The baseline design for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) requires a detector mosaic of over 2 Gigapixels covering a 55 cm diameter focal plane with 0.2 arcsec sampling. The camera and detector package for this telescope will benefit greatly by utilizing advanced concepts not normally required for astronomical telescope instrumentation. For the detector assembly, these concepts include low-cost, back illuminated CMOS or CCDs detectors with integrated electronic modules, curved detectors which would allow fewer but larger individual sensors, small pixels which maintain high MTF and full well capacity, anti-blooming techniques, fully-buttable packaging, and near room temperature operation. The camera may require a low thermal conductance gas-filled dewar to reduce atmosphere loading on the window, interchangeable and compact optical filters, and a flexible internal shutter. In this paper we discuss these issues relating to LSST focal plane technology.

Date Published: 24 December 2002
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 4836, Survey and Other Telescope Technologies and Discoveries, (24 December 2002); doi: 10.1117/12.456727

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 4836:
Survey and Other Telescope Technologies and Discoveries
J. Anthony Tyson; Sidney Wolff, Editor(s)