Design and characterization of a novel 1-ns multi-frame imager for the Ultra-Fast X-ray Imager (UXI) program at Sandia National Laboratories

The Daedalus camera is a second-generation imager for the Ultra-Fast X-ray Imager (UXI) program, achieving 1 ns, time-gated, multi-frame image sets for High Energy Density (HED) physics experiments. Daedalus includes a 1024 x 512 pixel array with 25 μm spatial resolution with three frames of storage per pixel with three times larger full well (1.5 million e-) than the last generation camera, Icarus. Daedalus incorporates an improved timing generation and distribution concept to facilitate broader user configurability and application space while improving timing resolution to 1 ns. Electrical timing measurements demonstrated 1 nanosecond shutters. Analog dynamic range is sufficient to provide the expected full well. Read noise of 210 e- has been measured, exceeding design goals. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc. for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.