NIC-FPS - Quick Information and Specifications

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This page last updated: Sept 27, 2007 - GS
This page last checked: October 27, 2004 - JMD

Basic User's Guide: NICFPS - 2007

Information in Yellow may not be correct or is missing for this instrument!!!

Instrument Description

The Near-Infrared Camera/Fabry-Perot Spectrometer (NIC-FPS) is a collaborative effort of the University of Colorado, the Astrophysical Research Consortium, Apache Point Observatory, and Ball Aerospace. It consists of a near-infrared imaging camera and a Fabry-Perot etalon which can be moved in and out of the beam, enabling full-field spectrometry with a selection of narrowband filters as blockers. NIC-FPS will allow broad- and narrowband near-IR imaging and medium (R~10,000) resolution spectrometry of a variety of astrophysical objects with a 4.6'x4.6' FOV. It will be among the first ground-based instruments to implement the Rockwell Hawaii-1RG detector, which gives high quantum efficiency (>65%) over the instrument's wavelength sensitivity range of 0.85-2.5 microns. The Queensgate Instruments QI EC50WF etalon, provided by Rice University, will enable 0.01% bandpass full-field imaging around a number of interesting atomic and molecular lines, resulting in excellent sky background suppression.

NIC-FPS Quick  Information

• CCD is a Rockwell Hawaii-1RG detector 1024 x1024
• CCD pixel size = 18µm
• CCD gain = 1.89 e^-/ADU ±0.02
• CCD read noise = 4.12 e^- ±0.05
• Quantum Effeciency >65%
• Dark Current: <1 e- / second
• Pixel scale = 0.273"/pixel
• Full well depth: >100k e^-
• Linear up to 38k, Saturation at 56K
• Installed filters (User selectable): See Here
• Spectral Coverage:
• Effective Focal Ratio at detector f/3.99
• Field of View: 4.58' x 4.58', 6.42' (corner to corner)
• Minimum Exposure: 5.4sec (full chip read, shorter for subframe)

Baseline Filter Set

Broadband Filters

Mauna Kea J, H, Ks

Z-band

Narrowband Filters

Expected Instrumental Sensitivity
Limiting magnitudes are given as 5-sigma values achieved in one hour of integration. NOTE: These values are as calculated, not as measured!

Photometric Zero Points (measured against 2MASS photometry, July 2005)