发表机构
Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa; Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley; Gemini Observatory, National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory; Leonardo UK, Leonardo Corporation; Markury Scientific（夏威夷大学马诺阿分校天体物理研究所; 加州大学伯克利分校天文系; 吉米尼天文台，国家光学红外天文研究实验室; 莱奥纳多英国公司，莱奥纳多公司; 马克里科学）
机构由 AI 辅助整理，请以论文原文为准。AI 中文总结
本研究展示了HgCdTe线性模式雪崩光电二极管阵列在常规低温下实现百万像素级单光子分辨，误报率极低，为红外光子计数天文学提供了新路径。
AI 中文摘要
传感器噪声是低通量天文成像和光谱学的基本障碍，理想的传感器应能明确区分单个光子的到达。虽然光学半导体阵列可以达到单光子灵敏度，但在红外波段实现同等性能在很大程度上需要超导探测器。这些探测器必须在接近绝对零度的温度下运行，并且需要大量额外的功率，从而带来重大的系统级挑战。HgCdTe雪崩光电二极管提供了一种半导体替代方案，通过在读出前放大电荷来实现，但暗电流和隧穿效应限制了其在最微弱观测场景中的应用。在此，我们展示了在常规低温温度下运行的百万像素格式HgCdTe线性模式雪崩光电二极管阵列的单光子分辨操作。雪崩增益将非破坏性斜坡上升数据中光子引起的阶跃提升至读出噪声基底之上，同时使暗信号基本不被放大，误报率约为每像素每千次读取2次假计数。这些结果确立了LmAPD作为未来低背景天文观测站红外光子计数焦平面阵列的一条有前景的路径。
英文摘要
Sensor noise is a fundamental barrier to low-flux astronomical imaging and spectroscopy, where the ideal sensor would unambiguously distinguish individual photon arrivals. While optical semiconductor arrays can reach single-photon sensitivity, comparable performance in the infrared has largely required superconducting detectors. These must be operated at temperatures near absolute zero and require substantially more power, introducing major system-level challenges. HgCdTe avalanche photodiodes offer a semiconductor alternative by amplifying charge before readout, but dark current and tunneling effects have limited their use in the faintest regimes. Here we demonstrate single-photon-resolving operation in a megapixel-format HgCdTe linear-mode avalanche photodiode array operated at conventional cryogenic temperature. Avalanche gain raises photon-induced steps in non-destructive up-the-ramp data above the readout-noise floor while leaving the dark signal largely unamplified, with a false positive rate of approximately 2 false counts per thousand reads per pixel. These results establish LmAPDs as a promising route toward infrared photon-counting focal planes for future low-background astronomical observatories.
Comments19 pages, 7 figures
