CCAPP Special Event -- "Detector Short Course," Part One

"Detector Short Course," Part One

presented by James W. Beletic, Ph.D. 

Developed and refined by Dr. James Beletic over the past 35 years, this Detector Short Course provides a comprehensive overview of the physics and technology behind high-performance visible and infrared light sensors. While the curriculum draws heavily on examples from astronomical instrumentation, its principles are universally applicable to Earth Science, laboratory research, and national defense.

Designed to be accessible to a broad audience—including engineers, project managers, and financial staff—the course has been presented to premier global organizations such as NASA (JPL and GSFC), the European Space Agency (ESTEC), and the European Southern Observatory. The material specifically highlights how high-sensitivity technologies developed for the low-light demands of astronomy can be adapted for other high-flux applications, and notably, the course content is not ITAR-controlled.

Part 1 Outline: 

• The Value of Imaging in Different Wavelengths
• General Explanation of Imaging Systems
• Photon Wavelengths, Passbands, and Energies
• The Six Steps of Optical / Infrared Light Detection
  1. Getting light into the detector
     • Anti-reflection coatings
     • Indices of refraction of silicon, hafnium dioxide, and HgCdTe
     • Linear variable anti-reflection coatings
  2. Charge Generation
     • Crystal lattices
     • Silicon, HgCdTe, InGaAs, InSb, Type 2 Superlattices
     • HgCdTe cutoff wavelength
     • Absorption Depth of Light in HgCdTe and Silicon
     • Ways to grow HgCdTe crystal lattices
     • Hybrid CMOS architecture and manufacturing process
     • HgCdTe substrate removal
     • Thermal radiation
     • Detector dark current as function of temperature
  3. Charge collection
     • p-n junctions to collect photocharge in pixels

With over 40 years of expertise in visible and infrared sensor technologies, Dr. James Beletic is a distinguished leader in the international astronomical community whose career spans prestigious research institutions like Harvard and MIT, leadership roles at the Keck and European Southern Observatories, and senior management at Teledyne. From 2013 to 2023, he served as President of Teledyne Imaging Sensors, overseeing the production of infrared arrays used in groundbreaking missions such as the James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble, and various planetary explorers. More recently, as Chief Scientific Officer of Teledyne Digital Imaging, Space (2023–2026), he drove business growth across multiple imaging units to support the next generation of space astronomy and national defense. Beyond his corporate and scientific leadership, Dr. Beletic is an active educator and chair of the Scientific Detector Workshop—contributions to the field so significant that Asteroid 14669 was named in his honor.