16 research outputs found
MITS: the Multi-Imaging Transient Spectrograph for SOXS
The Son Of X-Shooter (SOXS) is a medium resolution spectrograph R~4500
proposed for the ESO 3.6 m NTT. We present the optical design of the UV-VIS arm
of SOXS which employs high efficiency ion-etched gratings used in first order
(m=1) as the main dispersers. The spectral band is split into four channels
which are directed to individual gratings, and imaged simultaneously by a
single three-element catadioptric camera. The expected throughput of our design
is >60% including contingency. The SOXS collaboration expects first light in
early 2021. This paper is one of several papers presented in these proceedings
describing the full SOXS instrument
Optical design of the SOXS spectrograph for ESO NTT
An overview of the optical design for the SOXS spectrograph is presented.
SOXS (Son Of X-Shooter) is the new wideband, medium resolution (R>4500)
spectrograph for the ESO 3.58m NTT telescope expected to start observations in
2021 at La Silla. The spectroscopic capabilities of SOXS are assured by two
different arms. The UV-VIS (350-850 nm) arm is based on a novel concept that
adopts the use of 4 ion-etched high efficiency transmission gratings. The NIR
(800- 2000 nm) arm adopts the '4C' design (Collimator Correction of Camera
Chromatism) successfully applied in X-Shooter. Other optical sub-systems are
the imaging Acquisition Camera, the Calibration Unit and a pre-slit Common
Path. We describe the optical design of the five sub-systems and report their
performance in terms of spectral format, throughput and optical quality. This
work is part of a series of contributions describing the SOXS design and
properties as it is about to face the Final Design Review.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, published in SPIE Proceedings 1070
The VIS detector system of SOXS
SOXS will be a unique spectroscopic facility for the ESO NTT telescope able
to cover the optical and NIR bands thanks to two different arms: the UV-VIS
(350-850 nm), and the NIR (800-1800 nm). In this article, we describe the
design of the visible camera cryostat and the architecture of the acquisition
system. The UV-VIS detector system is based on a e2v CCD 44-82, a custom
detector head coupled with the ESO continuous ow cryostats (CFC) cooling system
and the NGC CCD controller developed by ESO. This paper outlines the status of
the system and describes the design of the different parts that made up the
UV-VIS arm and is accompanied by a series of contributions describing the SOXS
design solutions.Comment: 9 pages, 13 figures, to be published in SPIE Proceedings 1070
The Acquisition Camera System for SOXS at NTT
SOXS (Son of X-Shooter) will be the new medium resolution (R4500 for a
1 arcsec slit), high-efficiency, wide band spectrograph for the ESO-NTT
telescope on La Silla. It will be able to cover simultaneously optical and NIR
bands (350-2000nm) using two different arms and a pre-slit Common Path feeding
system. SOXS will provide an unique facility to follow up any kind of transient
event with the best possible response time in addition to high efficiency and
availability. Furthermore, a Calibration Unit and an Acquisition Camera System
with all the necessary relay optics will be connected to the Common Path
sub-system. The Acquisition Camera, working in optical regime, will be
primarily focused on target acquisition and secondary guiding, but will also
provide an imaging mode for scientific photometry. In this work we give an
overview of the Acquisition Camera System for SOXS with all the different
functionalities. The optical and mechanical design of the system are also
presented together with the preliminary performances in terms of optical
quality, throughput, magnitude limits and photometric properties.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, SPIE conferenc
Architecture of the SOXS instrument control software
SOXS (Son Of X-Shooter) is a new spectrograph for the ESO NTT telescope,
currently in the final design phase.
The main instrument goal is to allow the characterization of transient
sources based on alerts. It will cover from near-infrared to visible bands with
a spectral resolution of using two separate, wavelength-optimized
spectrographs. A visible camera, primarily intended for target acquisition and
secondary guiding, will also provide a scientific "light" imaging mode.
In this paper we present the current status of the design of the SOXS
instrument control software, which is in charge of controlling all instrument
functions and detectors, coordinating the execution of exposures, and
implementing all observation, calibration and maintenance procedures.
Given the extensive experience of the SOXS consortium in the development of
instruments for the VLT, we decided to base the design of the Control System on
the same standards, both for hardware and software control.
We illustrate the control network, the instrument functions and detectors to
be controlled, the overall design of SOXS Instrument Software (INS) and its
main components. Then, we provide details about the control software for the
most SOXS-specific features: control of the COTS-based imaging camera, the
flexures compensation system and secondary guiding.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure
SOXS Control Electronics Design
SOXS (Son Of X-Shooter) is a unique spectroscopic facility that will operate
at the ESO New Technology Telescope (NTT) in La Silla from 2020 onward. The
spectrograph will be able to cover simultaneously the UV-VIS and NIR bands
exploiting two different arms and a Common Path feeding system. We present the
design of the SOXS instrument control electronics. The electronics controls all
the movements, alarms, cabinet temperatures, and electric interlocks of the
instrument. We describe the main design concept. We decided to follow the ESO
electronic design guidelines to minimize project time and risks and to simplify
system maintenance. The design envisages Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS)
industrial components (e.g. Beckhoff PLC and EtherCAT fieldbus modules) to
obtain a modular design and to increase the overall reliability and
maintainability. Preassembled industrial motorized stages are adopted allowing
for high precision assembly standards and a high reliability. The electronics
is kept off-board whenever possible to reduce thermal issues and instrument
weight and to increase the accessibility for maintenance purpose. The
instrument project went through the Preliminary Design Review in 2017 and is
currently in Final Design Phase (with FDR in July 2018). This paper outlines
the status of the work and is part of a series of contributions describing the
SOXS design and properties after the instrument Preliminary Design Review.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, to be publised in SPIE Proceedings 10707-9
Development status of the SOXS instrument control software
SOXS (Son Of X-Shooter) is a forthcoming instrument for ESO-NTT, mainly
dedicated to the spectroscopic study of transient events and is currently
starting the AIT (Assembly, Integration, and Test) phase. It foresees a visible
spectrograph, a near-Infrared (NIR) spectrograph, and an acquisition camera for
light imaging and secondary guiding. The optimal setup and the monitoring of
SOXS are carried out with a set of software-controlled motorized components and
sensors. The instrument control software (INS) also manages the observation and
calibration procedures, as well as maintenance and self-test operations. The
architecture of INS, based on the latest release of the VLT Software (VLT2019),
has been frozen; the code development is in an advanced state for what concerns
supported components and observation procedures, which run in simulation. In
this proceeding we present the INS current status, focusing in particular on
the ongoing efforts in the support of two non-standard, "special" devices. The
first special device is the piezoelectric slit exchanger for the NIR
spectrograph; the second special device is the piezoelectric tip-tilt corrector
used for active compensation of mechanical flexures of the instrument.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure
The SOXS data-reduction pipeline
The SOXS is a dual-arm spectrograph (UV-VIS & NIR) and AC due to mounted on
the ESO 3.6m NTT in La Silla. Designed to simultaneously cover the optical and
NIR wavelength range from 350-2050 nm, the instrument will be dedicated to the
study of transient and variable events with many Target of Opportunity requests
expected.
The goal of the SOXS Data Reduction pipeline is to use calibration data to
remove all instrument signatures from the SOXS scientific data frames for each
of the supported instrument modes, convert this data into physical units and
deliver them with their associated error bars to the ESO SAF as Phase 3
compliant science data products, all within 30 minutes. The primary reduced
product will be a detrended, wavelength and flux calibrated, telluric corrected
1D spectrum with UV-VIS + NIR arms stitched together. The pipeline will also
generate QC metrics to monitor telescope, instrument and detector health.
The pipeline is written in Python 3 and has been built with an agile
development philosophy that includes adaptive planning and evolutionary
development. The pipeline is to be used by the SOXS consortium and the general
user community that may want to perform tailored processing of SOXS data. Test
driven development has been used throughout the build using `extreme' mock
data. We aim for the pipeline to be easy to install and extensively and clearly
documented.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures. SPIE 202