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WIYN First-Science CCD Imager (1Dec94)
(from KPNO, NOAO Newsletter No. 40, 1 December 1994)

The WIYN telescope, with its excellent image quality and thermal
properties, offers distinct advantages for CCD imaging. NOAO has planned
for several years to deploy a 2 X 2 array of thinned Loral 2048 X 2048
CCDs (the MiniMosaic) as the WIYN imaging detector. The limited yield of
thinned CCDs for the MiniMosaic has delayed its expected deployment
beyond the initial period of shared risk observing. However, we have
acquired a thinned STIS 2048 X 2048 CCD with 21 um pixels for early
science observations at WIYN. This CCD, christened S2KB, has a quantum
efficiency curve (displayed below) that is comparable to or better than
T2KB. It has a read noise of 8 e^- and good cosmetics. The imager scale at
WIYN is 0.197"/pixel, allowing good sampling of the images, which often
have FWHM as small as 0.6". The CCD field of view at WIYN is 6.7 X 6.7
arcmin. Initially, the WIYN imager CCD will be controlled with a
HARCON controller using one CCD amplifier. Eventually, an Arcon will be
deployed for the WIYN imager that will enable multiple-amplifier readout.
This STIS CCD, together with the Indiana Filter Shutter Assembly and the
Instrument Adapter System (IAS), should provide excellent first-light
imaging capabilities at WIYN.

NOAO and WIYN are very grateful to the STIS project (Bruce Woodgate,
PI) for making this excellent detector available.

                            [Figure not included]

Taft Armandroff, Dave Silva,
Richard Green, Rich Reed

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