Accurate Determination of Conversion Gains of SVOM VT CCDs Based on a Signal-Dependent Charge-Sharing Mechanism

The signal-variance method and the photon transfer curve method are the most valuable tools for calculating the conversion gains of charge-coupled device (CCD) detectors. This paper describes the phenomena that arise in the conversion gain measurements of space multi-band variable object monitor (SVOM) visible telescope (VT) CCDs, where the results of the signal-variance method increase with the image gray level, and the results of the photon transfer curve method appear with nonlinearity, which is caused by the signal-dependent charge sharing mechanism of back-illuminated CCDs. A numerical simulation model based on random variables was adopted to analyze the influence of the mechanism on the gain determination. The model simulates all the signals and noise in the flat field image, including the photon signal and photon-shot noise, readout noise, fixed pattern noise, and the signal-dependent charge-sharing signal, and it demonstrated agreement with the experimental data. Then, we proposed a quadratic polynomial curve-fitting formula for the photon transfer curve, and we quantitatively analyzed the relationship between the fitting coefficients and the gain, the signal-dependent charge sharing coefficient, and the full well capacity using the control variable method. Finally, the formula was used to accurately determine the conversion gains of SVOM VT CCDs.