Design of a scientific CCD camera with a large focal plane of 4k × 4k pixels for BSST telescope in Antarctica

Abstract

Bright Stars Survey Telescope (BSST) is a photometry telescope prepared to be installed in the Kunlun station, Antarctica. In this paper, a scientific Charge-coupled Device (CCD) camera with 4K × 4K pixels designed for the BSST running in the extremely low temperature environment of Antarctica is introduced. The mechanics and electronics of the camera are introduced respectively. In the camera design a Thermoelectric Cooler (TEC) is used for the CCD cooling with both air cooling and water cooling for heat dissipation. Separated power and temperature controller (PTC) unit and the camera body reduce the size of the front-end of the camera for satisfying the demand of the size of the telescope. The camera can take images with readout modes of single channel, double channels and four channels. The refrigeration and the readout noise performance have been tested under laboratory condition. The temperature difference of refrigeration can reach 75.7̂C by using water cooling, and the readout noise reach 6.75 e− with readout rate of 100 kHz.