TY - GEN
T1 - The Michigan Infrared Test Thermal ELT N-band (MITTEN) cryostat
AU - Bowens, R.
AU - Viges, E.
AU - Meyer, M. R.
AU - Atkinson, D.
AU - Monnier, J.
AU - Morgenstern, M.
AU - Leisenring, J.
AU - Hoffmann, W.
N1 - Funding Information:
This project was made possible through the support of a grant from the Templeton World Charity Foundation, Inc. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Templeton World Charity Foundation, Inc. We are also thankful for support from the University of Michigan that enabled the founding of the Infrared Imaging and Spectroscopy (IRIS) Lab in the Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems (FEPS) research group. We are also grateful for the collaboration of our colleagues at Universal Cryogenics, the University of Michigan Department of Physics, in particular Paul Thurmond and his team in Randall Laboratory, the Space Physics Research Lab, and the Plasmadynamic and Electric Propulsion Lab, as well as at Steward Observatory, The University of Arizona including Manny Montoya and Dennis Hart. Finally, we acknowledge encouragement and support from Teledyne Imaging Sensors, in particular Vincent Douence, John Auyeung, and Jim Beletic.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 SPIE
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - We introduce the Michigan Infrared Test Thermal ELT N-band (MITTEN) Cryostat, a new facility for testing infrared detectors with a focus on mid-infrared (MIR) wavelengths (8-13 microns). New generations of large format, deep well, fast readout MIR detectors are now becoming available to the astronomical community. As one example, Teledyne Imaging Sensors (TIS) has introduced a long-wave Mercury-Cadmium-Telluride (MCT) array, GeoSnap, with high quantum efficiency (> 65 %) and improved noise properties compared to previous generation Si:As blocked impurity band (BIB) detectors. GeoSnap promises improved sensitivities, and efficiencies, for future background-limited MIR instruments, in particular with future extremely large telescopes (ELTs). We describe our new test facility suitable for measuring characteristics of these detectors, such as read noise, dark current, linearity, gain, pixel operability, quantum efficiency, and point source imaging performance relative to a background scene, as well as multiple point sources of differing contrast. MITTEN has an internal light source, and soon an accompanying filter wheel and aperture plate, re-imaged onto the detector using an Offner relay. The baseline temperature of the cryostat interior is maintained < 40 K and the optical bench maintains a temperature of 16 K using a two-stage pulse-tube cryocooler package from Cryomech. No measurable background radiation from the cryostat interior has yet been detected.
AB - We introduce the Michigan Infrared Test Thermal ELT N-band (MITTEN) Cryostat, a new facility for testing infrared detectors with a focus on mid-infrared (MIR) wavelengths (8-13 microns). New generations of large format, deep well, fast readout MIR detectors are now becoming available to the astronomical community. As one example, Teledyne Imaging Sensors (TIS) has introduced a long-wave Mercury-Cadmium-Telluride (MCT) array, GeoSnap, with high quantum efficiency (> 65 %) and improved noise properties compared to previous generation Si:As blocked impurity band (BIB) detectors. GeoSnap promises improved sensitivities, and efficiencies, for future background-limited MIR instruments, in particular with future extremely large telescopes (ELTs). We describe our new test facility suitable for measuring characteristics of these detectors, such as read noise, dark current, linearity, gain, pixel operability, quantum efficiency, and point source imaging performance relative to a background scene, as well as multiple point sources of differing contrast. MITTEN has an internal light source, and soon an accompanying filter wheel and aperture plate, re-imaged onto the detector using an Offner relay. The baseline temperature of the cryostat interior is maintained < 40 K and the optical bench maintains a temperature of 16 K using a two-stage pulse-tube cryocooler package from Cryomech. No measurable background radiation from the cryostat interior has yet been detected.
KW - Cryostat design
KW - Infrared detectors
KW - Mid-infrared instrumentation
KW - Test facilities
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U2 - 10.1117/12.2562995
DO - 10.1117/12.2562995
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85107503276
T3 - Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
BT - Ground-Based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VIII
A2 - Evans, Christopher J.
A2 - Bryant, Julia J.
A2 - Motohara, Kentaro
PB - SPIE
T2 - Ground-Based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy VIII 2020
Y2 - 14 December 2020 through 22 December 2020
ER -