Changes between Version 617 and Version 618 of AstroTechTalk
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- Nov 21, 2025, 1:37:13 PM (5 months ago)
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AstroTechTalk
v617 v618 30 30 || '''20.10.2025''' || '''Jens Helmling (CAHA)''' || '''50 years of technological evolution at the Calar Alto Observatory[[BR]]'''[[BR]]Technology develops incredibly fast. For years, Calar Alto received most of its technology from the MPIA, initially with photoplanes, even in the IR range, then came Retincon, CCDs, IR detectors, and increasingly CMOS. Today, many developments are carried out on site by Calar Alto staff, from new telescope control systems to improvements in efficiency, for example in Carmenes' radial velocity measurements. In this talk, Jens Helmling will take us on a journey of technological evolution along the last 50 years of the observatory.[[BR]][[BR]]Presentation: German[[BR]][https://svn.mpia.de/trac/att/attachment/wiki/WikiStart/CAHA_50.pdf Slides: English][[BR]]Questions: !English/German || 31 31 || '''11.11.2025''' || '''Maria Vincent (University of Hawaii, WM Keck Observatory)''' || '''Entering a new Era of Adaptive Optics with more powerful Deformable Mirrors[[BR]][[BR]]'''Advances in high-contrast imaging of exoplanets and circumstellar disks hinge on increasingly capable adaptive optics. This talk presents a major instrumentation effort on Maunakea to reduce residual wavefront error and improve contrast through two facility adaptive optics upgrades: the Keck II High-Order Advanced Keck Adaptive Optics (HAKA) upgrade and Subaru’s next-generation facility AO (AO3k). Both upgrades center on higher-order ALPAO deformable mirrors with enhanced wavefront sensing and real-time control. In this presentation, laboratory activities are highlighted, particularly test-bench setup, modular lab control software, and results from the site-acceptance testing of the higher-order DM at Keck. Together, these improvements target higher Strehl ratios and deeper raw contrast at small angular separations, enabling sharper direct spectroscopy of older, cooler exoplanets and revealing scattered-light structure in moderately extincted, planet-forming disks. The presentation concludes with selected science outcomes from the upgraded Subaru AO system.[[BR]][[BR]]Presentation: English[[BR]]Slides: English[[BR]]Questions: English || 32 || '''24.11.2025''' || '''Daniel P. Violette (NASA)''' || '''!AstroPix: Novel High Voltage CMOS Detectors for Next-generation Gamma-ray Observatories'''[[BR]][[BR]]A next-generation gamma-ray observatory operating in the medium-energy gamma-ray band (~100 keV to 100 MeV) will provide capabilities critical for advancing multi-messenger astrophysics by providing the electromagnetic context for the universe’s most explosive and energetic processes. Improvements in tracker detector technologies and instrument design are required to probe the nature of black holes, neutron stars, and relativistic jets. !AstroPix detectors are High-Voltage Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS) adapted from CMOS detector technologies developed for the ATLAS experiment at CERN. AstroPix detectors possess a large dynamic energy range (25-700 keV) with high spatial (500um x 500um) segmentation and spectral (<10% FWHM at 60 keV) resolution. !AstroPix has been optimized for large area detector arrays (> meters2) and each detector provides on-chip signal digitization, low-power operation (1.5 mW/cm2), and chip-to-chip command and data handling. In his talk, Daniel Violette will discuss the need for low-power, highly tileable detectors for future gamma-ray observatories, introduce the !AstroPix detector, and highlight current and future applications of the technology.[[BR]][[BR]]Presentation: English[[BR]]Slides: English[[BR]]Questions: English ||32 || '''24.11.2025''' || '''Daniel P. Violette (NASA)''' || '''!AstroPix: Novel High Voltage CMOS Detectors for Next-generation Gamma-ray Observatories'''[[BR]][[BR]]A next-generation gamma-ray observatory operating in the medium-energy gamma-ray band (~100keV to 100 MeV) will provide capabilities critical for advancing multi-messenger astrophysics by providing the electromagnetic context for the universe’s most explosive and energetic processes. Improvements in tracker detector technologies and instrument design are required to probe the nature of black holes, neutron stars, and relativistic jets. !AstroPix detectors are High-Voltage Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS) adapted from CMOS detector technologies developed for the ATLAS experiment at CERN. !AstroPix detectors possess a large dynamic energy range (25-700 keV) with high spatial (500um x 500um) segmentation and spectral (<10% FWHM at 60 keV) resolution. !AstroPix has been optimized for large area detector arrays (> meters^2^) and each detector provides on-chip signal digitization, low-power operation (1.5 mW/cm^2^), and chip-to-chip command and data handling. In his talk, Daniel Violette will discuss the need for low-power, highly tileable detectors for future gamma-ray observatories, introduce the !AstroPix detector, and highlight current and future applications of the technology.[[BR]][[BR]]Presentation: English[[BR]]Slides: English[[BR]]Questions: English || 33 33 34 34 '''Preview:'''
