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Integral field unit for the Gemini near-infrared spectrograph

2000; SPIE; Volume: 4008; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1117/12.395437

1996-756X

Marc Dubbeldam, Robert Content, J. R. Allington‐Smith, Serge Pokrovski, David J. Robertson,

Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies

The Gemini Near IR Spectrograph (GNIRS) currently under development at NOAO and scheduled for delivery in the summer of 2002, will include a powerful and innovative Integral Field Spectroscopy (IFS) capability. The design, integration and test of the GNIRS Integral Field Unit (IFU) are the responsibility of the University of Durham's Astronomical Instrumentation Group. The Critical Design Review is scheduled during the second quarter of the year 2000. Its design is based on the Advanced Image Slicer concept developed as a result of research conducted under the auspices of the Durham Instrumentation R and D Program. A slicer-based system has many advantages over fiber-based designs, especially for cryogenic instruments. The GNIRS IFU consists of two self-contained modules mounted inside the GNIRS slit slide mechanism. This slide mechanism is employed to select the required spectroscopy mode by sliding the respective module into the instrument's optical path. The low resolution option provides a field of view of 3.2 inch X 4.4 inch with a sampling resolution of 0.15 inch over 625 spatial elements and a spectrum length of 1024 pixels, whereas the high resolution optic provides a field of view of 1.0 inch by 1.5 inch with a sampling resolution of 0.04 inch over 972 spatial elements and a spectrum length of 1024 pixels. This paper gives an overview of the IFUs optical design, which has been optimized to take full advantage of the excellent image quality provided by the Gemini telescopes, and the mechanical design.