Performance of a Broad-Band, High-Resolution, Transition-Edge Sensor Spectrometer for X-ray Astrophysics

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Performance_of_a_Broad-Band_High-Resolution_Transition-Edge_Sensor_Spectrometer_for_X-ray_Astrophysics.pdf (1.92 MB)

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https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9362304

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https://doi.org/10.1109/TASC.2021.3061918
 http://hdl.handle.net/11603/23995

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UMBC Center for Space Sciences and Technology (CSST) / Center for Research and Exploration in Space Sciences & Technology II (CRSST II)
UMBC Faculty Collection
UMBC Physics Department

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Author/Creator ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8397-9338
 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0622-5174
 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9247-3010
 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2237-6696

Date

2021-02-24

Type of Work

journal articles
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Citation of Original Publication

S. J. Smith et al., "Performance of a Broad-Band, High-Resolution, Transition-Edge Sensor Spectrometer for X-ray Astrophysics," in IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 1-6, Aug. 2021, Art no. 2100806, doi: 10.1109/TASC.2021.3061918

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Public Domain Mark 1.0

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Abstract

Future X-ray astrophysics experiments require multiplexed readout of high fill-factor, kilo-pixel arrays of transition-edge sensors (TESs), with very high spectral resolution over a broad range of energies. In this paper we report on a prototype kilo-pixel array of Mo/Au TESs readout with 8-column by 32-row time-division multiplexing (TDM). This system is being used to demonstrate the critical detector and readout technology for ESA’s Athena X-IFU, and when complete will be used in laboratory astrophysics experiments. Our array and TDM readout have demonstrated a combined full-width-at-half-maximum energy resolution, including > 200 pixels, of: 1.95 eV for Ti-Kα (4.5 keV), 1.97 eV for Mn-Kα (5.9 keV), 2.16 eV for Co-Kα (6.9 keV), 2.33 eV for Cu-Kα (8 keV), 3.26 eV for Br-Kα (11.9 keV). The 1 sigma statistical errors are ≤0.01 eV for all spectra. These results meet the broad-band resolution requirements for X-IFU with margin.