Jpcam: a 1.2 Gpixel Camera for the J-Pas Survey

JPCam is a 14-CCD mosaic camera, using the new e2v 9k-by-9k 10
μm-pixel 16-channel detectors, to be deployed on a dedicated 2.55 m
wide-field telescope at the OAJ (Observatorio Astrofísico de
Javalambre) in Aragon, Spain. The camera is designed to perform a Baryon
Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) survey of the northern sky. The J-PAS survey
strategy will use 54 relatively narrow-band ( 13.8 nm) filters
equi-spaced between 370 and 920 nm plus 3 broad-band filters to achieve
unprecedented photometric red-shift accuracies for faint galaxies over
8000 square degrees of sky. The cryostat, detector mosaic and read
electronics, is being supplied by e2v under contract to J-PAS while the
mechanical structure, housing the shutter and filter assembly, is being
designed and constructed by a Brazilian consortium led by INPE
(Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais). The cryostat is bridged to
the telescope via a hexapod actuator system to maintain image quality
across the field. Four sets of 14 filters are placed in the ambient
environment, just above the dewar window but directly in line with the
detectors, leading to a mosaic having 10 mm gaps between each CCD. The
massive 500 mm aperture shutter is expected to be supplied by the
Bonn-Shutter UG. We will present an overview of JPCam, from the filter
configuration through to the CCD mosaic camera. A brief outline of the
main J-PAS science projects will be included.