The focal plane camera for tREXS

James H. Tutt, Drew M. Miles, Randall M. McEntaffer, Tyler Anderson, Matthew Weiss, Bridget C. O'Meara

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Rockets for Extended-source X-ray Spectroscopy (tREXS) are a series of sub-orbital rocket payloads that will aim to make large field-of-view spectroscopic observations of diffuse soft X-ray astrophysical objects. The tREXS payloads will passively focus X-rays onto a co-Aligned array of reflection gratings, dispersing the incident X-rays onto a focal plane camera. The large focal plane requires the detector to cover a large area (100s of mm), have good quantum efficiency across the soft X-ray energy range (300 eV to 1000 eV), and survive the high-stress environment of a sub-orbital rocket launch. This paper will look at the options that were considered for this focal plane detector including Micro-Channel Plates, Charge-Coupled Devices, and CMOS detectors; including the use of commercially available camera solutions from companies such as Andor. The final choice for the focal plane camera will then be discussed in detail including the ultimate decisions behind the choice, system level integration into the payload design, and the requirements on the readout electronics, telemetry interface, and power.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XXI
EditorsOswald H. Siegmund
PublisherSPIE
ISBN (Electronic)9781510629295
DOIs
StatePublished - 2019
EventUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XXI 2019 - San Diego, United States
Duration: Aug 11 2019Aug 13 2019

Publication series

NameProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Volume11118
ISSN (Print)0277-786X
ISSN (Electronic)1996-756X

Conference

ConferenceUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XXI 2019
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySan Diego
Period8/11/198/13/19

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Applied Mathematics
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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