Evaluation and observation of CMOS imager as detector for astronomy

In this paper, the feasibility of CMOS imagers for astronomical application was evaluated as well as evaluation methods were studied. A camera based on IBIS5 CMOS sensor was built. Evaluation results of this sensor were also presented including readout noise, gain, linearity, dark current, full well capacity and pixel nonuniformity. Experimental observations of solar flare were carried out with Hα solar telescope in Huairou Solar Observation Station (HSOS), and the solar flare in NOAA AR0742 on March 13, 2005 was successfully observed with this IBIS5 CMOS camera. The results show a favorable aspect of the CMOS imager in large dynamic range astronomical imaging.