Dice Question Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.com

Effect of scan variability on vibrational heating and focal-plane stability

Investigate and quantify how telescope scan variability (including scan speed, accelerations, and turnarounds) modulates the Small Aperture Telescope Platform vibrational environment and determine the resulting impact on focal-plane array temperature stability at 100 mK in SAT-MF1 during routine operations, establishing whether PID temperature control fully compensates the induced fluctuations.

Information Square Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.com

Background

Laboratory vibration tests identified resonances linked to the cold readout assembly and heat straps, and extrapolated their heating impact under expected SATP vibration levels. While two modes were projected to have negligible impact, the authors note that scan-dependent variability and its effect on focal-plane thermal stability has not yet been analyzed with the fully integrated system.

They plan future investigations with the integrated SAT and SATP to characterize these effects, which bear on detector stability and long-timescale noise performance.

References

An analysis of the scan variability of the SATP vibrational environment and its predicted effect on FPA thermal stability is left for future investigations with the integrated SATP and SAT system.

— The Simons Observatory: Design, integration, and testing of the small aperture telescopes (2405.05550 - Galitzki et al., 9 May 2024) in Section “Mechanical Resonance Heating” (Figure and discussion around vibrational tests)