S.H. Moseley (NASA's GSFC), R. Arendt (SSAI/NASA's GSFC), R.A. Boucarut (NASA's GSFC), T. Hadjimichael (Swales/NASA's GSFC), M. Jhabvala, T. King (NASA's GSFC), G. Kletetschka (CU), A.S. Kutyrev (SSAI/NASA's GSFC), M. Li (NASA's GSFC), D. Rapchun (GST/NASA's GSFC), R.F. Silverberg (NASA's GSFC), Microshutter Team
We have developed the microshutter array for use as a programmable field selector for Near Infrared Spectrometer (NIRSpec) being built by ESA for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). To observe a numerous objects simultaneously and eliminate the confusion caused by all other sources, specifically chosen shutters will be opened, selecting the chosen objects in the field of view. To cover the 3.6' x 3.6' NIRSpec field of view, individual microshutter arrays will be arranged in a 2 by 2 mosaic. Each qudrant is a close-packed array of 175x384 of individual independently addressable rectangular shutters. Smaller versions of these arrays in 128x64 format have been built and tested. These arrays have demonstrated full functionality at the cryogenic temperatures. Contrast measurement showed excellent light blocking capability. The next phase in the developement to produce flight design arrays. The first 175x384 shutters arrays for mechanical tests have been fabricated and have demonstrated good quality and uniformity of the array. This project is funded by NASA JWST.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: Samuel.H.Moseley.1@gsfc.nasa.gov
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 5
© 2004. The American Astronomical Society.