HAWK-I: the high-acuity wide-fieldK-band imager for the ESO Very Large Telescope

We describe the design, development, and performance of HAWK-I, the new High-Acuity Wide-field K-band Imager for ESO's Very Large Telescope, which is equipped with a mosaic of four 2 k x 2 k arrays and operates from 0.9-2.4 mu m over 7.5' x 7.5' with 0.1 " pixels. A novel feature is the use of all reflective optics that, together with filters of excellent throughput and detectors of high quantum efficiency, has yielded an extremely high throughput. Commissioning and science verification observations have already delivered a variety of excellent and deep images that demonstrate its high scientific potential for addressing important astrophysical questions of current interest.