Long-wavelength infrared camera (LWIRC): a 10-μm camera for the Keck telescope

The long wavelength IR camera is a facility instrument for the Keck Observatory designed to operate at the f/25 forward Cassegrain focus of the Keck I telescope. The camera operates over the wavelength band 7-13 micrometers using ZnSe transmissive optics. A set of filters, a circular variable filter, and a mid-IR polarizer are available, as are three plate scales: 0.05 inch, 0.10 inch, 0.12 inch per pixel. The camera focal plane array and optics are cooled using liquid helium. The system has been refurbished with a 128 X 128 pixel Si:As detector array. The electronics readout system used to clock the array is compatible wit both the hardware and software of the other Keck IR instruments NIRC and LWS. A new pre-amplifier/A-D converter has been designed and constructed which decreases greatly the system susceptibility to noise.