EEV large-format CCD camera on the WHT ISIS spectrograph

A 770 x 1152-element CCD camera being developed for use with the ISIS spectrograph on the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope at Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos is described and illustrated with diagrams and graphs of test data. The super-grade EEV 88200 CCDs selected for the ISIS red-arm (401-1060 nm) camera have pixel size 22.5 microns square and rms readout noise 3.5 electrons at operating temperature 150 K; peak quantum efficiency of 50 percent is measured at wavelength 650 nm, and the spatial resolution obtained with ISIS is less than 1.2 pixels FWHM. A similar camera is to be constructed for the blue arm of ISIS. Also provided is a brief overview of the CCD controller hardware and software, summarizing the detailed descriptions of Bregman and Waltham (1986) and Bregman and Doorduin (1986).