WFC3 Filters
WFC3 contains a large compliment of filters; 63 in the UVIS channel, and 17 in the IR channel. Below, we give basic characteristics for each filter. Reported transmittance values are for the filters only, and do not include HST optics or detector effects. Actual transmission data for all filters can be found on the WFC3 CDBS ftp site. See the SYNPHOT site for information on how to use these data.
For transmission curves that include all HST optics and detector QE, see the throughputs page, or the Instrument Handbook: UVIS, IR.
UVIS
There are 48 filter slots in the UVIS WF/PC Selectable Optical Filter Assembly (SOFA) wheels. Five of those slots are occupied by "quad filters;" each quad filter contains four different spectral elements. One slot is occupied by a grism for low resolution slitless spectroscopy from about 200 to 400 nm. The other filters have a variety of bandwidths using the WFPC2, Sloan, Washington, and Stromgen photometric systems. The positions of the filters within the SOFA (XLS, 41.0KB) are described in this Excel workbook.
Plots and tables listed below contain the throughput for the individual filters ONLY. For system throughput curves that include HST optics and detector QE, see the Throughputs page or the links below this table.
Filter Name | Description | Peak Wavelength | FWHM | Transmittance |
---|---|---|---|---|
Very Broad | ||||
F200LP | very broad | 2775 | 0.35 | |
F300X | very broad | 2775 | 0.35 | |
F350LP | very broad | 3500 | 0.95 | |
F475X | very broad | 3800 | 0.83 | |
F600LP | very broad | 6000 | 0.97 | |
F850LP | SDSS z | 8320 | 2000 | 0.59 |
Wide | ||||
F218W | ISM feature | 2175 | 300 | 0.30 |
F225W | UV | 2250 | 500 | 0.24 |
F275W | UV | 2750 | 500 | 0.30 |
F336W | U Stromgren u | 3375 | 550 | 0.68 |
F390W | Washington C | 3900 | 1000 | 0.84 |
F438W | WFPC2 B | 4320 | 695 | 0.76 |
F475W | SDSS g | 4750 | 1520 | 0.81 |
F555W | WFPC2 V | 5410 | 1605 | 0.80 |
F606W | WFPC2 Wide V | 5956 | 2340 | 0.87 |
F625W | SDSS r | 6250 | 1550 | 0.89 |
F775W | SDSS i | 7760 | 1470 | 0.82 |
F814W | WFPC2 Wide I | 8353 | 2555 | 0.93 |
Medium | ||||
F390M | medium blue | 3900 | 200 | 0.79 |
F410M | Stromgren v | 4105 | 190 | 0.61 |
F467M | Stromgren b | 4675 | 230 | 0.75 |
F547M | Stromgren y | 5475 | 710 | 0.78 |
F621M | 11% filter | 6212 | 640 | 0.85 |
F689M | 11% filter | 6886 | 710 | 0.88 |
F763M | 11% filter | 7630 | 780 | 0.91 |
F845M | 11% filter | 8454 | 870 | 0.92 |
Narrow | ||||
F280N | Mg II 2795/2802 | 2798 | 42 | 0.18 |
F343N | [NeV ] 3426 | 3426 | 228 | 0.69 |
F373N | [O II ] 3726/29 | 3732 | 38 | 0.76 |
F395N | Ca II H&K | 3950 | 61 | 0.84 |
F469N | He II 4686 | 4686 | 32 | 0.67 |
F487N | HBeta 4861 | 4867 | 45 | 0.83 |
F502N | [O III ] 5007 | 5013 | 47 | 0.83 |
F631N | [O I ] 6300++[S III ] | 6306 | 54 | 0.79 |
F645N | Continuum | 6455 | 82 | 0.78 |
F656N | H Alpha 6563 | 6563 | 14 | 0.80 |
F657N | Wide H Alpha +[N III ] | 6573 | 94 | 0.83 |
F658N | [N II ] 6583 | 6585 | 20 | 0.70 |
F665N | Redshifted (H Alpha +[N II ]) | 6654 | 94 | 0.88 |
F673N | [S II ] 6717,31 | 6731 | 77 | 0.75 |
F680N | Redshifted (H Alpha +[N II ]) | 6902 | 288 | 0.93 |
F953N | [S III ] 9532 | 9532 | 64 | 0.87 |
Quads | ||||
F232N | [C II ] 2326 | 2326 | 36 | 0.10 |
F243N | [Ne IV ] 2425 | 2425 | 36 | 0.13 |
F378N | Redshifted ([O II ] 3727) | 3780 | 80 | 0.78 |
F387N | [Ne III ] 3869 | 3869 | 26 | 0.67 |
F422M | continuum | 4220 | 108 | 0.61 |
F436N | [O III ] 4363+H | 4364 | 30 | 0.65 |
F437N | [O III ]4363 | 4368 | 26 | 0.64 |
F492N | Redshifted H Beta | 4924 | 78 | 0.84 |
F508N | Redshifted [O III ] 5007 | 5081 | 112 | 0.83 |
F575N | [N II ] 5755 | 5755 | 12 | 0.77 |
F619N | CH4 6194 | 6194 | 62 | 0.88 |
F634N | 6194 cont.+ | 6340 | 63 | 0.75 |
F672N | [S II ] 6717 | 6716 | 14 | 0.87 |
F674N | [S II ] 6731 | 6731 | 14 | 0.63 |
F727N | CH4 7270 | 7270 | 73 | 0.73 |
F750N | 7270 cont. | 7504 | 75 | 0.74 |
F889N | 25/km-agt | 8890 | 89 | 0.84 |
F906N | 2.5/km-agt | 9060 | 91 | 0.85 |
F924N | 0.25/km-agt | 9240 | 92 | 0.81 |
F937N | 0.025/km-agt | 9370 | 94 | 0.81 |
Grism | ||||
G280 | UV grism | 2775 | 1850 | 0.40 |
Figures giving the total WFC3 system throughput, including the flight detector, optics and filters.
- Longpass filters
- Wide filters 1
- Wide filters 2
- Medium filters
- Narrow filters 1
- Narrow filters 2
- Narrow filters 3
IR
There are 18 filter slots in the IR channel. Fifteen of them span broad- and medium-band wavelengths that range from 800nm to 1900nm. Two are grisms for slitless spectroscopy, and there is one blank position.
Plots and tables listed below contain the throughput for the individual filters ONLY. For system throughput curves that include HST optics and detector QE, see the Throughputs page or the links below this table.
NOTE: These filter throughput measurements were made in air, not vacuum.
Filter Name | Description | Peak Wavelength (microns) | FWHM (microns) | Transmittance |
---|---|---|---|---|
Broad-band | ||||
F105W | Wide Z | 1.050 | 0.3000 | 0.94 |
F110W | Wide J | 1.150 | 0.5000 | 0.96 |
F125W | J | 1.250 | 0.3000 | 0.94 |
F140W | J/H boundary | 1.40 | 0.4 | 0.95 |
F160W | H Short | 1.545 | 0.2900 | 0.94 |
Medium Band | ||||
F098M | Blue Grism Ref | 0.985 | 0.1700 | 0.92 |
F127M | Water/CH_4 continuum | 1.270 | 0.0700 | 0.88 |
F139M | Water/CH_4 line | 1.385 | 0.0700 | 0.87 |
F153M | H_20 and NH_3 | 1.530 | 0.0700 | 0.88 |
Narrow-band | ||||
F126N | FeII | 1.259 | 0.0126 | 0.86 |
F128N | Paschen b | 1.284 | 0.0128 | 0.90 |
F130N | Paschen b continuum | 1.301 | 0.0130 | 0.92 |
F132N | Redshifted Paschen b | 1.320 | 0.0132 | 0.81 |
F164N | Fe II | 1.646 | 0.0165 | 0.90 |
F167N | Fe II - continuum | 1.668 | 0.0167 | 0.91 |
Grisms | ||||
G102 | Blue High Res Grating | 0.95 | 0.2500 | 0.71 |
G141 | Red Low Res Grism | 1.40 | 0.6000 | 0.73 |
Figures giving the total WFC3 system throughput, including the flight detector, optics and filters.
Relevant ISRs
Replacing the F093W Filter with the F140W
(WFC3-2006-04, 427Kb PDF), T. Brown and S.Baggett, 25 Sept 2006.
Filter Throughputs for WFC3 SYNPHOT Support
(WFC3-2006-03, 1970Kb PDF), T. Brown, 21 Sept 2006.
WFC3 IR Filters: Measured Throughput and Comparison to Specifications
(WFC3-2003-07, 672Kb PDF), O.Lupie, R.Boucarut, T.Pham, M.Quijada. July 2003.
WFC3 UVIS Filters: Measured Throughput and Comparison to Specifications
(WFC3-2003-02, 141Kb PDF), O.Lupie, R.Boucarut. 11 Feb 2003.
Wide Field Camera #3 IR and UVIS Filter Wheel Slot Assignments
(WFC3-2002-10, 389Kb PDF), O. Lupie. 30 Jun 2002.
WFC3 H Band Filter Optimization
(WFC3-2001-13, 455Kb PDF), O. Lupie. 20 Aug 2001.