Detector System Challenges of the Wide-field Spectroscopic Survey Telescope (WST)

Abstract: The wide-field spectroscopic survey telescope (WST) is proposed to become the next large optical/near infrared facility for the European Southern Observatory (ESO) once the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) has become operational. While the latter is optimized for unprecedented sensitivity and adaptive-optics assisted image quality over a small field-of-view, WST addresses the need for large survey volumes in spectroscopy with the light-collecting power of a 10 m class telescope. Its unique layout will feature the combination of multi-object and integral field spectroscopy simultaneously. For the intended capacity of this layout a very large number of detectors is needed. The complexity of the detector systems presents a number of challenges that are discussed with a focus on novel approaches and innovative detector designs that can be expected to emerge over the anticipated 20-year timeline of this project.