Performance of the Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer with Photoconductive Detector Arrays: An Application for the AKARI Far-Infrared Instrument

摘要

We have developed an imaging Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) forspace-based far-infrared astronomical observations. The FTS employs a newlydeveloped photoconductive detector arrays with a capacitive trans-impedanceamplifier, which makes the FTS a completely unique instrument. The FTS wasinstalled as a function of the far-infrared instrument (FIS: Far-InfraredSurveyor) on the Japanese astronomical satellite, AKARI, which was launched onFebruary 21, 2006 (UT) from the Uchinoura Space Center. The FIS-FTS had beenoperated for more than one year before liquid helium ran out on August 26,2007. The FIS-FTS was operated nearly six hundreds times, which corresponds tomore than one hundred hours of astronomical observations and almost the sameamount of time for calibrations. As expected from laboratory measurements, theFIS-FTS performed well and has produced a large set of astronomical data forvaluable objects. Meanwhile, it becomes clear that the detector transienteffect is a considerable factor for FTSs with photoconductive detectors. Inthis paper, the instrumentation of the FIS-FTS and interesting phenomenarelated to FTS using photoconductive detectors are described, and futureapplications of this kind of FTS system are discussed.