SAFARI is a far-infrared camera to be launched in 2021 onboard the SPICA satellite. SAFARI offers imaging spectroscopy and imaging photometry in the wavelength range of 34 to 210 μm with detector NEP of 2•10^-19 W/√Hz. A cryogenic test facility for SAFARI on-ground calibration and characterization is being developed. The main design driver is the required low background of a few attoWatts per pixel. This prohibits optical access to room temperature and hence all test equipment needs to be inside the cryostat at 4.5K. The instrument parameters to be verified are interfaces with the SPICA satellite, sensitivity, alignment, image quality, spectral response, frequency calibration, and point spread function. The instrument sensitivity is calibrated by a calibration source providing a spatially homogeneous signal at the attoWatt level. This low light intensity is achieved by geometrical dilution of a 150K source to an integrating sphere. The beam quality and point spread function is measured by a pinhole/mask plate wheel, back-illuminated by a second integrating sphere. This sphere is fed by a stable wide-band source, providing spectral lines via a cryogenic etalon.

Date Published: 24 September 2012
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 8452, Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy VI, 84521U (24 September 2012); doi: 10.1117/12.926873

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8452:
Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy VI
Wayne S. Holland, Editor(s)