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.
We present early results from the performance 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 summarize the initial test results obtained with engineering grade components.
KEYWORDS: James Webb Space Telescope, Sensors, Spectrographs, Staring arrays, Near infrared, Space telescopes, Silicon, Infrared sensors, Infrared telescopes, Cameras
The Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) will be the James Webb Space Telescope's (JWST's) primary near-infrared spectrograph. NIRSpec is a multi-object spectrograph with fixed-slit and integral field modes. EADS/Astrium is building NIRSpec for the European Space Agency (ESA), with NASA is providing the detector subsystem and programmable multi-aperture mask. In this paper, we summarize recent progress on the detector subsystem including tests demonstrating that JWST's Rockwell HAWAII-2RG sensor chip assemblies have achieved Technology Readiness Level 6 (TRL-6). Achieving TRL-6 is an important milestone because TRL-6 is required for flight.
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