Metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) of GaSb/InGaAsSb multilayer thin films and fabrication of bias-selectable dual band photodetectors are reported. For the dual band photodetectors the short wavelength detector, or the upper p-GaSb/n-GaSb junction photodiode, is placed optically ahead of the long wavelength one, or the lower photodiode. The latter is based on latticed-matched In_0.13Ga_0.87As_0.11Sb_0.89with bandgap near 0.6 eV. Specifically, high quality multilayer thin films are grown sequentially from top to bottom as p⁺-GaSb/p-GaSb/n-GaSb/n-InGaAsSb/p-InGaAsSb/p-GaSb on undoped p-type GaSb substrate, and as n-GaSb/p-GaSb/p-InGaAsSb/n-InGaAsSb/n-GaSb on Te-doped n-type GaSb substrate respectively. The multilayer thin films are characterized by optical microscope, atomic force microscope (AFM), electron microprobe analyses etc. The photodiode mesa steps are patterned by photolithography with wet chemical etching and the front metallization is carried out by e-beam evaporation with Pd/Ge/Au/Ti/Au to give ohmic contact on both n- and p-type Sb based layer surfaces. Dark I-V measurements show typical diode behavior for both the upper and lower photodiodes. The photoresponsivity measurements indicate that both the upper and lower photodiodes can sense the infrared illumination corresponding to their cutoff wavelengths respectively, comparable with the simulation results. More work is underway to bring the long wavelength band to the medium infrared wavelength region near 4 μm.

The versatility of quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP) structures allows for voltage tunable detection. However, the existing designs generally suffer from limited range of tunability and substantial spectral cross-talk. In this work, we demonstrated a QWIP structure, which is capable of detecting four widely separated and narrowly peaked individual bands under different bias. The detection peaks range from mid-wavelength to long-wavelength and are centered at 4.5, 5.3, 8.3, and 10.4 μm, respectively, with Δλ/λ < 0.14. With f/1.2 optics, the detector is BLIP at 100K, 80K, 60K and 50K respectively for the increasing wavelengths. This four-color detector consists of two stacks of voltage tunable materials that are separated by a middle contact layer. Each material is designed to detect at two specific wavelengths depending on the bias polarity. In the present design, the upper stack switches between 5.3 μm and 10.4 μm, while the bottom stack switches between 4.5 μm and 8.3 μm. By applying different bias to the top and bottom contacts relative to the common middle contact, the optical signal for each color can be readout at the two contacts sequentially. The tunable material is made of repeated unit cells, and each unit cell contains two different superlattices separated by a thick barrier. Based on this design, the detection peaks can be randomly selected between 3 μm and 20 μm, and each peak can vary from narrow band to broadband. The present detector design thus improves the QWIP technology in multi-color detection.

A two-dimensional numerical model of GaAs MESFET with non uniform doping is developed and various characteristics are estimated under different illumination conditions. The Poisson's equations in the gate depletion region and the space charge region of the channel substrate junctions are solved numerically under dark and illumination condition. The photo induced voltages at the schottky contact (V_op) as well as at the junction between channel and substrate (V_ops) are calculated for estimating the channel voltage profile and the drain current characteristics. It has been seen that the depletion widths are strongly influenced by illumination and hence the characteristics. The model developed here can be used to obtain the drain and the transfer characteristics cunder dark and illuminated conditions. The device parameters such as transconductance and gate to source capacitance are numerically estimated to examine the switching characteristics of the device. The photo current has also been estimated and the responsivity of the device has been calculated. The responsivity is found to be very high. The switching speed has also increased under illumination because of the decrease in the RC time constant. It has been concluded that the two dimensional modeling provides better accurate solution and closely fit with the experimental results. The model can be used as basic tool for accurate simulation of MESFET photodetector for OEIC applications.

Infrared focal plane arrays are a critical component in many of the military and civilian applications for advanced imaging systems. Advanced material growth and etching techniques have made possible the fabrication of infrared detectors in various configurations and in a broad range of wavelengths for a variety of applications. In the last decade, many researchers have explored advances in the processing and growth techniques, which have made it possible to realize complex detector concepts, array architectures and improvements in the producibility of these devices. In this paper, infrared detector materials and structures will be reviewed with emphasis on applicability to designs of focal plane arrays for single and multi-wavebands. Key developments and status of the technology will be presented along with projections and challenges for the continued evolution of the technology.

A novel dual-band hyperspectral imaging system has been used to collect field test data for robotics vision applications. The imaging system can collect full scene hyperspectral images in both the long wave infrared (LWIR) band (8-10.5 μm) and the mid-wave infrare (MWIR) band (4-5.25 μm) simultaneously. The imager uses a specially designed Ge diffractive lens with a dual-band 320×240 HgCdTe infrared focal plane array (FPA) cooled with a Sterling cooler. The stacked FPA consists of two layers: the top one sensitive in the MWIR region and the bottom one sensitive in the LWIR region. The diffractive lens is designed to focus a first order, single-color (i.e., 8.0 μm) image in the LWIR onto the bottom layer of the FPA while at the same time focusing a second order single-color (i.e., 4.0 μm) image in the MWIR onto the top layer of the FPA. Images at different wavelengths are acquired by moving the lens along its optical axis. Moving the lens over the entire range during data collection allows sequential collection of spectral images in each band resulting in the collection of two complete image cubes. The focal length of the lens is 75 mm at 9 μm. The spectral resolution of the imager is 0.1 μm at the 9 μm wavelength. In general, 128 narrow wavelength bands are collected in each of the two broad spectral regions. After data collection, the images are processed to remove noise, contributions from unfocused wavelengths, and magnification differences. A description of the imager, data collection, noise removal, post-processing, and analysis are presented.

In this paper, a linearity index is proposed to assess the performance of the position measurement of using position sensitive devices (PSDs). Using the index, a set of position measurement formulae is proposed for PSD with tetra-lateral structures. Compared to the conventional results, the proposed measurement formulae have improved the area with distortion less than 1% from the currently best result of 13% to 25%. Simulation results are reported to verify the theoretical analysis.

We have designed and built a sealed tube microchannel plate (MCP) intensifier for optical/NUV photon counting applications suitable for 18, 25 and 40 mm diameter formats. The intensifier uses an electronic image readout to provide direct conversion of event position into electronic signals, without the drawbacks associated with phosphor screens and subsequent optical detection. The Image Charge technique is used to remove the readout from the intensifier vacuum enclosure, obviating the requirement for additional electrical vacuum feedthroughs and for the readout pattern to be UHV compatible. The charge signal from an MCP intensifier is capacitively coupled via a thin dielectric vacuum window to the electronic image readout, which is external to the sealed intensifier tube. The readout pattern is a separate item held in proximity to the dielectric window and can be easily detached, making the system easily reconfigurable. Since the readout pattern detects induced charge and is external to the tube, it can be constructed as a multilayer, eliminating the requirement for narrow insulator gaps and allowing it to be constructed using standard PCB manufacturing tolerances. We describe two readout patterns, the tetra wedge anode (TWA), an optimized 4 electrode device similar to the wedge and strip anode (WSA) but with a factor 2 improvement in resolution, and an 8 channel high speed 50 ohm device, both manufactured as multilayer PCBs. We present results of the detector imaging performance, image resolution, linearity and stability, and discuss the development of an integrated readout and electronics device based on these designs.

The Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) is commissioning a new Wide field Infrared Camera (WIRCam) that uses a mosaic of 4 HAWAII-2RG near-infrared detectors manufactured by Rockwell. At the heart of the instrument is an On-Chip Guiding System (OCGS) that exploits the unique parallel science/guide frame readout capability of the HAWAII-2RG detectors. A small subsample of each array is continuously read at a rate of 50 Hz while the integration of the science image is ongoing with the full arrays. Each of these guiding windows is centered on a star to provide an error signal for the telescope guiding. An Image Stabilizer Unit (ISU) (i.e. a tip-tilt silica plate), provides the corrections. A Proportional Integral Differential (PID) closed loop controls the ISU such that telescope tracking is corrected at a rate of 5 Hz. The guide window size and readout rate are adjustable but typical numbers are 8×8-16×16 boxes read at 50 or 1.5 Hz. This paper presents the technical architecture of the guiding system and performance measurements on the sky with WIRCam.

We present a CCD / CMOS hybrid focal plane array (FPA) for low light level imaging applications. The hybrid approach combines the best of CCD imaging characteristics (e.g. high quantum efficiency, low dark current, excellent uniformity, and low pixel cross talk) with the high speed, low power and ultra-low read noise of CMOS readout technology. The FPA is comprised of two CMOS readout integrated circuits (ROIC) that are bump bonded to a CCD imaging substrate. Each ROIC is an array of Capacitive Transimpedence Amplifiers (CTIA) that connect to the CCD columns via indium bumps. The proposed column parallel readout architecture eliminates the slow speed, high noise, and high power limitations of a conventional CCD. This results in a compact, low power, ultra-sensitive solid-state FPA that can be used in low light level applications such as live-cell microscopy and security cameras at room temperature operation. The prototype FPA has a 1280×1024 format with 12-um square pixels. Measured dark current is less than 5.8 pA/cm² at room temperature and the overall read noise is as low as 2.9e at 30 frames/sec.

A new hybrid imaging detector is described that is being developed for the next generation adaptive optics (AO) wavefront sensors. The detector consists of proximity focused microchannel plates (MCPs) read out by pixelated CMOS application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chips developed at CERN ("Medipix2"). Each Medipix2 pixel has an amplifier, lower and upper charge discriminators, and a 14-bit counter. The 256×256 array can be read out noiselessly (photon counting) in 286 μs. The Medipix2 is abutable on 3 sides to produce 512× (n*256) pixel devices. The readout can be electronically shuttered down to a temporal window of a few microseconds with an accuracy of 10 ns. Good quantum efficiencies can be achieved from the x-ray (open faced with opaque photocathodes) to the optical (sealed tube with semi-transparent GaAs photocathode).

Mercurous bromide crystals with very good optical transparency were grown by the physical vapor transport method. A design was developed to fabricate 10-degree orientation acousto-optic tunable filters operating in the mid and long wavelength regions. An acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) was fabricated using a crystal with a 13-15 mm diameter. A theoretical tuning curve for a mercurous bromide crystal based AOTF using this design was also computed for the first time.

Real time infrared imaging and tracking usually requires a high probability of target detection along with a low false alarm rate, achievable only with a high "Signal-to-Noise Ratio" (SNR). Frame integration--summing of non-correlated frames--is commonly used to improve the SNR. But conventional frame integration requires significant processing to store full frames and integrate intermediate results, normalize frame data, etc. It may drive acquisition of highly specialized hardware, faster processors, dedicated frame integration circuit cards and extra memory cards. Non-stationary noise, low frequency noise correlation, non-ergodic noise, scene dynamics, or pointing accuracy may also limit performance. Recursive frame integration of limited data--RAFAIL, is proposed as a means to improve frame integration performance and mitigate the issues. The technique applies two thresholds--one tuned for optimum probability of detection, the other to manage required false alarm rate--and allows a non-linear integration process that, along with optimal noise management, provides system designers more capability where cost, weight, or power considerations limit system data rate, processing, or memory capability.

We report on recently developed algorithms and architectures capable of point source target detection near or on the FPA. The goals of this work are to demonstrate image processing functions near or on the FPA in a manner efficient enough to allow hardwired algorithms for Camera Systems on a Chip (SOC) implementation. These SOCs have the potential to improve the size and power requirements for existing IR sensor systems which require larger board sets and hardware enclosures. We report on the algorithm development for hardwired target detection algorithms using recorded IR Data.

Using NIR spectroscopic techniques, correlation analysis and regression analysis for soil parameter estimation was conducted with raw soil samples collected in a cornfield and a forage field. Soil parameters analyzed were soil moisture, soil organic matter, nitrate nitrogen, soil electrical conductivity and pH. Results showed that all soil parameters could be evaluated by NIR spectral reflectance. For soil moisture, a linear regression model was available at low moisture contents below 30 % db, while an exponential model can be used in a wide range of moisture content up to 100 % db. Nitrate nitrogen estimation required a multi-spectral exponential model and electrical conductivity could be evaluated by a single spectral regression. According to the result above mentioned, a real time soil sensor system based on fiber optics and spectroscopy was developed. The sensor system was composed of a soil subsoiler with four optical fiber probes, a spectrometer, and a control unit. Two optical fiber probes were used for illumination and the other two optical fiber probes for collecting soil reflectance from visible to NIR wavebands at depths around 30 cm. The spectrometer was used to obtain the spectra of reflected lights. The control unit consisted of a data logging device, a personal computer, and a pulse generator. The experiment showed that clear photo-spectral reflectance was obtained from the underground soil. The soil reflectance was equal to that obtained by the desktop spectrophotometer in laboratory tests. Using the spectral reflectance, the soil parameters, such as soil moisture, pH, EC and SOM, were evaluated.

An evaluation method of soil fertility was developed based on spectroscopy. A handheld spectroradiometer and a desktop spectrophotometer were used for measuring spectral reflectance of soil in a field and in a laboratory respectively. The spectroradiometer has a 325-1075nm measurable range in 1nm resolution, while the spectrophotometer has a 4000 -12000 cm^-1 measurable range in 0.04cm^-1 resolution. A 50×300 m² small farm was selected as test field. The farm was divided into 150 grids with grid size of 10×10 m². Firstly the spectroradiometer was used to measure spectral reflectance of soil surface in all grids, and then a soil sample (about 1000 g) was collected from each grid and put into a sealed container. In laboratory, the spectrophotometer was used to measure spectral reflectance of soil samples at the earliest possible time. Finally some important soil fertility parameters, moisture, nitrogen content, and organic matter content, were analyzed. Correlation and regression analyses for estimating these soil parameters were conducted. Result shows that most soil parameters can be evaluated by NIR spectral reflectance obtained by both the spectrophotometer and the spectroradiometer. For soil moisture, a linear regression model was available in high accuracy. We demonstrated that the feasibility to estimate nitrogen content, and organic matter content by spectral reflectance.

A multi-spectral detector was developed to evaluate crop growth condition. The detector mainly consists of three parts, a fiber, two sensors, and a MCU. Since two wavelengths were usually used to form an index to evaluate crop growth condition, the fiber was designed to be in "Y" type in order to measure crop reflectance at two different wavelengths. The fiber collect reflect light in one side from crop leaf or canopy and the collected light was divided into two parts and introduced to two sensors. The sensor is composed of a light guiding pipe, an inlet, two gaskets, an interferential filter, a photoelectric cell, and others. It can form a closed space in the center in order to measure reflecting light without external noise. Two different filters were used in two sensors with different special transmission wavelengths so that the reflect lights at wanted wavelengths could be obtained. The MCU was used to amplify signal, display measurement, and record data. It can calculate an evaluation index of crop growth condition from measured reflectance by an embedded evaluation model. It can also transmit data to PC or other storage device. Performance test was conducted. The wavelengths of two interferential filters were selected as 527 nm and 762 nm based on the result of field test. The result shows that the detector can measure the spectral reflectance of crop leaf in high sensitivity and accuracy. And the Normalized Difference Color Index calculated from the reflectance can be used to evaluate crop growth condition well.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a method of high-resolution imaging originally developed for the transparent tissue of the eye. Recently, the technology has been advanced to such an extent that imaging of nontransparent tissues has become feasible as well. However, new challenges have surfaced: one of them- detection of the weak signal with high intensity background noise. The common approach of using Lock-in amplifiers (as well as some other techniques proposed) is not sufficiently effective or not effective at all. A solution to this problem has risen in the form of a resonant amplifier when the frequency of the response is known. The principle of such an amplifier and its application are discussed below.

Low Cost Multi-color infrared (IR) sensors/focal plane arrays are required for surveillance and other homeland security applications. These sensors require multi-color focal plane arrays (FPA) that will cover 3-5 (MWIR) and 8-14 (LWIR) micron bands. There has been a significant progress in developing HgCdTe on Silicon substrates [1,2]. Two-color IR FPA eliminate the complexity of multiple single color IR FPAs and provide a significant reduction of weight and power in a simpler, reliable and affordable systems.

In optical storage systems, the demand for fast optoelectronic integrated circuit (OEIC) is dramatically increasing especially in the blue spectral range (λ=405nm). A new OEIC for the blue spectral range, which is integrated monolithically with the 0.6μm BiCMOS circuit, is presented in this paper. Proposed OEIC is optimized with respect to bandwidth, sensitivity, and noise in order to achieve high S/N ratio. N+ Finger/Nepi/PBL/Psub photodiodeachieves a responsivity of 0.31A/W at blue range corresponding to a quantumefficiency η of 95% [with Optimized ARC for blue range], afrequency response of 450MHz and a rising/falling time of 0.578ns. 3dB frequency response of 204MHz and noise of -91.8dBm [1~120MHz @ RBW=30 KHz] are obtained for the fast channel amplifier. Jitter value of 5.1% is achieved compared to the commercial OEIC of 5.4%.

The Infrared Focal Plane Array (IRFPA) is a key part of modern infrared system and thermal imaging system. Imaging with IRFPA is future development direction of infrared and thermal imaging system. However the most difficult problem associated with the IRFPA is intrinsic spatial photo-response non-uniformity. Although two- point or multi-point correction algorithms may correct the non-uniformity of IRFPAs, they can be limited by pixel nonlinearities and instabilities. So adaptive non-uniformity correction techniques are needed. Many researchers develop the methods of real-time correction based the scene being viewed. In this paper, we introduced eight scene-based real-time correction methods, such as: the approach of the whole frame correction, Kalman filtering correction, adaptive filtering correction, trace along trajectory correction, based on the scene moving analysis correction, the wavelet transform is used for design the low-pass filter correction, both of the high-pass filter and the artificial neural network correction, based on the application of wavelet filter, video sequences and registration, orthogonal least squares correction, etc. All these non-uniformity correction algorithms are deeply explored, and non-uniformity correction simulation experiments are carried. Finally we compare these algorithms with two-point correction algorithm.

A novel H-Space electrode is introduced as an alternative design to the interdigitated electrode of a p-i-n photodetector. H-Space electrode is considered to be capable of increasing both the quantum efficiencies and the responsitivity of the photodectors by means of a bridge structure. In order to analyze the effect of the design, the design was systematically simplified into a single cell by utilizing Matlab. Methods to identify the minuscule effects of a very short light pulse in the lateral PIN photodetector structure were carried out in microscopic proportion and this technique displays the incident light's erratic nature upon entering the photodetector. The Matlab software was used to collect drift current data based on individual drift changes of electrons arriving at the electrodes at a relation time period. An ideal range of 10μm was chosen as the size of the intrinsic region and a set of randomly generated incident photon with Gaussian characteristics were bombarded into the single cell structure. By limiting a low number of incoming photons per unit time with coherent waterfronts, at random locations between p and n electrodes, a set of very precise electron characteristic were obtained for a beam with a Gaussian spread of 5 micron . Data for generated current were analyzed based on individual drift changes of electrons with bulk mobilities arriving at the electrodes in a very short time period. We relate the data obtained from the H space electrode with those obtained from an interdigitated electrode.

InP/InGaAs avalanche photodiodes (APDs) are being widely utilized in optical receivers for modern long haul and high bit-rate optical fiber communication systems. The separate absorption, grading, charge, and multiplication (SAGCM) structure is an important design consideration for APDs with high performance characteristics. Time domain modeling techniques have been previously developed to provide better understanding and optimize design issues by saving time and cost for the APD research and development. In this work, performance dependences on multiplication layer thickness have been investigated by time domain modeling. These performance characteristics include breakdown field and breakdown voltage, multiplication gain, excess noise factor, frequency response and bandwidth etc. The simulations are performed versus various multiplication layer thicknesses with certain fixed values for the areal charge sheet density whereas the values for the other structure and material parameters are kept unchanged. The frequency response is obtained from the impulse response by fast Fourier transformation. The modeling results are presented and discussed, and design considerations, especially for high speed operation at 10 Gbit/s, are further analyzed.

The planar PIN Photodiode (PD) has profound advantages compared to the vertical surface/edge illuminated PIN PD. A two dimensional interdigitated silicon PIN PD with a 58 microns × 80 microns active area and finger width of 2 microns and finger spacing of 10 microns respectively was modeled and simulated in a novel approach using Silvaco ATHENA and ATLAS software. The device was illuminated from the surface and laterally and comparison analysis was performed. At a reverse bias of -10 V, the dark current was 1 ps. Photocurrent of 500 nA was obtained for a 5 Wcm^-2 optical beam power for both the surface and lateral illumination at a -10 V reverse bias. The total quantum efficiency of the laterally illuminated PIN PD at a wavelength of 850 nm was 95% (responsivity=0.65 A/W) and 75% (responsivity=0.52 A/W) for the surface illuminated PIN PD respectively. The -3dB cutoff frequency of the surface illuminated device was at ~10 kHz and for the laterally illuminated PIN PD, the frequency was at ~0.1 MHz. Lateral illumination in an interdigitated Si planar PIN PD produces higher photocurrent contributing to higher quantum efficiency, responsivity and frequency response as compared to surface illumination.

With the increasing demand on miniaturization of optical modules, it is important to measure their image quality for consumer electronic devices, such as video cameras, mobile phones, etc. This is because the effect of diffraction arises from the miniaturized optical modules and as a result, it degrades the resolution of the imaging processes. Modulation transfer function (MTF) has been widely recognized as a useful and important tool for assessing the image quality. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to develop a MTF measurement system for the optical modules, on the basis of digital signal processing. In our approach, a spatial light modulator (SLM) is employed to spatially modulate the light, which is emitted from a white-light LED, with the bar patterns of variable frequencies, the modulated light then goes through the module under test, and it is eventually detected by a charge-couple-device (CCD). Obviously, the mapping from the collection of the modulated light to the output images is treated as a computation kernel of the MTF measurement. The corresponding images formed by the optical module are acquired by a digital signal processor (DSP) based system and they are processed by an algorithm for computing the MTF, which is implemented in the system. Finally, it is found that our experiments give quite satisfactory results.

Properties of n⁺-n-p⁺ structures formed in Hg_1-xCd_xTe single crystals and epitaxial films by ion milling (IM) followed by isothermal and isochronous annealing were investigated. It was demonstrated that the intricateed electrical properties relaxation of these structures and kinetics relations depend on the samples composition and the technology of their preparation. It was demonstrated that the ion milling of Hg_1xCd_xTe layers results in forming a complex n⁺-layer which contains several sub-layers with different electron conductivities. The analysis of the processes of electron relaxation in theses sub-layers under isothermal aging (at room temperature) and (or) isochronous annealing, has allowed the interpretation of the nature of conductivities in them. The analysis of times and activation energies of relaxation process confirms the relaxation of electrical characteristics of these structures is caused by decomposition of donor centers formed by Hg interstitial atoms with I and V impurities. Carried out analysis of the electrical characteristics of MCT layers subjected to IM has shown, that in spite of its simplicity for p-n-junctions manufacturing, the grounded technology of IM application for forming stable p-n-junctions requires further study of its optimization.

We have investigated the device characteristics of quantum dot infrared photo detector (QDIP) utilizing InAs QDs in an In_0.15Ga_0.85As quantum well structure. Device characteristics, such as dark current, photoluminescence (PL), and photocurrent spectra, have been measured. Two peak positions were measured at 163 and 219 meV in photocurrent spectrum. The photo-current of the peak at 163 meV was larger than that at 219 meV. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the peak at 163 meV was 18 meV, which was attributed to bound-to-bound transition. In_0.15Ga_0.85As layers were believed to contribute to induce bound-to-bound transition energy (163 meV). The activation energies of electrons in an InGaAs QDs were determined to be 171 meV and 221 meV from temperature-dependent integrated PL intensities. These activation energies from PL measurement are quite well matched to peak IR detection energies of 163 meV and 219 meV from the photo-current spectrum. This result implies that one can estimate the peak IR detection wavelength of QDIP from PL measurements of QDIP structure before its fabrication and measurement.

In this study, we have studied the thermal treatment effect not only on the optical and structural properties of QDIP structure but also device performance of the QDIP. The thermal treatment of InAs/GaAs QDIP structure have been carried out at the temperature range from 650^oC and 850^oC with SiO₂ capping layer for 1 minute under the N₂-gas ambient. After the thermal treatment, the structure was processed to QDIP and its device characteristics such as dark current and IR photo-response were measured. Results show that the photoluminescence (PL) peak was blue-shifted from 1288nm to 1167nm while the peak of photo-currents spectrum was red-shifted from 7.6 um to 7.8 um after the thermal treatment. It is also noted that the thermally treated sample showed the increase of photo-currents, which resulted in the increase of detectivity.

The InfraRed Imaging Magnetograph (IRIM)^1,2 is a two-dimensional narrow-band solar spectro-polarimeter currently being developed at Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO). It works in the near infrared (NIR) from 1.0 μm to 1.7 μm and possesses high temporal resolution, high spatial resolution, high spectral resolving power, high magnetic sensitivity. As the detector of IRIM, the 1024 × 1024 HgCdTe TCM8600 CMOS camera manufactured by the Rockwell Scientific Company plays a very important role in acquiring the high precision solar spectropolarimetry data. In order to make the best use of it for solar observation, the characteristic evaluation was carried out at BBSO and National Solar Observatory (NSO), Sacramento Peak in October 2003. The paper presents a series of measured performance parameters including linearity, readout noise, gain, full well capacity, hot pixels, dark, flat field, frame rate, vacuum, low temperature control, etc., and shows some solar infrared narrow band imaging observation results.

We present a description of a new 1024×1024 Si:As array designed for ground-based use from 5 - 28 microns. With a maximum well depth of 5e6 electrons, this device brings large-format array technology to bear on ground-based mid-infrared programs, allowing entry to the megapixel realm previously only accessible to the near IR. The multiplexer design features switchable gain, a 256×256 windowing mode for extremely bright sources, and it is two-edge buttable. The device is currently in its final design phase at DRS in Cypress, CA. We anticipate completion of the foundry run in October 2005. This new array will enable wide field, high angular resolution ground-based follow up of targets found by space-based missions such as the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Widefield Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE).

Gravity Probe-B (GP-B) is a space mission that was launched in April 2004 that is intended to measure the prediction by General Relativity Theory that a rotating gravitational field, namely the Earth's, "drags" the space-time continuum by a definite amount. GP-B utilizes a telescope with silicon photodiode detectors. Light from a distant reference frame, namely, a star designated as IM Peg, is used to reference the orbital motion of the spacecraft about the Earth and Sun to within 200 milliarcseconds at a frequency of 10 Hz. Fine angular control of the spacecraft orientation uses the signals from the telescope detectors during the 55 minute portion of the orbit during which the star is visible. The performance of the detectors and the control system's resultant pointing are discussed.