ARCONS: A 2024 Pixel Optical through Near-IR Cryogenic Imaging Spectrophotometer
Abstract
We present the design, construction, and commissioning results of ARCONS, the Array Camera for Optical to Near-IR Spectrophotometry. ARCONS is the first ground-based instrument in the optical through near-IR wavelength range based on microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs). MKIDs are revolutionary cryogenic detectors, capable of detecting single photons and measuring their energy without filters or gratings, similar to an X-ray microcalorimeter. MKIDs are nearly ideal, noiseless photon detectors, as they do not suffer from read noise or dark current and have nearly perfect cosmic ray rejection. ARCONS is an integral field spectrograph (IFS) containing a lens-coupled 2024 pixel MKID array yielding a 20'' × 20'' field of view and has been deployed on the Palomar 200 inch and Lick 120 inch telescopes for 24 nights of observing. We present initial results showing that ARCONS and its MKID arrays are now a fully operational and powerful tool for astronomical observations.
Additional Information
© 2013. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Received 2013 June 19. Accepted 2013 September 12. The MKID detectors used in this work were developed under NASA grant NNX11AD55G. S.R. Meeker was supported by a NASA Office of the Chief Technologists Space Technology Research Fellowship, NASA grant NNX11AN29H. This work was partially supported by the Keck Institute for Space Studies. Fermilab is operated by Fermi Research Alliance, LLC under Contract No. De-AC02-07CH11359 with the United States Department of Energy. The authors would also like to thank Shri Kulkarni, Director of the Caltech Optical Observatories, and Jason Prochaska, Associate Director of Lick Observatory, for facilitating this project, as well as 12 the excellent staffs of the Palomar and Lick Observatories for their assistance in getting ARCONS working. Jennifer Milburn's help with the guide camera software was invaluable. This project also greatly benefitted from the support of Mike Werner, Paul Goldsmith, and Jonas Zmuidzinas at JPL.Attached Files
Published - arcons.pdf
Submitted - arcons_2024.pdf
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 65117
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20160307-111359457
- NNX11AD55G
- NASA
- NNX11AN29H
- NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship
- Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS)
- DE-AC02-07CH11359
- Department of Energy (DOE)
- Created
-
2016-03-09Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-10Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Keck Institute for Space Studies