MOHAWK: a 4000-fiber positioner for DESpec

Will Saunders; Greg Smith; James Gilbert; Rolf Muller; Michael Goodwin; Nick Staszak; Jurek Brzeski; Stan Miziarski; Matthew Colless

doi:10.1117/12.925724

5 October 2012 'MOHAWK: a 4000-fiber positioner for DESpec

Will Saunders, Greg Smith, James Gilbert, Rolf Muller, Michael Goodwin, Nick Staszak, Jurek Brzeski, Stan Miziarski, Matthew Colless

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8446, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV; 84464W (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.925724
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2012, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Abstract

We present a concept for a 4000-fibre positioner for DESpec, based on the Echidna ‘tilting spine’ technology. The DESpec focal plane is 450mm across and curved, and the required pitch is ~6.75mm. The size, number of fibers and curvature are all comparable with various concept studies for similar instruments already undertaken at the AAO, but present new challenges in combination. A simple, low-cost, and highly modular design is presented, consisting of identical modules populated by identical spines. No show-stopping issues in accommodating either the curvature or the smaller pitch have been identified, and the actuators consist largely of off-the-shelf components. The actuators have been prototyped at AAO, and allow reconfiguration times of ~15s to reach position errors 7 microns or less. Straightforward designs for metrology, acquisition, and guiding are also proposed. The throughput losses of the entire positioner system are estimated to be ~15%, of which 6.3% is attributable to the tilting-spine technology.

Citation Download Citation

Will Saunders, Greg Smith, James Gilbert, Rolf Muller, Michael Goodwin, Nick Staszak, Jurek Brzeski, Stan Miziarski, and Matthew Colless "'MOHAWK: a 4000-fiber positioner for DESpec", Proc. SPIE 8446, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV, 84464W (5 October 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.925724

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