The ISEE-C gamma ray burst spectrometer

The technical properties, operation, and expected sensitivity are discussed for an experiment intended to search for narrow lines in the spectra of gamma ray bursts during the ISEE-C mission. At the heart of the experiment is a radiatively cooled germanium solid state photon detector. The instrumentation is capable of storing the entire spectrum of all but the largest bursts in the energy range 0.05-6.5 MeV. In addition, it analyzes the signals from two CsI detectors in two other experiments on the spacecraft and records event time histories from these to a few millisecond accuracy. A background mode permits spectral analysis during quiet times and will allow the determination of physically interesting upper limits for narrow lines in the diffuse gamma ray background radiation.