Speaker
Description
The performance of the LISA optical bench will be tested in Toulouse by the CNES before flight. The LISA France collaboration is engaged in the design and construction of a test setup to be coupled with the OB (Optical Bench) for that purpose. Among other equipment, the Beams Simulator (BSim) will simulate the telescope and backlink interfaces of the OB, generating a flat top beam and receiving the Tx beam from the OB. It will be used to measure TTL (Tilt-To-Length) coupling and and noise levels in the science interferometer.
This ground segment equipment should not degrade the noise level: it should be consistent with the LISA noise allocations in flight. Stray light is a major noise contributor, and several simulations and tests have been performed on the different elements of the BSim bench to foresee, and limit when necessary, the stray light levels in the instrument. I will show the characteristics of this instrument, focusing on the techniques used to calculate stray light performance on all the components and at system levels, and on the measures taken to control stray light levels.