SuperHERO: Design of a new hard-X-ray focusing telescope

Gaskin, Jessica A.; Elsner, Ronald F.; Ramsey, Brian D.; Wilson-Hodge, C.; Tennant, Allyn F.; Christe, Steven; Shih, Albert Y.; Kilaru, Kiranmayee; Swartz, Douglas A.; Seller, P.; Wilson, Matthew D.; Stuchlik, David; Weddendorf, Bruce

doi:10.1109/aero.2015.7119097

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…A CZT imager may be used on a next-generation telescope that succeeds the space-based hard X-ray telescope NuSTAR [ 2,3]. The excellent performances of the NuSTAR CZT detectors enabled us to image the Cassiopeia A (Cas A) supernova remnant in the 67.9 keV and 78.4 keV line emissions from the radioactve isotope 44 Ti [4][5][6].The recently developed monocrystalline silicon X-ray mirrors [7] or electro-formednickel replicated (ENR) X-ray optics [8] promise angular resolutions with HPDs of between a few arcseconds and 15 arcseconds, covering a wide range of hard X-ray energies (i.e. from 2 keV to 180 keV).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of small pixel CZT detectors for future hard x-ray missions

Pinaroli,

Carini,

Deptuch

et al. 2023

UV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XXIII

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The NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array) mission launched in 2012, and it has successfully deployed the first orbiting telescopes to focus light in the high-energy X-ray range (3 -79 keV), providing a wealth of new information about the sources of high-energy X-rays. Follow-up missions such as the proposed HEX-P, BEST, and FORCE could perform a deeper black hole census providing a more refined measurement of black hole spins, allowing for greater knowledge about supermassive black holes. These missions are motivated by recent breakthroughs in hard X-ray mirror technologies where mirrors made of monolithic silicon segments and mirrors made directly or through replication of shells demonstrate the feasibility of making hard X-ray mirrors with angular resolutions of 5-10 arc seconds Half Power Diameter (HPD) compared to NuSTAR's 1 arc minute HPD. Such a high angular resolution requires matched detectors (higher pixel density) to fully benefit from the achievable improved spatial resolution. In the above framework, the development of the HEXID ASIC, embedding is a novel pixelated front-end suitable for reading out a finely segmented CZT sensor, is presented. The required large dynamic range (from 2 keV to 180 keV) and low input noise (ENC < 20 e − ) together with a small pixel size (150 µm) pose several design challenges in chip implementation. The chosen architecture of the front-end circuit and in-pixel processing blocks, together with the readout architecture of the registered signals and other adopted design solutions, driven by the quoted requirements, will be reviewed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of small pixel CZT detectors for future hard x-ray missions

Pinaroli,

Carini,

Deptuch

et al. 2023

UV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XXIII

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“…The recently developed monocrystalline silicon X-ray mirrors or electro-formed-nickel replicated (ENR) X-ray optics (Gaskin et al, 2015) promise angular resolutions with Half Power Diameters (HPD) of between a few arcseconds and 15 arcseconds -even at hard X-ray energies. The proposed HEX-P (Madsen et al, 2018) and BEST (Krawczynski et al, 2012) observatories seek to capitalize on this technology, as the point source sensitivity scales linearly with the angular resolution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cadmium Zinc Telluride Detectors for a Next-Generation Hard X-ray Telescope

Tang,

Kislat,

Krawczynski

2021

Preprint

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We are currently developing Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) detectors for a next-generation space-borne hard X-ray telescope which can follow up on the highly successful NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array) mission. Since the launch of NuSTAR in 2012, there have been major advances in the area of X-ray mirrors, and state-of-the-art X-ray mirrors can improve on NuSTAR's angular resolution of ∼1 arcmin Half Power Diameter (HPD) to 15 or even 5 HPD. Consequently, the size of the detector pixels must be reduced to match this resolution. This paper presents detailed simulations of relatively thin (1 mm thick) CZT detectors with hexagonal pixels at a next-neighbor distance of 150 µm. The simulations account for the non-negligible spatial extent of the deposition of the energy of the incident photon, and include detailed modeling of the spreading of the free charge carriers as they move toward the detector electrodes. We discuss methods to reconstruct the energies of the incident photons, and the locations where the photons hit the detector. We show that the charge recorded in the brightest pixel and six adjacent pixels suffices to obtain excellent energy and spatial resolutions. The simulation results are being used to guide the design of a hybrid application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)-CZT detector package.

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