A Compact Cryogenic Configurable Slit Unit for a Multi-Object Infrared Spectrograph: Design and Development of a Prototype at TIFR

We present a cryogenic configurable slit unit (CSU) for a multi-object infrared spectrograph with an effective field of view of 9'.1 x 9'.1 that was completely conceived and designed in the laboratory at TIFR. Several components of the CSU including the controller for the commercially procured piezo-walkers, controlled loop position sensing mechanism using digital slide calipers and a cryogenic test facility for the assembled prototype were also developed in-house. The principle of the CSU involves division of the field of view of the spectrometer into contiguous and parallel spatial bands, each one associated with two opposite sliding metal bars that can be positioned to create a slit needed to make spectroscopic observations of one astronomical object. A three-slit prototype of the newly designed CSU was built and tested extensively at ambient and cryogenic temperatures. The performance of the CSU was found to be as per specifications.