The Wide Field Survey Telescope (WFST) is a dedicated photometric surveying facility equipped with a 2.5-meter diameter primary mirror, an active optics system, and a mosaic CCD camera with 0.765 gigapixels on the primary focal plane for high quality image capture over a 6.5-square-degree field of view. The mosaic CCD camera is the key device for high precision photometric and high frequency observation and the ‘eye’ of the telescope for deep survey with wide field. The focal plane consists of three kinds of CCD including scientific imaging sensors, wavefront sensors and guiding sensors. In the scientific imaging area, there are 9 back-illuminated full frame scientific CCDs –CCD290-99 from E2V company with pixels of 9K by 9K and pixel size of 10um, which is mosaicked by 3 by 3 with flatness of 20μm PV. The R&D of the camera including the high precision large-scale mosaicking of detectors, detectors’ cryocooling and vacuum sealing, readout and driving with low noise and low power, data acquisition, imaging control, data storage and distribution. Furthermore a camera control system (CCS) was developed at same time.
The wide field survey telescope (WFST) is a new generation survey telescope that is being built in China. Its optical design is a primary-focus system, and its camera is a mosaic charge-coupled device (CCD) camera composed of nine 9 K × 9 K CCD290-99 chips for scientific imaging. A verification platform to test the CCD290-99 chips is designed. The test platform includes a light source system, CCD controller, vacuum Dewar, and refrigerator for cooling the CCD. The CCD controller is a prototype design of the WFST camera that has a high performance, including low readout noise, flexible readout rate configuration, low power dissipation, etc. The digital double correlated sample method is used for video sampling of the CCD’s 16 channels. The specifications of the CCD detector system using a CCD290, such as gain, noise linearity, and crosstalk, are tested using this platform. The test results show that the CCD test platform meets the requirement of the CCD test and the design of CCD controller meets the scientific imaging requirements for the WFST camera.
KEYWORDS: Black bodies, Calibration, Near infrared, Infrared imaging, Infrared radiation, Temperature sensors, Infrared detectors, Control systems, Coating, Temperature metrology
The Antarctic Plateau is one of the best places for infrared and submillimeter observations in the world, which has the advantages of high altitude, low water vapor and low atmospheric thermal radiation. It is indispensable for the design of instruments to know the environment of the observatory site in advance, especially the infrared sky background brightness. It determines the ultimate magnitude of infrared observation of the equipment, which is an important reference to evaluate whether a candidate site is suitable for constructing corresponding equipment. We have designed a NIR sky brightness monitor (NISBM) based on InGaAs photodiode, which is used to monitor the J, H and Ks bands of sky background brightness at the Dome A. In the Ks band the signal is sensitive to thermal radiation and temperature fluctuations. So, it needs to be calibrated in real time by a surface source blackbody. According to this requirement, we have designed a surface source blackbody that has the property of low temperature resistance, high emissivity, and high temperature uniformity. The device has a compact structure. The control system and the radiation surface are packaged in the same square house, which is suitable for outfield installation and calibration with low ambient temperature.
KEYWORDS: Charge-coupled devices, Imaging systems, CCD cameras, Data acquisition, Telescopes, Image quality, Control systems design, Clocks, Field programmable gate arrays, Power supplies
The Wide Field Survey Telescope (WFST) is a proposed 2.5m-aperture wide field survey telescope intended for dedicated wide field sciences in China. The focal-plane instrument is a mosaic CCD camera comprising 9 pieces of 9K×9K pixels CCD chips. In order to verify the WFST mosaic solution, we designed a 2×2 mosaic camera test system using CCD303- 88. The mechanical design of vacuum chamber, cryogenic refrigeration of CCD, mosaic CCD technique and multi CCD control electronic have been implemented on this system. We design a CCD controller capable of controlling two pieces of CCDs and a power supply module for the controller. The cryogenic refrigeration control is implemented with a refrigerator and temperature control electronics.
The infrared astronomy is a very important branch of astronomy. Imaging observation is the basic approach to conduct infrared astronomy observation. Therefore, infrared Focus Plane Array (FPA) detector is needed for an infrared telescope. Detection toward celestial body need the detector to have high performance like extremely low dark current and low readout noise. Therefore, we designed a test equipment based on a 640 × 512 InGaAs array detector with a cryocooler which can cool the detector down to 77K. The detector is InGaAs of SITP-Hu-I type which is sensitive to 0.9us ~ 1.7um band. The test equipment is composed of a vacuum cryocooling system, a mechanical system and an electronical system. The vacuum cryocooling system can provide a low-temperature vacuum environment for the detector, and the mechanical system provides firm supporting. The electronic system provides the driver and readout of the detector.
The infrared sky brightness level is an important parameter for infrared astronomical observation from the ground. It is necessary to obtain the infrared sky brightness level at an observatory site to evaluate the feasibility of infrared telescopes and instruments. In order to evaluate the possibility of developing infrared astronomical observations at several sites in China, the design of a continuous-scanning near-infrared sky brightness monitor (CNISBM), measuring 2.5 to 5 μm infrared sky brightness based on an InSb detector and a linear variable filter, is proposed. The optics and the detector were put in a vacuumed cryogenic dewar to reduce the background emission. The CNISBM has been tested by measuring the flux intensity of the observing window in the L-band. The results show that the sensitivity of CNISBM satisfies the requirements of the observations of 2.5- to 5-μm near-infrared sky brightness.
The 2.5~5um infrared band is an important waveband in infrared astronomy research. Infrared sky brightness monitoring is an important part of ground-based infrared astronomical observations. The measurement of infrared sky brightness and the characteristics of the infrared observation conditions of an area, especially the average intensity and variation parameters of infrared radiation will provide an important reference for future design of infrared telescopes and other observation instruments. We designed a sky brightness spectrograph for 2.5-5um continuous infrared spectroscopy using an InSb detector and conduct a test measurement of the sky brightness radiation intensity with L band whose center wavelength is 3.77um.
CSTAR2 is a new telescope array which consists of two telescopes with 145mm-aperture and an equatorial mount, which was planned to update the CSTAR (Chinese Small Telescope Array) installed at Dome A, Antarctica in 2008. Since the previous camera was out of product, a brand new CCD camera with 1K*1K pixels was developed for CSTAR2, which was tested function well at -80℃ to prove the ability to work at Antarctica in a long period. The camera has a well performance and the readout noise is as low as 3.99e-rms. An equatorial mount made by NIAOT (Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics & Technology) can rotate the telescope to point almost entire sky area. In order to control CSTAR2 in an efficient way, a multi-level software control system was developed which contains three main layers: device control layer, coordinating operation layer, user interface layer. The whole system was planned to achieve automatic observation and remote operation under the conditions of poor satellite-link network.
The Antarctica Plateau with high altitude, low water vapor and low thermal emission from the atmosphere is known as one of the best sites on the earth for conducting astronomical observations from the near infrared to the sub-millimeter. Many optical astronomical telescopes are proposed by Chinese astronomical society at present, such as Kunlun Dark Universe Survey Telescope (KDUST), 6.5-meter optical telescopes and 12-meter optical and infrared telescopes. Accurate estimation of the sky background brightness of proposed sites provides the scientific basis for instruments design and observatory site selection. Based on this requirement, a near-infrared sky brightness monitor (NISBM) based on InGaAs photoelectric diode is designed by using the method of chopper modulation and digital lock-in amplifier in the near infrared band of J, H, Ks. The adaptability of the monitor under extremely low temperature conditions in Antarctica is promoted by taking advantage of PID heating and fault detection system. Considering the weak signal of Ks band in Antarctica, a surface blackbody is equipped for real-time calibration. For the adverse circumstances to human, an EPICS and Web based Remote Control Software is implemented for unattended operation. The NISBM has been successfully installed in Dome A, Antarctica on January 2019.
A 1 k × 1 k CCD camera is designed, implemented, and tested for the CSTAR2 telescope in Antarctica, including its mechanics, CCD controller, and low-noise power system. In the design of mechanics and electronics, low-temperature environment is taken into full consideration. The camera has demonstrated mechanical and electrical stability. The system readout noise is as low as 3.99erms− when the CCD readout frequency is 100 kHz. Every part of the camera is fully tested in a cryogenic refrigerator (−86 ° C) and proved that the camera has the ability to work in Antarctica for a long term. Finally, the camera is installed on the CSTAR2 telescopes to take observations and the imaging function is well implemented.
KEYWORDS: Sensors, Observatories, Calibration, Black bodies, Near infrared, Indium gallium arsenide, Temperature metrology, Signal to noise ratio, Infrared radiation, Electronics
The Ngari (Ali) observatory is located in Ngari, Tibet, a region known as “the roof of the roof of the world.” The observatory benefits from abundant photometric nights, low perceptible water vapor, high transmittance, and good seeing. Due to these advantages, it promises to be one of the best locations in the world at which to make infrared and submillimeter observations. However, no data on the sky background radiation at this location are available, impacting the planning of future facilities at the observatory. To remedy this deficiency, a near-infrared sky brightness monitor (NISBM) has been designed to obtain data in the J, H, and Ks bands. This monitor is based on an InGaAs photoelectric diode and uses chopper modulation and digital lock-in amplifier processing, which considerably enhance its signal-to-noise ratio, detectivity, and data acquisition speed. An independent device has been designed for each band (J, H, and Ks) and calibrated in the laboratory. The NISBM was installed at the Ngari observatory in July 2017 and has obtained the first NIR sky brightness data for that location.
Tibet is known as the third pole of the earth. The Ngari (Ali) observatory in Tibet is a good site, and promising to be one of the best place for infrared and submillimeter observations in the world. However, there is no data available for sky background brightness in such place. In the near infrared band of J, H, Ks, a NIR sky brightness monitor (NISBM) is designed based on InGaAs photoelectric diode. By using the method of chopper modulation and digital lock-in amplifier processing, the SNR (Signal Noise Ratio), detectivity and the data acquisition speed of the device is greatly improved. The NISBM has been installed in Ngari observatory in July of 2017 and obtained the first data of NIR sky brightness at Ngari observatory.
A 1K*1K CCD camera is designed, implemented and tested for CSTAR telescope in Antarctica, including its mechanics, CCD controller, power and temperature controller unit. Mechanical and electronic design for low temperature environment is taken into consideration fully. The camera has reliable mechanics and stable electronics performance. The readout noise is as low as 3.99݁ି when the CCD readout speed is 100kpixs/s. We fully tested every part of the camera in a Cryogenic refrigerator (-86 degree centigrade) and proved that our camera has the ability to work in Antarctica for a long term. Finally, the camera was tested on the CSTAR telescopes to take observations and the imaging quality meets requirement.
Infrared sky background level is an important parameter of grounded infrared astronomy observations, which should be firstly measured in a good infrared observatory site, and only the site with low background level is suitable for infrared observations. Infrared sky background level can provide background data for the design of related infrared instruments. However, there is no such data available for major sites in China. Based on the requirement, In order to supplement the current site survey data and guide the design of future infrared instruments, a multiband near-infrared sky brightness monitor (MNISBM) based on an InSb sensor is designed in this paper. The MNISBM consists of optical system, mechanical structure and control system, detector and cooler, high gain readout electronic system, operational software. It is completed and carried out an experimental measurement in the laboratory. The result shows that the sensitivity of the MNISBM meets the requirements of the measurement of near-infrared sky background level.
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