Long Term Performance Stability of Transition-Edge Sensor Detectors

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Long_Term_Performance_Stability_of_Transition-Edge_Sensor_Detectors.pdf (3.23 MB)

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https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/10097539

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https://doi.org/10.1109/TASC.2023.3264952
 http://hdl.handle.net/11603/27898

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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

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Author/Creator ORCID

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

Date

2023-04-07

Type of Work

journal articles
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Citation of Original Publication

S. Beaumont et al., "Long Term Performance Stability of Transition-Edge Sensor Detectors," in IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, vol. 33, no. 5, pp. 1-5, Aug. 2023, Art no. 2101405, doi: 10.1109/TASC.2023.3264952.

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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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Abstract

We are developing superconducting transition-edge sensor (TES) microcalorimeter arrays for a variety of applications such as ground-based laboratory astrophysics experiments and next generation space-based X-ray missions. These detectors can provide X-ray spectral information with an unprecedent resolution of ∼2 eV at 6 keV and have for instance been selected for the X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) instrument of ESA's large flagship mission Athena. To maintain detector performance over the lifetime of the mission, it is important to understand whether environmental conditions that the detector may be exposed to will affect its properties over time. This “aging” begins right after the array leaves the fabrication environment, with potential exposure to humidity, oxygen, or elevated temperatures which may affect the detector performance. In a few prior arrays we have observed increased fall times in the pulse shape and/or the introduction of anomalous low energy tails on the X-ray spectrum. This is thought to be an indication of “aging” on chips exposed to such conditions, causing e.g., changes in the absorber properties. In this contribution, we report on a systematic characterization of TES properties, before and after exposing the chip to various controlled temperature and humidity levels and assess the changes in the measured transition and pulse shapes, energy resolution, and spectral redistribution.