FAST: A near-infrared imaging Fabry-Perot spectrometer

The near-infrared imaging spectrometer FAST provides a spectral resolution of 1000-2700 over a field of view of approximately 30 x 30 arcsec2 with a plate scale of 0.5-1.0 arcsec/pixel. FAST is based on a SBRC InSb 58 x 62 FPA working at 6 K, yielding a sensitivity (5sigma, t(int) = 100 s, K band) of 1.1 X 10(-4) erg s-1 cm-2 sr-1 at R = 1000. As a portable, self-contained instrument FAST has already been successfully deployed at several 2- and 4-m class telescopes. The optical and mechanical' design, computer hardware and software control, as well as spectral calibration of the FPI, special treatment of the detectors, and the main data reduction steps are described. The necessity for such a dedicated system in the investigation of line-emission mechanisms in various galactic and extragalactic environments is illustrated by recently obtained results.