The High Time Resolution Spectrometer (HTRS) aboard the International X-ray Observatory (IXO)

D Barret ,Martin Boutelier,Christian Schmid,Laurent Michel,Souad Ramchoun,Jean-Michel Glorian,Jean-Marc Biffi,Benjamin Pouilloux,Delphine Faye,G Orttner ,G Distratis ,I Kreykenbohm ,P Lechner ,L Bombelli ,Mariano Méndez ,D Rambaud ,C Fiorini ,A Niculae ,Laurent Ravera ,J Wilms ,П Рамон ,K Lacombe ,F Cadoux ,A Santangelo ,R Clédassou ,C Motch ,S Paltani ,M Belasic ,E Kendziorra ,C Tenzer ,C Amoros ,H Wende ,O Godet ,P Bodin ,Lothar Strueder ,R Pons ,S Mereghetti

doi:10.1117/12.856955

Abstract

The High Time Resolution Spectrometer (HTRS) is one of the five focal plane instruments of the International X-ray Observatory (IXO). The HTRS is the only instrument matching the top level mission requirement of handling a one Crab X-ray source with an efficiency greater than 10%. It will provide IXO with the capability of observing the brightest X-ray sources of the sky, with sub-millisecond time resolution, low deadtime, low pile-up (less than 2% at 1 Crab), and CCD type energy resolution (goal of 150 eV FWHM at 6 keV). The HTRS is a non-imaging instrument, based on a monolithic array of Silicon Drift Detectors (SDDs) with 31 cells in a circular envelope and a X-ray sensitive volume of 4.5 cm<sup>2</sup> x 450 μm. As part of the assessment study carried out by ESA on IXO, the HTRS is currently undergoing a phase A study, led by CNES and CESR. In this paper, we present the current mechanical, thermal and electrical design of the HTRS, and describe the expected performance assessed through Monte Carlo simulations.

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