTRI SST-2M prototype adopts the Schwarzschild-Couder design, and a camera based on SiPM (Silicon Photo Multiplier); it will be assembled at the INAF astronomical site of Serra La Nave on mount Etna (Catania, Italy) within mid 2014, and will start scientific validation phase soon after. The peculiarities of the optical design and of the SiPM bandpass pushed towards specifically optimized choices in terms of reflective coatings for both the primary and the secondary mirror. In particular, multi-layer dielectric coatings, capable of filtering out the large Night Sky Background contamination at wavelengths $lambda gtrsim 700$ nm have been developed and tested, as a solution for the primary mirrors. Due to the conformation of the ASTRI SST-2M camera, a reimaging system based on thin pyramidal light guides could be optionally integrated aiming to increase the fill factor. An anti-reflective coating optimized for a wide range of incident angles faraway from normality was specifically developed to enhance the UV-optical transparency of these elements. The issues, strategy, simulations and experimental results are thoroughly presented.
We use a state-of-the-art optimization algorithm combined with a careful methodology to find optimal anti-reflective coatings. Our results show that ultra thin structures (less than $300 ,nm$ thick) outperform much thicker gradual patterns as well as traditional interferential anti-reflective coatings. These optimal designs actually combine a gradual increase of the refractive index with patterns meant to leverage interferential effects. Contrarily to gradual patterns, they do not require extremely low refractive index materials, so that they can actually be fabricated. Using a cheap and easily deployable vapor deposition technique, we fabricated a 4-layer anti-reflective coating, which proved very efficient over the whole visible spectrum despite a total thickness of only 200 nm.
The desire for higher sensitivity has driven ground-based cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments to employ ever larger focal planes, which in turn require larger reimaging optics. Practical limits to the maximum size of these optics motivates the development of quasi-optically-coupled (lenslet-coupled), multi-chroic detectors. These detectors can be sensitive across a broader bandwidth compared to waveguide-coupled detectors. However, the increase in bandwidth comes at a cost: the lenses (up to $sim$700 mm diameter) and lenslets ($sim$5 mm diameter, hemispherical lenses on the focal plane) used in these systems are made from high-refractive-index materials (such as silicon or amorphous aluminum oxide) that reflect nearly a third of the incident radiation. In order to maximize the faint CMB signal that reaches the detectors, the lenses and lenslets must be coated with an anti-reflective (AR) material. The AR coating must maximize radiation transmission in scientifically interesting bands and be cryogenically stable. Such a coating was developed for the third generation camera, SPT-3G, of the South Pole Telescope (SPT) experiment, but the materials and techniques used in the development are general to AR coatings for mm-wave optics. The three-layer polytetrafluoroethylene-based AR coating is broadband, inexpensive, and can be manufactured with simple tools. The coating is field tested; AR coated focal plane elements were deployed in the 2016-2017 austral summer and AR coated reimaging optics were deployed in 2017-2018.
Anti-reflective coatings (ARCs) are used on the vast majority of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules to increase power production. However, ARC longevity can vary from less than 1 year to over 15 years depending on coating quality and deployment conditions. A technique that can quantify ARC degradation non-destructively on commercial modules would be useful both for in-field diagnostics and accelerated aging tests. In this paper, we demonstrate that accurate measurements of ARC spectral reflectance can be performed using a modified commercially-available integrating-sphere probe. The measurement is fast, accurate, non-destructive and can be performed outdoors in full-sun conditions. We develop an interferometric model that estimates coating porosity, thickness and fractional area coverage from the measured reflectance spectrum for a uniform single-layer coating. We demonstrate the measurement outdoors on an active PV installation, identify the presence of an ARC and estimate the properties of the coating.