The high-speed X-ray camera on AXIS

Kavli Affiliate: Peter Orel

| First 5 Authors: Eric D. Miller, Marshall W. Bautz, Catherine E. Grant, Richard F. Foster, Beverly LaMarr

| Summary:

AXIS is a Probe-class mission concept that will provide high-throughput,
high-spatial-resolution X-ray spectral imaging, enabling transformative studies
of high-energy astrophysical phenomena. To take advantage of the advanced
optics and avoid photon pile-up, the AXIS focal plane requires detectors with
readout rates at least 20 times faster than previous soft X-ray imaging
spectrometers flying aboard missions such as Chandra and Suzaku, while
retaining the low noise, excellent spectral performance, and low power
requirements of those instruments. We present the design of the AXIS high-speed
X-ray camera, which baselines large-format MIT Lincoln Laboratory CCDs
employing low-noise pJFET output amplifiers and a single-layer polysilicon gate
structure that allows fast, low-power clocking. These detectors are combined
with an integrated high-speed, low-noise ASIC readout chip from Stanford
University that provides better performance than conventional discrete
solutions at a fraction of their power consumption and footprint. Our
complementary front-end electronics concept employs state of the art digital
video waveform capture and advanced signal processing to deliver low noise at
high speed. We review the current performance of this technology, highlighting
recent improvements on prototype devices that achieve excellent noise
characteristics at the required readout rate. We present measurements of the
CCD spectral response across the AXIS energy band, augmenting lab measurements
with detector simulations that help us understand sources of charge loss and
evaluate the quality of the CCD backside passivation technique. We show that
our technology is on a path that will meet our requirements and enable AXIS to
achieve world-class science.

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