NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
The Astro-E High Resolution X-Ray SpectrometerThe Astro-E High Resolution X-ray Spectrometer (XRS) was developed jointly by the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center and the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science in Japan. The instrument is based on a new approach to spectroscopy, the X-ray microcalorimeter. This device senses the energies of individual X-ray photons as heat with extreme precision. A 32 channel array of microcalorimeters is being employed, each with an energy resolution of about 12 eV at 6 keV (the Fe-K region). This will provide spectral resolving power 10 times higher than any other non-dispersive X-ray spectrometer. The instrument incorporates a three stage cooling system capable of operating the array at 60 mK for about two years in orbit. The array sits at the focus of a grazing incidence conical mirror. The quantum efficiency of the microcalorimeters and the reflectivity of the X-ray mirror system combine to give high throughput over the 0.3-12 keV energy band. This new capability will enable the study of a wide range of high-energy astrophysical sources with unprecedented spectral sensitivity. This paper presents the basic design requirements and implementation of the XRS, and also describes the instrument parameters and performance.
Document ID
19990081131
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Kelley, Richard L.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Audley, Michael D.
(Universities Space Research Association Greenbelt, MD United States)
Boyce, Kevin R.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Breon, Susan R.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Fujimoto, Ryuichi
(Tokyo Univ. Sagamihara, Japan)
Gendreau, Keith C.
(Maryland Univ. College Park, MD United States)
Holt, Stephen S.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Ishisaki, Yoshitaka
(Tokyo Metropolitan Univ. Tokyo, Japan)
McCammon, Dan
(Wisconsin Univ. Madison, WI United States)
Mihara, Tatehiro
(Institute of Physical and Chemical Research Tokyo, Japan)
Date Acquired
August 19, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1999
Subject Category
Instrumentation And Photography
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available