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Photograph of the monolithic SHS interferometer for the near ultraviolet flown on as part of the SHIMMER payload on STPSat-1[Harlander at al., 2004, Englert et al., 2010a].

Spatial heterodyne spectrographs (SHS) combine large etendue and high spectral resolution in a compact volume and provide significant gains in sensitivity over a slit-spectrograph. The advantages of the SHS, including the lack of moving parts, high throughput, ultra-compact, and cost-effective design, make it an excellent candidate for future space-based spectroscopic instruments for astronomical and remote sensing observations from small-satellite platforms such as CubeSats.

The combination of high spectral resolution, sensitivity, and small size makes them useful for studying diffuse extended sources. This SHS-based high-resolution spectrograph has interesting applications in UV astronomy, including the study of UV absorption bump at 217.5 nm. Recent advancements in Ultraviolet (UV) optical and detector technologies expanded prospects for a compact, light-weight, and high-resolution Near-UV and Far-UV SHS instrument.

This project involves instrument modelling, science simulation, electro-optical, and system design of a compact SHS instrument.  As it involves both short-term and long-term activities, potential students are encouraged to contact the supervisor for more information. Prior experience in at least two of the following is recommended: instrument modelling, simulation, scientific programming, optical engineering, opto-mechanical design, detector and electronics, and space instrumentation.