GRACES, the Gemini remote access CFHT ESPaDOnS spectrograph: initial design and testing

Eric V. Tollestrup; John Pazder; Gregory Barrick; Eder Martioli; Ricardo Schiavon; André Anthony; Mark Halman; Christian Veillet

doi:10.1117/12.926626

24 September 2012 GRACES, the Gemini remote access CFHT ESPaDOnS spectrograph: initial design and testing

Eric V. Tollestrup, John Pazder, Gregory Barrick, Eder Martioli, Ricardo Schiavon, André Anthony, Mark Halman, Christian Veillet

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8446, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV; 84462A (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.926626
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2012, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Abstract

The Gemini Remote Access CFHT ESPaDOnS Spectrograph (GRACES) is an innovative instrumentation experiment that will demonstrate if ESPaDOnS, a bench-mounted high-resolution optical spectrograph at CFHT, can be fed by a 270-m long fiber from the Gemini-North telescope with low enough losses to remain competitive with conventional spectrographs on other 8 to 10-m telescopes. Detailed simulations have shown that GRACES should be more sensitive than the HIRES spectrograph at Keck Observatory at wavelengths longer than about 600-700 nm. This result is possible by using FPB-type of optical fibers made by Polymicro Technologies and by keeping the critical focal ratio degradation (FRD) losses to less than 10%. Laboratory tests on these FPB optical fibers are underway and show that for 36-m lengths that the FRD losses are as low as 0.8% with a repeatability of 1%. Tests are currently underway on 280-m lengths.

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Eric V. Tollestrup, John Pazder, Gregory Barrick, Eder Martioli, Ricardo Schiavon, André Anthony, Mark Halman, and Christian Veillet "GRACES, the Gemini remote access CFHT ESPaDOnS spectrograph: initial design and testing", Proc. SPIE 8446, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV, 84462A (24 September 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.926626

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