The x-ray polarization of compact objects in x-ray binaries allows us to understand the complex spacetimes surrounding these sources. XL-Calibur is a state-of-the-art, balloon-borne telescope that measures the linear polarization of stellar-mass black holes, neutron stars, and nebulae in the 15-80 keV energy band. The selected energy range allows for observing coronal emission from black holes while also enabling us to narrow down on emission models from neutron stars, pulsars, and magnetars. Early in 2024, XL-Calibur will be launched from Kiruna, Sweden for approximately 10 days to observe Cyg X-1 and Cyg X-3, or other sources chosen based on flux levels at the time of flight. Observations might be coordinated with the recently launched Imaging x-ray Polarimetry Explorer mission which measures polarization in the complimentary 2-8 keV band. Combined XL-Calibur and IXPE observations will yield information on both soft and hard x-rays allowing us to decompose the total emission from black holes into thermal disk and coronal. We discuss the characterization of the XL-Calibur CdZnTe detectors, the telescope mirror and truss setup, and preliminary results from our most recent flight.
The new generation of x-ray and gamma-ray detectors employ cryogenic detectors known as transition-edge sensors (TES) due to their high energy resolution and photon detection rates. These detectors require a refrigeration module that can operate at the transition temperature of the TES’s superconducting film—usually at mK temperatures. DR-TES consists of a novel mini-dilution refrigerator (DR) from Chase Research Cryogenics that can be used in balloon-borne missions to cool detectors to temperatures between 10 to 100mK. To test the viability of this DR module, we will be cooling down a SLEDGEHAMMER detector fabricated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology quantum sensor group. The SLEDGEHAMMER microcalorimeter uses TESs coupled to superconducting quantum interference devices which are in turn coupled to microwave resonators to detect x-rays and gamma-rays. We plan to fly the SLEDGEHAMMER detector cooled by the mini-DR on a stratospheric balloon flight in August of 2024 at Fort Sumner, NM. As a follow-up mission, 511-CAM will use a modified version of the detector to map the 511keV emission from the galactic center region.
The NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array) mission was launched in 2012, and it has successfully deployed the first orbiting telescopes to focus high energy X-ray (3 - 79 keV) light, providing a wealth of new information on high-energy X-rays sources. 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 the recent breakthroughs in the hard X-ray mirror technologies, where mirrors, either made of monolithic silicon segments, or made directly or via 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 the NuSTAR’s 1 arc-minute HPD. Such a high angular resolution requires matched detectors with higher degree of segmentation to fully benefit from the achievable improved spatial resolution. In the above framework, the HEXID ASIC, a novel pixelated front-end suitable for reading out a finely segmented CZT sensor with 150 μm pixel pitch in a hexagonal arrangement has been developed. This readout pixelated chip is capable of processing photon-generated charge packets over a large dynamic range (from 2 keV up to 180 keV), while keeping a low input noise (ENC <20 e-). In this work, the initial characterization of the ASIC prototype will be presented.
We have, at last, an observatory dedicated to X-ray polarimetry that has been operational since December 9th, 2021. The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) is a NASA SMEX mission, in partnership with ASI, based on three X-ray telescopes, each equipped with a polarization-sensitive detector in the focus. An extending boom was deployed in orbit, positioning the detectors at the optimal distance from the optics, which have a 4-meter focal length. The spacecraft is three-axis stabilized, providing power, attitude determination and control, transmission, and commanding capabilities.
After two and a half years of observation, IXPE has detected positive polarization from nearly all classes of celestial sources that emit X-rays. In this report, we describe the IXPE mission, detailing the performance of the scientific instrumentation after 2.5 years of operation. We also present the main astrophysical results and a few examples of scientific performance during flight.
X-ray polarization measurements can provide unique information that is complementary to that obtained through spectroscopic or imaging observations. However, there have been few cases where significant x-ray polarization has been observed. XL-Calibur, conducted in collaboration between Japan, the United States of America, and Sweden, is a balloon-borne mission that aims to conduct high-sensitivity polarimetric observations in the hard x-ray band from 15 to 80 keV. The Japanese group is in charge of developing the Hard X-ray Telescope (HXT) with high light-gathering power. Optical adjustments were completed in 2020, and the performance of the HXT was measured in June 2021 at the SPring-8 (synchrotron radiation facility in Hyogo, Japan). Subsequently, in July 2022, the first observation was conducted from Sweden to Canada. After the flight, the HXT was recovered, and we measured its performance again. By comparing the HXT performances before and after the flight, we found no significant changes that can affect the second flight scheduled in 2024.
IXPE, the first observatory dedicated to imaging x-ray polarimetry, was launched on Dec 9, 2021 and is operating successfully. A partnership between NASA and the Italian Space Agencey (ASI) IXPE features three x-ray telescopes each comprised of a mirror module assembly with a polarization sensitive detector at its focus. An extending boom was deployed on orbit to provide the necessary 4 m focal length. A three-axis-stabilized spacecraft provides power, attitude determination and control, and commanding. After one year of observation IXPE has measured statistically significant polarization from almost all the classes of celestial sources that emit X-rays. In the following we describe the IXPE mission, reporting on its performance after 1.5 year of operations. We show the main astrophysical results which are outstanding for a SMEX mission.
KEYWORDS: X-ray telescopes, X-rays, Tunable filters, Signal processing, Hard x-rays, Simulations, Sensors, Analog electronics, Spatial resolution, Design and modelling
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 five to ten arc seconds Half Power Diameter (HPD) compared to NuSTAR’s one 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.
The 511 keV γ-ray emission from the galactic center region may fully or partially originate from the annihilation of positrons from dark matter particles with electrons from the interstellar medium. Alternatively, the positrons could be created by astrophysical sources, involving exclusively standard model physics. We describe here a new concept for a 511 keV mission called 511-CAM (511 keV gamma-ray camera using microcalorimeters) that combines focusing γ-ray optics with a stack of transition edge sensor microcalorimeter arrays in the focal plane. The 511-CAM detector assembly has a projected 511 keV energy resolution of 390 eV full width half maximum or better, and improves by a factor of at least 11 on the performance of state-of-the-art Ge-based Compton telescopes. Combining this unprecedented energy resolution with sub-arcmin angular resolutions afforded by Laue lens or channeling optics could make substantial contributions toward identifying the origin of the 511 keV emission through discovering and characterizing point sources and measuring line-of-sight velocities of the emitting plasmas.
Core collapse supernovae are thought to be one of the main sources in the galaxy of elements heavier than iron. Understanding the origin of the elements is thus tightly linked to our understanding of the explosion mechanism of supernovae and supernova nucleosynthesis. X-ray and gamma-ray observations of young supernova remnants, combined with improved theoretical modeling, have resulted in enormous improvements in our knowledge of these events. The isotope Ti44 is one of the most sensitive probes of the innermost regions of the core collapse engine, and its spatial and velocity distribution are key observables. Hard x-ray imaging spectroscopy with the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) has provided new insights into the structure of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A), establishing the convective nature of the supernova engine. However, many questions about the details of this engine remain. We present here the concept for a balloon-borne follow-up mission called A SuperConducting ENergetic x-ray Telescope (ASCENT). ASCENT uses transition edge sensor gamma-ray microcalorimeter detectors with a demonstrated 55-eV full-width half maximum energy resolution at 97 keV. This 8- to 16-fold improvement in energy resolution over NuSTAR will allow for high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy of the Ti44 emission. This will allow for a detailed reconstruction of gamma-ray line redshifts, widths, and shapes, allowing us to address questions such as, What is the source of the neutron star kicks? What is the dominant production pathway for Ti44? Is the engine of Cas A unique?
XL-Calibur is a balloon-borne mission for hard x-ray polarimetry. The first launch is currently scheduled from Sweden in summer 2022. Japanese collaborators provide a hard x-ray telescope to the mission. The telescope’s design is identical to the Hard X-ray Telescope (HXT, conically-approximated Wolter-I optics) on board ASTROH with the same focal length of 12 m and the aperture of 45 cm, which can focus x-rays up to 80 keV. The telescope is divided into three segments in the circumferential direction, and confocal 213 grazing-incidence mirrors are precisely placed in the primary and secondary sections of each segment. The surfaces of the mirrors are coated with Pt/C depth-graded multilayer to reflect hard x-rays efficiently by the Bragg reflection. To achieve the best focus, optical adjustment of all of the segments was performed at the SPring-8/BL20B2 synchrotron radiation facility during 2020. A final performance evaluation was conducted in June 2021 and the experiment yields the effective area of 175 cm2 and 73 cm2 at 30 keV and 50 keV, respectively, with its half-power diameter of the point spread function as 2.1 arcmin. The field of view, defined as the full width of the half-maximum of the vignetting curve, is 5.9 arcmin.
NIST has developed microwave multiplexed microcalorimeter arrays for the detection of hard X-rays andγ-rays (Bennett et al. 2012, Mates et al. 2017). The arrays are made of tin or bismuth absorbers that are read-out with arrays of Transition Edge Sensors (TES). Each TES is coupled via a SQUID to a microwave resonator, and a single microwave line is used to sample the response of the resonators of all pixels. The detector arrays achieve an energy resolution of 55 eV FWHM at 97 keV. We report here on the performance of a 34-pixels prototype TES with a collimated 50μm diameter 20-50 keV X-ray beam as well as a Eu(152) source for a future balloon flight. We will furthermore describe a planned stratospheric balloon flight that will be used to demonstrate the performance of a novel mini-dilution refrigerator and the 34-pixels prototype detector in a space environment.
This paper introduces a second-generation balloon-borne hard X-ray polarimetry mission, XL-Calibur. X-ray polarimetry promises to give qualitatively new information about high-energy astrophysical sources, such as pulsars and binary black hole systems. The XL-Calibur contains a grazing incidence X-ray telescope with a focal plane detector unit that is sensitive to linear polarization. The telescope is very similar in design to the ASTRO-H HXT telescopes that has the world’s largest effective area above ~10 keV. The detector unit combines a low atomic number Compton scatterer with a CdZnTe detector assembly to measure the polarization making use of the fact that polarized photons Compton scatter preferentially perpendicular to the electric field orientation. It also contains a CdZnTe imager at the bottom. The detector assembly is surrounded by the improved anti-coincidence shielding, giving a better sensitivity. The pointing system with arcsecond accuracy will be achieved.
XL-Calibur is a balloon-borne hard X-ray polarimetry mission, the first flight of which is currently foreseen for 2021. XL-Calibur carries an X-ray telescope consists of consists of 213 Wolter I grazing-incidence mirrors which are nested in a coaxial and cofocal configuration. The optics design is nearly identical to the Hard X-ray Telescope (HXT) on board the ASTRO-H satellite. The telescope was originally fabricated for the Formation Flying Astronomical Survey Telescope (FFAST) project. However, the telescope can be used for XL-Calibur, since the FFAST project was terminated before completion. The mirror surfaces are coated with Pt/C depth-graded multilayers to reflect hard X-rays above 10 keV by Bragg reflection. The effective area of the telescope is larger than 300 cm^2 at 30 keV. The mirrors are supported by alignment bars in the housing, and each of the bars has a series of 213 grooves to hold the mirrors. To obtain the best focus of the optics, the positions of the mirrors have to be adjusted by tuning the positions of the alignment bars. The tuning of the mirror positions is conducted using the X-ray beam at the synchrotron facility SPring-8 BL20B2, and this process is called optical tuning. First the positions of the second reflectors are tuned, and then those of the first reflectors are tuned. We did the first optical tuning in Jan 2020. The second tuning will be planned between April to July, 2020. This paper reports the current status of the hard X-ray telescope for XL-Calibur.
The Lynx next-generation soft X-ray telescope is being proposed to significantly increase the effective area of Chandra while keeping sub-arcsecond imaging resolution. To produce the necessary optics, we propose to build and test a novel class of low-voltage thin-film actuators based on electroactive polymers to address the need for adjustable mirror control in future high-resolution X-ray missions such as Lynx. Electroactive polymers can produce high strains at low voltages, being able to correct the deformations that submillimeter-thick mirror shells will experience in future X-ray missions. Fabrication of polymer-based thin films is a low-cost, scalable technology that can be easily translated to production by industrial partners. With processing temperatures below 140°C, electroactive polymer films can be deposited on glass mirror substrates without risk of introducing additional slumping errors. With the high imaging resolution enabled by our proposed mirror correction technology, Lynx will be capable of detecting the first accreting black holes, study the evolution of galaxies and growth of cosmic structure, and verify the existence of a Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM) that could account for the large fraction of missing baryonic matter in the Universe.
X-ray polarimetry promises exciting insights into the physics of compact astrophysical objects by providing two observables: the polarization fraction and angle as function of energy. X-Calibur is a balloon-borne hard x-ray scattering polarimeter for the 15- to 60-keV energy range. After the successful test flight in September 2016, the instrument is now being prepared for a long-duration balloon (LDB) flight in December 2018 through January 2019. During the LDB flight, X-Calibur will make detailed measurements of the polarization of Vela X-1 and constrain the polarization of a sample of between 4 and 9 additional sources. We describe the upgraded polarimeter design, including the use of a beryllium scattering element, lower-noise front-end electronics, and an improved fully active CsI(Na) anticoincidence shield, which will significantly increase the instrument sensitivity. We present estimates of the improved polarimeter performance based on simulations and laboratory measurements. We present some of the results from the 2016 flight and show that we solved several problems, which led to a reduced sensitivity during the 2016 flight. We end with a description of the planned Vela X-1 observations, including a Swift/BAT-guided observation strategy.
P. Soffitta, R. Bellazzini, E. Bozzo, V. Burwitz, A. Castro-Tirado, E. Costa, T. Courvoisier, H. Feng, S. Gburek, R. Goosmann, V. Karas, G. Matt, F. Muleri, K. Nandra, M. Pearce, J. Poutanen, V. Reglero, D. Sabau Maria, A. Santangelo, G. Tagliaferri, C. Tenzer, J. Vink, M. Weisskopf, S. Zane, I. Agudo, A. Antonelli, P. Attina, L. Baldini, A. Bykov, R. Carpentiero, E. Cavazzuti, E. Churazov, E. Del Monte, D. De Martino, I. Donnarumma, V. Doroshenko, Y. Evangelista, I. Ferreira, E. Gallo, N. Grosso, P. Kaaret, E. Kuulkers, J. Laranaga, L. Latronico, D. Lumb, J. Macian, J. Malzac, F. Marin, E. Massaro, M. Minuti, C. Mundell, J. U. Ness, T. Oosterbroek, S. Paltani, G. Pareschi, R. Perna, P.-O. Petrucci, H. B. Pinazo, M. Pinchera, J. P. Rodriguez, M. Roncadelli, A. Santovincenzo, S. Sazonov, C. Sgro, D. Spiga, J. Svoboda, C. Theobald, T. Theodorou, R. Turolla, E. Wilhelmi de Ona, B. Winter, A. M. Akbar, H. Allan, R. Aloisio, D. Altamirano, L. Amati, E. Amato, E. Angelakis, J. Arezu, J.-L. Atteia, M. Axelsson, M. Bachetti, L. Ballo, S. Balman, R. Bandiera, X. Barcons, S. Basso, A. Baykal, W. Becker, E. Behar, B. Beheshtipour, R. Belmont, E. Berger, F. Bernardini, S. Bianchi, G. Bisnovatyi-Kogan, P. Blasi, P. Blay, A. Bodaghee, M. Boer, M. Boettcher, S. Bogdanov, I. Bombaci, R. Bonino, J. Braga, W. Brandt, A. Brez, N. Bucciantini, L. Burderi, I. Caiazzo, R. Campana, S. Campana, F. Capitanio, M. Cappi, M. Cardillo, P. Casella, O. Catmabacak, B. Cenko, P. Cerda-Duran, C. Cerruti, S. Chaty, M. Chauvin, Y. Chen, J. Chenevez, M. Chernyakova, C. C. Cheung, D. Christodoulou, P. Connell, R. Corbet, F. Coti Zelati, S. Covino, W. Cui, G. Cusumano, A. D’Ai, F. D’Ammando, M. Dadina, Z. Dai, A. De Rosa, L. de Ruvo, N. Degenaar, M. Del Santo, L. Del Zanna, G. Dewangan, S. Di Cosimo, N. Di Lalla, G. Di Persio, T. Di Salvo, T. Dias, C. Done, M. Dovciak, G. Doyle, L. Ducci, R. Elsner, T. Enoto, J. Escada, P. Esposito, C. Eyles, S. Fabiani, M. Falanga, S. Falocco, Y. Fan, R. Fender, M. Feroci, C. Ferrigno, W. Forman, L. Foschini, C. Fragile, F. Fuerst, Y. Fujita, J. L. Gasent-Blesa, J. Gelfand, B. Gendre, G. Ghirlanda, G. Ghisellini, M. Giroletti, D. Goetz, E. Gogus, J.-L. Gomez, D. Gonzalez, R. Gonzalez-Riestra, E. Gotthelf, L. Gou, P. Grandi, V. Grinberg, F. Grise, C. Guidorzi, N. Gurlebeck, T. Guver, D. Haggard, M. Hardcastle, D. Hartmann, C. Haswell, A. Heger, M. Hernanz, J. Heyl, L. Ho, J. Hoormann, J. Horak, J. Huovelin, D. Huppenkothen, R. Iaria, C. Inam Sitki, A. Ingram, G. Israel, L. Izzo, M. Burgess, M. Jackson, L. Ji, J. Jiang, T. Johannsen, C. Jones, S. Jorstad, J. J. E. Kajava, M. Kalamkar, E. Kalemci, T. Kallman, A. Kamble, F. Kislat, M. Kiss, D. Klochkov, E. Koerding, M. Kolehmainen, K. Koljonen, S. Komossa, A. Kong, S. Korpela, M. Kowalinski, H. Krawczynski, I. Kreykenbohm, M. Kuss, D. Lai, M. Lan, J. Larsson, S. Laycock, D. Lazzati, D. Leahy, H. Li, J. Li, L.-X. Li, T. Li, Z. Li, M. Linares, M. Lister, H. Liu, G. Lodato, A. Lohfink, F. Longo, G. 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Zdziarski, A. Zech, H. Zhang, S. Zhang, W. Zhang, A. Zoghbi
XIPE, the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer, is a mission dedicated to X-ray Astronomy. At the time of
writing XIPE is in a competitive phase A as fourth medium size mission of ESA (M4). It promises to reopen the
polarimetry window in high energy Astrophysics after more than 4 decades thanks to a detector that efficiently
exploits the photoelectric effect and to X-ray optics with large effective area. XIPE uniqueness is time-spectrally-spatially-
resolved X-ray polarimetry as a breakthrough in high energy astrophysics and fundamental physics.
Indeed the payload consists of three Gas Pixel Detectors at the focus of three X-ray optics with a total effective
area larger than one XMM mirror but with a low weight. The payload is compatible with the fairing of the Vega
launcher. XIPE is designed as an observatory for X-ray astronomers with 75 % of the time dedicated to a Guest
Observer competitive program and it is organized as a consortium across Europe with main contributions from
Italy, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, Poland, Sweden.
Cadmium Zinc Telluride and Cadmium Telluride are the detector materials of choice for the detection of X-rays in the X-ray energy band E ≥ 5 keV with excellent spatial and spectral resolution and without cryogenic cooling. Owing to recent breakthroughs in grazing incidence mirror technology, next-generation hard X-ray telescopes will achieve angular resolution between 5 and 10 arc seconds - about an order of magnitude better than that of the NuSTAR hard X-ray telescope. As a consequence, the next generation of X-ray telescopes will require pixelated X-ray detectors with pixels on a grid with a lattice constant of ≤ 250 μm. Additional detector requirements include a low energy threshold of less than 5 keV and an energy resolution of less than one keV. The science drivers for a high angular-resolution X-ray mission include studies and measurements of black hole spins, the cosmic evolution of super-massive black holes, active galactic nuclei feedback, and the behaviour of matter at very high densities. In this contribution, we report on our RandD studies with the goal to optimise small-pixel Cadmium Zinc Telluride and Cadmium Telluride detectors.
X-ray polarimetry promises to give qualitatively new information about high-energy astrophysical sources, such
as binary black hole systems, micro-quasars, active galactic nuclei, and gamma-ray bursts. We designed, built and
tested a hard X-ray polarimeter, X-Calibur, to be used in the focal plane of the InFOCμS grazing incidence hard
X-ray telescope. X-Calibur combines a low-Z Compton scatterer with a CZT detector assembly to measure the
polarization of 20−60 keV X-rays making use of the fact that polarized photons Compton scatter preferentially
perpendicular to the electric field orientation; in principal, a similar space-borne experiment could be operated
in the 5 − 100 keV regime. X-Calibur achieves a high detection efficiency of order unity.
Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) is the detector material of choice for the detection of X-rays in the 10 keV-1MeV
energy band with excellent spatial and energy resolutions and without cryogenic cooling. In this contribution,
we report on recent results of the CZT detector development program and several astrophysical experiments
which make use of CZT detectors. In the first part of the paper, we discuss the performance of pixel and
cross-strip CZT detectors read out with an ASIC developed at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. Our pixel
detectors achieve some of the best energy resolutions reported in the literature. Cross-strip detectors are found
to give an inferior performance and we investigate the reason for this performance difference. We also present
results from a precision measurement of the effect of a steering grid on multi-pixel events obtained with a
200 micrometer collimator. In the second part of the paper, we describe the design and performance of the
hard X-ray polarimeter X-Calibur. The polarimeter uses a 14 cm long scintillator scatterer, surrounded by an
assembly of 32 2-5 mm thick CZT detectors. We discuss the sensitivity of the polarimeter to measure the linear
polarization of 10 keV-80 keV X-rays on short and long balloon flights and results from testing the polarimeter
in the laboratory.
X-ray polarimetry promises to give qualitatively new information about high-energy astrophysical sources, such
as binary black hole systems, micro-quasars, active galactic nuclei, and gamma-ray bursts. We designed, built and
tested a hard X-ray polarimeter X-Calibur to be used in the focal plane of the InFOCμS grazing incidence hard
X-ray telescope. X-Calibur combines a low-Z Compton scatterer with a CZT detector assembly to measure the
polarization of 10-80 keV X-rays making use of the fact that polarized photons Compton scatter preferentially
perpendicular to the electric field orientation. X-Calibur achieves a high detection efficiency of order unity.
The hard X-ray sky now being studied by INTEGRAL and Swift and soon by NuSTAR is rich with energetic phenomena
and highly variable non-thermal phenomena on a broad range of timescales. The High Energy Telescope (HET) on the
proposed Energetic X-ray Imaging Survey Telescope (EXIST) mission will repeatedly survey the full sky for rare and
luminous hard X-ray phenomena at unprecedented sensitivities. It will detect and localize (<20", at 5σ threshold) X-ray
sources quickly for immediate followup identification by two other onboard telescopes - the Soft X-ray imager (SXI)
and Optical/Infrared Telescope (IRT). The large array (4.5 m2) of imaging (0.6 mm pixel) CZT detectors in the HET, a
coded-aperture telescope, will provide unprecedented high sensitivity (~0.06 mCrab Full Sky in a 2 year continuous
scanning survey) in the 5 - 600 keV band. The large field of view (90° × 70°) and zenith scanning with alternating-orbital
nodding motion planned for the first 2 years of the mission will enable nearly continuous monitoring of the full
sky. A 3y followup pointed mission phase provides deep UV-Optical-IR-Soft X-ray and Hard X-ray imaging and
spectroscopy for thousands of sources discovered in the Survey. We review the HET design concept and report the
recent progress of the CZT detector development, which is underway through a series of balloon-borne wide-field hard
X-ray telescope experiments, ProtoEXIST. We carried out a successful flight of the first generation of fine pixel large
area CZT detectors (ProtoEXIST1) on Oct 9, 2009. We also summarize our future plan (ProtoEXIST2 & 3) for the
technology development needed for the HET.
ProtoEXIST1 is a pathfinder for the EXIST-HET, a coded aperture hard X-ray telescope with a 4.5 m2 CZT
detector plane a 90x70 degree field of view to be flown as the primary instrument on the EXIST mission and
is intended to monitor the full sky every 3 h in an effort to locate GRBs and other high energy transients.
ProtoEXIST1 consists of a 256 cm2 tiled CZT detector plane containing 4096 pixels composed of an 8x8 array
of individual 1.95 cm x 1.95 cm x 0.5 cm CZT detector modules each with a 8 x 8 pixilated anode configured
as a coded aperture telescope with a fully coded 10° x 10° field of view employing passive side shielding and
an active CsI anti-coincidence rear shield, recently completed its maiden flight out of Ft. Sumner, NM on the
9th of October 2009. During the duration of its 6 hour flight on-board calibration of the detector plane was
carried out utilizing a single tagged 198.8 nCi Am-241 source along with the simultaneous measurement of the
background spectrum and an observation of Cygnus X-1. Here we recount the events of the flight and report
on the detector performance in a near space environment. We also briefly discuss ProtoEXIST2: the next
stage of detector development which employs the NuSTAR ASIC enabling finer (32×32) anode pixilation. When
completed ProtoEXIST2 will consist of a 256 cm2 tiled array and be flown simultaneously with the ProtoEXIST1
telescope.
X-ray polarimetry offers a unique vantage to investigate particle acceleration from compact objects and relativistic
outflows. The HX-POL concept uses a combination of Si and Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) detectors to measure
the polarization of 50 keV - 500 keV X-rays from cosmic sources through the azimuthal distribution of Compton
scattered events. HX-POL would allow us to measure the polarization degrees of Crab-like sources well below
10% for a one day balloon flight. A longer (15-30 day) flight would improve the polarization degree sensitivity
to a few percent. In this contribution, we discuss the sensitivity of a space-borne HX-POL payload, and present
new results from laboratory tests of the HX-POL Si and CZT detectors.
Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) continues to progress in quality and cost as a material for the detection of
hard X-ray and gamma-ray photons with excellent spatial and energy resolutions. We are developing large-volume
(0.5×3.9×3.9 cm3) cross-strip CZT detectors with the objective to combine the excellent performance
achieved so far only with pixelated CZT detectors with a reduced number of readout channels. In this contribution,
we discuss the spectroscopic performance of large volume CZT detectors from the company Orbotech
when contacted as pixelated detectors. Subsequently, we present results obtained when the same substrates
where contacted with cross-strip contacts. Finally, we use the results from a simulation study to discuss the
optimization of the design of the strip contacts and the readout electronics.
We report on the continued development and testing of unique types of Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) detectors.
Using large volume (10×20×20 mm3) CZT crystals, we contact various "dual anode" detector designs. We
incorporate a segmented cathode with five regions so that the charge on all seven contacts can be used to
determine the energy and the 3-D interaction location of detected X-ray and gamma-ray photons. We describe
the status of the detector development program, emphasize strengths and weaknesses of the different contact
configurations, and discuss possible applications of Dual Anode Detectors in radiation detection applications.
S. Torii, M. Hareyama, N. Hasebe, K. Kasahara, S. Kobayashi, S. Kodaira, H. Murakami, S. Ozawa, S. Udo, N. Yamashita, K. Ebisawa, H. Fuke, J. Nishimura, Y. Saito, M. Takayanagi, H. Tomida, S. Ueno, T. Yamagami, K. Hibino, S. Okuno, T. Tamura, N. Tateyama, T. Kobayashi, T. Kotani, K. Yamaoka, A. Yoshida, Y. Shimizu, M. Takita, T. Yuda, Y. Katayose, M. Shibata, E. Kamioka, A. Kubota, K. Yoshida, M. Ichimura, S. Kuramata, Y. Tunesada, T. Terasawa, H. Kitamura, Y. Uchihori, Y. Komori, K. Mizutani, K. Munakata, A. Shiomi, J. Mitchell, A. Ericsson, T. Hams, J. Krizmanic, A. Moissev, M. Sasaki, J. Ormes, M. Cherry, T. Guzik, J. Wefel, W. Binns, M. Israel, H. Krawczynski, P. Marrocchesi, M. Gagliesi, G. Bigongiari, A. Caldarone, M. Kim, R. Cecchi, P. Maestro, V. Millucci, R. Zei, C. Avanzini, T. Lotadze, A. Messineo, F. Morsani, O. Adirani, L. Bonechi, P. Papini, E. Vannuccini, J. Chan, W. Gan, T. Lu, Y. Ma, H. Wang, G. Chen
KEYWORDS: Particles, Gamma radiation, Sensors, Space telescopes, Electroluminescence, Scintillators, Signal to noise ratio, Anisotropy, Telescopes, Solar energy
We are developing the CALorimetric Electron Telescope, CALET, mission for the Japanese Experiment Module
Exposed Facility, JEM-EF, of the International Space Station. Major scientific objectives are to search for the nearby
cosmic ray sources and dark matter by carrying out a precise measurement of the electrons in 1 GeV - 20 TeV and
gamma rays in 20 MeV - several 10 TeV. CALET has a unique capability to observe electrons and gamma rays over 1
TeV since the hadron rejection power can be larger than 105 and the energy resolution better than a few % over 100 GeV.
The detector consists of an imaging calorimeter with scintillating fibers and tungsten plates and a total absorption
calorimeter with BGO scintillators. CALET has also a capability to measure cosmic ray H, He and heavy ionsi up to
1000 TeV. It also will have a function to monitor solar activity and gamma ray transients. The phase A study has
started on a schedule of launch in 2013 by H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) for 5 year observation.
We report our progress on the development of pixellated imaging CZT detector arrays for our first-generation balloon-borne
wide-field hard X-ray (20 - 600 keV) telescope, ProtoEXIST1. Our ProtoEXIST program is a pathfinder for the
High Energy Telescope (HET) on the Energetic X-ray Imaging Survey telescope (EXIST), a proposed implementation of
the Black Hole Finder Probe. ProtoEXIST1 consists of four independent coded-aperture telescopes with close-tiled (~0.4
mm gaps) CZT detectors that preserve their 2.5mm pixel pitch. Multiple shielding/field-of-view configurations are
planned to identify optimal geometry for the HET in EXIST. The primary technical challenge in ProtoEXIST is the
development of large area, close-tiled modules of imaging CZT detectors (1000 cm2 for ProtoEXIST1), with all readout
and control systems for the ASIC readout vertically stacked. We describe the overall telescope configuration of
ProtoEXIST1 and review the current development status of the CZT detectors, from individual detector crystal units
(DCUs) to a full detector module (DM). We have built the first units of each component for the detector plane and have
completed a few Rev2 DCUs (2x2 cm2), which are under a series of tests. Bare DCUs (pre-crystal bonding) show high,
uniform ASIC yield (~70%) and ~30% reduction in electronics noise compared to the Rev1 equivalent. A Rev1 DCU
already achieved ~1.2% FWHM at 662 keV, and preliminary analysis of the initial radiation tests on a Rev2 DCU shows
~ 4 keV FWHM at 60 keV (vs. 4.7 keV for Rev1). We therefore expect about ≤1% FWHM at 662 keV with the Rev2 detectors.
One of the key aspects of a detector material for space-borne hard X-ray and gamma-ray telescopes is the rate of
prompt and delayed background events generated inside the material by charged and neutral particles striking the detector. These particles are Cosmic Rays, particles trapped in Earth's magnetic field, and secondaries
from Cosmic Ray interacting with the atmosphere and the spacecraft. Here, we present a preliminary study of
Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) and its behaviour in space environments. We have used the simulation package
MGGPOD to estimate the background of the CZT detectors in the proposed Energetic X-ray Imaging Survey
Telescope (EXIST) for possible orbital parameters. The EXIST mission will make use of ~6 m2 of >0.5 cm
thick CZT detectors to record cosmic X-rays in the energy range from 10 keV to 600 keV. The detectors will be
shielded by a fully or partly active shield. For the specific detector and shielding geometry considered here and
an orbit with a low (7°) inclination, the background rate is dominated by diffuse extragalactic photons below
~200 keV. Prompt and delayed hadronic backgrounds grow increasingly important above this energy, becoming
the main contributors to the total background above ~1 MeV. A fully active shield performs slightly better than
a half active/half passive shield.
We report here on the optimization of 0.5 cm thick pixelated Orbotech CZT detectors with regards to the
best contacting materials and the use of steering grids. We evaluated the performance of different contacting
materials. Our study differs from earlier ones in that we investigated the performance of different anode and
cathode materials separately. We obtain the best performance with Au cathodes. For different anode materials
Ti and In give the best energy resolutions. The detector (2.0×2.0×0.5 cm3, 8×8 pixels) shows excellent 59 keV,
122 keV and 662 keV energy resolutions of 1.4 keV, 1.9 keV, and 7.4 keV, respectively. Furthermore, we report
on using steering grids to improve on the performance of the pixelated detectors. Previously, the benefit of
steering grids had been limited by additional electronic noise associated with currents between the negatively
biased steering grids and the anode pixels. We are currently exploring the possibility to isolate the steering grid
from the CZT substrates by a thin layer of Al2O3. We performed a series of measurements to determine by
how much the isolation layer reduces the grid-pixel currents. Comparing the currents between two Au contacts
before and after isolating one of the two contacts from the CZT with a 700 nm thick layer of Al2O3, we measure
that the isolation layer reduces the currents by a factor of about 10 at 500 V. We present some results from
a detector before and after deposition of an isolated steering grid. The grid indeed improves on the detectors
energy resolution and detection efficiency. We show that simulations can be used to model the anode to cathode
charge correlation in excellent agreement with the experimental results.
Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) achieves excellent spatial resolution and good energy resolution over the broad energy range from several keV into the MeV energy range. In this paper we present the results of a systematic study of the performance of CZT detectors manufacturered by Orbotech (before IMARAD) depending on surface preparation, contact materials and contact deposition. The standard Orbotech detectors have the dimension of 2.0×2.0×0.5 cm. They have a pixellated In anode with 8×8 pixels and a monolithic In cathode. Using the same CZT substrates several times, we have made a direct comparison of the performance of different contact materials by replacing the cathode and/or the anode contacts with several high- workfunction metals. We present the performance of the detectors and conclude with an overview over our ongoing detector optimization.
Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) detectors are having a major impact on the field of hard X-ray astronomy. Without the need for cryogenic cooling they achieve good spatial and energy resolutions over the broad energy range from 10 keV to ~600 keV. In this paper, we briefly review the historical development of detectors used in X-ray astronomy. Subsequently, we present an evaluation of CZT detectors from the company Imarad. The standard 2x2x0.5 cm detectors, contacted
with 8x8 In pixels and an In cathode, exhibit FWHM energy resolutions
of 7 keV at 59 keV, and 10 keV at 662 keV. A direct measurement of the 662 keV photopeak efficiency gives 67%. We have started a detailed study of the performance of Imarad detectors depending on surface preparation, contact materials, contact deposition, post-deposition detector annealing, and detector passivation techniques.
We present first results from contacting detectors with Cr, Ag, Au, and Pt.
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