The Art And Science Of Being Cool

By Princeton Instruments

Spectroscopy and low-light imaging applications use sensitive silicon or InGaAs based scientific detectors that require deep-cooling technologies for minimizing thermally generated dark noise. Ideally, photonic detectors should provide a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) that is limited only by photon shot noise, however, it is also lowered in practice by dark noise and read noise. This technical note discusses the benefit of using liquid-nitrogen–based cryogenic cooling technologies to chill sensors beyond -100°C and deliver the lowest levels of dark noise achievable. Download the full paper for information on the fundamentals of thermoelectric cooling, as well as the new ArcTec™ technology from Princeton Instruments.