Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 2004 · 14 citations · 0 references
Natural SciencesAstronomyPhysicsInfrared AstronomyOptical AstronomyOpticsInfrared InstrumentationInfrared TelescopesNear-infrared AstronomySpace-based Gamma-ray ObservatoriesSpace-based Infrared ObservatoriesTelescope OpticsCryogenic Telescope SystemsInfrared Space Telescope DesignInfrared Survey TelescopesMirror SystemsNear-infrared EmissionOptical Telescope SystemsSpace-based Infrared TelescopesTelescopes
We report on the design and status of the Florida Image Slicer for Infrared Cosmology and Astrophysics (FISICA) - a fully-cryogenic all-reflective image-slicing integral field unit for the FLAMINGOS near-infrared spectrograph. Designed to accept input beams near f/15, FISICA with FLAMINGOS provides R~1300 spectra over a 16x33-arcsec field-of-view on the Cassegrain f/15 focus of the KPNO 4-meter telescope, or a 6x12-arcsec field-of-view on the Nasmyth or Bent Cassegrain foci of the Gran Telescopio Canarias 10.4-meter telescope. FISICA accomplishes this using three sets of “monolithic” powered mirror arrays, each with 22 mirrored surfaces cut into a single piece of aluminum. We review the optical and opto-mechanical design and fabrication of FISICA, as well as laboratory test results for FISICA integrated with the FLAMINGOS instrument. We also discuss plans for first-light observations on the KPNO 4-meter telescope in July 2004.