The DESI shutter with integrated fiber illumination system

Abstract

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is under construction to measure the expansion history of the Universe using the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation technique. The spectra of 40 million galaxies over 14,000 sq deg will be measured during the life of the experiment. A new prime focus corrector for the KPNO Mayall telescope will deliver light to 5000 fiber optic positioners. The fibers in turn feed ten broad-band spectrographs. We describe the unique shutter design that incorporates a fiber illumination system into the shutter blade. When activated, the fiber illumination system directs intense 430-480nm wavelength light at the instrument’s fiber slit in order to back-illuminate the telescope’s focal plane and verify the location of the robotic fiber positioners. The back-illumination is typically active during science exposure read-outs and therefore requires the shutter to attenuate light by a factor of at least 10⁷. This paper describes how we have integrated the fiber illumination system into the shutter blade, as well as incorporated an inflatable seal around the shutter aperture to achieve the light attenuation requirement. We also present lab results that characterize the fiber illumination and shutter attenuation. Finally, we discuss the control scheme that executes exposure and fiber illumination modes, and meets the shutter timing requirements.