Detector System Challenges of the Wide-field Spectroscopic Survey Telescope (WST)

TL;DR

The paper discusses the detector system challenges and innovative design approaches for the Wide-field Spectroscopic Survey Telescope (WST), a large optical/near-infrared facility planned for ESO to enable extensive spectroscopic surveys.

Contribution

It identifies key detector system challenges for WST and explores novel approaches and innovative designs to address these issues over the project's 20-year timeline.

Findings

Highlighting the complexity of detector systems for WST

Proposing novel detector design approaches

Discussing potential innovations over 20 years

Abstract

The wide-field spectroscopic survey telescope (WST) is proposed to become the next large optical/near infrared facility for the European Southern Observatory (ESO) once the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) has become operational. While the latter is optimized for unprecedented sensitivity and adaptive-optics assisted image quality over a small field-of-view, WST addresses the need for large survey volumes in spectroscopy with the light-collecting power of a 10 m class telescope. Its unique layout will feature the combination of multi-object and integral field spectroscopy simultaneously. For the intended capacity of this layout a very large number of detectors is needed. The complexity of the detector systems presents a number of challenges that are discussed with a focus on novel approaches and innovative detector designs that can be expected to emerge over the anticipated 20-year timeline of this project.