CASIMIR, A High Resolution, Submillimeter, Heterodyne Spectrometer for Airborne Astronomy

The Caltech Airborne Submillimeter Interstellar Medium Investigations Receiver (CASIMIR) is a multichannel, heterodyne spectrometer being developed for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). It has a very high resolution, up to a million, over the submillimeter and far-infrared wavelength range of 150 to 600 μ m, or 2.0 to 0.5 THz. CASIMIR is extremely well suited to the investigation of both the galactic and extragalactic warm, approximately 100 K, interstellar medium. As a result of recent advances in SIS and Hot Electron Bolometers (HEB), CASIMIR will cover this frequency range with very high sensitivity. We present a description of the instrument and its capabilities. The development of CASIMIR is supported by the NASA/USRA SOFIA instrument development program.