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T. M. C. Abbott
European Southern Observatory, Casilla 19001, Santiago 19, Chile
R. H. Warmels
European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Straß e 2,
D 85748, Germany
At the time of writing we at ESO, La Silla offer 12 CCDs for use by
visiting astronomers. These CCDs range in quality from a
venerable RCA with read noise of 32 electrons per pixel to the most
recent, a thinned Tektronix 2048 pixel device. Supporting all of
these CCDs poses some unusual problems. ESO serves a very broad
community, and the astronomers who use our CCDs range in ability from
those who are quite new to the field to those with many years of
experience in the use of modern, state-of-the-art detectors. We must
be aware at all times of the current status of our CCDs so that even
the most exacting visiting astronomers can be satisfied that their
data is of uniformly high quality and that they are completely informed of
any problems or limitations. Likewise, we must work to protect the
less experienced astronomers by convincing ourselves that our CCDs are
providing data of sufficient quality to ensure the success of a broad
spectrum of observing programs. It is, therefore, not sufficient that
we trust our CCDs to remain in the state determined when they are
commissioned, nor that we depend on visiting astronomers to identify
problems as they arise. Instead, we must make a concerted effort to
regularly investigate the quality of the data delivered, whether or
not any problems are known. To that end, we have instigated a
systematic program of standard CCD tests at ESO, La Silla.
We currently test one CCD each week, and thus each CCD is tested every 3 months. These tests are not intended to be as thorough as might be performed in a specialized CCD lab; instead, they should expose as many problems as possible with minimal technical intervention and under the simple setups available with the CCD on the telescope. We can then investigate any problems that we identify with more sophisticated methods, or, if we judge the CCD to be functioning satisfactorily, the test results provide a baseline of its performance.
For each test, we collect the following data:
(1) nine bias frames, (2) sixteen pairs of flat fields (both of each pair have the same integration time) using a stable light source and with exposure levels ranging from just above bias to digital saturation, (3) nine low-count-level (of order a few hundred electrons per pixel) flat-fields with stable light source, (4) one flat-field exposure obtained with 64 rapid shutter cycles, (5) three 30-minute dark images, and (6) the time taken to read out and display an image. All images include bias overscan regions in both dimensions, cover the entire light-sensitive, unbinned area of the CCD and are collected under the same circumstances as normal observing.
The light source used to obtain the flat fields may be either an
LED or a beta light. Beta lights consist of a fluorescent
screen stimulated by decay from a small bulb of tritium.
Since these present a possible radiation hazard and are prone to
variation with temperature (
per
C (Florentin,
private communication))
we are in the process of replacing them with compact light sources consisting
of a battery-powered LED regulated by feedback from a photo-diode.
Like the beta lights, these are small enough to fit within a normal
filter wheel in most La Silla instruments and exhibit a
flux/temperature dependence of
per
C (we expect
to improve on this in future versions).
The information we expect to obtain from each test data set is as follows:
Figure: a (left): Sample transfer curve (TK#36). The abscissa is
the mean counts per pixel in a 200 pixel region centered
on the CCD. The ordinate is the variance of the same region
in the image that results from the difference of two images
of the same mean counts.
b (right): Sample linearity curves expressed as count
rate versus mean counts in an image using the same light
source throughout (TK#36). The straight lines are linear fit
to the data. The exposure times have been corrected for a
shutter delay of 1.4 seconds.
Original PostScript figures
(14 kB),
(38 kB)
Figure: a (left): Sample dark current map (TK#36). Contours are
labeled in electrons/pixel/hour.
b (right): Sample shutter delay map (TK#25). The contours
are at 0.016 seconds and 0.024 seconds. Note the hexagonal shape
caused by the iris shutter.
Original PostScript figures
45 kB,
128 kB
The test program has been integrated in the CCD reduction package of the Munich Data Analysis System (ESO-MIDAS) (ESO 1993), and will be available in the 94NOV release. Therefore, in addition to the already available pipe-line and interactive processing tools for CCD direct imaging data, the CCD package will also offer standard tools for testing the detector quality at ESO and at other institutes.
We issue a full report on the condition of a CCD each time a new CCD test data set is collected and reduced. We are in the process of developing an on-line test data archive to store the raw and reduced test data (ESO 1994) and a World Wide Web interface for browsing these data. These software systems are accessible via the Internet at the ESO Home Page. We use the data obtained for normally functioning CCDs to define baselines for their performances. Trends in these data expose possible slowly developing problems and thus allow realistic preventive maintenance, reducing the probability of catastrophic failures. The most recent test data set combined with the history of a CCD's behavior provides the astronomer with an indication of the current performance and reliability of the device.
S. Deiries of ESO, Garching designed and built the stable LED light source. We are grateful to the ESO, La Silla Astronomy Department and CCD group for their cooperation in collecting the test data necessary for the success of this project.
ESO 1993, Document MID-MAN-ESO-11000-0002/0003/0004, ESO-MIDAS User Manual, Volumes A, B, and C (Garching, ESO)
ESO 1994, Document OSDH-SPEC-ESO-00000-0002/2.0, EMMI/SUSI Calibration Plan for an On-Line Calibration Database (Garching, ESO)