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We propose a passive indirect light collector system for interior lighting with the use of diffuse reflectors. This system is based on the idea that diffuse reflectors may increase the acceptance angle of passive systems therefor improving the overall effectiveness and also achieving a better response to light directionality in certain hours of the day. We search the most efficient way to collect optical power by scaling the collection area with a multi-level configuration. We also analyse the light collection on buildings facades through the simulation of the behaviour of the system under cloudy day conditions showing these systems as a feasible and economic option for indirect and direct light collection for interior lighting, allowing a less invasive way to conduct light to interiors with acceptable efficiency and avoiding the use of heliostats or expensive coating materials.

We describe diamond-turned material tests for the integral field unit (IFU) for the FRIDA instrument (inFRared Imager and Dissector for the Adaptive optics system of the Gran Telescopio Canarias). FRIDA is closely based on the design of the successful FISICA cryogenic infrared image slicing device, which used "monolithic" mirror arrays, diamond turned into single pieces of metal. FRIDA, however, will require better roughness characteristics than the 15nm RMS of FISICA to avoid light scatter in FRIDA's shorter wavelength limit (900nm). Al 6061 seems to be limited to this roughness level by its silicate inclusions so some new combination of materials that are compatible with FRIDA's Al 6061 structure must be found. To this end, we have tested six diamond-turned mirrors with different materials and different platings. We used the Zygo interferometer facility at IA-UNAM to do warm and cold profile measurements of the mirrors to investigate possible bimetallic deformation effects. We present a detailed comparison of the various performance characteristics of the test mirrors.

COATLI will provide 0.3 arcsec FWHM images from 550 to 900 nm over a large fraction of the sky. It consists of a robotic 50-cm telescope with a diffraction-limited fast-guiding imager. Since the telescope is small, fast guiding will provide diffraction-limited image quality over a field of at least 1 arcmin and with coverage of a large fraction of the sky, even in relatively poor seeing. The COATLI telescope will be installed at the at the Observatorio Astron\'omico Nacional in Sierra San Pedro M\'artir, M\'exico, during 2016 and the diffraction-limited imager will follow in 2017., Comment: To appear in the proceedings of SPIE conference 9908 "Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VI". 9 pages

El objetivo de la tesis es el de proponer un sistema de óptica adaptiva óptimo para telescopios de 2 a 6 m. En este trabajo se compara el desempeño de las diferentes componentes para tales sistemas y se concluye que el óptimo es el dado por la combinación de un sensor de curvatura de frente de onda con un espejo deformable (corrector) bimorfo o de membrana. Este trabajo pone especial interés en los detectores para el sensor de curvatura del frente de onda. Se llevaron a cabo cálculos del error en la medida del frente de onda introducidos por los cuatro detectores estudiados (mepsicron, CCD y dos tipos de fotodiodos de avalancha) para encontrar el detector óptimo y la magnitud estelar límite del objeto de referencia detectable por cada uno de ellos. The purpose of this work is to propose the optimal Adaptive Optics system for telescopes with a 2 to 6m primary mirror. In this work, the performance of the different parts (and combinations of parts) of such systems are studied; and it is concluded that the best one is the one formed by the combination of a curvature sensor and a bimorph or membrane deformable mirror (as a corrector). This work places special interest on detectors used for curvature sensors. Calculations of the wave front measurement error introduced by the noise of 4 studied detectors (mepsicron, CCD and two different types of avalanche photodiodes) were made to find the optimal detector for the purpose and the limiting star magnitude of the reference star than can be detected.