A calibration bench for electro-optical characterization of CCD sensors

• Published in: Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment Vol. 326; no. 1; pp. 150 - 153
• Main Authors: Stalio, R., Bucconi, A., Trampus, P., Visintini, F., De Carlo, F., Antonini, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.03.1993
• ISSN: 0168-9002; 1872-9576
• DOI: 10.1016/0168-9002(93)90345-I

The CARSO laboratory has recently built a calibration bench for electro-optical qualification of CCD sensors. For the CCD characterization the following measurements are operative: linearity, quantum efficiency, charge transfer efficiency, photon-transfer curve, dark charge and pixel-to-pixel sensitivity nonuniformity. The optical system is essentially made of two different optical paths: the first produces a spot of a few microns diameter, the second gives a uniform beam. For a 98% uniformity illumination, an integrating sphere is also available. There is a choice of two lamps, tungsten and xenon, to illuminate the optical path. The CCD sensor is positioned on a three axis assembly which can be displaced with a resolution of 1 μm on three degrees of freedom. It is set into a thermo-cryostatic vacuum chamber that can maintain the temperature between −140 and +80°C with a stability better than 0.1°C. The bench permits a quasi-automatic control of the various components and interfaces different types of CCDs of different sizes (up to 2048×2048 pixels). Some results of characterization measurements of a Thomson TH7863 CCD are presented.