iLocater is an ultra-precise spectrograph designed to search for and characterize exoplanets - planets around other stars in the sky. The instrument will be installed at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT), Arizona will search for small changes in the color of light arising from the Doppler shift caused by a planet orbiting its star.

The design characteristics of iLocater are new for the field of exoplanet hunting. The instrument uses the adaptive optics system of the LBT to correct for the turbulent and distorting effects of the Earth's atmosphere, meaning it works with small single-mode optical fibers and in the diffraction-limited regime. The instrument has four main sub-systems which work together to enable science observations:

1. A fiber injection system (also called an acquisition camera) which takes light from the two 8.4m mirrors of the LBT into small single-mode optical fibers.
2. A high-resolution spectrograph working at near-infrared wavelengths (Y- and J-band).
3. A cryostat which houses the instrument spectrograph in a thermally stabilized vacuum environment.
4. A calibration system used to provide an absolute wavelength reference on the spectrograph detector.

The spectrograph and cryostat integration is taking place within the ISL OSU. The overall program is led by the University of Notre Dame. For more information visit ilocater.nd.edu.