Laboratory test of the VIS detector system of SOXS for the ESO-NTT telescope

TL;DR

This paper details the design, testing, and initial results of the VIS detector system for the SOXS spectrograph on the ESO-NTT telescope, focusing on the CCD characterization and cryostat integration.

Contribution

It presents the final design of the visible camera cryostat, the test setup for CCD characterization, and initial laboratory results with the scientific detector.

Findings

Successful laboratory testing of the CCD detector system.

Validation of the cryostat cooling and control system.

Initial performance metrics of the detector in laboratory conditions.

Abstract

SOXS is the new spectrograph for the ESO NTT telescope able to cover the optical and NIR bands thanks to two different arms: the UV-VIS (350-850 nm), and the NIR (800-2000 nm). In this article, we describe the final design of the visible camera cryostats, the test facilities for the CCD characterization, and the first results with the scientific detector. The UV-VIS detector system is based on a e2v CCD 44-82, a custom detector head coupled with the ESO Continuous Flowing Cryostat (CFC) cooling system and the New General Detector Controller (NGC) developed by ESO. The laboratory facility is based on an optical bench equipped with a Xenon lamp, filter wheels to select the wavelength, an integrating sphere, and a calibrated diode to measure the flux. This paper outlines the visible camera cryostat, the test facilities for the CCD characterization and the first results with the scientific detector in the laboratory and after the integration to the instrument.