Recent developments in transition-edge strip detectors for solar x-rays

LMSAL and NIST are developing position-sensitive x-ray strip detectors based on Transition Edge Sensor (TES) microcalorimeters optimized for solar physics. By combining high spectral (E/ΔE ~1600) and temporal (single photon Δt ~10μs) resolutions with imaging capabilities, these devices will be able to study high-temperature (>10 MK) x-ray lines as never before. Diagnostics from these lines should provide significant new insight into the physics of both microflares and the early stages of flares. Previously, the large size of traditional TESs, along with the heat loads associated with wiring large arrays, presented obstacles to using these cryogenic detectors for solar missions. Implementing strip detector technology at small scales, however, addresses both issues: here, a line of substantially smaller effective pixels requires only two TESs, decreasing both the total array size and the wiring requirements for the same spatial resolution. Early results show energy resolutions of Δ ΕFWHM ~30eV and spatial resolutions of ~10-15 μm, suggesting the strip-detector concept is viable.

[1]  K. Irwin,et al.  Superconducting multiplexer for arrays of transition edge sensors , 1999 .

[2]  Enectali Figueroa-Feliciano,et al.  The XQC microcalorimeter sounding rocket: a stable LTD platform 30 seconds after rocket motor burnout , 2000 .

[3]  Kent D. Irwin,et al.  Progress toward kilopixel arrays: 3.8eV microcalorimeter resolution in 8-channel SQUID multiplexer , 2006 .

[4]  Sae Woo Nam,et al.  Detection of single infrared, optical, and ultraviolet photons using superconducting transition edge sensors , 1998 .

[5]  K. Irwin An application of electrothermal feedback for high resolution cryogenic particle detection , 1995 .

[6]  H. Tananbaum,et al.  The science goals of the Constellation-X Mission , 2004, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation.

[7]  S. R. Bandler,et al.  Performance of TES X-ray Microcalorimeters with a Novel Absorber Design , 2008 .

[8]  John M. Martinis,et al.  Transition edge sensor array development , 2001 .

[9]  Robert F. Boyle,et al.  NASA advanced cryocooler technology development program , 2003, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation.

[10]  J. Brown,et al.  Nonsolar astronomy with the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) , 2003, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation.

[11]  David J. Goldie,et al.  Characterisation and modelling of transition edge sensor distributed read-out imaging devices , 2006 .

[12]  S. H. Moseley,et al.  A High Spectral Resolution Observation of the Soft X-Ray Diffuse Background with Thermal Detectors , 2000, astro-ph/0205012.

[13]  Ryuichi Fujimoto,et al.  The Suzaku High Resolution X-Ray Spectrometer , 2007 .

[14]  T. C. Nast,et al.  Development of a Space‐Type 4‐Stage Pulse Tube Cryocooler for Very Low Temperature , 2006 .

[15]  Enectali Figueroa-Feliciano,et al.  Complex microcalorimeter models and their application to position-sensitive detectors , 2006 .

[16]  Richard C. Catura,et al.  Calculated Performance Of A Wolter Type I X-Ray Telescope Coated By Multilayers , 1982, Other Conferences.

[17]  Jay A. Bookbinder,et al.  The Reconnection And Microscale (RAM) Solar-Terrestrial Probe , 2003, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation.

[18]  G. Hilton,et al.  X-ray Microcalorimeter Research for Solar Physics at LMSAL and NIST: An Update , 2008 .