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The instrument contains a total of ten 2k×2k sensor chip assemblies (SCAs), including those in the
identical redundant optical trains. The short wavelength arm in each optical train contains
a 2×2 array of these SCAs, optimized for the 0.6 - 2.3 µm wavelength range, with a small
gap (~3 mm = ~5″) between adjacent SCAs. The detectors arrays will be HgCdTe of
Hawaii II heritage built by Rockwell Scientific. The detectors for the short arm will be
thinned of their substrate to extend their sensitivity below 0.85 µm.
The filter and pupil wheels in each optical train contain a range of wide-band and narrow- band filters. Each wheel has 12 slots. The filter selection is given in Table 3. In summary, the short-wavelength arm contains 5 wide-band (R~4), 4 medium (R~10), and 4 narrow- band (R~100) filters, while the long-wavelength arm contains 3 wide, 7 medium, 5 narrow-band filters. The instantaneous field of view is 9.7 arcmin2 over which images in two filters (one short, one long) are obtained simultaneously.
Sensitivity: The NIRCam limiting sensitivity to point sources with S/N=10 in 10,000 seconds is AB=28.69 in F110W and AB=28.86 in F200W.