Detector performance for the FIREBall-2 UV experiment

We present an overview of the detector for the upcoming Faint Intergalactic Red-shifted Emission Balloon (FIREBall-2) experiment, with a particular focus on the development of device-integrated optical coatings and detector quantum efficiency (QE). FIREBall-2 is designed to measure emission from the strong resonance lines of HI, OVI, and CIV, all red-shifted to 195-225 nm window; its detector is a delta-doped electron multiplying charge coupled device (EM-CCD). Delta-doped arrays, invented at JPL, achieve 100% internal QE from the UV through the visible. External losses due to reflection (~70% in some UV regions) can be mitigated with antireflection coatings (ARCs). Using atomic layer deposition (ALD), thin-film optical filters are incorporated with existing detector technologies. ALD offers nanometer-scale control over film thickness and interface quality, allowing for precision growth of multilayer films. Several AR coatings, including single and multi-layer designs, were tested for FIREBall-2. QE measurements match modeled transmittance behavior remarkably well, showing improved performance in the target wavelength range. Also under development are ALD coatings to enhance QE for a variety of spectral regions throughout the UV (90-320 nm) and visible (320-1000 nm) range both for space-based imaging and spectroscopy as well as for ground-based telescopes.

[1]  Erika T. Hamden,et al.  Noise and dark performance for FIREBall-2 EMCCD delta-doped CCD detector , 2015, SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications.

[2]  David Schiminovich,et al.  Ultraviolet antireflection coatings for use in silicon detector design. , 2011, Applied optics.

[3]  Frank Greer,et al.  A system and methodologies for absolute quantum efficiency measurements from the vacuum ultraviolet through the near infrared. , 2011, The Review of scientific instruments.

[4]  Ray Bell,et al.  The LLCCD: low-light imaging without the need for an intensifier , 2001, IS&T/SPIE Electronic Imaging.

[5]  David Schiminovich,et al.  High efficiency CCD detectors at UV wavelengths , 2014, Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation.

[6]  Sarah E. Tuttle,et al.  FIREBALL: instrument pointing and aspect reconstruction , 2010, Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation.

[7]  Michael E. Hoenk,et al.  High performance silicon imaging arrays for cosmology, planetary sciences, & other applications , 2014, 2014 IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting.

[8]  Sbs Stephan Heil,et al.  In situ reaction mechanism studies of plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition of Al2O3 , 2006 .

[9]  Olivier Daigle,et al.  L3CCD results in pure photon-counting mode , 2004, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation.

[10]  Helena Ronkainen,et al.  Thermal and plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition of SiO2 using commercial silicon precursors , 2014 .

[11]  Michael E. Hoenk,et al.  Epitaxial growth of p+ silicon on a backside-thinned CCD for enhanced UV response , 1992, Electronic Imaging.

[12]  Sbs Stephan Heil,et al.  Reaction mechanisms during plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition of metal oxides : a case study for Al2O3 , 2008 .

[13]  Michael E. Hoenk,et al.  Superlattice-doped silicon detectors: progress and prospects , 2014, Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation.

[14]  Sumit Agarwal,et al.  Surface reaction mechanisms during ozone and oxygen plasma assisted atomic layer deposition of aluminum oxide. , 2010, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[15]  Wmm Erwin Kessels,et al.  Silicon surface passivation by ultrathin Al2O3 films synthesized by thermal and plasma atomic layer deposition , 2010 .

[16]  René Doyon,et al.  Characterization results of EMCCDs for extreme low-light imaging , 2012, Other Conferences.

[17]  David Schiminovich,et al.  FIREBALL: the first ultraviolet fiber fed spectrograph , 2010, Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation.

[18]  Michael E. Hoenk,et al.  Growth of a delta‐doped silicon layer by molecular beam epitaxy on a charge‐coupled device for reflection‐limited ultraviolet quantum efficiency , 1992 .

[19]  David Schiminovich,et al.  FIREBALL: detector, data acquisition and reduction , 2010, Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation.

[20]  Joseph A. Sgro,et al.  The DUV Stability of Superlattice-Doped CMOS Detector Arrays , 2013 .

[21]  Robert Chave,et al.  FIREBALL: the Faint Intergalactic medium Redshifted Emission Balloon: overview and first science flight results , 2010, Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation.

[22]  Frank Scholze,et al.  Characterization of photodiodes as transfer detector standards in the 120 nm to 600 nm spectral range , 1998 .