Recent astronomical detector development at the University of Arizona

Abstract

The University of Arizona Imaging Technology Laboratory (ITL) has been developing back illuminated detectors and detector technologies for several astronomical projects in recent years. These projects include the WIYN telescope One Degree Imager (ODI) mosaic of Orthogonal Transfer Array CCDs, the VIRUS detectors for the University of Texas' Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX), detector and packaging development for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), and 10kx10k and 4kx4k CCDs for several instruments. In this paper we discuss these projects with an emphasis on backside processing issues and detector characterization results which may be relevant to other groups. We will also focus packaging techniques and metrology for achieving very flat and stable focal planes. Results will include device flatness at cryogenic temperatures, process yield, photo-response non-uniformity and cosmetics, quantum efficiency, read noise, linearity, charge transfer efficiency, and photon transfer data.