the CCD ’ s electrical interface , allowing direct and safe measurement of the signals at the CCD pins . This also provided faster testing as we could avoid the thermal cycle overheads . This “ dummy CCD board ” will become a new diagnostic tool for operation at both Gemini North and South .
Figure 14 . Participants of the LGSF kick-off meeting visit the Gemini South telescope facility in Chile .
Figure 15 ( left ). Illustration showing the area on the altitude platform where the EC and LH will be located on the Gemini South telescope .
Figure 16 ( right ). Laser Head ( left ) and
Electronics Cabinet ( right ).
Tim Hardy from Canada ’ s National Research Council-Herzberg ( NRC-H ) helped debug the GMOS-N detector system , getting its performance closer to that of the alreadyinstalled GMOS-S system . We have been able to lower the RON from 5.6 electrons-root mean square ( e rms
) down to 3.9e rms
( current GMOS-S performances ). We also replaced the two original cable sets that were found to be erratic , and repaired two new boards designed to mitigate electrostatic damage to the charge-coupled devices ( CCD ). By reproducing one of the “ unwanted features ” of the current GMOS-S focal plane array ( very low level pattern removable by dithering ) we have learned how to work around this issue in the future ( Figures 12-13 ).
We conducted some of these tests using a custom printed circuit board that simulated
LGSF Update
Gemini South is procuring a new laser from the German corporation Toptica Photonics AG for the Gemini South Multi-conjugate adaptive optics System . On April 28th three representatives of Toptica ’ s Laser Guide Star Facility ( LGSF ) upgrade project , and stakeholders from science and engineering operations , attended the kick-off meeting for Toptica ’ s SodiumStar 20 / 2 , the company ’ s new laser guide star system .
Participants visited Cerro Pachón where they clarified several technical issues to ensure smooth installation of the new laser at the Gemini South telescope ( Figure 14 ). Meeting participants also discussed the delivery schedule and required infrastructure to receive the new laser .
For efficient operations we will install the Toptica Laser Control Electronics Cabinet ( EC ) and the Laser Head ( LH ) on the elevation platform of the telescope , near the Lockheed Martin Coherent Technologies laser enclosure . This will allow easier injection of the Toptica laser beam into the telescope Beam Transfer Optics . Figures 15 and 16 show the EC and LH as well as their planned location on the telescope structure .
52 GeminiFocus January 2017 | 2016 Year in Review