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D.F. Figer, B.J. Rauscher, M.W. Regan, J. Balleza (STScI), R. Barkhouser (JHU), L. Bergeron, G.R. Greene (STScI), S.R. McCandliss (JHU), E. Morse (STScI), T. Reeves (JHU), H.S. Stockman (STScI)
The Independent Detector Testing Laboratory (IDTL) is jointly operated by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) and the Johns Hopkins University (JHU), and is assisting the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) mission in choosing and operating the best near-infrared detectors. The JWST is the centerpiece of the NASA Office of Space Science theme, the Astronomical Search for Origins, and the highest priority astronomy project for the next decade, according to the National Academy of Science. JWST will need to have the sensitivity to see the first light in the Universe to determine how galaxies formed in the web of dark matter that existed when the Universe was in its infancy (z~10-20). To achieve this goal, the JWST Project must pursue an aggressive technology program and advance infrared detectors to performance levels beyond what is now possible. As part of this program, NASA has selected the IDTL to verify comparative performance between prototype JWST detectors developed by Rockwell Scientific (HgCdTe) and Raytheon (InSb). The IDTL is charged with obtaining an independent assessment of the ability of these two competing technologies to achieve the demanding specifications of the JWST program within the 0.6-5~\mum bandpass and in an ultra-low background (<0.01 e-/s/pixel) environment. We describe the JWST Detector Characterization Project that is being performed in the IDTL. In this project, we will measure first-order detector parameters, i.e. dark current, read noise, QE, intra-pixel sensitivity, linearity, as functions of temperature, well size, and operational mode.
If you would like more information about this abstract, please follow the link to http://idtl.stsci.edu/. This link was provided by the author. When you follow it, you will leave the Web site for this meeting; to return, you should use the Back comand on your browser.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: figer@stsci.edu
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 34, #4
© 2002. The American Astronomical Soceity.