Innovative SiC ultraviolet instrumentation development with potential applications for the Habitable Worlds Observatory
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: We detail recent and current work that is being carried out to fabricate and advance novel SiC UV instrumentation that is aimed at enabling more sensitive measurements across numerous disciplines, with a short discussion of the promise such detectors may hold for the Habitable Worlds Observatory. We discuss SiC instrument development progress that is being carried out under multiple NASA grants, including several PICASSO and SBIR grants, as well as an ECI grant. Testing of pixel design, properties, and layout as well as maturation of the integration scheme developed through these efforts provides key technology and engineering advancement for potential HWO detectors. Achieving desired noise characteristics, responsivity, and validating the operation of SiC detectors using standard readout techniques offers a compelling platform for the operation of denser and higher dimensionality SiC photodiode arrays of interest for use in potential HWO coronagraph, spectrograph, and high-resolution imaging instruments. We incorporate these SiC detector properties into a simulation of potential NUV exoplanet observations by HWO and also discuss potential applications to HWO.
Authors: Prabal Saxena, Zeynep Dilli, Peter Snapp, Tilak Hewagama, Shahid Aslam, Chullhee Cho, Augustyn Waczynski, Nader Abuhassan, Anh T. La, Bryan K. Place, Allison Youngblood, Thomas F. Hanisco, Ryan Stauffer, Dina Bower, Akin Akturk, Neil Goldsman, Bryce Galey, Ethan Mountfort, Mitchell Gross, Ryan Purcell, Usama Khalid, Yekta Kamali, Chris Darmody, Robert Washington, Tim Livengood, Daniel P. Moriarty, Roser Juanola-Parramon, Carl A. Kotecki, Narasimha S. Prasad, Joseph Wilkins
Language: English
Subfield: Instrumentation
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4414462574
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