Capital Equipment Infrastructure in the Centre for Advanced Instrumentation

The Centre for Advanced Instrumentation (CfAI) at Durham University develops innovative technologies for applications across a wide range of fields including astronomy, space science, remote sensing, gamma ray astronomy and fusion diagnostics (http://www.dur.ac.uk/cfai). It hosts one of the largest UK university groups developing instrumentation for ground-based optical/infrared astronomy. These core activities are funded via an STFC Consolidated Grant which provides staff resource and consumables for basic R&D into new technologies for future applications on the world's largest telescopes. This grant will enhance the laboratory infrastructure at CfAI by providing matched funding for three specialist capital equipment items that will support our future programme over the next decade. These include (i) an instrument for ultra-sensitive measurements of optical surfaces free from the effects of local disturbances in the CfAI laboratories and clean rooms; (ii)a system for generating artificial satellite navigation signals for evaluating the potential of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to calibrate single and multiple ground-based telescopes; (iii) a narrow-line tuneable wavelength source which can be used to fully characterise the performance of new optical /infrared instruments and which will also have applications in technology spinout activities related to ophthalmology and biophotonics.

Our astronomical instrumentation projects include technology developments relevant to Earth Observation science (remote sensing) and we are continuing to explore the applications of compact integral field spectrometers to hyperspectral imaging. Our expertise in using adaptive optics for aberration correction has enabled the development of new techniques to image more deeply within human tissue samples whilst maintaining sub-micron resolution, whilst our experience in real-time data handling systems underpins our participation in an EPSRC CDT in Fusion Science & Technology. Finally we are investigating the commercialisation of muon tomography for carbon storage using techniques that we have developed using STFC, DECC and oil industry funding. All of these areas funded under the Durham Astronomy Consolidated Grant will benefit from improved specialist laboratory infrastructure equipment to better characterise and calibrate the instrumentation we produce at CfAI.