Our MissionTo improve the already strong position of our participant members in relation to Smart Focal Plane Technologies through collaborative development of components and systems. Further, to feedback the results of our developments and studies to impact the design of a European Extremely Large Telescope.

Colin CunninghamJRA5 Principal Investigator UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Blackford HillEdinburgh, EH9 3HJUnited KingdomTelephone: +44 (0)131 668 8223E-mail: c.cunningham@roe.ac.uk

Callum NorrieJRA5 Project ManagerUK Astronomy Technology Centre, Blackford HillEdinburgh, EH9 3HJUnited KingdomTelephone: +44 (0)131 668 8260E:mail c.norrie@roe.ac.uk

Contacts

OPTICON - The Optical Infrared Coordination Network for Astronomy

JRA5 - Smart Focal Planes

OPTICON is funded by the European Commission under Contract RII3-CT-2004-001566

Smart Focal Planes maximise the use of a telescope’s focal plane to feed spectroscopic and imaging instruments. Smart Focal Planes are central to many of the instrument concepts that are currently being developed in the context of a European Extremely-Large Telescope. Large telescopes mean large instruments and the technical challenges for Smart Focal Planes are many. Images and spectra must be manipulated with very high spatial and spectral resolution. Often working at cryogenic temperatures, the new generation of Focal Plane Technologies will certainly need to be Smart.

Smart Focal Planes: the Need

Smart Focal Planes provide optimal matching of an instrument design to a scientific goal.

Smart Focal Planes are required as classical instrument designs become no longer practical. As telescope size increases, so does instrument size. The extreme size of an ELT focal plane (~0.5m*0.5m) means that sampling of the focal plane is required even for imaging.

For spectroscopy, it is only possible to achieve the scientific objectives by using Smart Focal Plane technologies. As the resolution of the telescope increases, so to do the challenges for these technologies.

Participants

The 14 collaborating organisations are:

• Laboratoire d’Astrophysique Marseille• Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias• UK Astronomy Technology Centre• University of Durham• University of Cambridge• Anglo-Australian Observatory• ASTRON• Centre Recherche Astronomique Lyon• TNO-TPD• CSEM SA• ESO• Observatory of Padua• Reflex SRO • LFM, University of Bremen

Technology Development

The particular technologies being developed in this activity include:

• Field pick off technologies – beam steering mirrors and microbots

• Advanced integral field units with visible and NIR slicers

• Reconfigurable slits and masks, both mechanical and MOEMS

• Advanced fibre systems

Impact on an ELT

The participants in this Joint Research Activity are working closely with the ELT instrument design studies. This link ensures that Smart Focal Plane developments will be an important input to the evolving plans for an ELT.

c/o AAO

c/o Univ. Cambridge