The far-infrared is a key wavelength regime for astronomical observations. Until recently, however, development of useful large format arrays at these wavelengths has been hampered by the lack of suitable readouts that operate well at the very low temperatures required by these detectors. We report on the initial characterization of CRC-696 readouts fabricated at the Hughes Technology Center (Carlsbad CA) specifically built to operate at 4 K and lower. These devices have been optimized to work with extrinsic germanium photoconductors. At these low temperatures, the fully multiplexed 32-channel readouts has a read noise below 30 electrons at a power dissipation of 1 (mu) W per channel. We also report on the testing of the first complete focal plane module fabricated with these devices. This module is operating at a level of performance (dark current, noise, stability, and power dissipation) that make arrays built with this technology suitable candidates for the next generation of space infrared observatories.

Date Published: 23 June 1994
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 2226, Infrared Readout Electronics II, (23 June 1994); doi: 10.1117/12.178487

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2226:
Infrared Readout Electronics II
Eric R. Fossum, Editor(s)