An Optical Distribution Board For Atom Quantum Experiments In Space (A Numerical Analysis)

We present the theoretical analysis of a novel optical beam steering technique (OBST) for fiber to free-space to fiber coupling schemes on optical breadboards. This technique uses glass wedges and plates to correct misalignments in the position and angle of beams on the breadboard. It can be used in any application where stable and robust coupling of light from an input to an output fiber is required, such as laser distribution boards for cold atom experiments in space. We examine the optical performance in terms of coupling efficiency (CE) for a number of different OBST systems and compare the results. Coupling efficiencies above 95% and positional and angular resolution of smaller than 5 mu m and 5 mu rad can be achieved using this technology.