The LSST camera overview: design and performance

Kirk Gilmore; Steven Kahn; Martin Nordby; Paul O'Connor; John Oliver; Veljko Radeka; Terry Schalk; Rafe Schindler; Rick Van Berg

doi:10.1117/12.789947

9 July 2008 The LSST camera overview: design and performance

Kirk Gilmore, Steven Kahn, Martin Nordby, Paul O'Connor, John Oliver, Veljko Radeka, Terry Schalk, Rafe Schindler, Rick Van Berg

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7014, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy II; 70140C (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.789947
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2008, Marseille, France

Abstract

The LSST camera is a wide-field optical (0.35-1μm) imager designed to provide a 3.5 degree FOV with 0.2 arcsecond/pixel sampling. The detector format will be a circular mosaic providing approximately 3.2 Gigapixels per image. The camera includes a filter mechanism and shuttering capability. It is positioned in the middle of the telescope where cross-sectional area is constrained by optical vignetting and where heat dissipation must be controlled to limit thermal gradients in the optical beam. The fast f/1.2 beam will require tight tolerances on the focal plane mechanical assembly. The focal plane array operates at a temperature of approximately -100°C to achieve desired detector performance. The focal plane array is contained within a cryostat which incorporates detector front-end electronics and thermal control. The cryostat lens serves as an entrance window and vacuum seal for the cryostat. Similarly, the camera body lens serves as an entrance window and gas seal for the camera housing, which is filled with a suitable gas to provide the operating environment for the shutter and filter change mechanisms. The filter carousel accommodates 5 filters, each 75 cm in diameter, for rapid exchange without external intervention.

Citation Download Citation

Kirk Gilmore, Steven Kahn, Martin Nordby, Paul O'Connor, John Oliver, Veljko Radeka, Terry Schalk, Rafe Schindler, and Rick Van Berg "The LSST camera overview: design and performance", Proc. SPIE 7014, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy II, 70140C (9 July 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.789947

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