Large format array NIR detectors for future ESA astronomy missions: characterization and comparison

David Gooding; Pierre-Elie Crouzet; Ludovic Duvet; Thibaut Prod'homme; Hans Smit; Jörg Ter Haar; Sander Blommaert; Ivo Visser; Frederic Lemmel; Jerko Heijnen; Cornelis Van Der Luijt; Bart Butler; Thierry Beaufort

doi:10.1117/12.2231179

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5 August 2016 Large format array NIR detectors for future ESA astronomy missions: characterization and comparison

David Gooding, Pierre-Elie Crouzet, Ludovic Duvet, Thibaut Prod'homme, Hans Smit, Jörg Ter Haar, Sander Blommaert, Ivo Visser, Frederic Lemmel, Jerko Heijnen, Cornelis Van Der Luijt, Bart Butler, Thierry Beaufort

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Proceedings Volume 9915, High Energy, Optical, and Infrared Detectors for Astronomy VII; 99151G (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2231179
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2016, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Abstract

The Payload Technology Validation section in the Future Missions office of ESA's Science directorate at ESTEC provides testing support to present and future missions at different stages in their lifetime, from early technology developments to mission operation validation. In this framework, a test setup to characterize near-infrared (NIR) detectors has been created. In the context of the Astronomy Large Format Array for the near-infrared ("ALFA-N") technology development program, detectors from different suppliers are tested. We report on the characterization progress of the ALFA-N detectors, for which a series of rigorous tests have been performed on two different detectors; one provided by CEA/Leti-CEA/IRFU-SOFRADIR, France and the other by SELEX- UK/ATC, UK. Experimental techniques, the test bench and methods are presented. The conversion gain of two different detectors is measured using the photon transfer curve method. For a Leti LPE detector the persistence effect has been probed across a range of illumination levels to reveal a sharp linear increase of persistence below full-well and a plateauing beyond saturation. The same detector has been proton irradiated which has resulted in no significant dark current increase.

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David Gooding, Pierre-Elie Crouzet, Ludovic Duvet, Thibaut Prod'homme, Hans Smit, Jörg Ter Haar, Sander Blommaert, Ivo Visser, Frederic Lemmel, Jerko Heijnen, Cornelis Van Der Luijt, Bart Butler, and Thierry Beaufort "Large format array NIR detectors for future ESA astronomy missions: characterization and comparison", Proc. SPIE 9915, High Energy, Optical, and Infrared Detectors for Astronomy VII, 99151G (5 August 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2231179

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