Earth Systems Science Jeff Puschell Jan van Aardt Craig McMurtry John Border Stephanie Sublett

3 IT Collaboratory 2009 Research Symposium The Top Five Science Drivers for Detectors: Earth System Science 1.What is causing change in Earth’s climate? 2.What is required to make the 10-day weather forecast as good as the 1-day forecast today? 3.How is carbon content changing? What are the fine spatial scale processes that drive this change? How does that affect the global Earth system? 4.Air pollution 5.Water 6.How does the Sun affect the upper atmosphere? How are changes in Earth’s magnetic field related to atmospheric chemistry and other environmental change? 7.What is required to forecast earthquakes and other seismic-driven natural disasters? 3

4 IT Collaboratory 2009 Research Symposium The Top Detector Characteristics for: Earth Systems Science 1.Broad wavelength sensitivity: extend routine imaging detector operation farther out into the infrared (300 microns) and into the ultraviolet 2.Ability to calibrate signal very accurately which requires detector response repeatability over a range of time scales (0.001 Hz – 1000 Hz), minimal optical and electrical crosstalk, minimum latent or residual signal 3.Large format (>10K x 10K) 4.Low dark current and read noise for high spectral resolution applications, especially 5.In-pixel wavelength measurement 6.Lower power, higher temperature operation 7.Lower cost manufacturing and operation to reduce cost for developing imagers and remote sensors onboard constellations of satellites, UAVs and other platforms 8.High dynamic range: 1 - 1E8 photons per integration time 9.High speed capabilities with low noise 4

5 IT Collaboratory 2009 Research Symposium Detector Performance Requirements for: Earth Systems Science 5 ParameterCurrentGoal Format2k x 2k>10k x 10k Monolithic Focal Plane Array Sizecentimeters>10s of centimeters Detector Element Size<2 µm – 100s µm Dark Current/Readout NoiseFew electrons or less in a second of dwell Few electrons per dwell period for high spectral resolution applications QE0.25 – >0.95Approaching 1 Latent ImageUsually smallBelow noise Photon flux rate capacityUp to 10M electron capacity >100M electrons per dwell period with fast readout and capability for accurate calibration Operating Temperature58 K up to ambient10 K to ambient temperature Radiation Immunity100 Krad total dose Susceptibility to Radiation TransientsSensitivity degradation at some wavelengths No change in sensitivity, no unmitigatable SEUs

6 IT Collaboratory 2009 Research Symposium The Most Promising Detector Technologies for: Earth Systems Science 1.PV HgCdTe 2.Digital focal planes – even in the cryogenic infrared 3.Si:As 4.Ge:Ga 5.Raytheon’s secret technology 6.??? 6

7 IT Collaboratory 2009 Research Symposium Hurdles for the Most Promising Detector Technologies for: Earth Systems Science 1.PV HgCdTe: substrate sizes, ROIC readout rates, linearity, defects resulting in non- uniformity, MBE machine size 2.Digital focal planes – even in the cryogenic infrared: format size, power, heat glow 3.Si:As: cooling 4.Ge:Ga: 2-d mass producibility 5.Raytheon’s secret technology: in process 6.??? 7

8 IT Collaboratory 2009 Research Symposium Detector R&D Roadmap for: Earth Systems Science 1.PV HgCdTe: highly uniform 10k x 10k by Digital focal planes – even in the cryogenic infrared: highly uniform 10k x 10k with high rate capacity by Si:As: stay tuned… 4.Ge:Ga: reproducible arrays by Raytheon’s secret technology: stay tuned 6.??? 8

9 IT Collaboratory 2009 Research Symposium Funding Possibilities: Earth Systems Science 1.NASA ROSES 2.NASA Venture class missions 3.NSF instrument programs 4.DARPA MTO BAA 5.Other USG agencies 6.Department of Energy technology programs 7.NOAA research to operations programs 8.International research programs 9