Interpixel capacitance (IPC) between adjacent pixels in hybridized arrays gives rise to an electrostatic cross talk. This cross talk causes MTF degradation and blurring of images or spectra collected using these devices. As pixel size is driven down from the 18-μm pixel pitch of the H2RG read out circuits to the 10- or 15-μm H4RGs IPC is driven up resulting in greater cross talk, all else being equal. Mounting evidence indicates that IPC varies as a function of depletion state of the photo-active diodes. For single pixel events, increasing the event intensity corresponds to a decreasing fractional coupling. If left uncorrected, IPC can give rise to systematic errors in precision astrometric and photometric measurements, in particular when dealing with confused point sources or spatially extended structures for shape measurements as demonstrated through comparison of registered sources from ESO HAWK-I and HST ACS WFC datasets. Furthermore, these errors will be the most significant when operating near the sensitivity limit of these devices. Deconvolution-based correction methods are invalidated by this same signal dependence. Instead, a numerical method of successive approximation can be used to correct coupling due to a well-characterized IPC. Examination of single pixel reset data above flat fields could be used to characterize IPC’s functional relationship for neighboring pixels. This higher quality characterization can result in more accurate correction.

Space missions designed for high precision photometric monitoring of stars often undersample the point-spread function, with much of the light landing within a single pixel. Missions such as MOST, Kepler, BRITE, and TESS do this to avoid uncertainties due to pixel-to-pixel response nonuniformity. This approach has worked remarkably well. However, individual pixels also exhibit response nonuniformity. Typically, pixels are most sensitive near their centers and less sensitive near the edges, with a difference in response of as much as 50%. The exact shape of this fall-off, and its dependence on the wavelength of light, is the intrapixel response function (IPRF). A direct measurement of the IPRF can be used to improve the photometric uncertainties, leading to improved photometry and astrometry of undersampled systems. Using the spot-scan technique, we measured the IPRF of a flight spare e2v CCD90 imaging sensor, which is used in the Kepler focal plane. Our spot scanner generates spots with a full-width at half-maximum of ≲3  μm across the range of 400 to 850 nm. We find that Kepler’s CCD shows similar IPRF behavior to other back-illuminated devices, with a decrease in responsivity near the edges of a pixel by ∼50  %  . The IPRF also depends on wavelength, exhibiting a large amount of diffusion at shorter wavelengths and becoming much more defined by the gate structure in the near-IR. This method can also be used to measure the IPRF of the CCDs used for TESS, which borrows much from the Kepler mission.