FIRST TESTS OF A TORALDO PUPIL OPTICAL MODULE FOR THE 32M MEDICINA ANTENNA

Abstract

Toraldo Pupils can improve the angular resolving power of an optical instrument beyond the classical diffraction limit (hence the term “super-resolution”) using a filter consisting of finite- width concentric coronae with different amplitude and phase transmittance. Toraldo Pupils represent a viable approach to achieve super-resolution on antennas and radio telescopes. In this work we present a summary of the electromagnetic simulations and laboratory tests of a prototype optical module based on a Toraldo Pupil that has been field-tested on the Medicina 32-m radio telescope.