The current standard model of cosmology successfully describes a variety of measurements, but the nature of its main ingredients, dark matter and dark energy, remains unknown. Euclid is a medium-class mission in the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 programme of the European Space Agency (ESA) that will provide high-resolution optical imaging, as well as near-infrared imaging and spectroscopy, over about 14,000 deg^2 of extragalactic sky. In addition to accurate weak lensing and clustering measurements that probe structure formation over half of the age of the Universe, its primary probes for cosmology, these exquisite data will enable a wide range of science. This paper provides a high-level overview of the mission, summarising the survey characteristics, the various data-processing steps, and data products. We also highlight the main science objectives and expected performance.

This paper presents the specification, design, and development of the Visible Camera (VIS) on the ESA Euclid mission. VIS is a large optical-band imager with a field of view of 0.54 deg^2 sampled at 0.1" with an array of 609 Megapixels and spatial resolution of 0.18". It will be used to survey approximately 14,000 deg^2 of extragalactic sky to measure the distortion of galaxies in the redshift range z=0.1-1.5 resulting from weak gravitational lensing, one of the two principal cosmology probes of Euclid. With photometric redshifts, the distribution of dark matter can be mapped in three dimensions, and, from how this has changed with look-back time, the nature of dark energy and theories of gravity can be constrained. The entire VIS focal plane will be transmitted to provide the largest images of the Universe from space to date, reaching m_AB>24.5 with S/N >10 in a single broad I_E~(r+i+z) band over a six year survey. The particularly challenging aspects of the instrument are the control and calibration of observational biases, which lead to stringent performance requirements and calibration regimes. With its combination of spatial resolution, calibration knowledge, depth, and area covering most of the extra-Galactic sky, VIS will also provide a legacy data set for many other fields. This paper discusses the rationale behind the VIS concept and describes the instrument design and development before reporting the pre-launch performance derived from ground calibrations and brief results from the in-orbit commissioning. VIS should reach fainter than m_AB=25 with S/N>10 for galaxies of full-width half-maximum of 0.3" in a 1.3" diameter aperture over the Wide Survey, and m_AB>26.4 for a Deep Survey that will cover more than 50 deg^2. The paper also describes how VIS works with the other Euclid components of survey, telescope, and science data processing to extract the cosmological information.

Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is imaging the Sun in many wavelengths near simultaneously and with a resolution ten times higher than the average high-definition television. In this paper we describe our innovative systems approach to the design of the CCD cameras for two of SDO’s remote sensing instruments, the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI). Both instruments share use of a custom-designed 16 million pixel science-grade CCD and common camera readout electronics. A prime requirement was for the CCD to operate with significantly lower drive voltages than before, motivated by our wish to simplify the design of the camera readout electronics. Here, the challenge lies in the design of circuitry to drive the CCD's highly capacitive electrodes and to digitize its analogue video output signal with low noise and to high precision. The challenge is greatly exacerbated when forced to work with only fully space-qualified, radiation-tolerant components. We describe our systems approach to the design of the AIA and HMI CCD and camera electronics, and the engineering solutions that enabled us to comply with both mission and instrument science requirements.

As part of a strategy to provide increasingly complex systems to customers, e2v is currently developing the sensor solution for focal plane array for the WSO-UV (World Space Observatory Ultraviolet) programme, a Russian led 170 cm space astronomical telescope. This is a fully integrated sensor system for the detection of UV light across 3 channels: 2 high resolution spectrometers covering wavelengths of 115 - 176 nm and 174 - 310 nm and a Long-Slit Spectrometer covering 115 nm 310 nm. This paper will describe the systematic approach and technical solution that has been developed based on e2v's long heritage, CCD experience and expertise. It will show how this approach is consistent with the key performance requirements and the overall environment requirements that the delivered system will experience through ground test, integration, storage and flight.

This paper describes the mapping of spectral response of an e2v technologies Swept Charge Device (SCD) CCD236 pre and post irradiation with a 10MeV equivalent proton fluence of 5.0 x 10(8) protons.cm(-2). The CCD236 is a large area (4.4 cm(2)) X-ray detector which will be used in India's Chandrayaan-2 Large Soft X-ray Spectrometer (CLASS) and China's Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT).To enable the suppression of surface dark current, clocking is performed continuously resulting in a linear readout. As such the flat field illumination used to measure any change in spectral response over a conventional Charge-Coupled Devices (CCDs) is not possible. An alternative masking technique has been used to expose pinpoint regions of the device to Mn-K-alpha and Mn-K-beta Xrays, enabling a local map of spectral response to be built up over the device. This novel approach allows for an estimation of the Charge Transfer Inefficiency (CTI) of the device to be made by allowing the creation of a CTI scatter plot similar to that typically observed in conventional CCDs.

A number of studies have demonstrated that a room temperature proton irradiation may not be sufficient to provide an accurate estimation of the impact of the space radiation environment on detector performance. This is a result of the relationship between defect mobility and temperature, causing the performance to vary subject to the temperature history of the device from the point at which it was irradiated. Results measured using Charge Coupled Devices (CCD) irradiated at room temperature therefore tend to differ from those taken when the device was irradiated at a cryogenic temperature, more appropriate considering the operating conditions in space, impacting the prediction of in-flight performance. This paper describes the cryogenic irradiation, and subsequent annealing of an e2v technologies Swept Charge Device (SCD) CCD236 irradiated at −35.4°C with a 10 MeV equivalent proton fluence of 5.0 × 108 protons · cm−2. The CCD236 is a large area (4.4 cm2) X-ray detector that will be flown on-board the Chandrayaan-2 and Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope spacecraft, in the Chandrayaan-2 Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer and the Soft X-ray Detector respectively. The SCD is readout continually in order to benefit from intrinsic dither mode clocking, leading to suppression of the surface component of the dark current and allowing the detector to be operated at warmer temperatures than a conventional CCD. The SCD is therefore an excellent choice to test and demonstrate the variation in the impact of irradiation at cryogenic temperatures in comparison to a more typical room temperature irradiation.

The focal plane array of the Euclid VIS instrument comprises 36 large area, back-illuminated, red-enhanced CCD detectors (designated CCD 273). These CCDs were specified by the Euclid VIS instrument team in close collaboration with ESA and e2v technologies. Prototypes were fabricated and tested through an ESA pre-development activity and the contract to qualify and manufacture flight CCDs is now underway. This paper describes the CCD requirements, the design (and design drivers) for the CCD and package, the current status of the CCD production programme and a summary of key performance measurements.

The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) small explorer spacecraft provides simultaneous spectra and images of the photosphere, chromosphere, transition region, and corona with 0.33-0.4 arcsec spatial resolution, 2 s temporal resolution and 1 km/s velocity resolution over a field-of-view of up to 175 arcsec x 175 arcsec. IRIS was launched into a Sun-synchronous orbit on 27 June 2013 using a Pegasus-XL rocket and consists of a 19-cm UV telescope that feeds a slit-based dual-bandpass imaging spectrograph. IRIS obtains spectra in passbands from 1332-1358, 1389-1407 and 2783-2834 Angstrom including bright spectral lines formed in the chromosphere (Mg II h 2803 Angstrom and Mg II k 2796 Angstrom) and transition region (C II 1334/1335 Angstrom and Si IV 1394/1403 Angstrom). Slit-jaw images in four different passbands (C II 1330, Si IV 1400, Mg II k 2796 and Mg II wing 2830 Angstrom) can be taken simultaneously with spectral rasters that sample regions up to 130 arcsec x 175 arcsec at a variety of spatial samplings (from 0.33 arcsec and up). IRIS is sensitive to emission from plasma at temperatures between 5000 K and 10 MK and will advance our understanding of the flow of mass and energy through an interface region, formed by the chromosphere and transition region, between the photosphere and corona. This highly structured and dynamic region not only acts as the conduit of all mass and energy feeding into the corona and solar wind, it also requires an order of magnitude more energy to heat than the corona and solar wind combined. The IRIS investigation includes a strong numerical modeling component based on advanced radiative-MHD codes to facilitate interpretation of observations of this complex region. Approximately eight Gbytes of data (after compression) are acquired by IRIS each day and made available for unrestricted use within a few days of the observation.

The WUVS (WSO-UV Ultra Violet Spectrographs) consists of two high resolution spectrographs (R=50000) covering the Far-UV range of 115–176 nm and the Near-UV range of 174–310 nm, and a long-slit spectrograph (R=1000) covering the wavelength range of 115–305 nm. Significant progress in the CCD development gives a possibility to use back-illuminated CCD detectors with anti-reflection coating for observations in the UV. These detectors are under construction by e2v company (UK) based on their heritage of detectors production for numerous space missions including those for UV- and far-UV. The main parameters of WUVS detector subsystems are described.

The e2v CCD236 is a swept charge device (SCD) designed as a soft X-ray detector for spectroscopy in the range 0.8 keV to 10 keV [1]. It benefits from improvements in design over the previous generation of SCD (the e2v CCD54) [2] to allow for increased detector area, a reduction in split X-ray events and improvements to radiation hardness [3]. To enable the suppression of surface dark current the device is clocked continuously, therefore there is no positional information making responsivity variations difficult to measure. This paper describes investigated techniques to achieve a responsivity map across the device using masking and XRF, and spot illumination from an organic light-emitting diode (OLED). The results of this technique should allow a deeper understanding of the device sensitivity and allow better data interpretation in SCD applications.

The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) instrument onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is an array of four normal-incidence reflecting telescopes that image the Sun in ten EUV and UV wavelength channels. We present the initial photometric calibration of AIA, based on preflight measurements of the response of the telescope components. The estimated accuracy is of order 25%, which is consistent with the results of comparisons with full-disk irradiance measurements and spectral models. We also describe the characterization of the instrument performance, including image resolution, alignment, camera-system gain, flat-fielding, and data compression.

Charge transfer inefficiency and dark current effects are compared for e2v Technologies plc p-channel and n-channel CCDs, both irradiated with protons. The p-channel devices, prior to their irradiation, exhibited twice the dark current and considerable worse charge transfer inefficiency (CTI) than a typical n-channel. The radiation induced increase in dark current was found to be comparable with n-channel CCDs, and its temperature dependence suggest that the divacancy is the dominant source of thermally generated dark current pre- and post-irradiation. The factor of improvement in tolerance to radiation induced CTI varied by between 15 and 25 for serial CTI and 8 and 3 for parallel CTI, between −70°C and −110°C, respectively.

The e2v technologies CCD54, or swept-charge device (SCD) has been extensively radiation tested for use in the Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS) instrument, to be launched as a part of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chandrayaan-1 payload in 2008. The principle use of the SCD is in X-ray fluorescence (XRF) applications, the device providing a relatively large collecting area of 1.1 cm2, and achieving near Fano-limited spectroscopy at −15 °C, a temperature that is easily obtained using a thermoelectric cooler (TEC). This paper describes the structure and operation of the SCD and details the methodology and results obtained from two proton irradiation studies carried out in 2006 and 2008, respectively to quantify the effects of proton irradiation on the operational characteristics of the device. The analysis concentrates on the degradation of the measured FWHM of various elemental lines and quantifies the effects of proton fluence on the observed X-ray fluorescence spectra from mineralogical target samples.

The Chandrayaan-2 Large Area Soft X-ray spectrometer (CLASS) is due to be launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 2014. It will map the elemental composition of the lunar surface, building on the Chandrayaan-1 X-ray spectrometer (C1XS) heritage. CLASS will use an array of e2v technologies CCD236 swept charge devices (SCD) providing an active detector area of approximately 64 cm2, almost three times the active area of C1XS which used the first generation of SCD, the CCD54. The CCD236 is designed as a soft X-ray detector, 0.8 keV to 10 keV, and benefits from improvements in design to allow for increased detector area, a reduction in split X-ray events and improvements to radiation hardness. This paper describes the investigation into the performance requirements of the CCD236, focussing on an optimisation of the energy resolution of a device irradiated to the estimated worse case end of life proton fluence.

The J-PAS (Javalambre Physics-of-the-Accelerating-Universe Astrophysical Survey) project will perform a five-year survey of the northern sky from a new 2.5m telescope in Teruel, Spain. We describe the design concept of a complete cryogenic camera with a mosaic focal plane and 1.2 gigapixel science array which is to be commercially supplied. The focal plane is contained within a novel liquid-nitrogen-cooled vacuum cryostat, with proximity drive electronics designed to achieve a 4 e- readout noise from the 224-channel CCD system.

The use of segmented silicon detectors for tracking and vertexing in particle physics has grown substantially since their introduction in 1980. It is now anticipated that roughly 50,000 six inch wafers of high resistivity silicon will need to be processed into sensors to be deployed in the upgraded experiments in the future high luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) at CERN. These detectors will also face an extremely severe radiation environment, varying with distance from the interaction point. The volume of required sensors is large and their delivery is required during a relatively short time, demanding a high throughput from the chosen suppliers. The current situation internationally, in this highly specialist market, means that security of supply for large orders can therefore be an issue and bringing additional potential vendors into the field can only be an advantage. Semiconductor companies that could include planar sensors suitable for particle physics in their product lines will, however, need to prove their products meet all the stringent technical requirements. A semiconductor company with very widespread experience of producing science grade CCDs (including deep depletion devices) has adapted their CCD process to fabricate for the first time several wafers of pixel and micro-strip radiation hard sensors, suitable for future high energy physics experiments. The results of the pre-irradiation characterization of devices fabricated with different processing parameters and the measurements of charge collection properties after different hadron irradiation doses up to those anticipated for the (larger area) outer pixel layers at the high-luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) are presented and compared with results from more established particle physics suppliers.

We report the first absolute effective quantum efficiency (e-h pairs collected/predicted) measurements of a monolithic thinned back-illuminated CMOS active pixel sensor (APS) in the extreme ultraviolet and soft X-ray region (13-600 Å). The sensor was designed and fabricated under a joint Rutherford Appleton Laboratory/e2v research program and characterized in the Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics calibration facility. We compare our QE results to the data and models developed for thinned CCDs with similar back surface passivation. Our results demonstrate that CMOS APS arrays show significant promise for use in space-based solar physics and astrophysics missions.

The Raman Laser Spectrometer is scheduled for launch on board the ESA ExoMars mission in 2018. Its purpose is to perform analysis of the Raman signal scattered from crushed core samples retrieved from up to 2m below the Martian surface. In support of this activity an RLS breadboard instrument has been assembled whose focal plane incorporates an inverted mode CCD cooled to between -10 degrees C and -40 degrees C. The thermal, mechanical and detector design of this elegant breadboard instrument focal plane is described, and the system performance is evaluated in terms of the noise characteristics and dynamic range.