The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) incorporates two 5 μm cutoff
(λco =5 μm) 2048×2048 pixel Teledyne HgCdTe HAWAII-2RG sensor chip assemblies. These detector arrays,
and the two Teledyne SIDECAR application specific integrated circuits that control them, are operated in space
at Τ ~ 37 K. This article focuses on the measured performance of the first flight-candidate, and near-flight
candidate, detector arrays. These are the first flight-packaged detector arrays that meet NIRSpec's challenging
6 e- rms total noise requirement. The current version of this paper has had a correction made to it at the request of the author. Please see the linked Errata for further details.
Teledyne Imaging Sensors develops and produces high performance infrared sensors, electronics and packaging for
astronomy and civil space. These IR sensors are hybrid CMOS arrays, with HgCdTe used for light detection and a
silicon integrated circuit for signal readout. Teledyne manufactures IR sensors in a variety of sizes and formats.
Currently, the most advanced sensors are based on the Hawaii-2RG (H2RG), 2K×2K array with 18 μm pixel pitch. The
HgCdTe detector achieves very low dark current (<0.01 e-/pixel/sec) and high quantum efficiency (80-90%) over a wide
bandpass. Substrate-removed HgCdTe can simultaneously detect visible and infrared light, enabling spectrographs to
use a single focal plane array (FPA) for Visible-IR sensitivity. The SIDECARTM ASIC provides focal plane electronics
on a chip, operating in cryogenic environments with very low power (<11 mW). The H2RG and SIDECARTM have been
qualified to NASA Technology Readiness Level 6 (TRL-6). Teledyne continues to advance the state-of-the-art and is
producing a high speed, low noise array designed for IR wavefront sensing. Teledyne is also developing a 4K×4K, 15
µm pixel infrared array that will be a cost effective module for the large focal planes of the Extremely Large Telescopes
and future generation space astronomy missions.
We present interim results from the characterization test development for the Detector Subsystem of the Near-Infrared
Spectrograph (NIRSpec). NIRSpec will be the primary near-infrared spectrograph on the James Webb Space Telescope
(JWST). The Detector Subsystem consists of a Focal Plane Assembly containing two Teledyne HAWAII-2RG arrays,
two Teledyne SIDECAR cryogenic application specific integrated circuits, and a warm Focal Plane Electronics box. The
Detector Characterization Laboratory at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center will perform the Detector Subsystem
characterization tests. In this paper, we update the initial test results obtained with engineering grade components.
John Jackson, Ben Armentrout, J. Buck, Amos Chenoweth, G. Elliott, Allen Fox, Jeff Ganley, W. Gray, L. Jett, Kevin Johnson, J. Kelsey, R. Minelli, Garry Rose, W. Shepherd, Joseph Zino
A high quality Multiple Diode Laser (MDL) has been built that combines 16 Spectra Diode Lab's laser diodes into a single beam using both wavelength and polarization combining. The MDL was designed and built to space flight requirements. Critical submicrometer tolerances to achieve wavelength stability, beam collimation, and beam coalignment and stability were met using developed repeatable processes. The most stressing optomechanical requirement was the placement and cementing of an external etalon very accurately positioned 36.3 +/- 0.05 micron from the diode to control the wavelength of the diode output. The second most stressing optomechanical requirement was maintaining the source decenter from the optical axis of the collimating lens to +/- 0.09 micron to insure coalignment of the 16 diode beams. The design and process techniques used to achieve these most critical optomechauical tolerances will be described as well as MDL performance achieved through environmental testing.
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