Dr. Catherine E. Grant Profile

Dr. Catherine E. Grant

Research Scientist at MIT

SPIE Involvement:

Author

Publications (63)

Proceedings Article | 27 August 2024 Presentation + Paper

Soft x-ray resolution and scientific performance of CCD sensors for future x-ray missions

Beverly LaMarr, Benjamin Schneider, Gregory Prigozhin, Eric Miller, Marshall Bautz, Michael Cooper, Kevan Donlon, Richard Foster, Catherine Grant, Mallory Jensen, Renee Lambert, Chris Leitz, Andrew Malonis, Kevin Ryu

Proceedings Volume 13103, 131030K (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3019284

KEYWORDS: X-rays, Charge-coupled devices, CCD image sensors, X-ray imaging, X-ray detectors, X-ray technology, Spectral response, Spectral resolution

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Proceedings Article | 21 August 2024 Presentation + Paper

Towards efficient machine-learning-based reduction of the cosmic-ray induced background in x-ray imaging detectors: increasing context awareness

Artem Poliszczuk, Dan Wilkins, Steven Allen, Eric Miller, Tanmoy Chattopadhyay, Benjamin Schneider, Julien Eric Darve, Marshall Bautz, Abe Falcone, Richard Foster, Catherine Grant, Sven Herrmann, Ralph Kraft, R. Glenn Morris, Paul Nulsen, Peter Orel, Gerrit Schellenberger, Haley Stueber

Proceedings Volume 13093, 130931T (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3020598

KEYWORDS: Deep learning, Astronomical instrumentation, X-ray telescopes, X-ray detectors, X-ray imaging, X-rays, Machine learning, Random forests

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Proceedings Article | 21 August 2024 Presentation + Paper

Augmenting astronomical x-ray detectors with AI for enhanced sensitivity and reduced background

D. Wilkins, A. Poliszczuk, B. Schneider, E. Miller, S. Allen, M. Bautz, T. Chattopadhyay, A. Falcone, R. Foster, C. Grant, S. Herrmann, R. Kraft, R. Morris, P. Nulsen, P. Orel, G. Schellenberger

Proceedings Volume 13093, 130931R (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3019396

KEYWORDS: X-rays, Sensors, X-ray detectors, Artificial intelligence, Detection and tracking algorithms, X-ray astronomy, Background noise, CCD image sensors, Machine learning, Neural networks

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Proceedings Article | 21 August 2024 Poster + Paper

Curved detectors for future x-ray astrophysics missions

Eric Miller, James Gregory, Marshall Bautz, Harry Clark, Michael Cooper, Kevan Donlon, Richard Foster, Catherine Grant, Mallory Jensen, Beverly LaMarr, Renee Lambert, Christopher Leitz, Andrew Malonis, Mo Neak, Gregory Prigozhin, Kevin Ryu, Benjamin Schneider, Keith Warner, Douglas Young, William Zhang

Proceedings Volume 13093, 130935P (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3018475

KEYWORDS: Charge-coupled devices, Semiconducting wafers, Silicon, Sensors, X-rays, Wafer bonding, Vacuum, CCD image sensors, Deformation, X-ray detectors

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Proceedings Article | 21 August 2024 Presentation + Paper

The advanced CCD imaging spectrometer on the Chandra x-ray observatory: twenty-five years of on-orbit operation

Catherine Grant, Marshall Bautz, Paul Plucinsky, Peter Ford

Proceedings Volume 13093, 130931E (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3018498

KEYWORDS: Charge-coupled devices, Particles, Contamination, Observatories, X-rays, Calibration, Space operations, X-ray imaging

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Proceedings Article | 21 August 2024 Presentation + Paper

Fast, low-noise x-ray image sensor technology for strategic x-ray astrophysics missions

Marshall Bautz, Eric Miller, Gregory Prigozhin, Beverly LaMarr, Andrew Malonis, Richard Foster, Catherine Grant, Benjamin Schneider, Christopher Leitz, Kevan Donlon, Ilya Prigozhin, Renee Lambert, Michael Cooper, Sven Herrmann, Peter Orel, Tanmoy Chattopadhyay, R. Glenn Morris, Daniel Wilkins, Haley Stueber, Artem Poliszczuk, Steven Allen

Proceedings Volume 13093, 130931Q (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3019193

KEYWORDS: X-rays, X-ray technology, X-ray imaging, Astrophysics, Spectral resolution, Sensors, Charge-coupled devices, CCD image sensors, Observatories

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Proceedings Article | 21 August 2024 Presentation + Paper

The Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS)

Christopher Reynolds, Eric Miller, Edmund Hodges-Kluck, Michael Koss, Brian Williams, Erin Kara, Andrew Ptak, Richard Mushotzky, Steven Allen, Franz Bauer, Marshall Bautz, Arash Bodaghee, Kevin Burdge, Nico Cappelluti, Brad Cenko, George Chartas, Kai-wing Chan, Lía Corrales, Tansu Daylan, Abraham Falcone, Adi Foord, Catherine Grant, Mélanie Habouzit, Daryl Haggard, Sven Herrmann, Oleg Kargaltsev, George King, Marina Kounkel, Laura Lopez, Stefano Marchesi, Michael McDonald, Eileen Meyer, Melania Nynka, Takashi Okajima, Fabio Pacucci, Helen Russell, Samar Safi-Harb, Keivan Stassun, Anna Trindade Falcão, Stephen Walker, Joern Wilms, Mihoko Yukita, William Zhang

Proceedings Volume 13093, 1309328 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3022993

KEYWORDS: X-rays, Point spread functions, Physics, Stars, Galactic astronomy, X-ray astronomy, Galaxy groups and clusters, X-ray imaging, Space operations, X-ray sources

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Proceedings Article | 21 August 2024 Presentation + Paper

The Arcus Probe Mission

Randall Smith, Jon Arenberg, Marshall Bautz, Ehud Behar, Dolon Bhattacharyya, Jay Bookbinder, Joel Bregman, Laura Brenneman, Nancy Brickhouse, G. Esra Bulbul, Vadim Burwitz, Joseph Bushman, Peter Cheimets, Elisa Costantini, Casey Deroo, Benjamin Donovan, Abraham Falcone, Brian Fleming, Adam Foster, Kevin France, Peter Friedrich, Luigi Gallo, Catherine Grant, H. Moritz Günther, Daryl Haggard, Ralf Heilmann, Sarah Heine, Butler Hine, David Huenemoerder, Jelle Kaastra, Igor Kreykenbohmn, Sibasish Laha, Pamela Marcum, Herman Marshall, Randall McEntaffer, Missagh Mehdipour, Eric Miller, Jon Miller, Kirpal Nandra, Nicholas Nell, Michael Nowak, Frits Paerels, Katya Poppenhaeger, Andrew Ptak, Agata Rozanska, Jenna Samra, Jeremy Sanders, Mark Schattenburg, Norbert Schulz, Leroy Mark Sparr, Pasquale Temi, Todd Tripp, Lynne Valencic, Joern Wilms, Stephen Walker, David Wilson, Scott Wolk

Proceedings Volume 13093, 1309326 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3022452

KEYWORDS: X-rays, Ultraviolet radiation, Spectroscopy, Galactic astronomy, Stars, Physics, Data modeling, Absorption, Solar processes, Metals

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Proceedings Article | 5 October 2023 Presentation + Paper

The high-speed x-ray camera on AXIS

Eric Miller, Marshall Bautz, Catherine Grant, Richard Foster, Beverly LaMarr, Andrew Malonis, Gregory Prigozhin, Benjamin Schneider, Christopher Leitz, Sven Herrmann, Steven Allen, Tanmoy Chattopadhyay, Peter Orel, Glenn Morris, Haley Stueber, Abraham Falcone, Andrew Ptak, Christopher Reynolds

Proceedings Volume 12678, 1267816 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2676838

KEYWORDS: Charge-coupled devices, X-rays, Cameras, Design and modelling, Spectral response, Simulations, Astrophysics

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Proceedings Article | 5 October 2023 Poster + Paper

Overview of the advanced x-ray imaging satellite (AXIS)

Christopher Reynolds, Erin Kara, Richard Mushotzky, Andrew Ptak, Michael Koss, Brian Williams, Steven Allen, Franz Bauer, Marshall Bautz, Arash Bogadhee, Kevin Burdge, Nico Cappelluti, Brad Cenko, George Chartas, Kai-Wing Chan, Lía Corrales, Tansu Daylan, Abraham Falcone, Adi Foord, Catherine Grant, Mélanie Habouzit, Daryl Haggard, Sven Herrmann, Edmund Hodges-Kluck, Oleg Kargaltsev, George King, Marina Kounkel, Laura Lopez, Stefano Marchesi, Michael McDonald, Eileen Meyer, Eric Miller, Melania Nynka, Takashi Okajima, Fabio Pacucci, Helen Russell, Samar Safi-Harb, Keivan Strassun, Anna Trindade Falcão, Stephen Walker, Joern Wilms, Mihoko Yukita, William Zhang

Proceedings Volume 12678, 126781E (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2677468

KEYWORDS: X-rays, Stars, Galactic astronomy, Mirrors, X-ray astronomy, Observatories, Physics, Charge-coupled devices, Observational astronomy

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Proceedings Article | 4 October 2023 Presentation + Paper

Reduction of cosmic-ray induced background in astronomical x-ray imaging detectors via image segmentation methods

Artem Poliszczuk, Dan Wilkins, Steven Allen, Eric Miller, Tanmoy Chattopadhyay, Marshall Bautz, Julien Eric Darve, Richard Foster, Catherine Grant, Sven Herrmann, Ralph Kraft, R. Glenn Morris, Peter Orel, Arnab Sarkar, Benjamin Schneider

Proceedings Volume 12675, 126750C (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2677095

KEYWORDS: Machine learning, X-rays, Particles, Data modeling, Image segmentation, X-ray imaging, X-ray astronomy, X-ray detectors

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Proceedings Article | 31 August 2022 Presentation + Paper

Performance of high frame-rate x-ray CCDs for future strategic missions

M. Bautz, R. Foster, C. Grant, B. LaMarr, A. Malonis, E. Miller, G. Prigozhin, B. Burke, M. Cooper, K. Donlon, R. Lambert, K. Warner, D. Young, T. Chattopadhyay, S. Herrmann, R. Morris, C. Leitz, S. Allen

Proceedings Volume 12181, 121812A (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2630139

KEYWORDS: Sensors, X-rays, Charge-coupled devices, CCD image sensors, Spectral resolution, Amplifiers, Observatories, X-ray imaging

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Proceedings Article | 31 August 2022 Poster + Paper

Understanding the effects of charge diffusion in next-generation soft x-ray imagers

Eric Miller, Gregory Prigozhin, Beverly LaMarr, Marshall Bautz, Richard Foster, Catherine Grant, Craig Lage, Christopher Leitz, Andrew Malonis

Proceedings Volume 12181, 121816R (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2628929

KEYWORDS: Diffusion, Sensors, X-rays, Charge-coupled devices, X-ray imaging, Silicon, X-ray detectors, Electric field sensors, Signal attenuation, Quantum efficiency

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Proceedings Article | 31 August 2022 Poster + Paper

Reducing the background in x-ray imaging detectors via machine learning

D. Wilkins, S. Allen, E. Miller, M. Bautz, T. Chattopadhyay, R. Foster, C. Grant, S. Herrmann, R. Kraft, R. G. Morris, P. Nulsen, G. Schellenberger

Proceedings Volume 12181, 121816S (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629496

KEYWORDS: X-rays, Sensors, Evolutionary algorithms, Detection and tracking algorithms, X-ray detectors, Particles, Machine learning, X-ray imaging, Algorithm development, Image sensors

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Proceedings Article | 31 August 2022 Presentation + Paper

Arcus: exploring the formation and evolution of clusters, galaxies, and stars

Randall Smith, Marshall Bautz, Joel Bregman, Laura Brenneman, Nancy Brickhouse, Esra Bulbul, Vadim Burwitz, Joseph Bushman, Claude Canizares, Deepto Chakrabarty, Peter Cheimets, Elisa Costantini, Casey DeRoo, Abe Falcone, Adam Foster, Luigi Gallo, Catherine Grant, Hans Moritz Guenther, Ralf Heilmann, Sarah Heine, Butler Hine, David Huenemoerder, Steve Jara, Jelle Kaastra, Erin Kara, Ingo Kreykenbohm, Kristin Madsen, Herman Marshall, Michael McDonald, Randall McEntaffer, Jon Miller, Eric Miller, Richard Mushotzky, Kirpal Nandra, Michael Nowak, Fritis Paerels, Robert Petre, Katja Poppenhaeger, Andrew Ptak, Paul Reid, Karolyn Ronzano, Agata Rozanska, Jenna Samra, Jeremy Sanders, Mark Schattenburg, Jonathan Schonfeld, Norbert Schulz, Alan Smale, Pasquale Temi, Lynne Valencic, Stephen Walker, Joern Wilms, Scott Wolk

Proceedings Volume 12181, 1218121 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2628628

KEYWORDS: X-rays, Galactic astronomy, Absorption, Stars, Ionization, Spectroscopy, Galaxy groups and clusters, Diagnostics

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Proceedings Article | 31 August 2022 Presentation + Paper

Towards precision particle background estimation for future x-ray missions: correlated variability between Chandra ACIS and AMS

Catherine Grant, Eric Miller, Marshall Bautz, Richard Foster, Ralph Kraft, Steven Allen, David Burrows

Proceedings Volume 12181, 121812E (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629520

KEYWORDS: Particles, X-rays, Observatories, Sensors, X-ray detectors, Charge-coupled devices, X-ray astronomy

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Proceedings Article | 29 August 2022 Poster + Paper

Charge transfer efficiency of CCDs with a single-polysilicon gate structure

Beverly LaMarr, Marshall Bautz, Michael Cooper, Kevan Donlon, Richard Foster, Andrew Malonis, Catherine Grant, Eric Miller, Gregory Prigozhin

Proceedings Volume 12191, 121912K (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2630339

KEYWORDS: X-rays, Charge-coupled devices, Sensors, X-ray detectors

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SPIE Journal Paper | 15 February 2022 Open Access

Mitigating the effects of particle background on the Athena Wide Field Imager

Eric Miller, Catherine Grant, Marshall Bautz, Silvano Molendi, Ralph Kraft, Paul Nulsen, Esra Bulbul, Steven Allen, David Burrows, Tanja Eraerds, Valentina Fioretti, Fabio Gastaldello, David Hall, Michael W. Hubbard, Jonathan Keelan, Norbert Meidinger, Emanuele Perinati, Arne Rau, Dan Wilkins

JATIS, Vol. 8, Issue 01, 018001, (February 2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.10.1117/1.JATIS.8.1.018001

KEYWORDS: Particles, Signal to noise ratio, Sensors, Camera shutters, Signal attenuation, Imaging systems, Signal detection, X-rays, Photons, X-ray imaging

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The Wide Field Imager (WFI) flying on Athena will usher in the next era of studying the hot and energetic Universe. Among Athena’s ambitious science programs are observations of faint, diffuse sources limited by statistical and systematic uncertainty in the background produced by high-energy cosmic ray particles. These particles produce easily identified “cosmic-ray tracks” along with less easily identified signals produced by secondary photons or x-rays generated by particle interactions with the instrument. Such secondaries produce identical signals to the x-rays focused by the optics and cannot be filtered without also eliminating these precious photons. As part of a larger effort to estimate the level of unrejected background and mitigate its effects, we here present results from a study of background-reduction techniques that exploit the spatial correlation between cosmic-ray particle tracks and secondary events. We use Geant4 simulations to generate a realistic particle background signal, sort this into simulated WFI frames, and process those frames in a similar way to the expected flight and ground software to produce a realistic WFI observation containing only particle background. The technique under study, self-anti-coincidence (SAC), then selectively filters regions of the detector around particle tracks, turning the WFI into its own anti-coincidence detector. We show that SAC is effective at improving the systematic uncertainty for observations of faint, diffuse sources, but at the cost of statistical uncertainty due to a reduction in signal. If sufficient pixel pulse-height information is telemetered to the ground for each frame, then this technique can be applied selectively based on the science goals, providing flexibility without affecting the data quality for other science. The results presented here are relevant for any future silicon-based pixelated x-ray imaging detector and could allow the WFI and similar instruments to probe to truly faint x-ray surface brightness.

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SPIE Journal Paper | 2 February 2022 Open Access

Measurement and simulation of charge diffusion in a small-pixel charge-coupled device

Beverly LaMarr, Gregory Prigozhin, Eric Miller, Carolyn Thayer, Marshall Bautz, Richard Foster, Catherine Grant, Andrew Malonis, Barry Burke, Michael Cooper, Kevan Donlon, Christopher Leitz

JATIS, Vol. 8, Issue 01, 016004, (February 2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.10.1117/1.JATIS.8.1.016004

KEYWORDS: Sensors, X-rays, Diffusion, Charge-coupled devices, Spectral resolution, Electrons, X-ray detectors, X-ray imaging, Silicon, Photons

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Future high-resolution imaging x-ray observatories may require detectors with both fine spatial resolution and high quantum efficiency at relatively high x-ray energies (E ≥ 5 keV). A silicon imaging detector meeting these requirements will have a ratio of detector thickness to pixel size of six or more, roughly twice that of legacy imaging sensors. The larger aspect ratio of such a sensor’s detection volume implies greater diffusion of x-ray-produced charge packets. We investigate consequences of this fact for sensor performance, reporting charge diffusion measurements in a fully depleted back-illuminated CCD with a thickness of 50 μm and pixel size of 8 μm. We are able to measure the size distributions of charge packets produced by 5.9 and 1.25 keV x-rays in this device. We find that individual charge packets exhibit a Gaussian spatial distribution and determine the frequency distribution of event widths for a range of detector bias (and thus internal electric field strength) levels. At the largest bias, we find a standard deviation for the largest charge packets (produced by x-ray interactions closest to the entrance surface of the device) of 3.9 μm. We show that the shape of the event width distribution provides a clear indicator of full depletion and use a previously developed technique to infer the relationship between event width and interaction depth. We compare measured width distributions to simulations. Although we can obtain good agreement for a given detector bias, with our current simulation, we are unable to fit the data for the full range of bias levels with a single set of simulation parameters. We compare traditional, “sum-above-threshold” algorithms for individual event amplitude determination to Gaussian fitting of individual events and find that better spectroscopic performance is obtained with the former for 5.9 keV events, whereas the two methods provide comparable results at 1.25 keV. The reasons for this difference are discussed. We point out the importance of read-noise driven charge detection thresholds in degrading spectral resolution, and note that the derived read noise requirements for mission concepts such as AXIS and Lynx are probably too lax to assure that spectral resolution requirements can be met. While the measurements reported here were made with a CCD, we note that they have implications for the performance of high aspect-ratio silicon active pixel sensors as well.

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Proceedings Article | 24 August 2021 Presentation + Paper

The Gamow Explorer: a Gamma-Ray Burst Observatory to study the high redshift universe and enable multi-messenger astrophysics

N. White, F. Bauer, W. Baumgartner, M. Bautz, E. Berger, B. Cenko, T.-C. Chang, A. Falcone, H. Fausey, C. Feldman, D. Fox, O. Fox, A. Fruchter, C. Fryer, G. Ghirlanda, K. Gorski, C. Grant, S. Guiriec, M. Hart, D. Hartmann, J. Hennawi, D. Kann, D. Kaplan, J. Kennea, D. Kocevski, C. Kouveliotou, C. Lawrence, A. Levan, A. Lidz, A. Lien, T. Littenberg, L. Mas-Ribas, M. Moss, P. O'Brien, J. O'Meara, D. Palmer, D. Pasham, J. Racusin, R. Remillard, O. Roberts, P. Roming, M. Rud, R. Salvaterra, R. Sambruna, M. Seiffert, G. Sun, N. R. Tanvir, R. Terrile, N. Thomas, A. van der Horst, W. T. Verstrand, P. Willems, C. Wilson-Hodge, E. Young, L. Amati, E. Bozzo, O. Karczewski, C. Hernandez-Monteagudo, R. Rebolo Lopez, R. Genova-Santos, A. Martin, J. Granot, P. Bemiamini, R. Gil, E. Burns

Proceedings Volume 11821, 1182109 (2021) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2599293

KEYWORDS: Galactic astronomy, X-rays, Stars, Observatories, James Webb Space Telescope, Astrophysics, Sensors, Metals, Absorption, Telescopes

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Proceedings Article | 24 August 2021 Poster + Paper

Radiation testing of a back illuminated, small pixel, CMOS compatible CCD

Beverly LaMarr, Marshall Bautz, Barry Burke, Michael Cooper, Kevan Donlon, Richard Foster, Catherine Grant, Andrew Malonis, Eric Miller, Gregory Prigozhin

Proceedings Volume 11821, 118211G (2021) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2594797

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Back illuminated sensors, Charge-coupled devices, X-rays, Spectral resolution, Detector development

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Proceedings Article | 13 December 2020 Poster + Presentation + Paper

Radiation testing of a small pixel, CMOS compatible CCD

Beverly LaMarr, Marshall Bautz, Richard Foster, Catherine Grant, Andrew Malonis, Eric Miller, Gregory Prigozhin, Carolyn Thayer

Proceedings Volume 11444, 1144495 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2561625

KEYWORDS: Charge-coupled devices, X-ray imaging, Sensors, Environmental sensing, Space operations, Detector development

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Proceedings Article | 13 December 2020 Poster + Paper

Reducing the Athena WFI charged particle background: results from Geant4 simulations

Catherine Grant, Eric Miller, Marshall Bautz, Tanja Eraerds, Silvano Molendi, Jonathan Keelan, David Hall, Andrew Holland, Ralph Kraft, Esra Bulbul, Paul Nulsen, Steven Allen

Proceedings Volume 11444, 1144442 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2561124

KEYWORDS: Particles, X-rays, Imaging systems, X-ray imaging, Observatories, Galaxy groups and clusters, Detection and tracking algorithms, Silicon, X-ray detectors, Aerospace engineering

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Proceedings Article | 13 December 2020 Poster + Presentation + Paper

Progress toward fast, low-noise, low-power CCDs for Lynx and other high-energy astrophysics missions

M. Bautz, B. Burke, M. Cooper, D. Craig, K. Donlon, R. Foster, C. E. Grant, B. LaMarr, C. Leitz, A. Malonis, E. Miller, G. Prigozhin, C. Thayer, S. Allen, S. Herrmann, T. Chattopadhyay, R. G. Morris

Proceedings Volume 11444, 1144494 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2561441

KEYWORDS: Charge-coupled devices, Signal processing, High energy astrophysics, Sensors, X-rays, Clocks, X-ray detectors, X-ray imaging, Image sensors, Sensor performance

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Proceedings Article | 13 December 2020 Presentation + Paper

Identifying charged particle background events in x-ray imaging detectors with novel machine learning algorithms

D. Wilkins, S. Allen, E. Miller, M. Bautz, T. Chattopadhyay, S. Fort, C. Grant, S. Herrmann, R. Kraft, R. G. Morris, P. Nulsen

Proceedings Volume 11444, 114442O (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2562354

KEYWORDS: X-rays, Sensors, Particles, X-ray detectors, Detection and tracking algorithms, X-ray imaging, Neural networks, Signal detection, Space operations

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Proceedings Article | 9 September 2019 Paper

US Contributions to the Athena Wide Field Imager

David Burrows, Steve Allen, Marshall Bautz, Esra Bulbul, Tanmoy Chattopadhyay, Julia Erdley, Abraham Falcone, Catherine Grant, Sven Herrmann, Ann Hornschemeier, Doug Kelly, Jamie Kennea, Ralph Kraft, Beverly LaMarr, Adam Mantz, Eric Miller, R. Glenn Morris, Paul Nulsen, Pragati Pradhan, Neven Vulic, Dan Wilkins, Michael Zugger

Proceedings Volume 11118, 111180Z (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2528532

KEYWORDS: Scanning probe microscopy, Image processing, Target detection, Software development, Algorithm development, Imaging systems, X-rays, X-ray sources

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Proceedings Article | 9 September 2019 Presentation + Paper

Arcus: the soft x-ray grating explorer

Randall Smith, Margaret Abraham, Grace Baird, Marshall Bautz, Jay Bookbinder, Joel Bregman, Laura Brenneman, Nancy Brickhouse, David Burrows, Vadim Burwitz, Joseph Bushman, Claude Canizares, Deepto Chakrabarty, Peter Cheimets, Elisa Costantini, Simon Dawson, Casey DeRoo, Abraham Falcone, Adam Foster, Luigi Gallo, Catherine Grant, H. Moritz Günther, Ralf Heilmann, Butler Hine, David Huenemoerder, Steve Jara, Jelle Kaastra, Ingo Kreykenbohm, Kristin Madsen, Michael McDonald, Michael McEachen, Randall McEntaffer, Herman Marshall, Eric Miller, Jon Miller, Elisabeth Morse, Richard Mushotzky, Kirpal Nandra, Michael Nowak, Frits Paerels, Robert Petre, Katja Poppenhaeger, Andrew Ptak, Paul Reid, Karolyn Ronzano, Jeremy Sanders, Mark Schattenburg, Jonathan Schonfeld, Norbert Schulz, Alan Smale, Pasquale Temi, Lynne Valencic, Stephen Walker, Richard Willingale, Joern Wilms, Scott Wolk

Proceedings Volume 11118, 111180W (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2529499

KEYWORDS: X-rays, Space operations, Spectroscopy, Charge-coupled devices, Galactic astronomy, Sensors, Point spread functions, Spectral resolution, Absorption

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SPIE Journal Paper | 20 May 2019 Open Access

Toward fast, low-noise charge-coupled devices for Lynx

Marshall Bautz, Barry Burke, Michael Cooper, David Craig, Richard Foster, Catherine Grant, Beverly LaMarr, Christopher Leitz, Andrew Malonis, Eric Miller, Gregory Prigozhin, Daniel Schuette, Vyshnavi Suntharalingam, Carolyn Thayer

JATIS, Vol. 5, Issue 02, 021015, (May 2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.10.1117/1.JATIS.5.2.021015

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Charge-coupled devices, X-rays, Clocks, Electrons, Amplifiers, Spectral resolution, Silicon, X-ray detectors, Tolerancing

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Lynx requires large-format x-ray imaging detectors with performance at least as good as the best current-generation devices but with much higher readout rates. We are investigating an advanced charge-coupled device (CCD) detector architecture under development at MIT Lincoln Laboratory for use in the Lynx high-definition x-ray imager and x-ray grating spectrometer instruments. This architecture features a CMOS-compatible detector integrated with parallel CMOS signal processing chains. Fast, low-noise amplifiers and highly parallel signal processing provide the high frame rates required. CMOS-compatibility of the CCD enables low-power charge transfer and signal processing. We report on the performance of CMOS-compatible test CCDs read at pixel rates up to 5.0 Mpix s − 1 (50 times faster than Chandra ACIS CCDs), with transfer clock swings as low as 1.0-V peak-to-peak (power/gate-area comparable to ACIS CCDs at 100 times the parallel transfer rate). We measure read noise of 4.6 electrons RMS at 2.5 MHz and x-ray spectral resolution better than 150-eV full-width at half maximum at 5.9 keV for single-pixel events. We report charge transfer efficiency measurements and demonstrate that buried channel trough implants as narrow as 0.8 μm are effective in improving charge transfer performance. We find that the charge transfer efficiency of these devices drops significantly as detector temperature is reduced from ∼ − 30 ° C to −60 ° C. We point out the potential of previously demonstrated curved-detector fabrication technology for simplifying the design of the Lynx high-definition imager. We discuss the expected detector radiation tolerance at these relatively high transfer rates. Finally, we note that the high pixel “aspect ratio” (depletion depth: pixel size ≈9 ∶ 1) of our test devices is similar to that expected for Lynx detectors and discuss implications of this geometry for x-ray performance and noise requirements.

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Proceedings Article | 10 July 2018 Presentation

Arcus: the x-ray grating spectrometer explorer (Conference Presentation)

Andrew Ptak, Randall Smith, Meghan Abraham, Marshall Bautz, Jay Bookbinder, Joel Bregman, Laura Brenneman, Nancy Brickhouse, David Burrows, Vadim Burwitz, Peter Cheimets, Elisa Costantini, Simon Dawson, Casey DeRoo, Abe Falcone, Adam Foster, Luigi Gallo, Catherine Grant, Hans Guenther, Ralf Heilmann, Ed Hertz, Butler Hine, David Huenemoerder, Jelle Kaastra, Ingo Kreykenbohm, Kristin Madsen, Randall McEntaffer, Eric Miller, Jon Miller, Elisabeth Morse, Richard Mushotzky, Kirpal Nandra, Michael Nowak, Fritz Paerels, Robert Petre, Katja Poppenhaeger, Paul Reid, Jeremy Sanders, Mark Schattenburg, Norbert Schulz, Alan Smale, Pasquale Temi, Lynne Valencic, Stephen Walker, Richard Willingale, Joern Wilms, Scott Wolk

Proceedings Volume 10699, 1069926 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313965

KEYWORDS: X-rays, Spectroscopy, X-ray optics, Atmospheric propagation, Space operations, Observatories, Spectral resolution, Galactic astronomy, Stars, Exoplanets

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Proceedings Article | 6 July 2018 Paper

Characterizing particle background of ATHENA WFI for the science products module: swift XRT full frame and XMM-PN small window mode observations

Esra Bulbul, Ralph Kraft, Paul Nulsen, Eric Miller, Catherine Grant, Mark Bautz, David Burrows, Steven Allen

Proceedings Volume 10699, 106994G (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313717

KEYWORDS: Particles, X-rays, Charge-coupled devices, Sensors, X-ray telescopes, Scanning probe microscopy, Observatories, Data analysis, Astrophysics, Physics

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Proceedings Article | 6 July 2018 Presentation + Paper

Toward fast low-noise low-power digital CCDs for Lynx and other high-energy astrophysics missions

M. Bautz, R. Foster, B. LaMarr, A. Malonis, G. Prigozhin, E. Miller, C. Grant, B. Burke, M. Cooper, D. Craig, C. Leitz, D. Schuette, V. Suntharalingam

Proceedings Volume 10699, 1069917 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313594

KEYWORDS: Charge-coupled devices, Sensors, Amplifiers, X-rays, Clocks, CCD image sensors, Spectral resolution, Silicon

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Proceedings Article | 6 July 2018 Paper

The ATHENA WFI science products module

David Burrows, Steven Allen, Marshall Bautz, Esra Bulbul, Julia Erdley, Abraham Falcone, Stanislav Fort, Catherine Grant, Sven Herrmann, Jamie Kennea, Robert Klar, Ralph Kraft, Adam Mantz, Eric Miller, Paul Nulsen, Steve Persyn, Pragati Pradhan, Dan Wilkins

Proceedings Volume 10699, 106991J (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2312785

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Particles, X-rays, Software development, Device simulation, Algorithm development, Image processing

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Proceedings Article | 6 July 2018 Presentation + Paper

Evaluation of the ATHENA/WFI instrumental background

Andreas von Kienlin, Tanja Eraerds, Esra Bulbul, Valentine Fioretti, Fabio Gastaldello, Catherine Grant, David Hall, Andrew Holland, Jonathan Keelan, Norbert Meidinger, Silvano Molendi, Emanuele Perinati, Arne Rau

Proceedings Volume 10699, 106991I (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2311987

KEYWORDS: Particles, Sensors, Electrons, X-rays, Physics, Monte Carlo methods, Molybdenum, Aluminum, Optical filters, Cameras

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Proceedings Article | 6 July 2018 Paper

Reducing the ATHENA WFI background with the science products module: lessons from Chandra ACIS

Catherine Grant, Eric Miller, Marshall Bautz, Esra Bulbul, Ralph Kraft, Paul Nulsen, David Burrows, Steven Allen

Proceedings Volume 10699, 106994H (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313864

KEYWORDS: Particles, X-rays, Charge-coupled devices, Calibration, Sensors, X-ray imaging, X-ray detectors, Observatories, Correlation function, Astrophysics

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Proceedings Article | 6 July 2018 Paper

The effects of charge diffusion on soft x-ray response for future high-resolution imagers

Eric Miller, Richard Foster, Craig Lage, Gregory Prigozhin, Marshall Bautz, Catherine Grant, Beverly LaMarr, Andrew Malonis

Proceedings Volume 10699, 106995R (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313565

KEYWORDS: X-rays, Photons, Diffusion, Sensors, Charge-coupled devices, X-ray detectors, X-ray imaging, Monte Carlo methods, Silicon

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Proceedings Article | 29 August 2017 Paper

Modeling contamination migration on the Chandra X-ray Observatory IV

Stephen O'Dell, Douglas Swartz, Neil Tice, Paul Plucinsky, Herman Marshall, Akos Bogdan, Catherine Grant, Allyn Tennant, Matthew Dahmer

Proceedings Volume 10397, 103970C (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2274818

KEYWORDS: Contamination, X-rays, Imaging spectroscopy, Observatories, Charge-coupled devices, X-ray imaging, X-ray astronomy, Modeling and simulation, Space operations, Geometrical optics

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Proceedings Article | 29 August 2017 Presentation + Paper

Arcus: exploring the formation and evolution of clusters, galaxies, and stars

R. Smith, M. Abraham, R. Allured, M. Bautz, J. Bookbinder, J. Bregman, L. Brenneman, N. Brickhouse, D. Burrows, V. Burwitz, P. Cheimets, E. Costantini, S. Dawson, C. DeRoo, A. Falcone, A. Foster, L. Gallo, C. Grant, H. Günther, R. Heilmann, E. Hertz, B. Hine, D. Huenemoerder, J. Kaastra, I. Kreykenbohm, K. Madsen, R. McEntaffer, E. Miller, J. Miller, E. Morse, R. Mushotzky, K. Nandra, M. Nowak, F. Paerels, R. Petre, K. Poppenhaeger, A. Ptak, P. Reid, J. Sanders, M. Schattenburg, N. Schulz, A. Smale, P. Temi, L. Valencic, S. Walker, R. Willingale, J. Wilms, S. Wolk

Proceedings Volume 10397, 103970Q (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2272818

KEYWORDS: X-rays, Imaging spectroscopy, Stars, Spectroscopy, Space operations, Spectral resolution, Galactic astronomy, Visible radiation, Computed tomography, Silicon

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Proceedings Article | 30 September 2016 Paper

Arcus: the x-ray grating spectrometer explorer

R. Smith, M. Abraham, R. Allured, M. Bautz, J. Bookbinder, J. Bregman, L. Brenneman, N. Brickhouse, D. Burrows, V. Burwitz, R. Carvalho, P. Cheimets, E. Costantini, S. Dawson, C. DeRoo, A. Falcone, A. Foster, C. Grant, R. Heilmann, E. Hertz, B. Hine, D. Huenemoerder, J. Kaastra, K. Madsen, R. McEntaffer, E. Miller, J. Miller, E. Morse, R. Mushotzky, K. Nandra, M. Nowak, F. Paerels, R. Petre, L. Plice, K. Poppenhaeger, A. Ptak, P. Reid, J. Sanders, M. Schattenburg, N. Schulz, A. Smale, P. Temi, L. Valencic, S. Walker, R. Willingale, J. Wilms, S. Wolk

Proceedings Volume 9905, 99054M (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2231778

KEYWORDS: X-rays, Stars, Space telescopes, Sensors, Mirrors, Telescopes, Control systems, Calibration, Observatories, Sun

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Proceedings Article | 18 July 2016 Paper

The evolution of structure and feedback with Arcus

Laura Brenneman, Randall Smith, J. Bregman, J. Kaastra, N. Brickhouse, R. Allured, A. Foster, S. Wolk, J. Wilms, L. Valencic, R. Willingale, C. Grant, M. Bautz, R. Heilmann, D. Huenemoerder, E. Miller, M. Nowak, M. Schattenburg, N. Schulz, V. Burwitz, K. Nandra, J. Sanders, J. Bookbinder, R. Petre, A. Ptak, A. Smale, D. Burrows, K. Poppenhaeger, E. Costantini, C. DeRoo, R. McEntaffer, R. Mushotzky, J. Miller, P. Temi

Proceedings Volume 9905, 99054P (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2231193

KEYWORDS: X-rays, Stars, Galactic astronomy, Neon, Stars, Galactic astronomy, Absorption, Ions, Iron, Plasma, Ionization, X-ray optics

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Proceedings Article | 18 July 2016 Paper

Evolution of temperature-dependent charge transfer inefficiency correction for ACIS on the Chandra X-ray Observatory

Catherine Grant, Marshall Bautz, R. Nick Durham, Paul Plucinsky

Proceedings Volume 9905, 990545 (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2233424

KEYWORDS: X-rays, Calibration, X-rays, Sensors, Extreme ultraviolet, Synchrotron radiation, Radiometry, Vacuum ultraviolet, Optical filters, Imaging systems, Metrology

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SPIE Journal Paper | 29 December 2015

On the in-flight calibration plans of modern x-ray observatories

Matteo Guainazzi, Laurence David, Catherine Grant, Eric Miller, Lorenzo Natalucci, Jukka Nevalainen, Robert Petre, Marc Audard

JATIS, Vol. 1, Issue 04, 047001, (December 2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.10.1117/1.JATIS.1.4.047001

KEYWORDS: Calibration, X-rays, X-ray astronomy, Charge-coupled devices, Observatories, X-ray telescopes, Sensors, X-ray detectors, Iron, Galaxy groups and clusters

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Proceedings Article | 18 September 2015 Paper

Modeling contamination migration on the Chandra X-ray Observatory: III

Stephen O'Dell, Douglas Swartz, Neil Tice, Paul Plucinsky, Catherine Grant, Herman Marshall, Alexey Vikhlinin, Allyn Tennant, Matthew Dahmer

Proceedings Volume 9601, 960107 (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2188396

KEYWORDS: Contamination, Observatories, Thermal modeling, X-rays, Charge-coupled devices, Spectroscopy, Cameras, Telescopes, Collimators, Optical filters

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Proceedings Article | 24 July 2014 Paper

Fifteen years of the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer

Catherine Grant, Mark Bautz, Peter Ford, P. Plucinsky

Proceedings Volume 9144, 91443Q (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2055652

KEYWORDS: Charge-coupled devices, Bismuth, Calibration, Particles, Contamination, Observatories, Space operations, X-rays, Spectroscopy, Energy efficiency

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Proceedings Article | 27 September 2013 Paper

Modeling contamination migration on the Chandra X-ray Observatory II

Stephen O'Dell, Douglas Swartz, Neil Tice, Paul Plucinsky, Catherine Grant, Herman Marshall, Alexey Vikhlinin, Allyn Tennant

Proceedings Volume 8859, 88590F (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2024541

KEYWORDS: Contamination, Thermal modeling, Charge-coupled devices, Absorption, X-rays, Spectroscopy, Cameras, Sensors, Observatories, Optical filters

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Proceedings Article | 10 October 2012 Paper

Using the Chandra ACIS x-ray imager as a background particle flux detector

Peter Ford, Catherine Grant

Proceedings Volume 8443, 844347 (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.925471

KEYWORDS: Charge-coupled devices, Bismuth, Particles, Video, Sensors, X-rays, Space operations, X-ray imaging, Algorithm development, Back illuminated sensors

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Proceedings Article | 17 September 2012 Paper

Using ACIS on the Chandra X-ray Observatory as a particle radiation monitor II

C. Grant, P. Ford, M. Bautz, S. O'Dell

Proceedings Volume 8443, 844311 (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.925467

KEYWORDS: Charge-coupled devices, Particles, Solar radiation, Bismuth, Space operations, X-rays, Observatories, Algorithm development, Environmental sensing, Environmental monitoring

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Proceedings Article | 29 July 2010 Paper

Using ACIS on the Chandra X-ray Observatory as a particle radiation monitor

C. Grant, B. LaMarr, M. Bautz, S. O'Dell

Proceedings Volume 7732, 77322I (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.857629

KEYWORDS: Particles, Charge-coupled devices, Solar radiation, X-rays, Observatories, Space operations, X-ray sources, Space telescopes, Bismuth, Sensors

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Proceedings Article | 24 July 2008 Paper

Physics of reverse annealing in high-resistivity Chandra ACIS CCDs

C. Grant, B. LaMarr, G. Prigozhin, S. Kissel, S. Brown, M. Bautz

Proceedings Volume 7021, 702119 (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.789750

KEYWORDS: Annealing, Charge-coupled devices, Temperature metrology, Carbon, CCD cameras, Physics, Observatories, Imaging arrays, Spectroscopy, Particles

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Proceedings Article | 15 July 2008 Paper

Front- and back-illuminated x-ray CCD performance in low- and high-Earth orbit: performance trends of Suzaku XIS and Chandra ACIS detectors

Beverly LaMarr, Catherine Grant, Steve Kissel, Gregory Prigozhin, Mark Bautz, Takeshi Go Tsuru, Hiroshi Tsunemi, Tadayasu Dotani, Kiyoshi Hayashida, Hironori Matsumoto

Proceedings Volume 7011, 70112C (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.788168

KEYWORDS: Bismuth, Charge-coupled devices, Sensors, Calibration, X-rays, Manganese, Back illuminated sensors, CCD image sensors, X-ray detectors, Diamond

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Proceedings Article | 18 September 2007 Paper

Managing radiation degradation of CCDs on the Chandra X-ray Observatory III

Stephen O'Dell, Thomas Aldcroft, William Blackwell, Sabina Bucher, Jon Chappell, Joseph DePasquale, Catherine Grant, Michael Juda, Eric Martin, Joseph Minow, Stephen Murray, Paul Plucinsky, Daniel Schwartz, Daniel Shropshire, Bradley Spitzbart, Paul Viens, Scott Wolk

Proceedings Volume 6686, 668603 (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.734594

KEYWORDS: Charge-coupled devices, Sensors, X-rays, Observatories, Bismuth, Solar processes, Solar radiation models, Solar radiation, Space operations, Back illuminated sensors

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Proceedings Article | 15 June 2006 Paper

Temperature dependence of charge transfer inefficiency in Chandra x-ray CCDs

C. Grant, M. Bautz, S. Kissel, B. LaMarr, G. Prigozhin

Proceedings Volume 6276, 62761O (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.672019

KEYWORDS: Charge-coupled devices, Particles, Bismuth, X-rays, Data modeling, Temperature metrology, Error analysis, Observatories, Back illuminated sensors, Calibration

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Proceedings Article | 31 August 2005 Paper

Long-term trends in radiation damage of Chandra x-ray CCDs

C. Grant, M. Bautz, S. Kissel, B. LaMarr, G. Prigozhin

Proceedings Volume 5898, 58980Q (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.618123

KEYWORDS: Charge-coupled devices, Particles, Bismuth, X-rays, Temperature metrology, Observatories, Calibration, Imaging arrays, Space operations, Solar radiation

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Proceedings Article | 18 August 2005 Paper

Managing radiation degradation of CCDs on the Chandra X-ray Observatory II

Stephen O'Dell, Thomas Aldcroft, Bradley Bissell, William Blackwell, Robert Cameron, Jon Chappell, Joseph DePasquale, Kenneth Gage, Catherine Grant, Christine Harbison, Michael Juda, Kevin Marsh, Eric Martin, Joseph Minow, Stephen Murray, Paul Plucinsky, Daniel Schwartz, Daniel Shropshire, Bradley Spitzbart, Shanil Virani, Brent Williams, Scott Wolk

Proceedings Volume 5898, 58980R (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.619442

KEYWORDS: Charge-coupled devices, Sensors, X-rays, Solar processes, Observatories, Space operations, Magnetosphere, Bismuth, Solar radiation models, Solar radiation

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Proceedings Article | 11 October 2004 Paper

An evaluation of a bake-out of the ACIS instrument on the Chandra X-Ray Observatory

Paul Plucinsky, Stephen O'Dell, Neil Tice, Douglas Swartz, Marshall Bautz, Joseph DePasquale, Richard Edgar, Gordon Garmire, Rino Giordano, Catherine Grant, Perry Knollenberg, Steve Kissel, Beverly LaMarr, Richard Logan, Martin Mach, Herman Marshall, Leon McKendrick, Gregory Prigozhin, Dan Schwartz, Norbert Schulz, Dan Shropshire, Tan Trinh, Alexey Vikhlinin, Shanil Virani

Proceedings Volume 5488, (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.552029

KEYWORDS: Charge-coupled devices, Contamination, Collimators, X-rays, Space operations, Observatories, Absorption, Sensors, Thermal modeling, Aerospace engineering

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Proceedings Article | 29 September 2004 Paper

A charge transfer inefficiency correction model for the Chandra advanced CCD imaging spectrometer

Catherine Grant, Mark Bautz, Steven Kissel, Beverly LaMarr

Proceedings Volume 5501, (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.550628

KEYWORDS: Charge-coupled devices, X-rays, Calibration, Spectroscopy, Observatories, Spectral resolution, Detection and tracking algorithms, Quantum efficiency, Sensors, Performance modeling

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Proceedings Article | 3 February 2004 Paper

Composition of the Chandra ACIS contaminant

Herman Marshall, Allyn Tennant, Catherine Grant, Adam Hitchcock, Stephen O'Dell, Paul Plucinsky

Proceedings Volume 5165, (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.508310

KEYWORDS: Data modeling, Absorption, Fluorine, X-rays, Contamination, Opacity, Spectroscopy, Carbon, Calibration, Quantum efficiency

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Proceedings Article | 11 March 2003 Paper

Flight spectral response of the ACIS instrument

Paul Plucinsky, Norbert Schulz, Herman Marshall, Catherine Grant, George Chartas, Divas Sanwal, Marcus Teter, Alexey Vikhlinin, Richard Edgar, Michael Wise, Glenn Allen, Shanil Virani, Joseph DePasquale, Michael Raley

Proceedings Volume 4851, (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.461473

KEYWORDS: Charge-coupled devices, Calibration, Data modeling, Contamination, Spectral resolution, Absorption, Bismuth, Manganese, X-rays, Sensors

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We discuss the flight calibration of the spectral response of the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) on-board the Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO). The spectral resolution and sensitivity of the ACIS instrument have both been evolving over the course of the mission. The spectral resolution of the frontside-illuminated (FI) CCDs changed dramatically in the first month of the mission due to radiation damage. Since that time, the spectral resolution of the FI CCDs and the Backside-illuminated (BI) CCDs have evolved gradually with time. We demonstrate the efficacy of charge-transfer inefficiency (CTI) correction algorithms which recover some of the lost performance. The detection efficiency of the ACIS instrument has been declining throughout the mission, presumably due to a layer of contamination building up on the filter and/or CCDs. We present a characterization of the energy dependence of the excess absorption and demonstrate software which models the time dependence of the absorption from energies of 0.4 keV and up. The spectral redistribution function and the detection efficiency are well-characterized at energies from 1.5 to 8.0~keV primarily due to the existence of strong lines in the ACIS calibration source in that energy range. The calibration at energies below 1.5 keV is challenging because of the lack of strong lines in the calibration source and also because of the inherent non-linear dependence with energy of the CTI and the absorption by the contamination layer. We have been using data from celestial sources with relatively simple spectra to determine the quality of the calibration below 1.5 keV. We have used observations of 1E0102.2-7219 (the brightest supernova remnant in the SMC), PKS2155-304 (a bright blazar), and the pulsar PSR~0656+14 (nearby pulsar with a soft spectrum), since the spectra of these objects have been well-characterized by the gratings on the CXO. The analysis of these observations demonstrate that the CTI correction recovers a significant fraction of the spectral resolution of the FI CCDs and the models of the time-dependent absorption result in consistent measurements of the flux at low energies for data from a BI (S3) CCD.

Proceedings Article | 11 March 2003 Paper

Sacrificial charge and the spectral resolution performance of the Chandra advanced CCD imaging spectrometer

Catherine Grant, Gregory Prigozhin, Beverly LaMarr, Mark Bautz

Proceedings Volume 4851, (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.461282

KEYWORDS: Charge-coupled devices, X-rays, Spectral resolution, Spectroscopy, Calibration, Observatories, X-ray imaging, Software development, X-ray astronomy, X-ray telescopes

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Proceedings Article | 13 December 2000 Paper

Characterization of the radiation damage in the Chandra x-ray CCDs

Gregory Prigozhin, Steven Kissel, Mark Bautz, Catherine Grant, Beverly LaMarr, Richard Foster, George Ricker

Proceedings Volume 4140, (2000) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.409106

KEYWORDS: Charge-coupled devices, X-rays, Signal attenuation, Image storage, Time metrology, X-ray characterization, Temperature metrology, Manganese, X-ray telescopes, Space telescopes

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Front side illuminated CCDs comprising focal plane of the Chandra X-ray telescope have suffered some radiation damage in the beginning of the mission. Measurements of CTI and dark current at different temperatures led us to conclusion that the type of damage is inconsistent with the much studied type of damage created by protons with energies higher than 10 MeV. Intensive ground based investigation showed that irradiation of a CCD with low energy protons (about 100 keV) results in the device characteristics similar to the ones of the flight chips (very low dark current, the shape of the CTI temperature dependence). We were able to reliably determine that only image section of the flight chips was damaged and therefore only fast transfer from image to frame store section was affected. We have developed several techniques in order to determine the parameters of the electron traps introduced into the transfer channel of the irradiated device. One of them is based on the analysis of the amplitude of the signal in the pixels trailing the pixel that absorbed an X-ray photon of known energy. Averaging over large number of photons allowed us to get high signal/noise ratio even for pixels with extremely low signal far behind the X-ray event. Performing this analysis at different temperatures we were able to measure trap density, emission time constant, and trap cross section. Another technique is based on the analysis of the tail behind the events of very high amplitude, such as cosmic ray hits. We have developed a new scheme of clocking the device which prevents several rows of image section from being ever read out and keeps them moving back and forth. This so- called 'squeegee mode' improves CTI and can also be used to measure trap parameters, being especially effective in measuring long time constants. At least 4 different types of traps were detected, two of them with short time constant in the range from tens to a few hundred microseconds. The most damaging for the device performance are the traps with longer time constant in the millisecond range. The measurement of the trap parameters allows us to accurately model charge transfer inefficiency and helps to choose optimal operational parameters, and eventually will lead to techniques that may noticeably improve performance of a damaged CCD.

Proceedings Article | 18 July 2000 Paper

Radiation damage in the Chandra x-ray CCDs

Gregory Prigozhin, Steven Kissel, Mark Bautz, Catherine Grant, Beverly LaMarr, Richard Foster, George Ricker, Gordon Garmire

Proceedings Volume 4012, (2000) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.391612

KEYWORDS: Charge-coupled devices, X-rays, Image storage, Manganese, Time metrology, X-ray telescopes, Neon, Space telescopes, Temperature metrology, Calibration

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Proceedings Article | 19 November 1998 Paper

X-ray CCD calibration for the AXAF CCD Imaging Spectrometer

Mark Bautz, Michael Pivovaroff, F. Baganoff, Takashi Isobe, Stephen Jones, Steven Kissel, Beverly LaMarr, Herbert Manning, Gregory Prigozhin, George Ricker, John Nousek, Catherine Grant, Kaori Nishikida, Frank Scholze, R. Thornagel, Gerhard Ulm

Proceedings Volume 3444, (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.331238

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Charge-coupled devices, Calibration, X-rays, Silicon, Data modeling, CCD image sensors, Quantum efficiency, Energy efficiency, Synchrotron radiation

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Proceedings Article | 19 November 1998 Paper

Joint AXAF high-resolution mirror assembly and AXAF CCD Imaging Spectrometer calibration at the MSFC X-Ray Calibration Facility

John Nousek, Leisa Townsley, George Chartas, David Burrows, E. Moskalenko, R. Sambruna, J. Pesce, Catherine Grant, Kaori Nishikida, Laura Cawley, Patrick Broos, Scott Koch, A. Garmire, Gordon Garmire, Mark Bautz, Stephen Jones, Beverly LaMarr, George Ricker

Proceedings Volume 3444, (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.331239

KEYWORDS: Charge-coupled devices, Point spread functions, Calibration, Photons, X-rays, Data modeling, Mirrors, X-ray imaging, Spectroscopy, X-ray telescopes

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Proceedings Article | 31 October 1996 Paper

CUBIC: preflight calibration results and initial operations

David Burrows, Catherine Grant, Laura Cawley, Gordon Garmire, Jeffrey Mendenhall, John Nousek, Mark Skinner

Proceedings Volume 2808, (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.256026

KEYWORDS: Calibration, Charge-coupled devices, X-rays, Amplifiers, Cameras, Satellites, Quantum efficiency, Spectroscopes, CCD cameras, Sensors

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