Abstract
Originally designed for night-vision equipment, InGaAs detectors are
beginning to achieve background-limited performance in broadband imaging from
the ground. The lower cost of these detectors can enable multi-band
instruments, arrays of small telescopes, and large focal planes that would be
uneconomical with high-performance HgCdTe detectors. We developed a camera to
operate the FLIR AP1121 sensor using deep thermoelectric cooling and
up-the-ramp sampling to minimize noise. We measured a dark current of 163$~e$-
s$^-1$ pix$^-1$, a read noise of 87$~e$- up-the-ramp, and a well depth of
80k$~e$-. Laboratory photometric testing achieved a stability of 230 ppm
hr$^-1/2$, which would be required for detecting exoplanet transits. InGaAs
detectors are also applicable to other branches of near-infrared time-domain
astronomy, ranging from brown dwarf weather to gravitational wave follow-up.
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