NIC: LBTI's Nulling and Imaging Camera

The Nulling and Imaging Camera is the main science camera being developed for use with the LBTI. The camera has two science channels: an 8-13 urn wavelength Nulling Optimized Mid-infrared Camera (NOMIC) and a 3-5 micron imaging camera, dubbed LMIRCam. The NIC cryostat also houses a K band fast readout camera (Phasecam) to sense phase variations between the LBT apertures and carry out closed loop correction. The design, comprising, these three components, is housed in a single cryostat cooled by a mechanical pulse-tube coldhead. The optical design uses diamond-turned biconical mirrors to realize diffraction-limited performance in a compact space. A range of cryogenic actuators and alignment mechanisms have been developed to carry out fine alignment of the interferometer and to feed the several channels of NIC.