Dr. Steven S. Vogt

HIRES 2004 CCD Upgrade

HIRES CCD The HIRES spectrometer focal plane was upgraded in August 2004 from a Tektronix 2048 CCD to a mosaic of 3 MIT-LL 2K x 4K CCDs. This was done to improve the radial velocity precision of HIRES, which prior to this was stuck at 3-4 m/s due to imperfections in the original CCD. It was also done to improve the UV quantum efficiency. The upgrade involved a 3-year effort on the part of many on our Instrument and Detector Labs at Lick, and was funded by a ~$1M in grants from both CARA and NASA.

The new 3-CCD mosaic is shown in the picture, as seen through the large field-flattener lens that forms the front of the dewar.

The new CCD focal plane has been a tremendous success, boosting the UV QE by about a factor of 10, and increasing radial velocity precision from 3-4 all the way down to better than 1 m/s.

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View HIRES CCD image
View HIRES Dewar Assembly Front image
View HIRES Dewar Assembly Rear image