Ageing effects in cryogenically cooled InSb infrared filtered detectors

The spectral responsivity of two commercially available InSb detectors with low-pass cold filters attached on their cold shields for optimum operation in the 1.6-2.6 mum wavelength range was observed to drift slowly with time. The origin of these drifts was investigated. The drifts were shown to arise due to a thin film of water-ice deposition on the cold low-pass filters mounted on the cold shields of the two detectors. The presence of the ice film (which is itself a dielectric film) modifies the transmission characteristics of the filter, thus giving rise to the observed drifts. The drifts were completely eliminated by evacuating the detector dewars while baking them at 50 degreesC for 72 h. This work confirms that infrared detectors employing cold multi-layer dielectric filters should be evacuated and baked at least annually and in some cases (depending on the quality of the dewar and the measurement uncertainty required) more frequently. These observations are particularly relevant to space instruments which use cryogenically cooled infrared filter radiometers for earth observation. The deposition of a thin film of ice on the cold band-pass filters can account for the oscillatory drifts observed in the response of some of the channels of the ATSR-2, and Landsat-3 and Landsat-5 space missions.