The Cosmological Advanced Survey Telescope for Optical and UV Research (CASTOR) is a proposed Canadian Space Agency (CSA) mission that would provide panoramic, high-resolution imaging of 1/8th of the sky in the UV/optical (150-550 nm) spectral region. This small-satellite class mission would provide high angular resolution ultra-deep imaging in three broad filters to supplement data from planned international dark energy missions (Euclid, WFIRST) as well as from the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). One of the leading technical risks on this mission is the UV sensitivity required to approach 26th magnitude in the near UV band. We are planning to characterize a selected candidate technology down to 150 nm. We will review the main scientific and technical drivers for the mission and show how they constrain the available detector options. We will compare the sensitivity and general applicability of CCD, EMCCD, hybridized and monolithic CMOS FPA options.

Date Published: 23 July 2014
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 9154, High Energy, Optical, and Infrared Detectors for Astronomy VI, 91542C (23 July 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2057033

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9154:
High Energy, Optical, and Infrared Detectors for Astronomy VI
Andrew D. Holland; James Beletic, Editor(s)