  ESPaDOnS is a new-generation cross-dispersed echelle spectropolarimeter, the
commissioning phase of which is scheduled at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope
(CFHT) for spring 2004. This instrument will provide full coverage of the
optical domain (370 nm to 1,000 nm) in all polarization states (circular and
linear) at a resolving power of about 70,000, with a peak efficiency of 20%
(telescope and detector included). It includes a bench-mounted spectrograph,
fiber-fed from a Cassegrain-mounted module including all polarimetric and
calibration facilities.
  ESPaDOnS should be the most powerful tool dedicated to stellar
spectropolarimetry, therefore opening unprecedented perspectives for major
issues of stellar physics, from studies of stellar interiors to investigations
of stellar atmospheres, stellar surfaces, stellar magnetic fields, and to
observations of circumstellar environments and extra-solar planets.
