Hybrid CMOS Detectors for Future X-ray Missions

Speaker

Abraham D. Falcone, Penn State University

Abstract

Hybrid CMOS Detectors (HCDs) are active pixel sensors with the detector array bump bonded to the readout array. X-ray HCDs provide very fast frame rates, flexible readout, inherent radiation hardness, and require low power which makes them suitable for next generation large area X-ray telescope missions.  They have been utilized on X-ray rocket flight missions (WRX), CubeSat missions (BlackCAT CubeSat), and were baselined for the notional High Definition X-ray Imager (HDXI) instrument on the Lynx X-ray Surveyor mission concept for the 2020 Decadal Survey, with monolithic CMOS and advanced CCDs also considered as strong options.  Silicon-based X-ray HCDs are capable of providing fine-spatial-resolution X-ray imaging and moderate spectral resolution over a wide field-of-view.  Modern X-ray HCDs can offer small-pixels (12.5 micron pixel pitch has been demonstrated to-date) that are well-suited to fine angular resolution x-ray missions, while they can also be made with larger pixels when that is preferred for optimizing x-ray event grading by minimizing intrinsic charge spreading that occurs in all Si detector arrays.  HCDs have implemented crosstalk-eliminating capacitive transimpedance amplifiers; have the ability to perform in-pixel correlated double sampling; have demonstrated in-pixel event recognition, enabling effective frame rates in excess of 1000 frame/sec; have high-resistivity Si that is fully depleted over thick substrates that enable wide band pass from ~0.3 to ~20 keV; have low dark current and have achieved noise as low as 5.4 e- (RMS), with nearly Fano-limited energy resolution as good as 142 eV at 5.9 keV and 78 eV at 0.52 keV; and have been demonstrated in-flight. We will provide an update on the latest measurements and potential of devices that have been developed as a collaboration between Penn State and Teledyne.

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