Search Publications
Characterization and selection of CZT detector modules for HEX experiment onboard Chandrayaan-1
Sreekumar, P.; Sudhakar, M.; Shanmugam, M. +4 more
We present the results of characterization of a large sample of Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) detector modules planned to be used for the HEX (High Energy X-ray spectrometer) experiment onboard India's first mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-1. We procured forty modules from Orbotech Medical Solutions Ltd. and carried out a detailed characterization…
The effect of protons on the performance of swept-charge devices
Smith, David R.; Gow, Jason
The e2v technologies CCD54, or swept-charge device (SCD) has been extensively radiation tested for use in the Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS) instrument, to be launched as a part of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chandrayaan-1 payload in 2008. The principle use of the SCD is in X-ray fluorescence (XRF) applications, the devi…
The in-flight performance of the X-ray Solar Monitor (XSM) on-board SMART-1
Andersson, H.; Alha, L.; Huovelin, J. +4 more
The operation, performance, and in-flight calibrations of the X-ray Solar Monitor (XSM) on-board ESA's SMART-1 mission to the Moon are presented. The basic method of deriving the response and effective area of the XSM is described. The evolution of the energy resolution as a function of time is studied, and sample data of high quality broadband so…
INTEGRAL high energy sky: The keV to MeV cosmic sources
Ubertini, Pietro; Bazzano, Angela; Bassani, Loredana +2 more
After almost 5 years of operation, ESA's International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) Space Observatory has unveiled a new soft gamma-ray sky and produced a remarkable harvest of results, ranging from identification of new high energy sources, to the discovery of dozens of variable sources to the mapping of the aluminum emission from…
Beam test of a prototype phoswich detector assembly for the PoGOLite astronomical soft gamma-ray polarimeter
Fukazawa, Y.; Kamae, T.; Kanai, Y. +27 more
We report about the beam test on a prototype of the balloon-based astronomical soft gamma-ray polarimeter, PoGOLite (Polarized Gamma-ray Observer Light Version) conducted at KEK Photon Factory, a synchrotron radiation facility in Japan. The synchrotron beam was set at 30, 50, and 70 keV and its polarization was monitored by a calibrated polarimete…
Proton irradiation of swept-charge devices for the Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS)
Smith, D. R.; Gow, J.; Holland, A. D.
This paper presents work carried out in support of swept-charge device (SCD) characterisation for the Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS) instrument. A brief overview of the C1XS instrument is presented, followed by a description of SCD structure and operation. The SCD test facility and method of device characterisation using two different dri…
Development of an n-channel CCD, CCD-NeXT1, for Soft X-ray Imager onboard the NeXT satellite
Takagi, Shin-Ichiro; Koyama, Katsuji; Matsumoto, Hironori +10 more
NeXT (New X-ray Telescope) is the next Japanese X-ray astronomical satellite mission after the Suzaku satellite. NeXT aims to perform wide band imaging spectroscopy. Due to the successful development of a multilayer coated mirror, called a supermirror, NeXT can focus X-rays in the energy range from 0.1 up to 80 keV. To cover this wide energy range…
Next generation of pnCCDs for X-ray spectroscopy and imaging
Meidinger, Norbert; Strüder, Lothar; Herrmann, Sven +10 more
A special type of charge-coupled device, the pnCCD, has been developed in the nineties as focal-plane detector for the X-ray astronomy mission XMM-Newton of the European Space Agency. The pnCCD detector has been in operation since the satellite launch in 1999. It is performing up to date spectroscopy of X-rays in combination with imaging and high …
Analysis of the Suzaku/XRS background
Ishisaki, Y.; Mitsuda, K.; Boyce, K. R. +14 more
Background counts on the XRS calorimeter spectrometer of the Suzaku Observatory (formerly Astro-E2) have several sources, including primary cosmic rays and secondary particles interacting with the pixels and with the silicon structure of the array. Using ground data, we identified the types of correlations between events on different pixels, and b…
Neon dewar for the X-ray spectrometer onboard Suzaku
Mitsuda, K.; Kelley, R. L.; Fujimoto, R. +6 more
The X-ray spectrometer (XRS) onboard Suzaku is the first X-ray microcalorimeter array in orbit. The sensor array is operated at 60 mK, which is attained by an adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator and superfluid liquid helium. The neon dewar is a vacuum-insulated container for the XRS. The requirements for the XRS dewar are to maintain the detect…