JPCam engineering focal plane fully integrated at e2v

2015-05-04 15:00
Focal plane of JPCam

Focal plane of JPCam

With the successful achievement of this important milestone, e2v has demonstrated that the focal plane is well within the very strict JPCam requirements.

The JPCam engineering focal plane has been successfully integrated at e2v (Chelmsford, UK). JPCam, the main scientific instrument of the JST250 telescope, is a 1.2 Gpixel camera designed to perform the J-PAS survey. Its focal plane is populated with a mosaic of 26 CCD detectors: 14 large format, 9.200 × 9.200 pixels scientific CCDs plus 12 auxiliary ones. The JPCam cryostat, that includes this massive focal plane, is being designed and manufactured by e2v.

These days the engineering focal plane, conceived to demonstrate the feasibility of the design, the manufacture techniques and the integration process, has been integrated and tested at e2v premises.

With the successful achievement of this important milestone, e2v has demonstrated that the focal plane is well within the very strict JPCam requirements. In particular, the 0.5 meter diameter focal plane is flat within ± 20 microns.

The scientific focal plane will read each science CCD from 16 ports simultaneously, with a total of 244 ports. This will allow the JPCam electronics to read the 1.2 Gpixels in 14 seconds.