Proton induced luminescence in the HgCdTe detectors for the Wide Field Camera 3 instrument has been investigated. A radiation experiment has been conducted to localize the source of the luminescence. Conclusive evidence is shown that the luminescence originates in the CdZnTe substrate and propagates toward HgCdTe photodiodes as ~800 nm radiation. Luminescence is proportional to the proton energy deposited in the substrate. Subsequent testing of detectors with the substrate removed confirmed that substrate removal completely eliminates proton induced luminescence.
The operability requirements of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) impose specific challenges on radiation effects mitigation and analysis. For example, the NIRSpec Instrument has the following requirements: •The percentage of pixels defined as operable for target acquisition shall not be less than 97% (TBR) (goal 99%) of the total number of pixels... An inoperable pixel is: ο A dead pixel: a pixel with no radiometric response o A noisy pixel: a pixel with a total noise greater than 21 e-, per Fowler 8 exposure •The percentage of pixels defined as operable for science observations shall not be less than 92% (TBR) (goal 98%) of the total number of pixels... An inoperable pixel is: ο A dead/low-DQE pixel: a pixel deviating by >30% from the DQE mean value ο A noisy pixel: a pixel with a total noise greater than 12 e- (goal 9e-). With these performance requirements and operation in space, the radiation environment from galactic cosmic rays (GCR), energetic solar particles, and activation of spacecraft materials can contribute significantly to the number of inoperable pixels. The two most important issues to date are radiation-induced transient effects and hot pixels. This paper focuses on the methods used to assess the impact of ionizing radiation induced transients on the HgCdTe SCA selected by JWST. Hot pixel effects in these detectors has been previously presented. Both effects are currently under investigation.
A Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) CCD detector was tested for radiation effects while operating at -83C. The goal of the experiment was to evaluate the introduction and annealing rates of hot pixels and to assess the dynamics of that process. The device was irradiated while cold and warmed to +30°C for a 4 hour soak, then cooled back down to -83°C. Hot pixel populations were tracked during warm up and cool down. The results showed that the hot pixels begin to anneal around -40°C and the anneal process was largely completed before the detector reached +30°C. It was also found that, although a large fraction of the hot pixels dropped below the threshold, they remained warmer than the remaining population.
The Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) is the James Webb Space Telescope’s primary near-infrared spectrograph. NASA is providing the NIRSpec detector subsystem, which consists of the focal plane array, focal plane electronics, cable harnesses, and software. The focal plane array comprises two closely-butted λco ~ 5 μm Rockwell HAWAII-2RG sensor chip assemblies. After briefly describing the NIRSpec instrument, we summarize some of the driving requirements for the detector subsystem, discuss the baseline architecture (and alternatives), and presents some recent detector test results including a description of a newly identified noise component that we have found in some archival JWST test data. We dub this new noise component, which appears to be similar to classical two-state popcorn noise in many aspects, “popcorn mesa noise.” We close with the current status of the detector subsystem development effort.
The proton-induced charge transfer efficiency (CTE) behavior for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) p-channel CCD [being developed for the Supernovae Acceleration Probe (SNAP)] is compared with the Hubble Space Telescope’s (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) n-channel CCDs CTE using 55Fe x-rays, first pixel edge response (FPR), and extended pixel edge response (EPER) techniques. The pre- and post-proton radiation performance parameters of p-channel CCDs designed by LBNL and fabricated at Dalsa Semiconductor, Inc. are compared with n-channel CCDs from E2V, Inc. LBNL p-channel CCDs both with and without notched parallel registers are compared with the E2V CCD43 [a notched, multi-phase pinned (MPP) device] and the E2V CCD44 (an un-notched, non-MPP device), using the same readout timing and measured over the same range of temperatures. The CTE performance of the p-channel CCD is about an order of magnitude better than similar n-channel CCDs for the conditions measured here after a 63 MeV proton fluence of 2.5 x 109 cm-2, which is equivalent to 2.5 years in the HST orbit behind shielding comparable to about 2.5 cm Al. Our measurements are compared with previous CTE measurements at 12 MeV by Bebek et al. The ~ 10 x CTE improvements relative to n-channel CCDs is seen at -83°C, a temperature which is optimized for n-channel CCD performance. Advantages from p-channel CCDs should be greater at other temperatures. Dark current measurements and hot pixel issues are also discussed.
We report on the measurement results for two candidate astrometric CCD designs, the STA700 and the e2v CCD43. Both of these CCDs have been considered as design baseline CCDs for use in a high-precision astrometric instrument in space, similar to the one proposed for the FAME, DIVA, or AMEX missions. We have exposed one sample CCD of each design to a fluence of 5 x 109 p+ cm-2 (@ 63.3 MeV), then measured the relevant readout noise, dark current, charge injection noise, and CTI performance. We compare the two CCDs and assess how well each mitigates radiation damage.
We present the performance of the IR detectors developed for the WFC3 project. These are HgCdTe 1Kx1K devices with cutoff wavelength at 1.7 μm and 150K operating temperature. The two selected flight parts, FPA#64 (prime) and FPA#59 (spare) show quantum efficiency higher than 80% at λ=1.6 μm and greater than 40% at λ>1.1μm, readout noise of ~25 e- rms with double correlated sampling, and mean dark current of ~0.04 e/s/pix at 150K. We also report the results obtained at NASA GSFC/DCL on these and other similar devices in what concerns the QE long-term stability, intra-pixel response, and dark current variation following illumination or reset.
A Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) flight-like IR detector was tested for radiation hardness by exposing it to high energy protons while operating at the nominal flight temperature of 150 K. The detector is a 1.7 μm cutoff HgCdTe detector with a CdZnTe substrate. The device is hybridized to a silicon multiplexer. The detector response was tested for gradually increasing fluence from less than 1x103 to a total of 5x109 63 MeV protons/cm2. Dark current changes were evaluated after each step. An increase in dark current and new hot pixels were observed after large steps of irradiation. The increased dark current was observed to partially anneal at 190K and fully anneal at room temperature. Radiation effects, hot pixel distribution, and results of annealing at different temperatures are presented here.
A Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) CCD detector was tested for radiation effects while operating at -83°C. The detector has a format of 2048 x 2048 pixels with a 15 μm square pixel size, a supplemental buried channel, an MPP implant, and is back side illuminated. Detector response was tested for total radiation fluences ranging from 1x103 to 2.5x109 of 63.3 MeV protons/cm2 and for a
range of beam intensities. Radiation damage was investigated and the annealing of damage was tested by warming up to +30°C. The introduction rate of hot pixels and their statistics, hot pixel annealing as a function of temperature and time, and radiation changes to the mean value of dark current were investigated. Results are compared with the experiences of other HST instruments.
Wide Field Camera 3 is a fourth generation instrument for the
Hubble Space Telescope (HST), to be installed during the next HST Servicing Mission 4. For its infrared channel Rockwell Scientific Company has developed a new type of HgCdTe 1Kx1K detector, called WFC3-1R, with cutoff wavelength at 1.7μm and 150K operating temperature. The WFC3-IR detectors are based on HgCdTe MBE grown on a CdZnTe substrate and use a new type of multiplexer, the Hawaii-1R
MUX. Two flight detectors, a prime and a spare, have been recently selected on the basis of the measures performed at NASA Goddard Research Center - Detector Characterization Laboratory. These parts show quantum efficiency higher than 80% at λ=1.6μm and greater than 40% at λ>1.1μm, readout noise of ~25 e- rms with double correlated sampling, and mean dark current of ~0.04 e/s/pix at 150K. We show that the IR channel of WFC3, equipped with one of these flight detectors, beats the instrument requirements in all configurations and promises to have a discovery efficiency
significantly higher than NICMOS. In particular, a two-band
wide-area, deep survey made with WFC3 exceeds the discovery
efficiency of NICMOS before and after the installation of NCS
by a factor of 15 and 10, respectively.
Rockwell Scientific Company is developing a new type of HgCdTe 1K 1K detector, called WFC3-1R, with cutoff
wavelength at 1.7 m and 150K operating temperature. The detector will be installed on the Wide Field Camera 3, the
fourth generation panchromatic instrument for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to be installed during HST Servicing
Mission 4, currently scheduled for 2004. The detector uses HgCdTe MBE grown on a CdZnTe substrate and a new type
of multiplexer, the Hawaii-1R MUX. Six lots of detectors have been produced so far, and have demonstrated the
capability to meet or exceed the project requirements. In particular, detectors show quantum efficiency as high as ~90%
at =1.4-1.6 m and greater than 50% at >1.0 m, readout noise of 30 e- rms with double correlated sampling, and dark
current <0.2 e/s/pix at 150K. We illustrate the behavior of the reference pixels, showing that they allow the
compensation of drifts in the dc output level. A number of detectors show a peculiar instability related to the variations
of diode polarization, still under investigation. We also report on the environmental testing needed to qualify the WFC3-
1R detectors as suitable for flight on the HST. We finally provide an update of the project status.
The Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) is an instrument which is being developed for the Hubble Space Telescope. It will have a UV/VIS channel which will include two 2051 X 4096 pixel, thin, backside illuminated CCDs. These CCDs produce interference fringes in narrow band or monochromatic light images taken in the 700 nm to 1000 nm wavelength range. We have obtained 146 monochromatic images for each of the four flight candidate CCDs. These images can be used to model the physical structure of the CCD, which are described by a set of parameters deduced by solving the Fresnel equations for the absorption within the CCD as a function of wavelength. We have used the formalism developed to model the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph's CCD by Malumuth et. al. to determine the free parameters for a large portion of one of the WFC3 flight candidate CCDs. From these fits we are able to evaluate the ability to fit the fringing of real data by comparing a model fringe flat to an observed fringe flat. We find that we should be able to reduce the observed fringe amplitude by a factor of five or better. Finally we show that for a certain class of object (extended emission line object with a variety of radial velocities) this model is an excellent method for removing the effect of fringing.
KEYWORDS: Charge-coupled devices, Sensors, Iron, Calibration, CCD cameras, Cameras, Hubble Space Telescope, Signal to noise ratio, Space telescopes, Interference (communication)
Proton induced charge transfer efficiency (CTE) degradation has been studied in the large format charge-coupled device (CCD) flight-like candidates for Wide Field Camera 3 for the Hubble Space Telescope. These detectors were irradiated with different proton fluences. This
paper focuses on the statistical nature of CTE degradation due to damage on one of the irradiated devices with exceptional initial CTE characteristics. In radiation damaged CCDs, CTE noise can be the dominant noise component. In contrast to other noise sources, CTE noise has a component of fixed pattern noise that can be removed by the appropriate calibration technique. A large set of data was acquired and analysis of it confirms the expectation that CTE damage is a local phenomenon and it varies widely across the CCD surface. Possible mitigation solutions and their practicality are discussed in some detail.
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