Cooled backside-illuminated CCD for x-ray microscopy application

In x-ray microscopy applications of CCDs in the water window region, radiation damage in the MOS structure due to x rays is a problem. The backside illuminated CCD is one of the possibilities to solve the problem. This paper reports about a CCD imaging system for x-ray microscopy applications using a backside illuminated CCD (EEV Ltd., CCD 02-06). The system is used for a zone plate x-ray microscope using a laser plasma source. It is effective to take an image with a single x-ray pulse. The dark noise is 1 electron/s/pixel (r.m.s.) at a temperature of -53 degree(s)C. The quantum efficiency is measured between the wavelength of 2.25 - 8 nm.