Bonn Shutter

High precison large format exposure shutters

Bonn exposure shutters of various formats exist at many sites worldwide.

Bonn Shutters are in operation at many astronomical observatories and scientific institutions around the world even at top astronomical sites. We have built shutters with aperture sizes ranging from 60mm to 1310mm. They are used with compact imaging systems as well as in front of the largest existing CCD focal planes arrays (PanSTARRS, Decam, ODI) and in the most ambitious multi-unit IFU and multi-fiber spectrographs (e.g. MUSE/VLT, PEPSI/LBT, HERMES/AAT, PFS/SUBARU, KCWI/Keck). In 2016 our first telescope-aperture shutter (1310mm) was installed at the Samuel Oschin telescope on Mount Palomar for the Zwicky Transient Facility project of Caltech.

Smaller systems are not only used in small imagers but also in the development environment of large CCD array cameras for tests and verification of individual CCD detectors and focal plane subunits (e.g. ESO-ODT, LSST).

All our shutters – the smallest as well as the giants - share a few but important quality standards like highest precision in manufacturing, uniform and unbroken motion control, impact-free operation. This makes them ideally suited for science applications particularly in long term projects.

We offer a number of standard types but large imagers have in many cases their individual interface requirements, for the mechanics as well as the camera control. We will discuss and negotiate this with you. To find the optimum solution in a common effort together with the customer is one of our strengths.

This kind of service doesn't end with the shutter delivery. You can rely on our continuous interest in a satisfactory operation of our shutters. We give support when needed even after years.

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