Energy resolving power of transition-edge X-ray microcalorimeters

ISBN-13: 9783838326146 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 108 str.

Wouter Bergmann Tiest

Opis

This volume describes the physics behind the building block of a new type of X-ray camera. This camera will be able to take pictures of astronomical objects that emit X-rays, and at the same time measure the spectrum for each pixel in the image. This is accomplished by means of a device called a superconducting transition-edge microcalorimeter. This tiny device can measure the energy of a single X-ray photon with an accuracy better than a tenth of a percent. This book describes the design, manufacture and read-out of such a device. In addition, a theoretical model of the device is presented which can be used for optimisation of the design parameters. In the appendix, an overview is given of digital filtering techniques for single- photon pulse data. The book is a complete reference for anyone who wishes to get up to speed with the latest developments in X-ray microcalorimeters.

O autorze

Dr. Bergmann Tiest was educated in experimental physics and astronomy at Utrecht University, The Netherlands and worked at the Netherlands Institute for Space Research. After receiving his PhD for the work described in this volume, he joined the Physics of Man group to work on human haptic perception.