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Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik |
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MICADO
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MICADO is the Multi-AO Imaging Camera for Deep Observations, which has been designed to work with adaptive optics on the
42-m European Extremely Large Telescope.
Following a call for proposals by ESO, the MICADO
consortium - led by MPE - was awarded the contract for the Phase A study.
The agreement was ratified between MPE and ESO in February 2008.
The Phase A Final Review was held at in December 2009 and the study is now completed.
The instrument design has been optimised for the multi-conjugate adaptive optics module
MAORY;
but it is also able to work with other adaptive optics systems, and includes a separate module to provide a single conjugate adaptive optics capability using natural guide stars during the early operational phase.
The instrument is compact and is supported underneath the AO systems so that it rotates in a gravity invariant orientation. It is able to image, through a large number of selected wide and narrow-band near infrared filters, a large 53arcsec field of view at the diffraction limit of the E-ELT. MICADO has two arms. The primary arm is a high throughput imaging camera with a single 3mas pixel scale. This arm is designed with fixed mirrors for superior stability, thus optimizing astrometric precision. In addition, MICADO will have an auxiliary arm to provide an increased degree of flexibility. In the current design, this arm provides (i) a finer 1.5mas pixel scale over a smaller field, and (ii) a 4mas pixel scale for a simple, medium resolution, long-slit spectroscopic capability. However, in principle the auxiliary arm also opens the door to many other options, including a 'dual imager' based on a Fabry-Perot etalon to image separate emission line and continuum wavelengths simultaneously, or a high time resolution detector.
Early in the project, the consortium highlighted several key capabilities that exemplify the unique features of the E-ELT at which MICADO will excel in comparison to other facilities. These are at the root of the science cases and have driven the design of the camera: sensitivity and resolution, precision astrometry, and high throughput spectroscopy. By both promoting and exploiting these capabilities with a simple and robust design, the consortium believes that MICADO can be considered for an E-ELT first light instrument.
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| Overview of MICADO | Illustration of MICADO mounted under MAORY |
Consortium
The MICADO consortium for the Phase A study comprises the following six partners: MPE | Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik | |
| MPIA | Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie | |
| USM | Universitäts-Sternwarte München | |
| NOVA | Nederlande Onderzoekschool voor Astronomie (specifically including University of Leiden, University of Groningen, NOVA optical/IR instrumentation group) | |
| OAPD | Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, INAF | |
| LESIA | Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et Instrumentations pour l'Astrophysique, Paris Observatory |
Key Capabilities
The consortium has highlighted the following 3 capabilities that lie at the root of the science cases and that should drive the design of the instrument:| Sensitivity and Resolution |
| Precision Astrometry |
| High Throughput Spectroscopy |
The MICADO design to achieve these capabilities is simple, compact and robust, which minimizes risks on cost and schedule. The consortium has also identified a
| Phased Approach |
Sensitivity and Resolution
MICADO is optimised for imaging at the diffraction limit, and will fully sample the 6-10mas FWHM in the J-K bands. With a throughput exceeding 60% its sensitivity at 1-2micron will, for the AO performance predicted by MAORY, be comparable to, or surpass, JWST even for isolated point sources, and be clearly superior to JWST in crowded regions. MICADO thus will realise the full power and most unique features of a 42m-AO telescope in its first light capabilities. Following the end of Phase A, the consortium will pursue a project to develop OH suppressing filters that could further improve the sensitivity by a significant factor. MICADO's superior resolution means that it will be able to probe the detailed structure of objects that are unresolved by JWST. In addition, its field of view of nearly 1 arcmin yields a significant multiplex advantage compared to other ground-based cameras such as IRIS on the TMT. Together, these characteristics make MICADO a powerful tool for many science cases, from studies of faint high redshift galaxies to performing photometry in crowded fields. In important issue in this respect is the availability of tools to extract and measure point sources, and so the consortium has initiated a study to assess the suitability and future requirements of photometry packages.Precision Astrometry
The primary imaging field of MICADO employs a catoptric design using only fixed mirrors. Together with the gravity invariant rotation and the baseline to use HAWAII-4RG detectors (developed to meet the stringent requirements of space astrometry missions), this makes MICADO an ideal instrument for astrometry. A robust pipeline, based on software already available in the AstroWISE system, will bring precision astrometry into the mainstream. An analysis of the statistical and systematic effects shows that proper motions of 40microarcsec/yr in a single epoch of observations should be achievable; and after only 3-4 years it will be possible to reach 10microarcsec/yr, equivalent to 5km/s at 100kpc. At this level, many novel science cases become feasible, including proper motions of stars in the centre of the Galaxy and other nearby galaxies, mass determinations of intermediate mass black holes, proper motions of globular clusters, and testing cold dark matter structure formation using internal kinematics of dwarf spheroidals.High Throughput Spectroscopy
The obvious, but powerful, complement to pure imaging is spectroscopy, and this capability is mandatory if MICADO is to be considered as a first light instrument. We have implemented a simple slit spectrometer with a high throughput that is ideal for obtaining spectra of compact objects. The resolution of R~3000 is sufficient to probe between the near infrared OH lines. This simple addition will enhance many science cases, for example: deriving stellar types and 3D orbits in the Galactic Center; using velocities of stars in nearby galaxies to probe central black hole masses and extended mass distributions; measuring absorption lines in galaxies at z = 2-3 and emission lines in galaxies at z = 4-6 to derive their ages, metallicities, and star forming histories; and obtaining spectra of the first supernovae at z=1-6.Phased Approach
In order to be a viable first-light instrument, the MICADO consortium has decided to implement a phased approach whereby the instrument is operated first with a more simple form of adaptive optics, SCAO, and only later upgraded to work with full MCAO. In this way the camera will be able to produce diffraction limited images leading to high quality scientific results from the very beginning. Since the E-ELT baseline is that SCAO wavefront sensing capability is not provided to the instruments by the telescope, the consortium has included the study of such a module. The optical relay and support structure have been designed so that the interface between MICADO and the SCAO module is the same as that with MAORY. Furthermore, they can in principle also be used to interface MICADO to other AO systems such as ATLAS. There are technical and fiscal benefits to this phased approach: (i) MICADO is able to make use of adaptive optics at a level of sophistication that increases as more complex AO systems are commissioned. (ii) The high capital cost of the detectors required to image the large field corrected by MCAO is spread over a longer time period.
Performance
The broadband imaging performance for the MICADO primary field has been calculated for isolated point sources using PSFs provided by the MAORY consortium and for standard broadband filters similar to those in HAWK-I. It shows that the 5sigma sensitivity will be better than a few nano-Jy (30mag AB) for the I, J, and H bands in only 1-2 hours. The K-band performance depends strongly on the thermal background and hence the ambient temperature, but is likely to be about 1mag less.
Advanced filters - including high throughput broad band filters and OH
suppressing filters - will have a very significant impact on MICADO
sensitivity. The prototype J-band filter pair that we have developed together
with the
Laser Zentrum Hannover increases the sensitivity in a given integration time by 0.3mag. More advanced design optimisation techniques could lead to a 0.5mag sensitivity gain in this band, and comparable gains may be expected for the I-band and H-band.
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| Broadband imaging sensitivity of MICADO as a function of integration time |
The spectroscopic performance has been calculated for isolated point sources that are nmodded back and forth along a slit that is 8arcsec long and 12mas wide. Because of the unusually extreme core + halo shape of the adaptive optics PSF, this width maximises the signal-to-noise reached for point sources in the J and H bands. In the K-band, additional diffraction losses at the slit reduce the throughput slightly. The sensitivity calculation takes account of all effects (including the Strehl ratios predicted by MAORY, the limited coupling efficiency due to the PSF shape, diffraction losses at the slit, and the thermal background). The resulting 5sigma sensitivities are JAB=HAB=27.2mag between the OH lines in a 5 hour integration; and similarly KAB=25.7mag (which is, as before, less primarily due to the thermal background).
The table shows the predicted point sources sensitivites to 5sigma in a 5 hour integration:
| J (AB mag) | H (AB mag) | K (AB mag) | |
| Imaging | 30.8 | 30.8 | 29.8 |
| Imaging with advanced filters (estimated) | 31.3 | 31.3 | 30.1 |
| Spectroscopy (between OH) | 26.7 | 27.2 | 27.2 |
Publically Available Presentations related to MICADO
These presentations have been given by various members of the MICADO consortium
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MICADO - the E-ELT Adaptive Optics Imaging Camera |
given at
Astronomical
Telescopes and Instrumentation 2010 (SPIE)
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San Diego, USA, July 2010 |
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Star formation history from resolved stars in galaxies up to Virgo |
given at
JWST and the ELTs: An Ideal Combination
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ESO, Germany, April 2010 |
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MICADO: The E-ELT Adaptive Optics Imaging Camera |
given at
Scientific and technological challenges in the development of astronomical instrumentation: ALMA and E-ELT
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Madrid, Spain, Sept 2009 |
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MICADO: Science and AO Requirements |
given at
Adaptive Optics for Extremely Large Telescopes
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Paris, France, June 2009 |
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MICADO and MAORY: Science with MCAO on the E-ELT |
given at
MAD and Beyond: Science with Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics Instruments
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ESO, Germany, June 2009 |
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Imaging with MICADO at the E-ELT |
given at
Wide field imaging at the E-ELT: from GLAO to diffraction limit
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ESO, Germany, May 2009 |
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Precision Astrometry with MICADO |
given at
The E-ELT DRM and DRSP Workshop
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ESO, Germany, May 2009 |
Papers related to MICADO
© Infrared and Submillimeter Astronomy Group at MPE
last update:
07/09/2011, editor of this page: Richard Davies
