Characterizing the performance of two C-RED ONE cameras for implementation in RISTRETTO and SAXO+ projects

TL;DR

This paper thoroughly characterizes two C-RED One infrared cameras, analyzing their noise, gain, and temporal stability to support their deployment in high-precision astronomical adaptive optics systems.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed comparative analysis and calibration of C-RED One cameras for use in advanced astronomical projects like RISTRETTO and SAXO+.

Findings

Low readout noise achieved at high frame rates

Stable detector parameters over time

Calibration data supports optimal system integration

Abstract

In the near-infrared wavelength regime, atmospheric turbulence fluctuates at a scale of a few milliseconds, and its precise control requires the use of extreme adaptive optics (XAO) systems equipped with fast and sensitive detectors operating at kHz speeds. The C-RED One cameras developed by First Light Imaging (FLI), based on SAPHIRA detectors made of HgCdTe e-APD array sensitive to 0.8-2.5 $\mu$m light, featuring a 320x256 pixels with 24 $\mu$m pitch, offering sub-electron readout noise and the ability to read subarrays, at frame-rates of up to few 10-kHz, are state-of-the-art for XAO wavefront sensing. The Observatory of Geneva purchased two C-RED One cameras identified as necessary for RISTRETTO (a proposed high-contrast high-resolution spectrograph for the VLT) and SAXO+ (an upgrade of the VLT/SPHERE XAO system) projects. We present a comprehensive characterization and comparative analysis of both the cameras. We present test results examining key noise contributors, including readout noise, detector bias, etc. And we also study their temporal variability. Additionally, we assess the conversion gain and the avalanche gain calibration of the detector. We also study the evolution some of these parameters over time.