R. Staubert

First results with the pn-CCD detector system for the XMM satellite mission.

The pn-CCD is a novel CCD type which is developed for fast X-ray imaging and spectroscopy for the X-ray Multi Mirror (XMM) satellite mission. Each 200 × 64 pixel large pn-CCD unit with a sensitive area of 3 × 1 cm2 is a fully depleted detector. Full depletion allows for high photon detection efficiency (> 90% in the energy range of 500 eV-10 keV), for a small input capacitance necessary for low noise signal measurements and for backward illumination. For good time resolution and low noise performance each of the 64 CCD channels is terminated with an integrated input-JFET for signal amplification. With the use of the CMOS Amplifier and Multiplexing Chip (CAMEX64B) it is possible to read out the 64 CCD channels in parallel before they are multiplexed and sent to an ADC. For the first time the system of a 64 channel pn-CCD together with CAMEX64B readout, ADC conversion and data acquisition and storage has been brought into operation. First images of an 55Fe X-ray source are presented and discussed.

The first broad-band X-ray images and spectra of the 30 Doradus region in the LMC

We present the XMM-Newton first light image, taken in January 2000 with the EPIC pn camera during the instruments commissioning phase, when XMM-Newton was pointing towards the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The field is rich in different kinds of X-ray sources: point sources, supernova remnants (SNRs) and diffuse X-ray emission from LMC interstellar gas. The observations are of unprecedented sensitivity, reaching a few 10

The pn-CCD as focal plane detector for the XMM satellite mission

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Progress with PN-CCDs for the XMM satellite mission

erg/s for point sources in the LMC. We describe how these data sets were analysed and discuss some of the spectroscopic results. For the SNR N157B the power law spectrum is clearly steeper than previously determined from ROSAT and ASCA data. The existence of a significant thermal component is evident and suggests that N157B is not a Crab-like but a composite SNR. Most puzzling is the spectrum of the LMC hot interstellar medium, which indicates a significant overabundance of Ne and Mg of a few times solar.

6 x 6-cm fully depleted pn-junction CCD for high-resolution spectroscopy in the 0.1- to 15-keV photon energy range

The X-ray Multi Mirror (XMM) satellite mission is one of the major European Space Agency (ESA) space missions scheduled for launch by the end of this decade. Its goal is to observe the x-ray-emitting sky in the 100 eV to 15 keV photon energy range with high spectral and spatial resolution. XMMs scientific instruments consist mainly of three independent Wolter telescopes each having an imaging charge-coupled-device (CCD) detector in the focal plane. Two of the three telescopes are equipped with CCDs based on the conventional MOS-CCD technology. The third is equipped with pn-CCDs, a new developement of the semiconductor laboratory of the Max-Planck-Institut fur extraterrestrische Physik. The pn-CCD has several features such as full detector depletion, parallel readout and good radiation hardness due to the replacement of the MOS structures with pn-diode electrodes. The design of the pn-CCD detector for XMM is shown and measurements with pn-CCD prototype units are presented.

Discovery of hard X-ray emission from supernova 1987A

PN-CCDs are being developed as focal plane detectors for ESAs X-ray Multi-Mirror satellite mission (XMM), to be launched at the end of this century. As a part of the European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC) the pn-CCDs will convert the incoming X-ray radiation with high quantum efficiency, low readout noise, excellent background rejection, timing in the microsec regime, radiation tolerance up to several hundreds of krads and a position resolution tailored according to the angular resolution of the telescope. The goal of our laboratorial efforts for this mission is to fabricate a monolithic pn-CCD of an active area of 6 x 6 sq cm having 768 on-chip JFET amplifiers located at the end of each CCD line. It is the aim of this contribution to report on the ongoing work of the pn-CCD system. This article focuses on the position resolution capabilities of fully depleted pn-CCDs, some recent results in the noise analysis and preliminary results on 10 MeV proton damage.

The high energy X-ray spectrum of 3C 273

The concept and performance of the fully depleted pn- junction CCD system, developed for the European XMM- and the German ABRIXAS-satellite missions for soft x-ray imaging and spectroscopy in the 0.1 keV to 15 keV photon range, is presented. The 58 mm X 60 mm large pn-CCD array uses pn- junctions for registers and for the backside instead of MOS registers. This concept naturally allows to fully deplete the detector volume to make it an efficient detector to photons with energies up to 15 keV. For high detection efficiency in the soft x-ray region down to 100 eV, an ultrathin pn-CCD backside deadlayer has been realized. Each pn-CCD-channel is equipped with an on-chip JFET amplifier which, in combination with the CAMEX-amplifier and multiplexing chip, facilitates parallel readout with a pixel read rate of 3 MHz and an electronic noise floor of ENC < e-. With the complete parallel readout, very fast pn-CCD readout modi can be implemented in the system which allow for high resolution photon spectroscopy of even the brightest x-ray sources in the sky.