LUCIFER (LBT NIR Spectrograph Utility with Camera and Integral-Field Unit for Extragalactic Research) is a NIR spectrograph and imager for the LBT (Large Binocular Telescope) working in the wavelength range from 0.9 to 2.5 microns. Two instruments are built by a consortium of five German institutes (Landessternwarte Heidelberg (LSW), Max Planck Institut for Astronomy (MPIA), Max Planck Institut for Extraterrestric Physics (MPE), Astronomical Institut of the Ruhr-University Bochum (AIRUB) and Fachhochschule for Technics and Design Mannheim (FHTG). All major components for the first instrument have been manufactured or are in the final stage of procurement. While integration and testing of LUCIFER 1 started in spring 2006 at the MPIA in Heidelberg, the cryostat for LUCIFER 2 has been sent to the MPE in Garching for system integration tests of the MOS-unit and testing of the mask cabinet exchange. The control electronics for the basic instrument has been manufactured, the MOS control electronics has been integrated and is being debugged. The MOS control software is under development by AIRUB. Fabrication and integration of components for LUCIFER 2 have started.

Date Published: 11 July 2006
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 6269, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy, 62693F (11 July 2006); doi: 10.1117/12.671067

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6269:
Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy
Ian S. McLean; Masanori Iye, Editor(s)