Characterization of InGaAs Linear Array

An Indium Gallium Arsenide linear photodiode array in the 1.1-2.5 μm spectral range was characterized. The array has 1024X1 pixels with a 25 μm pitch and was manufactured by Sensors Unlimited, Inc. Characterization and analysis of the electrical and optical properties of a camera system were carried out at room temperature to obtain detector performance parameters. The signal and noise were measured while the array was uniformly illuminated at varying exposure levels. A photon transfer curve was generated by plotting noise as a function of average signal to obtain the camera gain constant. The spectral responsivity was also measured, and the quantum efficiency, read noise and full-well capacity were determined. This paper describes the characterization procedure, analyzes the experimental results, and discusses the applications of the InGaAs linear array to future earth and planetary remote sensing mission.