The United Kingdom Astronomy Technology Centre

POPS

POPS, the Precision Optical Pick-Off System, will be a robotically controlled pick-off arm for use in instruments designed for multiple integral-field spectroscopy in the infrared.

The pick-off system will steer light from the objects under study onto a fixed array of image slicers which will then produce a resolved 2-dimensional spectrum of each astronomical object. The system will be a key technology for use in the next generation of infrared multi-object spectrometers for large ground-based and space-based telescopes. Two such instruments employing this capability are currently under study for Gemini and the ESO VLT. The technology will also have wider applications in cryogenic laser machining and for deployable optics in space.

POPS will be a robotically controlled optical relay capable of being very accurately positioned, and with high reliability even at cryogenic temperatures. A prototype will be built and tested under both ambient temperature and cryogenic conditions (down to 77K or -196C). An investigation will be undertaken into manufacturing processes suitable for industrial manufacture of large numbers of units.

This project is being conducted under a PPARC Industrial Support Scheme grant in partnership with Astrium UK and the University of Durham Astronomical Intrumentation Group.

More details regarding the project are available from the POPS Project Pages.