The first pillar of the program targeted the development of new manufacturing methods for high performance mirrors, making use of the capabilities offered by the emerging 3D printing methods. This objective has been fully fulfilled with the work of a PhD student. She developed new process for the polishing of "off axis parabolas", with an utmost optical quality, in collaboration with the UK Astroonomical Technology Center in Edinburgh. This process allowed us to propose our methods to the NASA/JPL new flagship mission named "Roman Space Telescope", for which we delivered all the off axis parabolas of the exo-planet imager (coronagraphic instrument). This success, going far beyond the objectives of the ERC first pillar, allowed our LAM colleagues to be included in the Science teams of this instrument, which means they will have a direct access to the observation data once the telescope will be launched in the forthcoming years.
The second pillar of the program aimed at paving the way to a common use of curved sensors for astronomy, through a technology transfer and valorization program (WP6 of the ERC). Here again, the success of the program went far beyond the expectations we had seven years ago at time of writing. A complete manufacturing process for the production of curved sensors has been developed and protected with a "know how", know how that has been transferred to the start-up we founded in 2019. A mass production process was developed and patented in 2017 (Chambion & Hugot 2017). The first curved sensors have been produced and delivered to a Neuroscience institute, and the Curved Sensors have been selected as the baseline for two astronomical projects: the Blue-Muse instrument for the VLT and the CASTLE telescope currently under construction at Calar Alto, Spain.
We proposed novel methodologies for the design of optical systems taking into account the capabilities offered either by the use of freeform mirrors, the use of curved sensors, the use of the deformable versions of these components. It has led to a suite of scientific papers describing the novel methodologies.
On the trans-disciplinary aspects, we have been working on novel approaches for the design of Neurosciences imaging systems (for which a fully functional prototype has been delivered), and on an ESA-led project for Space survey monitoring with ultra-compact UV cameras embarked on nano satellites, for which we delivered optical designs and curved sensors prototypes.
On the knowledge and technology transfer aspects, it was the objective of WP6 and has been successfully fulfilled with the creation of a start-up which uses a know-how that we protected.
We are now engaged in the building of a full telescope (CASTLE) using freeform mirrors and curved sensors, which is currently under construction and will see its first light in 2023.
In total, the program allowed to hire three post docs, two PhD students, six research engineers and has seen several internships at the MsC level. Every single person who has been working for ICARUS found an activity afterwards either in the research, academic or industrial domain.
