Abstract
DSRI has initiated a development program of CZT X-ray and gamma raydetectors employing strip readout techniques. A dramatic improvement ofthe energy response was found operating the detectors as so-called driftdetectors. For the electronic readout, modern ASIC chips wereinvestigated. Modular design and the low power electronics will make largearea detectors using the drift strip method feasible. The performance of aprototype CZT system will be presented and discussed. One such detector system has been proposed for future space missions: TheX-Ray Imager (XRI) on the Atmospheric X-ray Observatory (AXO), whichis a mission proposed to the Danish Small Satellite Program and is dedicatedto observations of X-ray generating processes in the Earth's atmosphere. Ofspecial interest will be simultaneous optical and X-ray observations of spritesthat are flashes appearing directly above an active thunderstorm system.Additional objective is a detailed mapping of the auroral X-ray and opticalemission. XRI comprises a coded mask and a 20 cm × 40 cm CZTdetector array covering an energy range from 5 to 200 keV.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Christensen, F.E.: 1996, Multilayer mirrors for future X-ray missions, Proc. NGXO meeting, Leicester, p. 133.
Ivanov, V.I., et al.: 1995, Spectrometric Characteristic Improvement of CdTe detectors, IEEE Tranc. Nucl. Sci. 42, No. 4, 258-262.
Luke, P.N.: 1995, Unipolar Charge Sensing with Coplanar Electrodes-Application to Semiconductor Detectors, IEEE Tranc. Nucl. Sci. 42, No. 4, 207-213.
Lund, J.C., et al.: 1996, The Use of Pulse Processing Techniques to Improve the Performance of Cd1-xZnxTe Gamma-Ray Spectrometers, IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 43, No. 3, Part II of III, 1411-1416.
Mende, S.B., Sentman, D.D. and Wescott, E.M.: 1997, Lightning between earth and space, Sci. Am., p. 36, August 1997.
van Pamelen, M.A.J. and Budtz-Jørgensen, C.: 1998, CdZnTe drift detector with correction for hole trapping, Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A411, 197.
van Pamelen, M.A.J., Budtz-Jørgensen, C. and Kuvvetli, I.: 1998, Development of CdZnTe X-ray detectors at DSRI, accepted for publication in Nucl. Instr. and Meth..
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Budtz-Jørgensen, C., Kuvvetli, I., Westergaard, N. et al. The CZT X-ray Imager on AXO. Astrophysics and Space Science 276, 281–289 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011610818054
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011610818054