The design of open-air millimeter and submillimeter wavelength telescopes brings a new challenge to telescope designers. In this chapter, the thermal environment of outdoor antennas and its effect on the antenna surface and pointing errors are discussed in detail. The antenna panel and backup structure designs are discussed herein. In order to achieve superior performance of antenna backup structure, new CFRP material, structure insulation, and forced ventilation are all used in millimeter wavelength telescopes. In this chapter, the reactionless chopping secondary mirror, sensors, and the metrology system are also discussed. Special sections are added for the discussion of CFRP material properties, the shape changes of CFRP aluminum honeycomb sandwiched structures, and joint performance for CFRP-metal components. The readers can acquire basic knowledge of these specialized fields. In the last part of the chapter, antenna surface holographic measurement, surface panel adjusting strategy, and quasi-optics and broadband planar antennas are also discussed. Lightning protection and active optics for the millimeter wavelength telescopes are also mentioned. The contents of this chapter are also important for extremely large optical telescope design.
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Cheng, J. (2009). Millimeter and Submillimeter Wavelength Telescopes. In: The Principles of Astronomical Telescope Design. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 360. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/b105475_8
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