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XSHOOTER QC
Trending & QC1
   bias
Pipeline
QC links:
XSHOOTER: Bias
Bias level | Readout noise | Structural noise | periodic pattern noise

 
HC PLOTS
UVB median of master bias:
VIS
UVB read-out noise of raw bias:
VIS
UVB read-out noise of master bias:
VIS
UVB structure along x-axis of master bias:
VIS
UVB structure along y-axis of master bias:
VIS
QC1 database (advanced users): browse | plot

Bias frames are acquired for the UVB-arm and VIS-arm optical CCD science detectors only. The pipeline processes five raw frames into a master bias. Bias frames come in low gain and high gain read mode and three different types of binning: 1x1, 1x2 and 2x2.


Bias level
Bias level | Readout noise | Structural noise | periodic pattern noise

QC1_parameters

FITS key QC1 database: table, name definition class* HC_plot** more docu
QC.MBIASMED xshooter_bias..median_master median value of master bias HC [docuSys coming]
*Class: KPI - instrument performance; HC - instrument health; CAL - calibration quality; ENG - engineering parameter
**There might be more than one.

Trending

The median of the master bias is trended for two arms: UVB and VIS, two read-out modi (clocking): 100k/1p/hg and 400k/1p/lg and two types of binning: 1x1, 1x2.
In addition the bias level of the acquisition and guiding camera CCD ( AGC), is monitored for a unique setup.

Scoring&thresholds Bias level

The bias level is stable at a level of around 1000 ADU (UVB and VIS, 1500 ADU for the AGC) with +-0.5 ADU fluctuations. The thresholds are at +-2% of the long-term mean.

History

Date event
2010-12-05 the VIS CCD got a new cryostat.
2014-01-01 monitoring of the AGC bias level has started
2018-12-07 scheduled maintenance , VIS-arm bias level is different

Algorithm Bias level

A median stacking method is used to generate a master bias product. The median bias level is the median of the master bias frame.


Readout noise
Bias level | Readout noise | Structural noise | periodic pattern noise

QC1_parameters

FITS key QC1 database: table, name definition class* HC_plot** more docu
QC.RON xshooter_bias..ron read-out noise of raw bias HC [docuSys coming]
QC.RON.MASTER xshooter_bias..ron_master read-out noise of master bias HC [docuSys coming]
*Class: KPI - instrument performance; HC - instrument health; CAL - calibration quality; ENG - engineering parameter
**There might be more than one.

Trending

The read out noise of the master bias is trended for two arms: UVB and VIS, two read-out modi (clocking): 100k/1p/hg and 400k/1p/lg and three types of binning: 1x1, 1x2 and 2x2.
In addition the read out noise of the master bias of the acquisition and guiding camera CCD ( AGC), is monitored for a unique setup.

While the read-out noise of the master bias is a property of the calibration product and describes, how good the read noise has been reduced in the product, the read-out noise measured in the raw bias frame describes a detector property.

The read out noise of the raw bias is trended for two arms: UVB and VIS, two read-out modi (clocking): 100k/1p/hg and 400k/1p/lg and three types of binning: 1x1, 1x2 and 2x2.

Scoring&thresholds Readout noise

The UVB-arm (raw frame) read out noise is stable at 4 ADU with some sporadic outliers in 2015. The VIS-arm read out noise is less stable and is characterized by more frequent outliers towards larger values. Thresholds are set by statistical and operational meaningful arguments to +-1 ADU.

History

Date event
2010-12-05 the VIS CCD got a new cryostat.
2014-01-01 monitoring of the AGC read-out noise has started

Algorithm Readout noise

The first two raw bias frames are subtracted. The median of the statistical noise derived from a random sample of frame sub regions is obtained and divided by sqrt(2).


Structural noise
Bias level | Readout noise | Structural noise | periodic pattern noise

QC1_parameters

FITS key QC1 database: table, name definition class* HC_plot** more docu
QC.STRUCTX1 xshooter_bias..struct_x1 structure of master bias along x-axis, left half HC [docuSys coming]
QC.STRUCTX2 xshooter_bias..struct_x2 structure of master bias along x-axis, right halfHC [docuSys coming]
QC.STRUCTY1 xshooter_bias..struct_y1 structure of master bias along y-axis, left half HC [docuSys coming]
QC.STRUCTY2 xshooter_bias..struct_y2 structure of master bias along y-axis, right halfHC [docuSys coming]
*Class: KPI - instrument performance; HC - instrument health; CAL - calibration quality; ENG - engineering parameter
**There might be more than one.

Trending

The large scale gradient of the master bias in x-direction is trended for two arms: UVB and VIS, two read-out modi (clocking): 100k/1p/hg and 400k/1p/lg and two types of binning: 1x1, 1x2.
The gradient in y-direction monitored in a different plots: UVB VIS.

The gradients of the AGC master bias AGC), is monitored for a unique setup.

Scoring&thresholds Structural noise

The fluctuations in the AGC x-gradient are related the the ambient temperature. The gradients of the UVB and VIS are stable, thresholds have been set, that the long term average and the typical fluctuations are well within the acceptable region.

History

Date event
Binned wavelength calibration data in the VIS arm tend to be highly saturated in some lines, which may leave remnance in data taken shortly after. The effects decay on the order of 20-60 minutes.
2010 The UVB CCD sometimes suffers from (horizontal) pickup noise, which is visible in low signal data and shows up in the rectified data as tilted lines. Below you see in Fig.A an example of raw data (rotated by 90 degrees) and merged rectified data. The example shown in Fig.B was observed in nodding mode, which creates the bright and dark region in the merged rectified data.
Since_early_March_2010 The VIS CCD shows a time variable pattern and some pickup noise in the bias for the 400k readout mode. The amplitude of the pattern has been strongly reduced after March 20, but it is still present at a low level. Below you see an example in Fig.C of bias VIS raw frame (400k, low gain, 1x1, with cuts of 1025-1035 ADU and rotated clockwise by 90 degrees). Additional work in October 2010 further reduced the pattern, albeit combined with a slight increase in read noise.
2010-03-20 it is significantly reduced. Additional work (improved shielding) in October 2010 reduced it further.
2010-03-06 The VIS bias with readout 400k/lg shows a variable pattern, which increases especially the struct_y parameters, but also the struct_x parameters.
2017-01-01 The UVB arm showed in 2015-07 a period with more structural noise. The VIS arm showed over the instrument lifetime much more often periods with higher structural noise.
2018-12-07 The UVB arm bias frames showed after the maintenance a factor 2 lower struct_y value for the 100k setup.

Figure A, UVB-arm raw frame pickup noise problem in 2010.
Figure B, UVB-arm nodding product pickup noise problem in 2010.

Figure C, VIS-arm pickup noise in 2010.

Algorithm Structural noise

struct_x gives the structure along the x-axis for the left (x1) and right (x2) half of the CCD. For that purpose the master bias is averaged along the y-axis and the resulting one-dimensional frame is fit with a linear expression. The slope of that expression is then stored as struct_x1/2.


periodic pattern noise
Bias level | Readout noise | Structural noise | periodic pattern noise

QC1_parameters

FITS key QC1 database: table, name definition class* HC_plot** more docu
qc script xshooter_bias..qc_PN_maxrat PN std/stdMAD maxof5 HC [docuSys coming]
*Class: KPI - instrument performance; HC - instrument health; CAL - calibration quality; ENG - engineering parameter
**There might be more than one.

Trending

The qc_PN_maxrat parameter, the maximum among the five product qc_PN_std[i]/qc_PN_stdmad[i] values is monitored. qc_PN_std[i] is the non-robust standard deviation of the 2D Fourier transform product of raw BIAS frame #i. qc_PN_stdmad[i] is the robust standard deviation standard estimation via the median absolute deviation method, of the 2D Fourier transform product of raw BIAS frame #i. The qc_PN_maxrat is trended for two arms: UVB and VIS, two read-out modi (clocking): 100k/1p/hg and 400k/1p/lg and three types of binning: 1x1, 1x2 and 2x2.

Scoring&thresholds periodic pattern noise

History

Date event
2021-05-01 implemented

Algorithm periodic pattern noise

Each raw frame is 2D Fourier transformed. A mask is used to filter out the pixel-to-pixel frequency.


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