Achieving sub-electron readout noise in Skipper CCDs

Understand

The readout noise for Charge-Coupled Devices (CCDs) has been the main limitation when using these detectors for measuring small amplitude signals.

• A readout system for a new scientific, low noise CCD is presented in this paper.
• The Skipper CCD architecture, and its advantages for low noise applications are discussed.
• A technique for obtaining sub-electron readout noise levels is presented, and its noise and signal characteristics are derived.