Joe D. Orndorff

Prime focus spectrograph: Subaru's future

The Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) is a new multi-fiber spectrograph on Subaru telescope. PFS will cover around 1.4 degree diameter field with ~2400 fibers. To ensure precise positioning of the fibers, a metrology camera is designed to provide the fiber position information within 5 {mu}m error. The final positioning accuracy of PFS is targeted to be better than 10 {mu}m. The metrology camera will locate at the Cassegrain focus of Subaru telescope to cover the whole focal plane. The PFS metrology camera will also serve for the existing multi-fiber infrared spectrograph FMOS.The Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) of the Subaru Measurement of Images and Redshifts (SuMIRe) project has been endorsed by Japanese community as one of the main future instruments of the Subaru 8.2-meter telescope at Mauna Kea, Hawaii. This optical/near-infrared multi-fiber spectrograph targets cosmology with galaxy surveys, Galactic archaeology, and studies of galaxy/AGN evolution. Taking advantage of Subaru’s wide field of view, which is further extended with the recently completed Wide Field Corrector, PFS will enable us to carry out multi-fiber spectroscopy of 2400 targets within 1.3 degree diameter. A microlens is attached at each fiber entrance for F-ratio transformation into a larger one so that difficulties of spectrograph design are eased. Fibers are accurately placed onto target positions by positioners, each of which consists of two stages of piezo-electric rotary motors, through iterations by using back-illuminated fiber position measurements with a widefield metrology camera. Fibers then carry light to a set of four identical fast-Schmidt spectrographs with three color arms each: the wavelength ranges from 0.38 μm to 1.3 μm will be simultaneously observed with an average resolving power of 3000. Before and during the era of extremely large telescopes, PFS will provide the unique capability of obtaining spectra of 2400 cosmological/astrophysical targets simultaneously with an 8-10 meter class telescope. The PFS collaboration, led by IPMU, consists of USP/LNA in Brazil, Caltech/JPL, Princeton, and JHU in USA, LAM in France, ASIAA in Taiwan, and NAOJ/Subaru.

Prime Focus Spectrograph for the Subaru telescope: massively multiplexed optical and near-infrared fiber spectrograph

Abstract. The Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) is an optical/near-infrared multifiber spectrograph with 2394 science fibers distributed across a 1.3-deg diameter field of view at the Subaru 8.2-m telescope. The wide wavelength coverage from 0.38u2009u2009μm to 1.26u2009u2009μm, with a resolving power of 3000, simultaneously strengthens its ability to target three main survey programs: cosmology, galactic archaeology and galaxy/AGN evolution. A medium resolution mode with a resolving power of 5000 for 0.71u2009u2009μm to 0.89u2009u2009μm will also be available by simply exchanging dispersers. We highlight some of the technological aspects of the design. To transform the telescope focal ratio, a broad-band coated microlens is glued to each fiber tip. A higher transmission fiber is selected for the longest part of the cable system, optimizing overall throughput; a fiber with low focal ratio degradation is selected for the fiber-positioner and fiber-slit components, minimizing the effects of fiber movements and fiber bending. Fiber positioning will be performed by a positioner consisting of two stages of piezo-electric rotary motors. The positions of these motors are measured by taking an image of artificially back-illuminated fibers with the metrology camera located in the Cassegrain container; the fibers are placed in the proper location by iteratively measuring and then adjusting the positions of the motors. Target light reaches one of the four identical fast-Schmidt spectrograph modules, each with three arms. The PFS project has passed several project-wide design reviews and is now in the construction phase.

The FourStar infrared camera

The FourStar infrared camera is a 1.0-2.5 μm (JHKs) near infrared camera for the Magellan Baade 6.5m telescope at Las Campanas Observatory (Chile). It is being built by Carnegie Observatories and the Instrument Development Group and is scheduled for completion in 2009. The instrument uses four Teledyne HAWAII-2RG arrays that produce a 10.9 × 10.9 field of view. The outstanding seeing at the Las Campanas site coupled with FourStars high sensitivity and large field of view will enable many new survey and targeted science programs.

A readout system for plastic scintillating fibers

Abstract A readout system for plastic scintillating fibers has been developed using a multi-anode microchannel photomultiplier tube operated in a 5 kG magnetic field and the CMOS MX4 microplexer chip. The microchannel photomultiplier tube with an anode array of 10×10 is coupled to an array of fibers using a precise alignment procedure. Each readout unit is capable of sampling signals from 100 fibers simultaneously and multiplexing the analog signals serially with rates of up to 5 MHz. The analog signals are subsequently digitized and subtracted from the pedestals previously stored using a specially designed analog to digital VME module. Such a readout system has many applications in high energy physics, solid state physics, and other fields where a large number of fibers must be read out in short times and at relatively high rates.

The L3 vertex detector: design and performance

Abstract The L3 vertex detector is comprised of the time expansion chamber (TEC), the Z -chamber and a layer of plastic scintillating fibers. The TEC has shown a high spatial resolution and an excellent multi-track reconstruction capability at LEP luminosity. The Z -chamber provides information about the z -coordinates of the tracks and the fibers are used for calibrating the drift velocity with a high precision. A description of the L3 vertex detector, its readout and data acquisition and its performance during the 1990 LEP running period is presented in this paper.

Progress with the Prime Focus Spectrograph for the Subaru Telescope: a massively multiplexed optical and near-infrared fiber spectrograph

The Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) is an optical/near-infrared multi-fiber spectrograph with 2394 science fibers, which are distributed in 1.3 degree diameter field of view at Subaru 8.2-meter telescope. The simultaneous wide wavelength coverage from 0.38 μm to 1.26 μm, with the resolving power of 3000, strengthens its ability to target three main survey programs: cosmology, Galactic archaeology, and galaxy/AGN evolution. A medium resolution mode with resolving power of 5000 for 0.71 μm to 0.89 μm also will be available by simply exchanging dispersers. PFS takes the role for the spectroscopic part of the Subaru Measurement of Images and Redshifts (SuMIRe) project, while Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) works on the imaging part. HSC’s excellent image qualities have proven the high quality of the Wide Field Corrector (WFC), which PFS shares with HSC. The PFS collaboration has succeeded in the project Preliminary Design Review and is now in a phase of subsystem Critical Design Reviews and construction. To transform the telescope plus WFC focal ratio, a 3-mm thick broad-band coated microlens is glued to each fiber tip. The microlenses are molded glass, providing uniform lens dimensions and a variety of refractive-index selection. After successful production of mechanical and optical samples, mass production is now complete. Following careful investigations including Focal Ratio Degradation (FRD) measurements, a higher transmission fiber is selected for the longest part of cable system, while one with a better FRD performance is selected for the fiber-positioner and fiber-slit components, given the more frequent fiber movements and tightly curved structure. Each Fiber positioner consists of two stages of piezo-electric rotary motors. Its engineering model has been produced and tested. After evaluating the statistics of positioning accuracies, collision avoidance software, and interferences (if any) within/between electronics boards, mass production will commence. Fiber positioning will be performed iteratively by taking an image of artificially back-illuminated fibers with the Metrology camera located in the Cassegrain container. The camera is carefully designed so that fiber position measurements are unaffected by small amounts of high special-frequency inaccuracies in WFC lens surface shapes. Target light carried through the fiber system reaches one of four identical fast-Schmidt spectrograph modules, each with three arms. All optical glass blanks are now being polished. Prototype VPH gratings have been optically tested. CCD production is complete, with standard fully-depleted CCDs for red arms and more-challenging thinner fully-depleted CCDs with blue-optimized coating for blue arms. The active damping system against cooler vibration has been proven to work as predicted, and spectrographs have been designed to avoid small possible residual resonances.

Detectors and cryostat design for the SuMIRe Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS)

We describe the conceptual design of the camera cryostats, detectors, and detector readout electronics for the SuMIRe Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) being developed for the Subaru telescope. The SuMIRe PFS will consist of four identical spectrographs, each receiving 600 fibers from a 2400 fiber robotic positioner at the prime focus. Each spectrograph will have three channels covering wavelength ranges 3800 Å - 6700 Å, 6500 Å - 10000 Å, and 9700 Å - 13000 Å, with the dispersed light being imaged in each channel by a f/1.10 vacuum Schmidt camera. In the blue and red channels a pair of Hamamatsu 2K x 4K edge-buttable CCDs with 15 um pixels are used to form a 4K x 4K array. For the IR channel, the new Teledyne 4K x 4K, 15 um pixel, mercury-cadmium-telluride sensor with substrate removed for short-wavelength response and a 1.7 um cutoff will be used. Identical detector geometry and a nearly identical optical design allow for a common cryostat design with the only notable difference being the need for a cold radiation shield in the IR camera to mitigate thermal background. This paper describes the details of the cryostat design and cooling scheme, relevant thermal considerations and analysis, and discusses the detectors and detector readout electronics.

A 1060 nm diode laser system for dynamically probing silicon detectors

Abstract We have constructed a 1060 nm laser system which has been used to dynamically probe silicon microstrip detectors. A diode laser is coupled to a single mode fiber with a less than 10 μm measured spot size. The laser is driven by a nanosecond pulse with sub-nanosecond rise and fall times. The fast response and small spot size allow for measurements of such quantities as time walk in microstrip detectors. The system has been used to generate 5–100 fC of charge in a 300 μm thick silicon microstrip detector. The laser also has been used in localized depletion voltage measurements and to test the integrity of sensors wire bonded to readout electronics.

JWST's Cryogenic Position Metrology System

The James Webb Space Telescope will undergo a full system test in the cryogenic vacuum chamber A at the Johnson Spaceflight Center in order to verify the overall performance of the combined telescope and instrument suite. This will be the largest and most extensive cryogenic test ever undertaken. Early in the test system development, it was determined that precise position measurements of the overall hardware would enhance the test results. Various concepts were considered before selecting photogrammetry for this metrology. Photogrammetry has been used in space systems for decades, however cryogenic use combined with the size and the optical/thermal sensitivity of JWST creates a unique set of implementation challenges. This paper provides an overview of the JWST photogrammetric system and mitigation strategies for three key engineering design challenges: 1) the thermal design of the viewing windows to prevent excessive heat leak and stray light to the test article 2) cost effective motors and mechanisms to provide the angle diversity required, and 3) camera-flash life and reliability sufficient for inaccessible use during the number and duration of the cryogenic tests.

Spatial resolution of wedge shaped silicon microstrip detectors

Abstract Several wedge-shaped silicon microstrip detectors with pitches from 30 to 100 μm have been designed by our group and beam tested at the CERN SPS. We find the spatial resolution σ becomes larger at the rate of 0.21 μm per 1 μm increase in pitch, but the number of strips per cluster remains about the same as the pitch varies from 30 to 100 μm.