MICADO, a Multi-AO Imaging Camera for Deep Observations, is a first light imager for the European Large Telescope (ELT). It is being designed and built by a consortium of partners from 6 different countries across Europe and led by the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) in Garching. The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is responsible for delivering the near infrared detector subsystem to the instrument. This subsystem includes nine Hawaii-4RG-15 (H4RG-15) near infrared detectors (2.5μm cut-off) mounted in a compact 3x3 mosaic at the heart of the instrument. They will operate at a nominal temperature of 82K using an array of cryogenic preamplifiers located at the back of the focal plane plate, close to the detectors. This paper presents an overview of this detector subsystem, including the measured performance of two of the H4RG-15 science detectors already characterised in a custom-built test facility at ESO. Special readout modes have been developed for the instrument and for AO corrections to one of the ELT mirrors and these are described. The design of the focal plane, its thermal analysis and the focal plane flatness measurement system being setup at ESO is also presented. This paper also provides a brief description of the new detector controllers (NGCII) being developed at ESO for all the ELT and future VLT (Very Large Telescope) science detector systems and presents the specific controller configuration which must be implemented for the MICADO detectors.
MICADO is a first-generation instrument for the ELT. It will provide diffraction-limited imaging in standard, astrometric, and coronagraphic modes and long-slit spectroscopy at near-infrared wavelengths. The core of the MICADO instrument is its cryostat, which cools the internal optical and mechanical subsystems to 80 K. Following a light ray entering the cryostat through the entrance window, the first mechanism it encounters is the Focal Plane Mechanism. It consists of two independent movable devices mounted in one assembly: the aperture wheel and the focal plane wheel. The primary purpose of the aperture wheel is to rapidly block the light path, which is needed to mitigate persistence on the detectors. The focal plane wheel holds field stops, calibration masks, slits, and coronagraphs. The positioning requirements for the wheel are dominated by the coronographic masks demanding a 15 μm RMS repeatability. To fulfill this specification and avoid mechanical wear in the drive, a novel magnetically coupled gear system was developed at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE). A magnetically coupled worm gear uses magnetic forces to transmit torque from the motor to the driven component without direct mechanical contact. This paper describes the design and performance of the magnetic drive and the first results of the focal plane wheel prototype tests in a cryogenic environment.
The Detector Positioning System (DPS) is a cryogenic mechanism operating at 82 K installed in the cryostat of the Multi- AO Imaging Camera for Deep Observations (MICADO) at the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT).
The DPS mechanism will be exclusively utilized during the alignment and test phase. Upon completing the test phase, it will be mechanically locked at the best pre-determined focus so that it cannot be moved during the observation period.
The DPS has been conceptualized as a fixed and reproducible interface to the Main Bench Structure in the MICADO cryostat and as an adjustable unit containing the Detector Array mounted on the DPS frame installed on a linear guide on the base plate. A cryogenic linear actuator further acts as the linear guide during the alignment phase to bring the focal plane array into focus.
MICADO is a cryogenic near infrared Multi-AO Imaging Camera and Spectrometer developed for the first light operations at the ELT. It will operate in a “Standalone” configuration with a Single Conjugate Adaptive Optics module for a nominal period of two years. After this time, the system will be re-arranged in the “MICADO-MORFEO” configuration, being able to switch between the SCAO and a Multi Conjugate Adaptive Optics module in the later phase of the project. The lifetime requirement of minimum ten years, together with other demanding requisites about its availability and reliability triggered a meticulous FMECA analysis mainly focused on developing robust maintenance strategies. In this paper, we outline the assumptions and the boundaries of the MICADO RAM analysis, a collaborative effort involving the Max Planck Institute for the Extraterrestrial Physics, the Laboratoir d’Études Spatiales et d’Instrumentation en Astrophysique and the European Southern Observatory, starting from the input provided by all MICADO partners. We describe how RAM aspects drove some design choices as well as the selection and use of components. We report the preventive and predictive maintenance strategies, which we considered to minimize the risk of instrument downtime in the high cost operational context of the ELT.
The Universitäts-Sternwarte M¨unchen (USM) was responsible for the procurement of a big Liquid Nitrogen (LN2) continuous-flow test cryostat, equipped with a 1600 mm diameter optical bench. This cryostat is planned to perform cryogenic tests of the two large cryogenic mechanisms of the MICADO instrument, the Main Selection Mechanism (MSM) and Central Wheel Mechanism (CWM), and of some of the instrument cold optics (COI) modules. The Big Test Cryostat was delivered at the end of 2021, and is currently installed at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) laboratories. In this paper we present the design, specifications and measured cold performances of the cryostat. We also provide an overview of the tests planned inside the cryostat, which will start at the beginning of 2024 and will run until beginning of 2026, when the mechanisms and the cold optics modules will be finally integrated inside the MICADO Instrument Cryostat.
MICADO is a first light instrument for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), set to start operating later this decade. It will provide diffraction limited imaging, astrometry, high contrast imaging, and long slit spectroscopy at near-infrared wavelengths. During the initial phase operations, adaptive optics (AO) correction will be provided by its own natural guide star wavefront sensor. In its final configuration, that AO system will be retained and complemented by the laser guide star multi-conjugate adaptive optics module MORFEO (formerly known as MAORY). Among many other things, MICADO will study exoplanets, distant galaxies and stars, and investigate black holes, such as Sagittarius A* at the centre of the Milky Way. After their final design phase, most components of MICADO have moved on to the manufacturing and assembly phase. Here we summarize the final design of the instrument and provide an overview about its current manufacturing status and the timeline. Some lessons learned from the final design review process will be presented in order to help future instrumentation projects to cope with the challenges arising from the substantial differences between projects for 8-10m class telescopes (e.g. ESO’s VLT) and the next generation Extremely Large Telescopes (e.g. ESO’s ELT). Finally, MICADO's expected performance will be discussed in the context of the current landscape of astronomical observatories and instruments. For instance, MICADO will have similar sensitivity as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), but with six times the spatial resolution.
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