Euclid: IV. The NISP Calibration Unit
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The near-infrared calibration unit (NI-CU) on board Euclid’s Near-Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer (NISP) is the first astronomical calibration lamp based on light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to be operated in space. Euclid is a mission in ESA’s Cosmic Vision 2015–2025 framework to explore the dark universe and provide a next-level characterisation of the nature of gravitation, dark matter, and dark energy. Calibrating photometric and spectrometric measurements of galaxies to better than 1.5% accuracy in a survey homogeneously mapping ~14 000 deg$^{2}$ of extragalactic sky requires a very detailed characterisation of near-infrared (NIR) detector properties as well as constant monitoring of them in flight. To cover two of the main contributions – relative pixel-to-pixel sensitivity and non-linearity characteristics – and to support other calibration activities, NI-CU was designed to provide spatially approximately homogeneous (<12% variations) and temporally stable illumination (0.1–0.2% over 1200 s) over the NISP detector plane with minimal power consumption and energy dissipation. NI-CU covers the spectral range ~[900,I900] nm – at cryo-operating temperature – at five fixed independent wavelengths to capture wavelength-dependent behaviour of the detectors, with fluence over a dynamic range of ≳100 from ~15 ph s$^{−1}$ pixel$^{−1}$ to >1500 ph s$^{−1}$ pixel$^{−1}$. For this functionality, NI-CU is based on LEDs. We describe the rationale behind the decision and design process, the challenges in sourcing the right LEDs, and the qualification process and lessons learned. We also provide a description of the completed NI-CU, its capabilities, and performance as well as its limits. NI-CU has been integrated into NISP and the Euclid satellite, and since Euclid’s launch in July 2023, it has started supporting survey operations.
DOI: 10.5167/uzh-291299
Authors: Euclid Collaboration, Hormuth, F., Jahnke, K., Schirmer, M., Lee, C. G.-Y., Scott, T., Barbier, R., Ferriol, S., Gillard, W., Grupp, F., Holmes, R., Holmes, W., Kubik, B., Macias-Perez, J., Laurent, M., Marpaud, J., Marton, M., Medinaceli, E., Morgante, G., Toledo-Moreo, R., Trifoglio, M., Rix, Hans-Walter, Secroun, A., Seiffert, M., Stassi, P., Wachter, S., Gutierrez, C. M., Vescovi, C., Amara, A., Andreon, S., et al
Language: English
Subfield: Instrumentation
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7128617207
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