Every three years, the leading experts in detectors for astronomy gather together to exchange information and form professional relationships. This series of meetings is entitled Scientific Detectors for Astronomy. The meeting has been held six times, with the last four publishing hardcover proceedings. Nearly all leading astronomical observatories and manufacturers attend this meeting, with participants from every continent of the world.

The 2005 meeting in Taormina, Italy was attended by 127 professionals who develop and use the highest quality detectors for wavelengths from x-ray to sub-mm, with emphasis on optical and infrared detectors. The meeting consisted of overview talks, technical presentations, poster sessions and roundtable discussions. In addition, a strong cultural programme exposed the participants to the host region while fostering the enhancement of professional relationships.

These proceedings capture the technical content and the spirit of the 2005 workshop. The 87 papers cover a wide range of detector technologies including CCDs, CMOS, APDs, and sub-mm detectors. There are papers on observatory status and plans, special applications, detector testing and characterization, and electronics. A special feature of these proceedings is the inclusion of pedagogical overview papers, which were written by teams of leading experts from different institutions. These proceedings are appropriate for a range of expertise levels, from undergraduates to professionals working in the field. The information presented in this book will serve as a valuable reference for many years to come.

This workshop was organized by the Scientific Workshop Factory, Inc. and the INAF- Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania.

Jenna Beletic

Is an anthropology student with a very unique knowledge of scientific detectors for astronomy. She literally grew up in this community, having helped install a high speed, low noise CCD camera system at a Kitt Peak telescope when she was only 8 years old. She has supported all of the last four detector workshops, co-editing the last two proceedings and being the lead editor on these proceedings.

James Beletic

Internationally recognized for his expertise in optical and infrared detectors, he has held management positions at major research laboratories, universities and observatories in Europe and the United States before taking his present position as Director of Sensor Systems at the Rockwell Scientific Company, a leading detector manufacturer. He has led teams that developed detector systems used on 23 telescopes at 16 different observatories in Chile, the mainland United States, the Canary Islands and Hawaii. He has led the development of new types of imaging sensors, and has collaborated with many of the major astronomy instrumentation teams.

Paola Amico

An astronomer who has worked at the two major astronomical observatories with the largest ground-based telescopes: European Southern Observatory and the Keck Observatory. She has a broad understanding of astronomical instrumentation.