Linc-Nirvana: Integration Of An Interferometric And Cryogenic Camera. First Verification Results

LINC-NIRVANA is an interferometric imaging camera, which combines the two 8.4 m telescopes of the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). The instrument operates in the wavelength range from 1.1 mu m to 2.4 mu m, covering the J, H and K-bands. The beam combining camera (NIRCS) offers the possibility to achieve diffraction limited images with the spatial resolution of a 23 m telescope.This camera, which combines the AO corrected beams of both telescopes, is designed to deliver a 10 arcsec x 10 arcsec diffraction limited field of view. The optics and cryo-mechanics are designed for operation at 60 Kelvin. Equipped with a HAWAII-2 detector mounted on a rotation stage in order to compensate for the sky rotation, a filter wheel and a dichroic wheel to split the light into the science channel and the fringe tracking channel, the camera is fairly large and complex and requires certain features to be considered and tested.The verification of all these components follows a challenging AIV plan. We describe this AIV phase from initial integration of individual units to the final verification tests of the complete system. We report the performance of the cryogenic opto-mechanics and of the science detector. We also demonstrate the functionality of the cryo-mechanics and the cryo-cooling at sub-system level, which represents the current state of integration. Finally, we discuss key elements of our design and potential pros and cons.