INTEGRATING VIDICON SYSTEMS AT CERRO TOLOLO

We describe the CTIO vidicon camera, its control electronics, and its associated software for data acquisition and reduction. The silicon vidicon and its intensified counterpart, the SIT vidicon, continue to be competitive detectors in astronomy because of their two-dimensional format, ready availab...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 1979-02, Vol.91 (539), p.120-139
Main Authors: ATWOOD, BRUCE, INGERSON, THOMAS, LASKER, BARRY M., OSMER, PATRICK S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astronomical objects
Beam currents
Cameras
Cathodes
Electric potential
Photons
Pixels
Resistors
Telescopes
Vidicons
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Summary:We describe the CTIO vidicon camera, its control electronics, and its associated software for data acquisition and reduction. The silicon vidicon and its intensified counterpart, the SIT vidicon, continue to be competitive detectors in astronomy because of their two-dimensional format, ready availability, faint object capability, and their lack of afterglow or counting-rate problems when used on bright objects. However, considerable care in the design of low-noise and suitably stable electronics is required for the full capabilities of the detectors to be realized. Accordingly, we discuss the hardware and software requirements and the optical considerations for the astronomical use of vidicons. We also present in an appendix essential details and circuit diagrams for the hardware that have not been available in the literature. Several examples of tests and observations at the telescope are given to demonstrate the actual performance of the system. With the SIT vidicon the system noise is the equivalent of about two detected photons, so that for most observations photon noise is dominant. Spectra of compact emission-line objects are illustrated as examples of the skysubtraction capability and the resolution of the system. Spectra of a nearby galaxy and a supernova remnant indicate the value of the two-dimensional format of the vidicons.
ISSN:0004-6280
1538-3873
DOI:10.1086/130455