Development of a CCD-Digicon Detector System

Abstract

This chapter presents an introduction on the development of charge- coupled devices (CCDs)-Digicon detector system. The CCD-Digicon, an intensified charge-coupled device (ICCD) detector system based on the incorporation of a thinned backside-illuminated CCD as the anode of a space telescope design Digicon tube, for application to astronomical observations with stringent requirements for accuracy, rapid temporal response, low background, and high two-dimensional resolution. To investigate and optimize the important characteristics of system component design in detail before commitment to the production of a full-up system, a number of electron-bombardment imaging experiments have been performed, utilizing existing backside-illuminated CCDs in a demountable Digicon test stand. Operating in a more traditional uncentroided “analogue” CCD mode (many photoelectron events in each CCD cell), a number of images were obtained, and the system was found to perform quite well over a wide range of illumination and exposure conditions. With reduced illumination levels, the single-photoelectron statistical nature of these CCD-Digicon images is readily apparent even in real-time viewing.