New Imaging Detectors Could Take Snapshots from Deep Space =

RIT-UR team to develop radiation-hardy detectors

Snapshots from space may someday confirm the presence of lakes and = oceans on=20 Europa=97one of Jupiter=92s moons=97and on other planetary bodies. = Imaging detectors=20 that capture information from every wavelength in the electromagnetic = spectrum=20 could detect the presence of liquid methane or hydrocarbons, the stew = that just=20 might sustain microbial life forms.

An imaging detector under development by a team of scientists from = Rochester=20 Institute of Technology and University of Rochester promises to = revolutionize=20 future NASA planetary missions with technology that could withstand the = harsh=20 radiation environments in space. The team won $592,000 from the NASA = Planetary=20 Instrument Definition and Development Program to design, build and test = a=20 detector that should be resilient against radiation damage. The = lightweight=20 device will be smaller and consume less power than technology currently = in use.=20 The novel readout circuitry design will give the device a radiation = tolerance=20 not possible in standard optical detectors.

=93All these benefits will lead to lower mission costs and greater = scientific=20 productivity,=94 says Donald Figer, director of the Rochester Imaging = Detector=20 Laboratory at RIT and lead scientist on the project. =93But, ultimately, = radiation=20 immunity is the focus.=94

Figer=92s team includes Zeljko Ignjatovic from UR, Zoran Ninkov from = RIT,=20 Melissa McGrath from NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, and Shouleh = Nikzad from=20 NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

=93Our detector captures images directly in the digital domain at the = pixel=20 level rendering subsequent signal transmission less susceptible to = cosmic=20 radiation environment,=94 says Ignjatovic, assistant professor of = electrical and=20 computer engineering.

The new detector is based on a technology created by Ignjatovic and = his=20 colleagues at UR in which each pixel reads and converts its signal from = analog=20 to digital immediately upon capture. Standard optical detectors lack = this=20 capability. Instead, signals must travel along a line of sensors to = reach a=20 readout circuit. This wastes energy and leaves the signal vulnerable to=20 radiation damage that degrades the circuit over time.

=93Radiation tolerant detectors are a critical need for NASA in the = continued=20 exploration of the solar system,=94 says McGrath, chief scientist in the = Science=20 and Mission Systems Office at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

=93In space astronomy and planetary missions, detectors are = frequently the=20 critical pacing item,=94 adds Stefi Baum, director of the Chester F. = Carlson=20 Center for Imaging Science at RIT. =93By developing detectors with = greatly reduced=20 noise properties and greatly enhanced tolerance to radiation = damage=97the chief=20 lifetime limiter of detectors in space=97the collaboration should = dramatically=20 improve the reach in sensitivity and lifetime of the missions to explore = and=20 understand the nature of the planets with which we share our solar = system.=94

Testing the overall system will determine how the sensors hold up in=20 cryogenic environments where the detector is cooled to very low = temperatures,=20 imitating conditions in space. The device will be tested at RIT in the = Rochester=20 Imaging Detector Laboratory, a new facility established to develop = detector=20 technologies for next-generation ground-based and space telescopes.

The new imaging detector under development will boast a dynamic range = and=20 greater short wavelength sensitivity. Figer believes the detector could = become a=20 key technology for future planetary missions in the most severe = radiation=20 environments. The detector technology could figure heavily in missions = under=20 consideration for NASA=92s Discovery, Mars Exploration and New Frontiers = programs.

The detector might someday be used to capture hyperspectral imaging = from a=20 platform orbiting the outer planets or their satellites. Cameras looking = down on=20 Europa could take a picture of every wavelength at every pixel.

=93We could use that information to figure out if there are lakes of = water on=20 Europa or hydrocarbons on Titan,=94 Figer says. =93We can figure out the = composition=20 of a surface without having to land on it, which we might want to do 10 = years=20 later. Then we would know where to land.=94

NOTE: Donald Figer was recruited by Rochester Institute of=20 Technology=92s Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science through a = faculty=20 development program grant awarded by the New York State Foundation for = Science,=20 Technology and Innovation. The grant provides interim state assistance = to help=20 attract distinguished faculty throughout the world to New York=92s = academic=20 research centers, and to retain leading researchers already in New York=20 Institutions of Higher Education.

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University = News

New Imaging Detectors Could Take Snapshots from Deep Space =

RIT-UR team to develop radiation-hardy detectors