The SPEC detector shows persistence on exposures as low as 500 total data numbers (DN)

Saturation = 33,000 DN

Persistence is localized residual charge on a detector due to exposing that detector to light. For IR detectors that clock continously and have no shutter, persistence can occur simply by pointing a bright light source—even without taking an exposure. Persistence is tricky: its effects can be seen on a hard stretch even if there is no effect on the overall noise of the detector.

Case 1: Low exposure level

Source AO Frame Rate (Hz) AO WFS counts Approx Rmag
AO fiber 438 1000 10
Image Filter Scale (mas) Exp. Time (s) Elapsed Time (min) Peak Exposure (DN) Ratio to Peak
s110819_a001005 Kn3 20 2 0 500 1
s110819_a002001 Drk 20 600 13 15 3.0e-02
s110819_a002002 Drk 20 600 23 4 8.0e-03
s110819_a002003 Drk 20 600 34 ... ...
Histogram Equalization Stretch x column: 1276, y rows: 751-950