The Spectral and Photometric Imaging REceiver (SPIRE), is the Herschel Space Observatory's submillimetre camera and spectrometer. It contains a three-band imaging photometer operating at 250, 350 and 500 μm, and an imaging Fourier-transform spectrometer (FTS) which covers simultaneously its whole operating range of 194-671 μm (447-1550 GHz). The SPIRE detectors are arrays of feedhorn-coupled bolometers cooled to 0.3 K. The photometer has a field of view of 4 × 8 , observed simultaneously in the three spectral bands. Its main operating mode is scan-mapping, whereby the field of view is scanned across the sky to achieve full spatial sampling and to cover large areas if desired. The spectrometer has an approximately circular field of view with a diameter of 2.6 . The spectral resolution can be adjusted between 1.2 and 25 GHz by changing the stroke length of the FTS scan mirror. Its main operating mode involves a fixed telescope pointing with multiple scans of the FTS mirror to acquire spectral data. For extended source measurements, multiple position offsets are implemented by means of an internal beam steering mirror to achieve the desired spatial sampling and by rastering of the telescope pointing to map areas larger than the field of view. The SPIRE instrument consists of a cold focal plane unit located inside the Herschel cryostat and warm electronics units, located on the spacecraft Service Module, for instrument control and data handling. Science data are transmitted to Earth with no on-board data compression, and processed by automatic pipelines to produce calibrated science products. The in-flight performance of the instrument matches or exceeds predictions based on pre-launch testing and modelling: the photometer sensitivity is comparable to or slightly better than estimated pre-launch, and the spectrometer sensitivity is also better by a factor of 1.5-2. Key words. instrumentation: photometers -instrumentation: spectrographs -space vehicles: instruments -submillimeter: generalHerschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA.
This paper describes a new Heterodyne Array Receiver Program (HARP) and Auto‐Correlation Spectral Imaging System (ACSIS) that have recently been installed and commissioned on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. The 16‐element focal‐plane array receiver, operating in the submillimetre from 325 to 375 GHz, offers high (three‐dimensional) mapping speeds, along with significant improvements over single‐detector counterparts in calibration and image quality. Receiver temperatures are ∼120 K across the whole band, and system temperatures of ∼300 K are reached routinely under good weather conditions. The system includes a single‐sideband (SSB) filter so these are SSB values. Used in conjunction with ACSIS, the system can produce large‐scale maps rapidly, in one or more frequency settings, at high spatial and spectral resolution. Fully sampled maps of size can be observed in under 1 h. The scientific need for array receivers arises from the requirement for programmes to study samples of objects of statistically significant size, in large‐scale unbiased surveys of galactic and extra‐galactic regions. Along with morphological information, the new spectral imaging system can be used to study the physical and chemical properties of regions of interest. Its three‐dimensional imaging capabilities are critical for research into turbulence and dynamics. In addition, HARP/ACSIS will provide highly complementary science programmes to wide‐field continuum studies and produce the essential preparatory work for submillimetre interferometers such as the Submillimeter Array (SMA) and Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA).
We describe the design and performance of the Medium Resolution Spectrometer (MRS) for the JWST-MIRI instrument. The MRS incorporates four coaxial spectral channels in a compact opto-mechanical layout that generates spectral images over fields of view up to 7.7 x 7.7 arcseconds in extent and at spectral resolving powers ranging from 1,300 to 3,700. Each channel includes an all-reflective integral field unit (IFU): an 'image slicer' that reformats the input field for presentation to a grating spectrometer. Two 1024 x 1024 focal plane arrays record the output spectral images with an instantaneous spectral coverage of approximately one third of the full wavelength range of each channel. The full 5 to 28.5 µm spectrum is then obtained by making three exposures using gratings and pass-band-determining filters that are selected using just two three-position mechanisms. The expected on-orbit optical performance is presented, based on testing of the MIRI Flight Model and including spectral and spatial coverage and resolution. The point spread function of the reconstructed images is shown to be diffraction limited and the optical transmission is shown to be consistent with the design expectations.
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