Liger at Keck Observatory: Design of Imager Optical Assembly and Spectrograph Re-Imaging Optics

Liger is an adaptive optics (AO) fed imager and integral field spectrograph (IFS) designed to take advantage of the Keck All-sky Precision Adaptive-optics (KAPA) upgrade for the W.M. Keck Observatory. We present the design and analysis of the imager optical assembly including the spectrograph Re-Imaging Optics (RIO) which transfers the beam path from the imager focal plane to the IFS slicer module and lenslet array. Each imager component and the first two RIO mechanisms are assembled and individually aligned on the same optical plate. Baffling suppresses background radiation and scattered light, and a pupil viewing camera allows the imager detector to focus on an image of the telescope pupil. The optical plate mounts on an adapter frame for alignment of the overall system. The imager and RIO will be characterized in a cryogenic test chamber before installation in the final science cryostat.

Automated summary

Liger is an adaptive optics system designed for the W.M. Keck Observatory, comprising an imager and an integral field spectrograph. The design and analysis of the optical assembly for the imager and the re-imaging optics for the spectrograph are presented. The components will be tested in a cryogenic chamber before being installed in the final science cryostat.