Detector performance for the FIREBall-2 UV experiment

April D. Jewell; Erika T. Hamden; Hwei Ru Ong; John Hennessy; Timothy Goodsall; Charles Shapiro; Samuel Cheng; Todd Jones; Alexander Carver; Michael Hoenk; David Schiminovich; Christopher Martin; Shouleh Nikzad

doi:10.1117/12.2190167

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24 August 2015 Detector performance for the FIREBall-2 UV experiment

April D. Jewell, Erika T. Hamden, Hwei Ru Ong, John Hennessy, Timothy Goodsall, Charles Shapiro, Samuel Cheng, Todd Jones, Alexander Carver, Michael Hoenk, David Schiminovich, Christopher Martin, Shouleh Nikzad

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Proceedings Volume 9601, UV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XIX; 96010N (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2190167
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2015, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

We present an overview of the detector for the upcoming Faint Intergalactic Red-shifted Emission Balloon (FIREBall-2) experiment, with a particular focus on the development of device-integrated optical coatings and detector quantum efficiency (QE). FIREBall-2 is designed to measure emission from the strong resonance lines of HI, OVI, and CIV, all red-shifted to 195-225 nm window; its detector is a delta-doped electron multiplying charge coupled device (EM-CCD). Delta-doped arrays, invented at JPL, achieve 100% internal QE from the UV through the visible. External losses due to reflection (~70% in some UV regions) can be mitigated with antireflection coatings (ARCs). Using atomic layer deposition (ALD), thin-film optical filters are incorporated with existing detector technologies. ALD offers nanometer-scale control over film thickness and interface quality, allowing for precision growth of multilayer films. Several AR coatings, including single and multi-layer designs, were tested for FIREBall-2. QE measurements match modeled transmittance behavior remarkably well, showing improved performance in the target wavelength range. Also under development are ALD coatings to enhance QE for a variety of spectral regions throughout the UV (90-320 nm) and visible (320-1000 nm) range both for space-based imaging and spectroscopy as well as for ground-based telescopes.

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April D. Jewell, Erika T. Hamden, Hwei Ru Ong, John Hennessy, Timothy Goodsall, Charles Shapiro, Samuel Cheng, Todd Jones, Alexander Carver, Michael Hoenk, David Schiminovich, Christopher Martin, and Shouleh Nikzad "Detector performance for the FIREBall-2 UV experiment", Proc. SPIE 9601, UV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XIX, 96010N (24 August 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2190167

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