Design and Performance Analysis of the Highly Sensitive Deep Vacuum Cooling sCMOS Imaging System for Highly Sensitive Detection of Space Targets

The sCMOS imaging system with deep vacuum cooling technology has become a necessary way to improve the detection capability of space targets. In order to improve the detection capability of the photoelectric detection equipment for space targets, this paper developed the Highly Sensitive Deep Vacuum...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Changzheng Lu, Changhua Liu, Meng Shao, Zhiyong Wu, Chun Jiang, Jingtai Cao, Tao Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-07-01
Series:Photonics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6732/10/7/819
Description
Summary:The sCMOS imaging system with deep vacuum cooling technology has become a necessary way to improve the detection capability of space targets. In order to improve the detection capability of the photoelectric detection equipment for space targets, this paper developed the Highly Sensitive Deep Vacuum Cooling Imaging System (HSDVCIS). Firstly, we designed the imaging readout processing circuit using the GSENSE4040 sCMOS image sensor designed and manufactured by Gpixel and the deep vacuum cooling structure using thermoelectric cooling. Then, we tested the designed HSDVCIS with readout noise, dark current, and dynamic range of 3.96 <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msup><mi>e</mi><mo>−</mo></msup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>, 0.12 <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msup><mi>e</mi><mo>−</mo></msup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>/pixel/sec, and 84.49 dB, respectively, and tested the image sensor with a minimum cooling temperature of −40 °C. Finally, according to the results of observation experiments, we validated that the photoelectric detection equipment equipped with HSDVCIS improved the limiting detection magnitude (at SNR = 5 level) from 13.22 to 13.51 magnitudes within a 3 s exposure time by turning on the cooling function. Therefore, HSDVCIS designed in this paper can achieve highly sensitive detection of space targets. At the same time, the development of HSDVCIS also provides technical reserves and strong support for future research on the imaging systems using multiple image sensor mosaics.
ISSN:2304-6732