The ACS is designed to advance the survey capabilities of HST, defined as the product (Throughput x DETECTOR AREA), by a factor of ~ 10 in the visual and near infrared. This instrument comprises three channels, each optimized for a specific goal:
The WFC has a 202 x 202 arcsec field of view from 3700 to 11,000Å and a peak efficiency of 48% (including the OTA). The plate scale is ~ 0.05 arcsec/pixel, providing critical sampling at 11,600Å. The detector consists of a mosaic of two 2048 x 4096 Scientific Imaging Technologies (SITe) CCDs, with 15 x 15 µm pixels.
The HRC has a 29 x 25 arcsec field of view from 2000 to 11,000Å and a peak efficiency of 31%. The plate scale is ~ 0.027 arcsec/pixel, providing critical sampling at 6300Å. The detector is a 1024 x 1024 Scientific Image Technologies (SITe) CCD, with 21 x 21 µm pixels.
The SBC has a 34 x 31 arcsec field of view from 1150 to 1700Å and a peak efficiency of 6%. The plate scale is ~ 0.032 arcsec/pixel. The detector is a solar-blind CsI MAMA with 25 x 25 µm pixels.
In addition to these three prime capabilities, ACS also provides:
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