PACS instrument

The PACS instrument (Photoconductor Array Camera and Spectrometer) is built at Max Planck Institute für Extraterrestrische Physik (MPE) by a consortium led by A. Poglitsch, MPE, Garching, Allemagne. It is composed of two parts :

An imaging photometer with two simultaneaous bands (Blue: 60 to 85 or 85 to 130 µm and Red: 130 to 210 µµm) which detectors are two bolometer arrays at 300 mK (32x16 and 64x32 pixels).
A spectrometer which bandwidth is 57 to 210 µm covering 5x5 pixels which detectors are two photoconductors arrays in Ge:Ga covering 16x25 pixels.

The french participation to PACS instrument is done through three CEA laboratories : The Astrophysic Service (SAp: Service d'Astrophysique), the CEA/LETI and the Low Temperatures Service (SBT: Service des Basses Températures).

The CEA Astrophysic Service participation to the development consists in the realisation of:

the PhFPU: Photometer Focal Plan Unit composed of: two focal planes (blue and red) equiped of bolometers arrays built by the CEA/LETI, a cryo cooler 300 mK built by the CEA/SBT, a thermal strap and the structure.			Credits CNES/CEA
the BOLC: Warm Unit (WU) to drive the PhFPU which makes: the bolometers arrays reading as well as the signal amplification, the control and command of the cryo cooler, the housekeeping parameters reading.			Credits CNES/CEA