• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.117-120
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• 2005

Current instrumentation activities and the open user status of Okayama Astrophysical Observatory (OAO) are reviewed. There are two telescopes in operation and one telescope under reforming at OAO. The 188cm telescope is provided for open use for more than 200 nights in a year. The typical over-subscription rate of observation proposals for the 188cm telescope is ${\~}$ 1.5 - 2. The 50cm telescope is dedicated to $\gamma$-ray burst optical follow-up observation and is operated in collaboration with Tokyo Institute of Technology. The 91cm telescope will become a new very wide field near-infrared camera in two years. The high-dispersion echelle spectrograph (HIDES) is the current primary instrument for the open use of the 188cm telescope. Two new instruments, an infrared multi-purpose camera (ISLE) and an optical low-dispersion spectrograph (KOOLS), are now under development. They will be open as common use instruments in 2006.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.68.2-68.2
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• 2013

The Giant Magellan Telescope Integral-Field Spectrograph (GMTIFS) is a near-infrared imager and integral-field spectrograph, which will be the workhorse adaptive-optics (AO) instrument on the GMT when AO operations begin. We will describe the current design and proposed capabilities of the GMTIFS. We will also present a brief overview of GMTIFS science cases that include first-light objects, galaxy feedback and assembly, the nature of compact massive objects as well as the formation and evolution of stars and planets.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.307-314
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• 2013

Infrared optical systems are operated at low temperature and vacuum (LT-V) condition, whereas the assembly and alignment are performed at room temperature and non-vacuum (RT-NV) condition. The differences in temperature and pressure between assembly/alignment environments and operation environment change the physical characteristics of optical and opto-mechanical parts (e.g., thickness, height, length, curvature, and refractive index), and the resultant optical performance changes accordingly. In this study, using input relay optics (IO), among the components of the Immersion GRating INfrared Spectrograph (IGRINS) which is an infrared spectrograph, a simulation based on the physical information of this optical system and an actual experiment were performed; and optical performances in the RT-NV, RT-V, and LT-V environments were predicted with an accuracy of $0.014{\pm}0.007{\lambda}$ rms WFE, by developing an adaptive fitting line. The developed adaptive fitting line can quantitatively control assembly and alignment processes below ${\lambda}/70$ rms WFE. Therefore, it is expected that the subsequent processes of assembly, alignment, and performance analysis could not be repeated.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.85.2-85.2
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• 2013

We developed autoguiding system for IGRINS (Immersion Grating Infrared Spectrograph) which is a high resolution near-IR spectrograph. This instrument will be attached on the 2.7m telescope at the McDonald observatory in 2013 November. IGRINS consists of three near-Infrared detector modules, i. e., H and K band spectrograph modules and a K band slit camera module, within which we are using the slit camera for autoguiding of the telescope. Comparing to typical optical CCDs, however, the infrared array shows non-uniform responses, higher noises, and many bad pixels. In this poster, we present methods to improve center finding functions and algorithms for the infrared array and the simulator test results of the IGRINS Slit-Camera Package.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.154.1-154.1
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• 2011

IGRINS (Immersion Grating Infrared Spectrometer) is a cross-dispersed high resolution near-infrared spectrograph whose primary disperser is a silicon immersion grating (SIG) and cross-dispersers are two volume phase holographic gratings (VPHG). IGRINS covers the full ranges of H and K astronomical wavelength bands at a single exposure with the spectral resolution of 40,000. The overall layout of the IGRINS Cryostat is a $960{\times}600{\times}380$ cubic millimeter rectangular box and the whole optical train is sitting on an $880{\times}520{\times}50\;mm^3$ rectangular Optical Bench. The total volume of the instrument has been revolutionarily reduced and remained compact for the spectral coverage and sensitivity of a high resolution spectrograph in infrared. We, in this presentation, introduce the design models, the structural and thermal analysis results of the mechanics and cryogenics of IGRINS.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.54.2-54.2
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• 2014

IGRINS (Immersion GRating Infrared Spectrograph) is a high spectral resolution near-infrared spectrograph that has been developed in a collaboration between the Korea Astronomy & Space Science Institute and the University of Texas at Austin. By using a silicon immersion echelle grating, the size of the fore optics is reduced by a factor of three times and we can make a more compact instrument. One exposure covers the whole of the H- and K-band spectrum with R=40,000. While the operation of and data reduction for this instrument is relatively simple compared to other grating spectrographs, we still need to operate three infrared arrays, cryostat sensors, calibration lamp units, and the telescope during astronomical observations. The IGRINS Instrument Control Software consists of a Housekeeping Package (HKP), Slit Camera Package (SCP), Data Taking Package (DTP), and Quick Look Package (QLP). The SCP will do auto guiding using a center finding algorithm. The DTP will take the echellogram images of the H and K bands, and the QLP will confirm fast processing of data. We will have a commissioning observations in 2014 March. In this poster, we present the performance of the software during the test observations.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.41.4-42
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• 2015

The Immersion Grating Infrared Spectrograph (IGRINS) is the first of a new generation of infrared instruments with high sensitivity, high spectral resolution, and broad spectral grasp. IGRINS, a joint project of the University of Texas and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, designed and constructed by a team at UT, KASI, and Kyung Hee University, has been available to the Korean and Texas communities on the McDonald Observatory 2.7m telescope since 2014 September. On this modest-sized telescope, the instrument has 30 times the spectral grasp of CRIRES at the 8m VLT and is only slightly less sensitive. Already, Korean and UT astronomers have produced a raft of new results in star formation studies, investigations of the interstellar medium, and the nature of cool stars. Several programs are under way to detect and study the atmospheres of exoplanets. We will present highlights from the first 6 months of IGRINS operations and look at the future of IR spectroscopy both with IGRINS and with GMTNIRS, a UT/KASI/KHU instrument for the Giant Magellan Telescope.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.73.2-73.2
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• 2013

An autoguiding system for astronomical observations should be accurate and stable for efficient data taking. IGRINS (Immersion Grating Infrared Spectrograph) is a high resolution near-IR spectrograph which is now developed by Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute and the University of Texas. We plan to attach this instrument on the 2.7m telescope at the McDonald observatory in 2013. IGRINS consists on three detector modules, i. e., H and K band spectrograph modules and a K band slit camera module. We use the slit camera for autoguiding of the telescope. In this poster, we describe the system architecture of the hardware and software of the autoguiding system, and the algorithm which would effectively find centers of stellar images on or outside of the slit of the infrared array.

• Bulletin of the Korean Space Science Society
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• 2011.04a
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• pp.31.2-31.2
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• 2011

IGRINS (Immersion GRating INfrared Spectrometer) is a high resolution wide-band infrared spectrograph developed by Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) and the University of Texas at Austin (UT). The slit-viewing camera is one of four re-imaging optics in IGRINS including the input relay optics and the H- and K- band spectrograph cameras. Consisting of five lenses and one Ks-band filter, the slit viewing camera relays the infrared image of $2'{\times}2'$ field around the slit to the detector focal plane. Since IGRINS is a cryogenic instrument, the lens barrel is designed to be optimized at the operating temperature of 130 K. The barrel design also aims to achieve easy alignment and assembly. We use radial springs and axial springs to support lenses and lens spacers against the gravity and thermal contraction. Total weight of the lens barrel is estimated to be 1.2 kg. Results from structural analysis are presented.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.52.2-52.2
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• 2014

The Immersion Grating Infrared Spectrometer (IGRINS) is an unprecedentedly minimized infrared cross-dispersed echelle spectrograph with a high-resolution and high-sensitivity optical performance. A silicon immersion grating features the instrument for the first time in this field. IGRINS will cover the entire portion of the wavelength range between 1.45 and $2.45{\mu}m$ accessible from the ground in a single exposure with spectral resolution of 40,000. Individual volume phase holographic (VPH) gratings serve as cross-dispersing elements for separate spectrograph arms covering the H and K bands. On the 2.7m Harlan J. Smith telescope at the McDonald Observatory, the slit size is $1^{\prime\prime}{\times}15^{\prime\prime}$. IGRINS has a $0.27^{\prime\prime}$ pixel-1 plate scale on a $2048{\times}2048$ pixel Teledyne Scientific & Imaging HAWAII-2RG detector with SIDECAR ASIC cryogenic controller. The instrument includes four subsystems; a calibration unit, an input relay optics module, a slit-viewing camera, and nearly identical H and K spectrograph modules. The use of a silicon immersion grating and a compact white pupil design allows the spectrograph collimated beam size to be 25mm, which permits the entire cryogenic system to be contained in a moderately sized rectangular vacuum chamber. The fabrication and assembly of the optical and mechanical hardware components were completed in 2013. In this presentation, we describe the major design characteristics of the instrument and the early performance estimated from the first light commissioning at the McDonald Observatory.