Toward 100,000‑Pixel Microcalorimeter Arrays Using Multi‑absorber Transition‑Edge Sensors
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Date
2020-02-01
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Citation of Original Publication
Smith, S.J., Adams, J.S., Bandler, S.R. et al. Toward 100,000-Pixel Microcalorimeter Arrays Using Multi-absorber Transition-Edge Sensors. J Low Temp Phys 199, 330–338 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-020-02362-0
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This work was written as part of one of the author's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law.
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Public Domain Mark 1.0
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Abstract
We report on the development of multi-absorber transition-edge sensors (TESs),
referred to as ‘hydras’. A hydra consists of multiple X-ray absorbers each with a different thermal conductance to a TES. Position information is encoded in the pulse
shape. With some trade-off in performance, hydras enable very large format arrays
without the prohibitive increase in bias and readout components associated with
arrays of individual TESs. Hydras are under development for the next generation
of space telescope such as Lynx. Lynx is a NASA concept under study that will
combine a <1″ angular resolution optic with 100,000-pixel microcalorimeter array
with energy resolution of ΔEFWHM ~3 eV in the soft X-ray energy range. We present
first results from hydras with 25-pixels for Lynx. Designs with absorbers on a 25 μm
and 50 μm pitch are studied. Arrays incorporate, for the first time, microstrip buried wiring layers of suitable pitch and density required to readout a full-scale Lynx
array. The resolution from the coadded energy histogram including all 25-pixels was
ΔEFWHM =1.66±0.02 eV and 3.34±0.06 eV at an energy of 1.5 keV for the 25 μm
and 50 μm absorber designs, respectively. Position discrimination is demonstrated
from parameterization of the rise-time.