The Infrared Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) for TMT: Instrument Overview

Understand

We present an overview of the design of IRIS, an infrared (0.84 - 2.4 micron) integral field spectrograph and imaging camera for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT).

• With extremely low wavefront error (<30 nm) and on-board wavefront sensors, IRIS will take advantage of the high angular resolution of the narrow field infrared adaptive optics system (NFIRAOS) to dissect the sky at the diffraction limit of the 30-meter aperture.
• With a primary spectral resolution of 4000 and spatial sampling starting at 4 milliarcseconds, the instrument will create an unparalleled ability to explore high redshift galaxies, the Galactic center, star forming regions and virtually any astrophysical object.
• This paper summarizes the entire design and basic capabilities.