Abstract
In the early 2030s, ESAs new X-ray observatory, Athena, is scheduled to be launched. It will carry two main
instruments, one of which is the X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU), an X-ray imaging spectrometer, which will consist of an array of several thousand transition-edge sensors (TESs) with a proposed energy resolution of 2.5 eV for photon energies up to 7 keV. At SRON we develop the backup TES
array based on Ti/Au bilayers with a transition temperature just below 100 mK. In this contribution we will give a broad overview of the properties and capabilities of these state-of-the-art detectors. Over the years we have fabricated and studied a large number of detectors with various
geometries, providing us with a good understanding of how to precisely control the properties of our detectors. We are able to accurately vary the most important detector properties, such as the normal resistance, thermal conductance and critical temperature. This allows us to finely tune our
detectors to meet the demands of various applications. The detectors have demonstrated excellent energy resolutions of below 1.8 eV for 5.9 keV X-rays. By tuning the properties of the devices, they can be optimally matched to various read-out schemes using both AC and DC biasing. The next step is to increase the size of our TES arrays from our current kilo-pixel arrays towards the
full-sized array for X-IFU.
instruments, one of which is the X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU), an X-ray imaging spectrometer, which will consist of an array of several thousand transition-edge sensors (TESs) with a proposed energy resolution of 2.5 eV for photon energies up to 7 keV. At SRON we develop the backup TES
array based on Ti/Au bilayers with a transition temperature just below 100 mK. In this contribution we will give a broad overview of the properties and capabilities of these state-of-the-art detectors. Over the years we have fabricated and studied a large number of detectors with various
geometries, providing us with a good understanding of how to precisely control the properties of our detectors. We are able to accurately vary the most important detector properties, such as the normal resistance, thermal conductance and critical temperature. This allows us to finely tune our
detectors to meet the demands of various applications. The detectors have demonstrated excellent energy resolutions of below 1.8 eV for 5.9 keV X-rays. By tuning the properties of the devices, they can be optimally matched to various read-out schemes using both AC and DC biasing. The next step is to increase the size of our TES arrays from our current kilo-pixel arrays towards the
full-sized array for X-IFU.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022 |
Subtitle of host publication | Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray |
Editors | Jan-Willem A. den Herder, Shouleh Nikzad, Kazuhiro Nakazawa |
Number of pages | 13 |
Volume | 12181 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781510653436 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2022 |
Event | SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2022 - Montréal, Canada Duration: 17 Jul 2022 → 22 Jul 2022 |
Publication series
Name | Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering |
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Volume | 12181 |
ISSN (Print) | 0277-786X |
ISSN (Electronic) | 1996-756X |
Conference
Conference | SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2022 |
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Country/Territory | Canada |
City | Montréal |
Period | 17/07/22 → 22/07/22 |
Keywords
- Transition Edge Sensors
- X-ray spectroscopy
- X-IFU
- Athena