Low readout noise CCDs in optical interferometry

Alastair G. Basden; David F. Buscher; Christopher A. Haniff; Craig D. Mackay

doi:10.1117/12.459328

21 February 2003 Low readout noise CCDs in optical interferometry

Alastair G. Basden, David F. Buscher, Christopher A. Haniff, Craig D. Mackay

Proceedings Volume 4838, Interferometry for Optical Astronomy II; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.459328
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2002, Waikoloa, Hawai'i, United States

Abstract

Most current CCDs cannot be used as optical interferometric sensors because the high readout noise disguises the small signal. However, new low light level charge coupled devices (L3CCD) have a large on-chip gain which can allow a signal to be detected above the noisy readout amplifier. This gain has a statistical nature, meaning that the photon input cannot be predicted exactly. We investigate several techniques for photon prediction at different light levels, and demonstrate how this affects the noise on the signal. Accurate signal estimation can be achieved with very faint signals, up to about one photon per pixel per read. Above this, accuracy gradually decreases, though our signal-to-noise ratio is never worse than square root(2n). Optical interferometry requires detection of very faint signals, and the use of an L3CCD is found to allow reproduction of interferometric visibilities to high precision. Custom instrumentation used for control is also detailed.

Citation Download Citation

Alastair G. Basden, David F. Buscher, Christopher A. Haniff, and Craig D. Mackay "Low readout noise CCDs in optical interferometry", Proc. SPIE 4838, Interferometry for Optical Astronomy II, (21 February 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.459328

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