The silicon drift detector for the IXO high-time resolution spectrometer

Peter Lechner; Carine Amoros; Didier Barret; Pierre Bodin; Martin Boutelier; Rouven Eckhardt; Carlo Fiorini; Eckhard Kendziorra; Karine Lacombe; Adrian Niculae; Benjamin Pouilloux; Roger Pons; Damien Rambaud; Laurent Ravera; Christian Schmid; Heike Soltau; Lothar Strüder; Christoph Tenzer; Jörn Wilms

doi:10.1117/12.857260

19 July 2010 The silicon drift detector for the IXO high-time resolution spectrometer

Peter Lechner, Carine Amoros, Didier Barret, Pierre Bodin, Martin Boutelier, Rouven Eckhardt, Carlo Fiorini, Eckhard Kendziorra, Karine Lacombe, Adrian Niculae, Benjamin Pouilloux, Roger Pons, Damien Rambaud, Laurent Ravera, Christian Schmid, Heike Soltau, Lothar Strüder, Christoph Tenzer, Jörn Wilms

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7742, High Energy, Optical, and Infrared Detectors for Astronomy IV; 77420W (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.857260
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2010, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The High Time Resolution Spectrometer (HTRS) is one of six scientific payload instruments of the International X-ray Observatory (IXO). HTRS is dedicated to the physics of matter at extreme density and gravity and will observe the X-rays generated in the inner accretion flows around the most compact massive objects, i.e. black holes and neutron stars. The study of their timing signature and in addition the simultaneous spectroscopy of the gravitationally shifted and broadened iron line allows for probing general relativity in the strong field regime and understanding the inner structure of neutron stars. As the sources to be observed by HTRS are the brightest in the X-ray sky and the studies require good photon statistics the instrument design is driven by the capability to operate at extremely high count rates. The HTRS instrument is based on a monolithic array of Silicon Drift Detectors (SDDs) with 31 cells in a circular envelope and a sensitive volume of 4.5 cm² × 450 μm. The SDD principle uses fast signal charge collection on an integrated amplifier by a focusing internal electrical field. It combines a large sensitive area and a small capacitance, thus facilitating good energy resolution and high count rate capability. The HTRS is specified to provide energy spectra with a resolution of 150 eV (FWHM at 6 keV) at high time resolution of 10 μsec and with high count rate capability up to a goal of 2·10⁶ counts per second, corresponding to a 12 Crab equivalent source. As the HTRS is a non-imaging instrument and will target only point sources it is placed on axis but out of focus so that the spot is spread over the array of 31 SDD cells. The SDD array is logically organized in four independent 'quadrants', a dedicated 8-channel quadrant readout chip is in development.

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Peter Lechner, Carine Amoros, Didier Barret, Pierre Bodin, Martin Boutelier, Rouven Eckhardt, Carlo Fiorini, Eckhard Kendziorra, Karine Lacombe, Adrian Niculae, Benjamin Pouilloux, Roger Pons, Damien Rambaud, Laurent Ravera, Christian Schmid, Heike Soltau, Lothar Strüder, Christoph Tenzer, and Jörn Wilms "The silicon drift detector for the IXO high-time resolution spectrometer", Proc. SPIE 7742, High Energy, Optical, and Infrared Detectors for Astronomy IV, 77420W (19 July 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.857260

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