APEX instrumentation
Facility instruments
| Instrument |
Type |
Mode |
Frequency [GHz] |
HPBW [arcsec] |
IF range [GHz] |
# of beams |
Location |
Status |
Comment |
| APEX-1 (SHFI) |
Heterodyne SIS |
SSB |
211 - 275 |
30 - 25 |
4 - 8 |
1 |
Nasmyth-A |
 |
|
| APEX-2 (SHFI) |
Heterodyne SIS |
SSB |
275 - 370 |
23 - 17 |
4 - 8 |
1 |
Nasmyth-A |
 |
|
| APEX-2A |
Heterodyne SIS |
DSB |
279 - 381 |
18 |
4 - 8 |
1 |
Nasmyth-A |
 |
Decommissioned in Feb 2008 and replaced by APEX-2 |
| APEX-3 (SHFI) |
Heterodyne SIS |
SSB? |
385 - 500 |
17 - 13 |
4 - 8 |
1 |
Nasmyth-A |
 |
awaits mixer delivery |
APEX-T2 (SHFI) |
Heterodyne HEB |
DSB |
1250 - 1390 |
5 |
2 - 4 |
1 |
Nasmyth-A |
 |
Science Verification pending |
| LABOCA |
Bolometer array |
|
345 |
19 |
|
295 |
Cassegrain |
 |
|
| SABOCA |
Bolometer array |
|
850 |
8 |
|
39 |
Cassegrain |
 |
|
-
This is a set of SIS heterodyne receivers
covering the bands at 211-275 GHz, 275-370 GHz, and 385-500 GHz, and a
heterodyne HEB receiver operating at 1.25-1.39 THz. All receivers are
mounted in a single dewar in the Nasmyth A cabin. Band 2 has replaced
the APEX-2A receiver.
For more information consult
APEX
Facility Heterodyne Receivers.
-
The Large Apex BOlometer CAmera is a 295-pixel, 345 GHz (870 µm) bolometer array
build by the bolometer development group at MPIfR Bonn. The field of
view is 11x11 arcmin2. It was successfully commissioned
in May 2007.
More information:LABOCA A&A paper
-
The Submillimetre APEX Bolometer Camera (SABOCA), a 39-channel bolometer array
operating at 850 GHz (350 µm), has been commissioned in March 2009.
More information here
-
APEX-2A is a heterodyne receiver remotely tunable in the range 279-381GHz.
It is a double-sideband (DSB) receiver with typical receiver temperatures of
Trec=60-80 K. Under good weather conditions, this leads
to DSB system temperatures of ~150 K over most of the tuning range, but
up to 250 K towards 370 GHz.
APEX-2A was decommissioned in February 2008.
PI instruments
Apart from the facility receivers, PI instruments will be installed at APEX
during longer or shorter time periods. Some of them can be used by the community
in collaboration with people from the corresponding PI group. In case of the
MPIfR instruments, contact Rolf Güsten (rguesten(at)mpifr-bonn.mpg.de)
before submitting any proposals.
| Instrument |
Type |
Usage |
Frequency [GHz] |
HPBW [arcsec] |
# of beams |
Location |
Status |
Comment |
| FLASH |
Heterodyne SIS |
PI (MPIfR) |
430 - 492 |
14 |
1 |
Nasmyth-A |
 |
|
| 780 - 887 |
7 |
1 |
 |
|
| CHAMP+ |
Heterodyne SIS |
PI (MPIfR) |
602 - 720 |
9-7 |
7 |
Nasmyth-B |
 |
|
| 790 - 950 |
7-6 |
7 |
 |
|
| ASZCA |
Bolometer array |
PI (MPIfR) |
150 |
42 |
330 |
Cassegrain |
 |
|
| ARTEMIS |
Bolometer array |
PI (ESO) |
670, 1500 |
9, 4 |
256 |
Nasmyth-A |
 |
Available March 2011 |
| PolKa |
Polarimeter |
PI (MPIfR) |
345 |
19 |
295 |
Cassegrain |
 |
Commissioning pending |
-
FLASH is a dual channel DSB receiver, with one channel covering the 460 - 495 GHz
range, and the other one the 790 - 840 GHz range with typical
Trec (DSB) = 200 K and 400 K, respectively. For time estimates,
proposers should assume system temperatures of 650 K and 2000 K, respectively,
for 1 mm precipitable water vapour and 80 degrees elevation.
More information:
FLASH Fact Sheet (pdf)
-
PolKa - A new concept of polarimeter, named PolKa after the German "Polarimeter fur Bolometer-Kameras",
was developed by the Bolometer Group at the MPIfR in Bonn and installed on APEX in October 2009.
PolKa works in combination with LABOCA to produce high-resolution maps of linear (and possibly also
circular) polarization. The new polarimeter has the unique cjaracteristic of being tunable and of
producing a negligible absorption.
-
CHAMP+ is dual channel heterodyne receiver array of 7 pixels operating in the 602-720 GHz
and 790-950 GHz atmospheric windows.
-
ASZCA is a close-packed bolometer array operating at 2 mm. The field of view is 0.4x0.4 degrees.
-
ARTEMIS is a bolometer array working at 200, 350, and 450 μm. It is developed
by CEA Saclay (France), and its final version is expected at APEX at March 2011.
Backends
-
The facility Fast Fourier Transform Spectrometer consists of two units with a
bandwidth of 1 GHz each. Both units are configurable to provide up to 8192
spectral channels, thus providing a spectral resolution of up to 122 kHz. The
two units can be connected to one receiver each, or the two units can be
configured to produce a single backend with almost 2 GHz bandwidth. The
placement of each unit is restricted by the IF range of the receiver.
FFTS
Fact Sheet (pdf)
ABBA
ABBA - The ADC Backend for Bolometer Arrays uses commercial DAQ boards to digitize
the 320 analog signals from the electronics of LABOCA over 16-bits. The AC bias
frequency is provided by the data acquisition system as a submultiple of the sampling
frequency (usually set to 1000 Hz) thus synchronising the bias to the data sampling.
This electronics scheme is fundamental to the stability of the post-detection
signals at low frequencies.
Calibration plan
-
The APEX calibration plan for SABOCA, LABOCA and the SHFI receivers.