SPGCam: A specifically tailored camera for solar observations
Author
Magdaleno Castelló, Eduardo; Orozco Suárez, David; Álvarez García, Daniel; López Jiménez, Antonio C.; Balaguer Jiménez, María; Hernández Expósito, David; Labrousse, Pierre; Bailén, Francisco J.; Bustamante Díaz, Isabel; Bailón Martínez, Eduardo; Aparicio del Moral, Beatriz; Morales Fernández, José M.; Sánchez Gómez, Antonio; Tobaruela Abarca, Ángel; Moreno Mantas, Antonio J.; Ramos Más, José L.; Pérez Grande, Isabel; Piqueras Carreño, Javier; Katsukawa, Yukio; Kubo, Masahito; Kawabata, Yusuke; Oba, Takayoshi; Rodríguez Valido, Manuel Jesús; Toro lniesta, Jose Carlos delDate
2023Abstract
Designing a new astronomical instrument typically challenges the available
cameras on the market. In many cases, no camera can fulfill the requirements of
the instrument in terms of photon budget, speed, and even interfaces with the
rest of the instrument. In this situation, the only options are to either downgrade
the performance of the instrument or design new cameras from scratch,
provided it is possible to identify a compliant detector. The latter is the case of the
SPGCams, the cameras developed to be used with the Tunable Magnetograph
(TuMag) and the Sunrise Chromospheric lnfrared spectroPolarimeter (SCIP)
for the SuNRISE 111 mission. SPGCams have been designed, developed, and
built entirely in-house by the Solar Physics Group (SPG) at the Instituto de
Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC). We report here on the scientific rationale
and system engineering requirements set by the two instruments that drove the
development, as well as on the technical details and trade-offs used to fulfill the
specifications. The cameras were fully verified before the flight, and results from
the assembly and verification campaign are presented as well. SPGCams share
the design, although sorne parametric features differentiate the visible cameras
(for TuMag) and the IR ones (for SCIP). Even though they were specifically
developed for the SuNRISE III mission, the robust and careful design makes them
su ita ble for different applications in other astronomical instruments.