This thesis describes advances in the understanding of HgCdTe detectors. While long wave (15 μm) infrared detectors HgCdTe detectors have been developed for military use under high background irradiance, these arrays had not previously been developed for astronomical use where the background irradiance is a billion times smaller. The main pitfall in developing such arrays for astronomy is the pixel dark current which plagues long wave HgCdTe. The author details work on the success of shorter wavelength development at Teledyne Imaging Sensors, carefully modeling the dark current–reverse bias voltage curves of their 10 μm devices at a temperature of 30K, as well as the dark current–temperature curves at several reverse biases, including 250 mV. By projecting first to 13 and then 15 μm HgCdTe growth, values of fundamental properties of the material that would minimize tunneling dark currents were determined through careful modeling of the dark current-reverse bias voltage curves, as well as the dark current-temperature curves. This analysis was borne out in the 13 μm parts produced by Teledyne, and then further honed to produce the necessary parameters for the 15 μm growth. The resulting 13 μm arrays are being considered by a number of ground-based astronomy research groups.

"This thesis discusses the ongoing development of large format 2k x 2k pixel 10 [mu]m cutoff wavelength HgCdTe detector arrays for low background space applications. This collaboration among Teledyne Imaging Sensors (TIS), University of Rochester, and NASA JPL seeks to determine the performance of the latest arrays that were produced by TIS for the NEOCam space mission, and characterize the image quality. Analysis of the dark current mechanisms of one array shows that these detector arrays are limited by thermal diffusion current down to ~ 42 K, have some contribution of thermal G-R current down to 41 K, then limited by a 0.2 e−/s light leak in our dewar. The trap-to-band tunneling current that has been the limiting mechanism for a previous generation of detectors is not significant at the applied reverse bias required by NEOCam. In order to demonstrate the ability of these detectors to operate in a space-like environment, proton testing was conducted at the University of California Davis Crocker Nuclear Laboratory. During proton irradiation, the 1k x 1k detector array whose substrate thickness is now the baseline had no measurable substrate luminescence, and the pixels that were hit by a proton recovered after reset. The total operability decreased by a few percent after a cumulative lifetime dose of irradiation, but was still above the NEOCam requirement of >90%. We also assessed the temperature stability and found that the noise measured while the temperature is fluctuating ł50 mK was the same as measured at a constant temperature. Finally in order to assess the probable image quality, we measured the MTF and the effect of residual images"--Pages viii-ix.

Proceedings of SPIE present the original research papers presented at SPIE conferences and other high-quality conferences in the broad-ranging fields of optics and photonics. These books provide prompt access to the latest innovations in research and technology in their respective fields. Proceedings of SPIE are among the most cited references in patent literature.