Observation of sunspots at He I 10830Å using a low-noise InGaAs infrared detector

Abstract

The infrared spectra of the Sun include numerous absorption lines, among which He I 10830 Å is one of the most representative spectral lines in the near-infrared band formed in the high-temperature region of the upper chromosphere. The observation of the spectral lines is important for the solar physics research. In this paper, the monochromatic images of sunspots in the He I 10830 Å spectral line was obtained by the one-meter new vacuum solar telescope at the Fuxian Lake solar observation base. The infrared detector using the domestic InGaAs 640×512 focal plane array device can reach a low dark current of 62e-/s/pixel and readout noise of 25.4 e- at 78K by Stirling cooler. The laboratory tests and actual astronomical observations were completed. In the case of large detector readout noise and dark current, a method of extracting the observation target by effectively calculating the flat field was proposed. A monochromatic image of sunspots with He I 10830 Å is obtained for the first time in China using the self-developed detector.