Instrumentation Projects

ARC instrumentation projects involve collaboration with numerous industry partners. Within these partnerships, researchers work on ground-based, space-based and physics-focused projects.

Ground Based Projects

NFIRAOS and HeNOS

Narrow Field Infrared Adaptive Optics System (NFIRAOS) is a multiconjugate adaptive optics system with two deformable mirrors and six laser guide star wavefront sensors, designed as the AO heart of the TMT. Its location at Nasmyth allows it to support three client instruments operating over 0.8 – 2.5 µm wavelength range. HeNOS is the test bench, designed to be a scaled down version of NFIRAOS

Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT)

Contact: Dave Andersen, Jean-Pierre Veran

Students:

Mojtaba Taheri
Tarun Kumar

Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer

The Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer (MSE) is proposed 11.25m telescope, designed to excel at multi-object spectroscopy, with capabilities to simultaneously observe 4000 objects.

Contact: Alan McConnachie, Scott Roberts

Gemini High-resolution Optical SpecTrograph (GHOST)

GHOST will provide two-object plus sky spectroscopy with full wavelength coverage from ~360-1000nm at resolutions from 50,000 to 75,000, and high throughput at the Gemini Observatory.

Contact: Alan McConnachie

Gemini Infrared Multi-Object Spectrograph (GIRMOS)

Gemini Infrared Multi-Object Spectrograph (GIRMOS) is a powerful new instrument being constructed for the Gemini telescope that will carry out simultaneous high angular resolution infrared spectroscopy of four objects within a two-arcminute field-of-regard. The instrument will take advantage of the latest developments in adaptive optics, as well as technical innovations in optical engineering that are only now becoming available. GIRMOS's capabilities will also make it a pathfinder for the Thirty Meter Telescope's Infrared Multi-ObjectSpectrograph (IRMOS), which will be a future second-generation instrument.

Contact: Darren Erickson

PI: Suresh Sivanandam

GIRMOS instrument

Phased Array Feeds (PAFs)

Phased array feeds are rapid-imaging devices used in radio-astronomy observatories. They also have potential in medical physics and geophysics.

DRAO, SKA

Contact: Tim Robishaw

Composite Mirrors

DRAO

Contact: Gordon Lacey, Micheal Rupen

Space Based Projects:

Fine Guidance System / Near InfraRed Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (FGS/NIRISS)

For precision pointing and near-IR spectroscopy from 0.8 - 5 microns, at resolutions ranging from 150 to 700, contributing to all JWST main Science Themes.

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

Contact : John Hutchings, Chris Willott