Dr. Gerald K. Skinner Profile

Dr. Gerald K. Skinner

Consultant at University of Birmingham

SPIE Involvement:

Author

Publications (26)

Proceedings Article | 30 July 2010 Paper

The proposed high-energy telescope (HET) for EXIST

J. Hong, J. Grindlay, B. Allen, G. Skinner, S. Barthelmy, N. Gehrels, A. Garson, H. Krawczynski, W. Cook, F. Harrison, L. Natalucci, P. Ubertini

Proc. SPIE. 7732, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2010: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray

KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Electronics, Sensors, Crystals, Field programmable gate arrays, Space telescopes, Photomasks, X-ray imaging, X-ray telescopes, Hard x-rays

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Proceedings Article | 3 September 2009 Paper

The high energy telescope on EXIST

J. Hong, J. Grindlay, B. Allen, S. Barthelmy, G. Skinner, N. Gehrels

Proc. SPIE. 7435, UV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XVI

KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Sensors, Image processing, Crystals, X-rays, Tungsten, Imaging spectroscopy, Space telescopes, X-ray imaging, X-ray telescopes

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Proceedings Article | 31 August 2009 Paper

X-ray and gamma-ray focusing and interferometry

Gerald Skinner

Proc. SPIE. 7437, Optics for EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Astronomy IV

KEYWORDS: Point spread functions, X-ray optics, Axicons, Interferometers, Sensors, X-rays, X-ray diffraction, Interferometry, Gamma radiation, X-ray astronomy

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Proceedings Article | 21 August 2009 Paper

Imaging and burst location with the EXIST high-energy telescope

Gerald Skinner, Scott Barthelmy, Mark Finger, Jae Sub Hong, Garrett Jernigan, Steven Sturner, Branden Allen, Jonathan Grindlay

Proc. SPIE. 7435, UV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XVI

KEYWORDS: Point spread functions, Telescopes, Sensors, X-rays, Image restoration, Detector arrays, Space telescopes, Gamma radiation, Spatial resolution, Space operations

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The primary instrument of the proposed EXIST mission is a coded mask high energy telescope (the HET), that must have a wide field of view and extremely good sensitivity. In order to achieve the performance goals it will be crucial to minimize systematic errors so that even for very long total integration times the imaging performance is close to the statistical photon limit. There is also a requirement to be able to reconstruct images on-board in near real time in order to detect and localize gamma-ray bursts, as is currently being done by the BAT instrument on Swift. However for EXIST this must be done while the spacecraft is continuously scanning the sky. The scanning provides all-sky coverage and is also a key part of the strategy to reduce systematic errors. The on-board computational problem is made even more challenging for EXIST by the very large number of detector pixels (more than 107, compared with 32768 for BAT). The EXIST HET Imaging Technical Working Group has investigated and compared numerous alternative designs for the HET. The selected baseline concept meets all of the scientific requirements, while being compatible with spacecraft and launch constraints and with those imposed by the infra-red and soft X-ray telescopes that constitute the other key parts of the payload. The approach adopted depends on a unique coded mask with two spatial scales. Coarse elements in the mask are effective over the entire energy band of the instrument and are used to initially locate gamma-ray bursts. A finer mask component provides the good angular resolution needed to refine the burst position and reduces the cosmic X-ray background; it is optimized for operation at low energies and becomes transparent in the upper part of the energy band where an open fraction of 50% is optimal. Monte Carlo simulations and analytic analysis techniques have been used to demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed design and of the two-step burst localization procedure.

Proceedings Article | 15 July 2008 Paper

The milli-arc-second structure imager (MASSIM): a new concept for a high angular resolution x-ray telescope

G. Skinner, Z. Arzoumanian, W. Cash, N. Gehrels, K. Gendreau, P. Gorenstein, J. Krizmanic, M. Miller, J. Phillips, R. Reasenberg, C. Reynolds, R. Sambruna, R. Streitmatter, D. Windt

Proc. SPIE. 7011, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2008: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray

KEYWORDS: X-ray optics, Stars, Imaging systems, Sensors, X-rays, X-ray diffraction, Spatial resolution, Fresnel lenses, Space operations, X-ray astronomy

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Proceedings Article | 14 July 2008 Paper

The future of high angular resolution x-ray astronomy

Paul Gorenstein, Webster Cash, Neil Gehrels, Keith Gendreau, John Krizmanic, M. Coleman Miller, Christopher Reynolds, Rita Sambruna, Gerald Skinner, Robert Streitmatter, David Windt

Proc. SPIE. 7011, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2008: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray

KEYWORDS: Chromatic aberrations, Diffraction, Telescopes, Sensors, X-rays, Space telescopes, Spatial resolution, Zone plates, Space operations, X-ray telescopes

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Proceedings Article | 21 September 2007 Paper

R and D progress on second-generation crystals for Laue lens applications

N. Barrière, P. von Ballmoos, P. Bastie, P. Courtois, N. Abrosimov, K. Andersen, T. Buslaps, T. Camus, H. Halloin, M. Jentschel, J. Knödlseder, G. Roudil, D. Serre, G. Skinner

Proc. SPIE. 6688, Optics for EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Astronomy III

KEYWORDS: Diffraction, Sensors, Crystals, Germanium, Copper, Silicon, Reflectivity, Lens design, Gamma radiation, Absorption

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Proceedings Article | 13 June 2006 Paper

Fast timing with XEUS: evaluation of different detector concepts

Eckhard Kendziorra, Michael Martin, Andrea Santangelo, Jörn Wilms, Didier Barret, Gerry Skinner, Lothar Strüder, Peter Lechner, Johannes Treis

Proc. SPIE. 6266, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation II: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray

KEYWORDS: Point spread functions, Mirrors, Imaging systems, Sensors, Spectroscopy, Photons, Imaging spectroscopy, Detector arrays, Monte Carlo methods, Field effect transistors

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Proceedings Article | 8 September 2005 Paper

Monte-Carlo simulations of the expected imaging performance of the EXIST high-energy telescope

S. Vadawale, J. Hong, J. Grindlay, G. Skinner

Proc. SPIE. 5900, Optics for EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Astronomy II

KEYWORDS: Signal to noise ratio, Telescopes, Image compression, Sensors, Photons, Crystals, Monte Carlo methods, Coded aperture imaging, Hard x-rays, Device simulation

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Proceedings Article | 29 September 2004 Paper

XTRA: the fast x-ray timing detector on XEUS

Didier Barret, Jean-Louis Medale, Martin Rohde, Gerry Skinner, Lothar Strueder

Proc. SPIE. 5501, High-Energy Detectors in Astronomy

KEYWORDS: Mirrors, Electronics, Stars, Sensors, Spectroscopy, Photons, X-rays, Silicon, Radiation effects, X-ray detectors

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The Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) has demonstrated the power of observations in the time domain in the study of X-ray binaries. The dynamical variation of the X-ray emission from accreting neutron stars and stellar mass black holes is a powerful probe of their strong gravitational fields. At the same time, oscillations at the neutron star spin frequency during X-ray bursts have been used to set important constraints on the mass and radius of neutron stars. The X-ray Evolving Universe Spectroscopy mission (XEUS), the potential follow-on mission to XMM-Newton, will have a mirror aperture more than ten times larger than the effective area of the RXTE proportional counter array (RXTE/PCA). Combined with a small dedicated fast X-ray timing detector in the focal plane (XTRA: XEUS Timing for Relativistic Astrophysics), this collecting area will provide a leap in timing sensitivity of more than one order of magnitude over the RXTE/PCA for bright sources, and will open a brand new window on faint X-ray sources, owing to the negligible detector background. Furthermore, the use of advanced Silicon drift chambers will improve the energy resolution by a factor of ~ 6 over the RXTE/PCA. The spectroscopic diagnostics of the strong field region, such as the gravitational redshift and the relativistic broadening of the Iron line, will become exploitable simultaneous with the fast timing. XTRA will provide unique opportunities, enabling for example the testing of general relativity in the strong gravity field regime and investigating with unprecedented accuracy the equation of state of matter at supranuclear density. XTRA when observing bright X-ray sources will record typically several hundred thousand counts per second and careful design will be necessary to ensure that the full potential of these data can be exploited. We describe the proposed implementation of XTRA in the XEUS focal plane using Silicon drift detectors and present the current performance of these devices.

Proceedings Article | 29 January 2004 Paper

CLAIRE gamma-ray lens: flight and long-distance test results

Hubert Halloin, Peter von Ballmoos, Jean Evrard, Gerald Skinner, Margarida Hernanz, Nikolai Abrosimov, Pierre Bastie, Bernard Hamelin, V. Lonjou, Jose Alvarez, A. Laurens, Pierre Jean, Juergen Knoedleseder, Robert Smither, Gilbert Vedrenne

Proc. SPIE. 5168, Optics for EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Astronomy

KEYWORDS: Diffraction, Telescopes, Sun, Sensors, Photons, Crystals, Electroluminescence, Space telescopes, Gamma radiation, Astrophysics

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Proceedings Article | 29 January 2004 Paper

Fresnel lenses for x-ray and gamma-ray astronomy

Gerald Skinner, Peter von Ballmoos, Neil Gehrels, John Krizmanic

Proc. SPIE. 5168, Optics for EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Astronomy

KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Sensors, X-rays, Interferometry, Space telescopes, Gamma radiation, Spatial resolution, Fresnel lenses, Space operations, X-ray astronomy

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Proceedings Article | 29 January 2004 Paper

MAX: a gamma-ray lens for nuclear astrophysics

Peter von Ballmoos, Hubert Halloin, Gerald Skinner, Robert Smither, Jaques Paul, Nikolai Abrosimov, Jose Alvarez, Pierre Astier, Pierre Bastie, Didier Barret, Angela Bazzano, Arnaud Boutonnet, Pascal Brousse, Bertrand Cordier, Thierry Courvoisier, Guido Di Cocco, Andrea Giuliani, Bernard Hamelin, Margarida Hernanz, Pierre Jean, Jordi Isern, Jurrgen Knödlseder, Phillipe Laurent, Francois Lebrun, Alexandre Marcowith, Vincent Martinot, Lorenzo Natalucci, Jean-Francois Olive, Reynald Pain, Rachida Sadat, Herve Sainct, Pietro Ubertini, Gilbert Vedrenne

Proc. SPIE. 5168, Optics for EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Astronomy

KEYWORDS: Diffraction, Telescopes, Sensors, Crystals, Germanium, Photonic crystals, Space telescopes, Gamma radiation, Laser crystals, Astrophysics

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Proceedings Article | 11 March 2003 Paper

Calibration of the spectrometer aboard the INTEGRAL satellite

Stephane Schanne, Bertrand Cordier, Maurice Gros, David Attie, Peter von Ballmoos, Laurent Bouchet, Raffaelo Carli, Paul Connell, Roland Diehl, Pierre Jean, Juergen Kiener, Andreas von Kienlin, Juergen Knoedlseder, Phillipe Laurent, Giselher Lichti, Pierre Mandrou, Jaques Paul, Philippe Paul, Jean-Pierre Roques, Filomeno Sanchez, Volker Schoenfelder, Chris Shrader, Gerald Skinner, Andrew Strong, Steven Sturner, Vincent Tatischeff, Bonnard Teegarden, Gilbert Vedrenne, Georg Weidenspointner, Cornelia Wunderer