X-ray imaging polarimetry with a 2.5-μm pixel CMOS sensor for visible light at room temperature

Kazunori Asakura; Kiyoshi Hayashida; Takashi Hanasaka; Tomoki Kawabata; Tomokage Yoneyama; Koki Okazaki; Shuntaro Ide; Hirofumi Noda; Hironori Matsumoto; Hiroshi Tsunemi; Hisamitsu Awaki; Hiroshi Nakajima

doi:10.1117/1.JATIS.5.3.035002

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6 June 2019 X-ray imaging polarimetry with a 2.5-μm pixel CMOS sensor for visible light at room temperature

Kazunori Asakura, Kiyoshi Hayashida, Takashi Hanasaka, Tomoki Kawabata, Tomokage Yoneyama, Koki Okazaki, Shuntaro Ide, Hirofumi Noda, Hironori Matsumoto, Hiroshi Tsunemi, Hisamitsu Awaki, Hiroshi Nakajima

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J. of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, 5(3), 035002 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JATIS.5.3.035002

Abstract

X-ray polarimetry in astronomy has not been exploited well, despite its importance. The recent innovation of instruments is changing this situation. We focus on a complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) pixel detector with small pixel size and employ it as an x-ray photoelectron tracking polarimeter. The CMOS detector we employ is developed by GPixel Inc. and has a pixel size of 2.5 μm × 2.5 μm. Although it is designed for visible light, we succeed in detecting x-ray photons with an energy resolution of 176 eV (FWHM) at 5.9 keV at room temperature and the atmospheric condition. We measure the x-ray detection efficiency and polarimetry sensitivity by irradiating polarized monochromatic x-rays at BL20B2 in SPring-8, the synchrotron radiation facility in Japan. We obtain modulation factors of 7.63 % ± 0.07 % and 15.5 % ± 0.4 % at 12.4 and 24.8 keV, respectively. It demonstrates that this sensor can be used as an x-ray imaging spectrometer and polarimeter with the highest spatial resolution ever tested.

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Kazunori Asakura, Kiyoshi Hayashida, Takashi Hanasaka, Tomoki Kawabata, Tomokage Yoneyama, Koki Okazaki, Shuntaro Ide, Hirofumi Noda, Hironori Matsumoto, Hiroshi Tsunemi, Hisamitsu Awaki, and Hiroshi Nakajima "X-ray imaging polarimetry with a 2.5-μm pixel CMOS sensor for visible light at room temperature," Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems 5(3), 035002 (6 June 2019). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JATIS.5.3.035002

Received: 1 March 2019; Accepted: 15 May 2019; Published: 6 June 2019

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