Infrared detector assemblies for the tropospheric emission spectrometer

This paper provides an overview of the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) and its mission, as a part of NASA's Earth Observing System. It presents, in detail, the design, fabrication and performance of the Infrared Focal Plane Assembly (IRFPA) used in this instrument. There are four IRFPAs, each covering one of four infrared spectral bands (3.3-5.3, 5.1-9.1, 8.3-12.2 and 11.1-15.4 /spl mu/m). Each IRFPA consists of a 16-element detector array, a detector package, and a differential JFET buffered transimpedance amplifier for each element with a flex-print cable that connects the cold detector package to the warm amplifier board.