A modular camera system for high time resolution photometry

A new modular high time resolution imaging camera system with sub-microsecond timing accuracy has been built in the Physics Dept. of NUI, Galway. The system was designed to be mounted on large telescopes for observing the temporal, spectral and polarisation characteristics of faint astronomical objects, such as optical pulsars. The camera system developed allows simultaneous and independent observing of multiple wavebands of emission from the target objects. This is achieved using optics that split images into their different spectral or polarisation components. The system currently incorporates a multi-anode microchannel array (MAMA) photon detecting and imaging camera with a time resolution of up to 100ns. This is combined with three high quantum efficiency avalanche photodiodes (APDs) with count rates of up to 16 million photons per second. The high time resolution recording system can allow for the removal of telescope tracking inaccuracy and wind shear off-line. This yields better PSFs for bright objects such as crowded globular star clusters. This combination of different detectors allows the system to be operated as a multi purpose, high QE, high time resolution system. The modular nature of the design electronics also allows the addition and removal of detectors without limiting the performance of other elements within the system. The data path is also designed so that archiving integrity is maintained while the data path is simultaneously used for real-time analysis and display systems. Future applications in the bio-medical imaging sector are envisaged for high time resolution fluorescence imaging, and astronomical polarisation studies.