The development of WIFIS: a wide integral field infrared spectrograph

We present the current results from the development of a wide integral field infrared spectrograph (WIFIS). WIFIS offers an unprecedented combination of etendue and spectral resolving power for seeing-limited, integral field observations in the 0.9 - 1.8 μm range and is most sensitive in the 0.9 - 1.35 μ,m range. Its optical design consists of front-end re-imaging optics, an all-reflective image slicer-type, integral field unit (IFU) called FISICA, and a long-slit grating spectrograph back-end that is coupled with a HAWAII 2RG focal plane array. The full wavelength range is achieved by selecting between two different gratings. By virtue of its re-imaging optics, the spectrograph is quite versatile and can be used at multiple telescopes. The size of its field-of-view is unrivalled by other similar spectrographs, offering a 4.511x 1211 integral field at a 10-meter class telescope (or 2011 x 5011 at a 2.3-meter telescope). The use of WIFIS will be crucial in astronomical problems which require wide-field, two-dimensional spectroscopy such as the study of merging galaxies at moderate redshift and nearby star/planet-forming regions and supernova remnants. We discuss the final optical design of WIFIS, and its predicted on-sky performance on two reference telescope platforms: the 2.3-m Steward Bok telescope and the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias. We also present the results from our laboratory characterization of FISICA. IFU properties such as magnification, field-mapping, and slit width along the entire slit length were measured by our tests. The construction and testing of WIFIS is expected to be completed by early 2013. We plan to commission the instrument at the 2.3-m Steward Bok telescope at Kitt Peak, USA in Spring 2013.