Progress Report on the HAWAII 1024times 1024 Array for 1.0 -- 2.5 microns Astronomy

The University of Hawaii and the Rockwell International Science Center are collaborating in the development of the 1024times 1024 HgCdTe Astronomical Wide Area Infrared Imager (HAWAII) detector array, optimized for low-background astronomical imaging and spectroscopic observations. The device will be sensitive to infrared radiation from 1.0 to 2.5 microns and will have an operating temperature near 77K. The design builds on the technology of the successful NICMOS3 arrays, with several modifications to improve performance. The unit cell size is 18.5 microns, and has been designed to minimize low sensitivity gaps between pixels. The multiplexer has four output amplifiers, each reading out a quadrant of 512times 512 pixels. A simple clocking scheme using dual edge-triggered shift registers for rows and columns is employed, requiring few control lines. Several steps have been taken to eliminate the output amplifier glow characteristic of the NICMOS3 arrays. The expected readout rate is 5 mu s per pixel, and the full well capacity at the nominal detector bias of 0.5 V is estimated to be about 60000 e(-) . At the time of submission of this abstract, the multiplexers have been fabricated and are undergoing testing. We will report on results of the hybridization and initial lab tests of the HAWAII devices.