I.V. Kotov

LSST sensor requirements and characterization of the prototype LSST CCDs

LSST parameters are discussed and requirements on the LSST camera are presented. Characterization methods and results on a number of new devices produced specifically to address LSSTs performance goals, including flatness, QE, full well capacity, linearity, dark current, read noise, CTE, and image persistence are presented. The results indicate that commercially produced, thick n-channel over-depleted CCDs can achieve excellent red response, high CTE, low dark current and satisfy LSST requirements with no evidence of persistent image artifacts. We will also report ongoing studies of mosaic assembly techniques to achieve chip-to-chip co-planarity, high fill factor, and thermal stability.

Study of pixel area variations in fully depleted thick CCD

Future wide field astronomical surveys, like Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), require photometric precision on the percent level. The accuracy of sensor calibration procedures should match these requirements. Pixel size variations found in CCDs from different manufacturers are the source of systematic errors in the flat field calibration procedure. To achieve the calibration accuracy required to meet the most demanding science goals this effect should be taken into account. The study of pixel area variations was performed for fully depleted, thick CCDs produced in a technology study for LSST. These are n-channel, 100μm thick devices. We find pixel size variations in both row and column directions. The size variation magnitude is smaller in the row direction. In addition, diffusion is found to smooth out electron density variations. It is shown that the characteristic diffusion width can be extracted from the flat field data. Results on pixel area variations and diffusion, data features, analysis technique and modeling technique are presented and discussed.

CCD Base Line Subtraction Algorithms

High statistics astronomical surveys require photometric accuracy on a few percent level. The accuracy of sensor calibration procedures should match this goal. The first step in calibration procedures is the base line subtraction. The accuracy and robustness of different base line subtraction techniques used for Charge Coupled Device (CCD) sensors are discussed.

A framework for modeling the detailed optical response of thick, multiple segment, large format sensors for precision astronomy applications

Near-future astronomical survey experiments, such as LSST, possess system requirements of unprecedented fidelity that span photometry, astrometry and shape transfer. Some of these requirements flow directly to the array of science imaging sensors at the focal plane. Availability of high quality characterization data acquired in the course of our sensor development program has given us an opportunity to develop and test a framework for simulation and modeling that is based on a limited set of physical and geometric effects. In this paper we describe those models, provide quantitative comparisons between data and modeled response, and extrapolate the response model to predict imaging array response to astronomical exposure. The emergent picture departs from the notion of a fixed, rectilinear grid that maps photo-conversions to the potential well of the channel. In place of that, we have a situation where structures from device fabrication, local silicon bulk resistivity variations and photo-converted carrier patterns still accumulating at the channel, together influence and distort positions within the photosensitive volume that map to pixel boundaries. Strategies for efficient extraction of modeling parameters from routinely acquired characterization data are described. Methods for high fidelity illumination/image distribution parameter retrieval, in the presence of such distortions, are also discussed.

CHARACTERIZATION OF PROTOTYPE LSST CCDs

We present characterization methods and results on a number of new devices produced specifically to address LSSTs performance goals, including flatness, QE, PSF, dark current, read noise, CTE, cosmetics, and crosstalk. The results indicate that commercially produced, thick n-channel over-depleted CCDs with excellent red response can achieve tight PSF at moderate applied substrate bias with no evidence of persistent image artifacts. We will also report ongoing studies of mosaic assembly techniques to achieve chip-to-chip co-planarity, high fill factor, and thermal stability.

Studies of dynamics of electron clouds in STAR silicon drift detectors

Abstract The dynamics of electrons generated in silicon drift detectors was studied using an IR LED. Electrons were generated at different drift distances. In this way, the evolution of the cloud as a function of drift time was measured. Two methods were used to measure the cloud size. The method of cumulative functions was used to extract the electron cloud profiles. Another method obtains the cloud width from measurements of the charge collected on a single anode as a function of coordinate of the light spot. The evolution of the electron cloud width with drift time is compared with theoretical calculations. Experimental results agreed with theoretical expectations.

Electro-optical testing of fully depleted CCD image sensors for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope camera

The LSST Camera science sensor array will incorporate 189 large format Charge Coupled Device (CCD) image sensors. Each CCD will include over 16 million pixels and will be divided into 16 equally sized segments and each segment will be read through a separate output amplifier. The science goals of the project require CCD sensors with state of the art performance in many aspects. The broad survey wavelength coverage requires fully depleted, 100 micrometer thick, high resistivity, bulk silicon as the imager substrate. Image quality requirements place strict limits on the image degradation that may be caused by sensor effects: optical, electronic, and mechanical. In this paper we discuss the design of the prototype sensors, the hardware and software that has been used to perform electro-optic testing of the sensors, and a selection of the results of the testing to date. The architectural features that lead to internal electrostatic fields, the various effects on charge collection and transport that are caused by them, including charge diffusion and redistribution, effects on delivered PSF, and potential impacts on delivered science data quality are addressed.

PSF and MTF measurement methods for thick CCD sensor characterization

Knowledge of the point spread function (PSF) of the sensors to be used in the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) camera is essential for optimal extraction of subtle galaxy shape distortions caused by gravitational weak lensing. We have developed a number of techniques for measuring the PSF of candidate CCD sensors to be used in the LSST camera, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. The two main optical PSF measurement techniques that we use are the direct Virtual Knife Edge (VKE) scan as developed by Karcher, et al.1 and the indirect interference fringe method after Andersen and Sorensen2 that measures the modulation transfer function (MTF) directly. The PSF is derived from the MTF by Fourier transform. Other non-optical PSF measurement techniques that we employ include 55Fe x-ray cluster image size measurements and statistical distribution analysis, and cosmic ray muon track size measurements, but are not addressed here. The VKE technique utilizes a diffraction-limited spot produced by a Point-Projection Microscope (PPM) that is scanned across the sensor with sub-pixel resolution. This technique closely simulates the actual operating condition of the sensor in the telescope with the source spot size having an f/# close to the actual telescope design value. The interference fringe method uses a simple equal-optical-path Michelson-type interferometer with a single-mode fiber source that produces interference fringes with 100% contrast over a wide spatial frequency range sufficient to measure the MTF of the sensor directly. The merits of each measurement technique and results from the various measurement techniques on prototype LSST sensors are presented and compared.

Behavior of silicon drift detectors in large magnetic fields

A 45/spl times/45 mm rectangular n-type silicon drift detector was studied in magnetic fields ranging from 0 to 4.7 T and for drift fields from 200 to 380 V/cm. Transport properties of electrons in silicon (Hall mobility, drift mobility and magnetoresistance) were determined by pulsing the detector with a Nd:YAG laser at different drift lengths and measuring both the transverse deflections of the signal and the increases in drift time versus applied magnetic field. The width of the signal in both the drift and anode direction increased with magnetic field. The magnetic field was aligned parallel and normal to the the drift direction. The detector was found to operate well for conditions expected in future experiments at the RHIC collider and experiment E896 at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Characterization and acceptance testing of fully depleted thick CCDs for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) camera will be made as a mosaic assembled of 189 large format Charge Coupled Devices (CCD). They are n-channel, 100 micron thick devices operated in the over depleted regime. There are 16 segments, 1 million pixels each, that are read out through separate amplifiers. The image quality and readout speed expected from LSST camera translates into strict acceptance requirements for individual sensors. Prototype sensors and preproduction CCDs were delivered by vendors and they have been used for developing test procedures and protocols. Building upon this experience, two test stands were designed and commissioned at Brookhaven National Laboratory for production electro-optical testing. In this article, the sensor acceptance criteria are outlined and discussed, the test stand design and used equipment are presented and the results from commissioning sensor runs are shown.