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arXiv · 2608.25111

CCAT: The Prime-Cam Instrument for the Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope -- Overview and Status

Eve M. Vavagiakis·Yuhan Wang·Lawrence T. Lin·Manuel Aravena·Jason E. Austermann·Frank Bertoldi·James Burgoyne·Victoria Butler·Scott Chapman·Steve K. Choi·Dongwoo Chung·Abigail Crites·Ankur Dev·Cody J. Duell·Michel Fich·Laura Fissel·Rodrigo G. Freundt·Eliza Gazda·Anthony I. Huber·Doug Johnstone·Ben Keller·Paul Malachuk·Alicia Middleton·Jenna Moore·Michael D. Niemack·Thomas Nikola·Yoko Okada·Darshan A. Patel·Tilak M. Patel·Dominik A. Riechers·Douglas Scott·Gordon J. Stacey·Benjamin J. Vaughan·Samantha Walker·Ruixuan·Xie
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Abstract

Prime-Cam is a first-generation science instrument for the CCAT Observatory's six-meter aperture Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope (FYST), under construction at an elevation of 5600 m on Cerro Chajnantor in Chile's Atacama Desert. Prime-Cam will deliver over ten times greater mapping speed at submillimeter wavelengths than current facilities for unprecedented broadband and spectroscopic measurements in windows between 1.4 -- 0.3 mm (220 -- 850 GHz). When fully populated, Prime-Cam will field over 100,000 kinetic inductance detectors across seven independently optimized instrument modules. With Prime-Cam, the CCAT Collaboration will address a suite of science goals, from Big Bang cosmology, to galaxy evolution and star formation over cosmic time. Prime-Cam is scheduled for integration in FYST in late 2026, followed by a year of early science observations with the 280 and 350 GHz instrument modules. We discuss the design and in-lab testing of the 1.8-m diameter Prime-Cam receiver and 280 GHz instrument module, and give an update on deployment status and early science plans.

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Eve M. Vavagiakis, Yuhan Wang, Lawrence T. Lin, Manuel Aravena, Jason E. Austermann, Frank Bertoldi, James Burgoyne, Victoria Butler, Scott Chapman, Steve K. Choi, Dongwoo Chung, Abigail Crites, Ankur Dev, Cody J. Duell, Michel Fich, Laura Fissel, Rodrigo G. Freundt, Eliza Gazda, Anthony I. Huber, Doug Johnstone, Ben Keller, Paul Malachuk, Alicia Middleton, Jenna Moore, Michael D. Niemack, Thomas Nikola, Yoko Okada, Darshan A. Patel, Tilak M. Patel, Dominik A. Riechers, Douglas Scott, Gordon J. Stacey, Benjamin J. Vaughan, Samantha Walker, Ruixuan, Xie. 2026-08-25. CCAT: The Prime-Cam Instrument for the Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope -- Overview and Status. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3105297

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