Thermo-mechanical design for a miniaturized quantum light source on board the SpooQy-1 CubeSat
- Paper number
IAC-21,B4,6B,5,x64681
- Author
Ms. Huai Ying Lim, Singapore, Republic of, SpeQtral
- Coauthor
Mr. Tom Vergoossen, Singapore, Republic of, SpeQtral
- Coauthor
Dr. Robert Bedington, Singapore, Republic of
- Coauthor
Mr. Xueliang Bai, Australia, The University of Sydney
- Coauthor
Dr. Aitor Villar, Singapore, Republic of, SpeQtral
- Coauthor
Dr. Alexander Lohrmann, Singapore, Republic of, SpeQtral
- Coauthor
Ms. Hong-Nhung Nguyen, Singapore, Republic of, National University of Singapore
- Coauthor
Dr. Alexander Ling Euk Jin, Singapore, Republic of
- Coauthor
Mr. Simon Barraclough, Australia, UNSW Australia
- Coauthor
Mr. Jai Vennik, Australia, University of New South Wales
- Coauthor
Dr. Douglas Griffin, Australia, Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA)
- Year
2021
- Abstract
This paper presents the thermo-mechanical design of the quantum light source on board SpooQy-1, a 3U CubeSat that was deployed from the International Space Station on 17th June 2019. SpooQy-1 is a technology demonstrator for space-based quantum networks. The on-board light source generates and detects polarization-entangled photon pairs to validate its in-orbit performance. Entangled photons are generated using spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) necessitating stringent dimensional stability and temperature requirements. Under laboratory conditions these requirements are routinely met using off-the-shelf laboratory mounts and alignment mechanisms. However, when facing harsh environments such as the vibration during rocket launch or temperature changes due to fluctuating illumination conditions, custom thermo-mechanical solutions are required. In this work, the development and in-orbit demonstration of an isostatic payload mount is discussed. This mounting approach enables future space missions with quantum instruments on resource-constrained CubeSat platforms with limited thermal control capabilities.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
(absent)