Measurement of X-ray photon energy and arrival time using a silicon drift detector

Abstract

Detecting the X-ray emission of pulsars and obtaining the photons' time of arrival are the foundational steps in autonomous navigation via X-ray pulsar measurement. The precision of a pulse's time of arrival is mainly determined by the precision of photon arrival time measurement. In this work, a silicon drift detector is used to measure photon energy and arrival time. The measurement system consists of a signal detector, a processing unit, a signal acquisition unit and a data receiving unit. This system acquires the energy resolution and arrival time information of photons. In particular, background noise with different energies disturbs pulse profile forming, the system can also achieve a high signal-to-noise ratio profile. Ground test results show that this system can be applied in autonomous navigation based on X-ray pulsar measurement.