Michelle Edict mid-infrared control and data acquisition system for use on UKIRT and Gemini

The Michelle Edict array control system is being built for use with the Michelle mid-infrared spectrometer/imager on UKIRT and Gemini. It will drive large format arrays, such as the Boeing/Rockwell 256x256 BIB and Raytheon/SBRC 320x240 IBC hybrid SiAs devices. It provides for rapid real-time processing and export to a host computer, storage and quick-look display of the data. To limit critical heat dissipation and mass, the system uses a minimum of front-end electronics at the telescope linked via digital fibre optics to custom-built PCI mezzanine cards. These are installed on several Heurikon Baja 4700 VME cards in an off telescope enclosure. This distributed architecture has small electrical infrastructure requirements and allows Michelle to be moved quickly between operation on UKIRT and Gemini with little impact on other instruments. The use of VxWorks on the Baja processors and the PCI standard allows the system to be easily ported to other VME processor boards supporting the PCI interface. Alongside a cryostat control system, Edict interfaces to the data handling systems and the EPICS-based Gemini telescope control. On UKIRT, it will function under a UNIX-based observation control system that is being built to replace the existing VAX/VMS-based ADAM system.