Near-infrared camera and fabry-perot spectrometer - NIC-FPS

The Near-Infrared Camera and Fabry-Perot Spectrometer (NIC-FPS) will provide near-IR imaging over the wavelength range ∼0.9-2.45 microns and medium resolution (R∼10,000) full-field Fabry-Perot spectroscopy in the 1.5-2.4 micron range. Science observation will commence by mid 2004 on the Astrophysical Research Consortium 3.5-m telescope at the Apache Point Observatory in Sunspot, NM. NIC-FPS will allow a wide variety of extragalactic, galactic, and solar system observational programs to be conducted. NIC-FPS will support two observational modes, near-IR imaging or Fabry-Perot spectroscopy. For spectroscopy of line-emitting objects, the cryogenic Fabry-Perot etalon is inserted into the optical path to generate 3D spectral datacubes at ∼30 km/s spectral resolution. For narrow to broad-band imaging, the etalon is removed from the optical path. Both modes will utilize a Rockwell Hawaii 1RG 1024 × 1024 HgCdTe detector which features low dark current, low noise and broad spectral response required for astronomical observations. The optics and detector will provide a full 4.6′ × 4.6′ field of view at 0.27″ pixel¹. NIC-FPS will be mounted to the ARC telescope's Nasmyth port. NIC-FPS will significantly increase ARC's near-IR imaging and spectroscopy capabilities. We present NIC-FPS's optical design and instrument specifications.