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E. Horch, Z. Ninkov (Rochester Inst. Tech.), W. van Altena (Yale U.)
With the continued improvement of the readout speed and read noise characteristics of CCDs and infrared arrays, speckle imaging that directly uses integrating arrays is becoming an increasingly attractive alternative to traditional speckle imaging with intensified cameras. A new speckle imaging system is now being built at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) that will be capable of using any science-grade large-format focal plane array to record a grid of speckle patterns over the entire active area of the detector before full-frame readout. Light from the target is directed from point to point on the chip with a tip-tilt mirror executing a timed sequence of movements. The system will be primarily used at the Cassegrain port of the WIYN 3.5-m telescope at Kitt Peak, Arizona, but will also be flexible enough to be used at a variety of other telescopes. The system design and preliminary laboratory tests are discussed, as well as projected system performance based on the most recent CCD speckle observations at WIYN made with the RIT fast readout CCD. This work is funded by the National Science Foundation.
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