Since we set up the 2-lens system focusing the laser beam to the CCD, the next step was to mount the spherical reflector (31 mm wide) and the heater (~3 mm diameter). I used a small 3-axis stage to mount the heater, providing 3 degrees of freedom that would allow to manipulate the height of the heater, its position with respect to the reflector (left-right and in-out). The reflector was mounted in such a way that we can control its rotation angle, height and horizontal displacement. The current design is not quite sophisticated as it is just a first test, however I will look into different tools in the lab to see if I can use less mounts to get the same degrees of freedom.
The new heaters are supposed to be heated using AC. We used a DC power supply and ran ~30V through the wire, however only about ~50 mA of current was running through it. Jon will look into the specs of the new heaters to see if the power supply was the problem. |