TIMMI2 ESO's 2^nd generation Thermal Infrared Multimode Instrument had astronomical first light in October 2000 at the 3.6 m telescope on La Silla, Chile. Since February 2001 it is in regular use, both by visiting astronomers and in service mode, typically one third of the total telescope time. Using a Raytheon 240 x 320 pixel As:Si-BIB detector allows imaging and grism spectroscopy between 5 and 24 μm. TIMMI2 has also a linear polarimetry mode. We will give a description of the instrument from technical to operational aspects. Because of the substantial gain in sensitivity as compared to previous generation instruments a new set of infrared calibration standards has been constructed. The instrument and telescope are subject of an ongoing sensitivity monitoring program enabling to improve the sensitivity while allowing to spot the development of problems immediately. For stellar objects the sensitivity 10 σ in 1 hour of telescope time is in the range of 15 - 30 mJy. TIMMI2 at the telescope shows negligible flexure (≤ 0.2") while having basically diffraction limited performance for λ ≥ 8 μm.

Date Published: 7 March 2003
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 4841, Instrument Design and Performance for Optical/Infrared Ground-based Telescopes, (7 March 2003); doi: 10.1117/12.460335

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 4841:
Instrument Design and Performance for Optical/Infrared Ground-based Telescopes
Masanori Iye; Alan F. M. Moorwood, Editor(s)