Testing Results from Pathfinder 2k x 2k HgCdTe Infrared Detectors for the Near Earth Object Surveyor Mission

The Near Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor, a NASA planetary defense space mission, is currently in Phase B with a launch date in 2026. NEO Surveyor is an infrared telescope designed to detect and characterize Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs). The required sensors leverage the space flight heritage and further development over the last 15 years of HgCdTe detectors to detect infrared light spanning from 4 to 10 μm . NEO Surveyor will employ eight passively cooled HgCdTe focal plane assemblies (FPAs) across two bands, each band consisting of a 1x4 configuration to cover a wide field of view. Four of these FPAs have a > 6 μm cutoff wavelength and cover the shorter 4-5.2 μm (NC1) band, while four FPAs will have a > 10.5 μm cutoff wavelength and span the longer 6-10 μm (NC2) band. We present characterization and performance results from two recently produced pathfinder FPAs, one for each band, manufactured by Teledyne Imaging Sensors with development guidance from the University of Arizona, the University of Rochester, IPAC/Caltech, and JPL. Both devices demonstrate the requisite low levels of dark current, high well depth, and exceptional quantum efficiency, exceeding mission requirements.