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Updated: Feb 16, 2026
06:48
A Multimodal Wide-Field Fourier-Transform Raman Microscope
Published on: December 30, 2025
483
λ = 2.4 - 5 μm spectroscopy with the JWST NIRCam instrument
Thomas P Greene1, Douglas M Kelly2, John Stansberry3
1NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA, 94035.
Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems
|December 19, 2017
Summary
The James Webb Space Telescope
Area of Science:
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Instrument Science
Background:
- The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) offers imaging and spectroscopic capabilities.
- Slitless spectroscopy is crucial for observing faint or extended objects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To detail the design, parameters, and performance predictions for NIRCam's grisms.
- To provide operational considerations and simulated scientific use cases for NIRCam grism spectroscopy.
Main Methods:
- Description of grism design drivers and parameters for NIRCam.
- Presentation of predicted spectroscopic sensitivities, saturation limits, resolving powers, and wavelength coverage.
- Discussion of simultaneous short-wavelength imaging capabilities alongside spectroscopy.
Main Results:
- Predicted performance values for NIRCam grism spectroscopy (λ = 2.4 - 5.0 μm).
- Simultaneous imaging (0.6 - 2.3 μm) is possible with spectroscopy.
- Operational considerations including subarray sizes and data volume limits are discussed.
Conclusions:
- NIRCam grisms enable versatile slitless spectroscopy for diverse astronomical targets.
- The instrument is ready for single-object time series and wide-field multi-object spectroscopy.
- Simulated observations demonstrate potential scientific applications in extragalactic, astrochemistry, and exoplanet studies.
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