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vatt:instrumentation_and_computers

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VATT Instrumentation and Computers

Current instruments and computing equipment available at the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope are:

VATT CCD Imager - Vatt4k

  • A replacement STA0500A back illuminated 4K CCD, ITL serial number 8301, was installed March 2017, and updated 26 January 2018.
  • It is similar to the September 2007 one, including its QE.
  • Pixels: 4096×4096, 15×15 microns
  • Gain:1.9 e/DN
  • Full well: ADC limited (65k DN) = ~120,000 electrons unbinned
  • Noise: ~3.9 electrons
  • Photon Transfer Curve
  • Gain Curve
  • FOV: 12.5 arcmin square
  • pixel scale: 0.188 arcsec/pixel
  • wavelength range: 300 - 1000 nm, peak 96% at 450 nm
  • Preamplifiers added October 2008 inside the dewar. These give faster readout and lower noise.

Galway Ultra Fast Imager - GUFI

  • This L3CCD system, based on an Andor iXon back-illuminated CCD camera, gives a readout time of only 2ms, extremely high time resolutions of up to 400 images a second (subframed), and very low light level sensitivity.
  • Field of view on VATT, 3 arcmin with current focal reducer.
  • On loan from NUI Galway, currently until June 2011.
  • Consult Richard Boyle for technical details, and see the NUI Galway “Brown Dwarfs and Substellar Objects” group.

VATT CCD Spectrograph - VATTSpec

  • This optical region spectrograph has AR coated refractive optics, with a beam size at its camera of 125 mm, giving …
  • slit length: 30 arcsec
  • wavelength range: 360 - 950 nm
  • spectral coverage: 100 nm at 0.1 nm resolution
  • spectral resolutions: 0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 nm with 1 arcsec wide slit
  • detector: back illuminated, low noise CCD STA0520A, with very nice cosmetics.
   ITL Serial Number 8228
   2688x512 pixels, 15x15 microns
   Detector operating temperature -110C
   Gain: 1.3 e/DN with setting 10; 2.6 e/DN with setting 5
   Full well, both gains: ADC limited (65k DN) = 85,000 or 170,000 electrons
   Noise: 3.4 electrons (3.2 in overscan region)
   QE Curve
  • efficiency: determined by Mark Wagner for telescope plus spectrograph
  • further details are under the Instructions for use of the VATT Spectrograph.
  • bandpass filters available: S8612 (red blocking); GG-400, GG-475, OG-550 (cut-offs to the blue in nm).

Instrument Interface (a.k.a. the Guider Box)

  • provides interface to derotator for all the above instruments, as well as offset and slit-viewing guidingwith guide cameras
  • effective back focal distance, from guide box to focal surface, is 2.000“.
  • contains two filter wheels, each holding four 3.48” square filters. Adapters to accommodate 2“ and 3” square filters are available.
  • UBVRI, uvby, Vilnius, Sloan, ECAS, and Order Blocking filters are currently provided.
  • integrating sphere with continuum and calibration lamps.
vatt/instrumentation_and_computers.1617220251.txt.gz · Last modified: 2021/03/31 12:50 by paul