Spectrometer/Telescope For Imaging X-rays Research Articles

Count-based imaging model for the Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) in Solar Orbiter

The Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) will study solar flares across the hard X-ray window provided by the Solar Orbiter cluster. Similarly to the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI), STIX is a visibility-based imaging instrument that will require Fourier-based image reconstruction methods. However, in this paper we show that as for RHESSI, count-based imaging is also possible for STIX. Specifically, we introduce and illustrate a mathematical model that mimics the STIX data formation process as a projection from the incoming photon flux into a vector consisting of 120 count components. Then we test the reliability of expectation maximization for image reconstruction in the case of several simulated configurations that are typical of flare morphology.

The expected fluxes observed by STIX during low solar activity

The Spectrometer Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) is one of the instruments installed onboard Solar Orbiter mission which will be launched in February 2020. After 1.5 years of cruise phase it will start to gather scientific data from the orbit with perihelion distance about 0.28 au. It means that STIX will operate also during the next solar minimum. In the paper we estimate flux measured by the instrument during periods of low solar activity. For this purpose we used solar observations which were recorded by the Solar Photometer in X-rays (SphinX) during the last minimum of solar activity. The estimation was obtained for instruments overlapping energy range from 4 to 15 keV. Presented results indicate that STIX instrument will provide efficient imaging the solar emission even during low level of solar activity (B1 GOES class).

Performance and qualification of CdTe pixel detectors for the Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays

The Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) is a remote sensing instrument on-board the ESA Solar Orbiter spacecraft. STIX is designated to the study of energetic phenomena in solar flares. A Fourier-imaging technique using tungsten grid collimators in front of CdTe pixel detectors is employed, covering the 4 to 150 keV energy range with a full-width-half maximum resolution around 1 keV at low energies.Acrorad CdTe detectors of 1 mm thickness with a planar aluminum Schottky contact are used as basis for a subsequent patterning process into eight large pixels, four small pixels, and a guard ring. The patterning is done by means of microfabrication technologies. The area of the patterned sensor is 10×10 mm2.Test equipment has been developed for selecting the detectors with best performance prior to integration with the read-out system, and for qualification purposes. The set-up allows pixel-based dark current measurements at low temperatures. Pixel dark currents below 60 pA are needed to avoid excess noise in the read-out ASIC. The best pixels show dark currents below 10 pA at 300 V bias and −20 °C. Spectroscopic measurements with 133Ba sources confirm the good performance.This paper briefly explains the mission context of the CdTe detectors and then gives details of the production and testing procedures. Typical results are shown, with emphasis on performance degradation studies from displacement damage by proton irradiation. This is expected to be the dominant degradation mechanism for this application.

The Process of Data Formation for the Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) in Solar Orbiter

The Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) is a hard X-ray imaging spectroscopy device to be mounted in the Solar Orbiter cluster with the aim of providing images and spectra of solar flaring regions at different photon energies in the range from a few keV to around 150 keV. The imaging modality of this telescope is based on the Moiré pattern concept and utilizes 30 subcollimators, each one containing a pair of co-axial grids. This paper applies Fourier analysis to provide the first rigorous description of the data formation process in STIX. Specifically, we show that, under the fundamental frequency approximation, the integrated counts measured by STIX subcollimators can be interpreted as specific spatial Fourier components of the incoming photon flux, named visibilities. Fourier analysis also allows the quantitative assessment of the reliability of such interpretation. The description of STIX data in terms of visibilities has a notable impact on the image reconstruction process, since it fosters the application of Fourier-based imaging algorithms.

The front-end electronics of the Spectrometer Telescope for Imaging X-Rays (STIX) on the ESA Solar Orbiter satellite

Solar Orbiter is an ESA mission to study the heliosphere in proximity to the Sun, scheduled for launch in January 2017. It carries a suite of ten instruments for comprehensive remote-sensing and in-situ measurements.The Spectrometer Telescope for Imaging X-Rays (STIX), one of the remote sensing instruments, images X-rays between 4 and 150keV using an Fourier technique. The angular resolution is 7 arcsec and the spectral resolution 1keV full-width-half-maximum at 6keV. X-ray detection uses pixelized Cadmium Telluride crystals provided by the Paul Scherrer Institute. The crystals are bonded to read-out hybrids developed by CEA Saclay, called Caliste-SO, incorporating a low-noise, low-power analog front-end ASIC IDeF-X HD. The crystals are cooled to -20°C to obtain very low leakage currents of less than 60pA per pixel, the prerequisite for obtaining the required spectral resolution.This article briefly describes the mission goals and then details the front-end electronics design and main challenges, resulting in part from the allocation limit in mass of 7kg and in power of 4W. Emphasis is placed on the design influence of the cooling requirement within the warm environment of a mission approaching the Sun to within the orbit of Mercury. The design for the long-term in-flight energy calibration is also explained.

Caliste-SO X-ray micro-camera for the STIX instrument on-board Solar Orbiter space mission

The Spectrometer Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) is an instrument on the Solar-Orbiter space mission that performs hard X-ray imaging spectroscopy of solar flares. It consists of 32 collimators with grids and 32 spectrometer units called Caliste-SO for indirect Fourier-transform imaging. Each Caliste-SO device integrates a 1cm2 CdTe pixel sensor with a low-noise low-power analog front-end ASIC and circuits for supply regulation and filtering. The ASIC named IDeF-X HD is designed by CEA/Irfu (France) whereas CdTe-based semiconductor detectors are provided by the Laboratory for Micro- and Nanotechnology, Paul Scherrer Institute (Switzerland). The design of the hybrid, based on 3D Plus technology (France), is well suited for STIX spectroscopic requirements (1keV FWHM at 6keV, 4keV low-level threshold) and system constraints (4W power and 5kg mass). The performance of the sub-assemblies and the design of the first Caliste-SO prototype are presented.