The opto-cryo-mechanical design of the short wavelength camera for the CCAT Observatory

Stephen C. Parshley; Joseph Adams; Thomas Nikola; Gordon J. Stacey

doi:10.1117/12.2056984

23 July 2014 The opto-cryo-mechanical design of the short wavelength camera for the CCAT Observatory

Stephen C. Parshley, Joseph Adams, Thomas Nikola, Gordon J. Stacey

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9153, Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy VII; 91532A (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2056984
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2014, Montréal, Quebec, Canada

Abstract

The CCAT observatory is a 25-m class Gregorian telescope designed for submillimeter observations that will be deployed at Cerro Chajnantor (~5600 m) in the high Atacama Desert region of Chile. The Short Wavelength Camera (SWCam) for CCAT is an integral part of the observatory, enabling the study of star formation at high and low redshifts. SWCam will be a facility instrument, available at first light and operating in the telluric windows at wavelengths of 350, 450, and 850 μm. In order to trace the large curvature of the CCAT focal plane, and to suit the available instrument space, SWCam is divided into seven sub-cameras, each configured to a particular telluric window. A fully refractive optical design in each sub-camera will produce diffraction-limited images. The material of choice for the optical elements is silicon, due to its excellent transmission in the submillimeter and its high index of refraction, enabling thin lenses of a given power. The cryostat’s vacuum windows double as the sub-cameras’ field lenses and are ~30 cm in diameter. The other lenses are mounted at 4 K. The sub-cameras will share a single cryostat providing thermal intercepts at 80, 15, 4, 1 and 0.1 K, with cooling provided by pulse tube cryocoolers and a dilution refrigerator. The use of the intermediate temperature stage at 15 K minimizes the load at 4 K and reduces operating costs. We discuss our design requirements, specifications, key elements and expected performance of the optical, thermal and mechanical design for the short wavelength camera for CCAT.

Citation Download Citation

Stephen C. Parshley, Joseph Adams, Thomas Nikola, and Gordon J. Stacey "The opto-cryo-mechanical design of the short wavelength camera for the CCAT Observatory", Proc. SPIE 9153, Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy VII, 91532A (23 July 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2056984

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