Silicon drift detectors for the Spectroscopy Focusing Array of eXTP

TL;DR

This paper introduces a silicon drift detector system designed for the eXTP mission's spectroscopy array, emphasizing fast timing and high energy resolution for X-ray observations.

Contribution

It presents the design, assembly, and performance evaluation of a novel silicon drift detector prototype for space-based X-ray spectroscopy.

Findings

Achieved time resolution below 10 microseconds.

Energy resolution better than 180 eV at 6 keV.

Successful integration with high time resolution ASICs.

Abstract

We present a silicon drift detector (SDD) system for the spectroscopy focusing array (SFA) of the enhanced X-ray timing and polarimetry (eXTP) mission. The SFA focuses on fast timing (time resolution below 10 {\mu}s) and good spectroscopy capabilities (energy resolution better than 180 eV @ 6 keV). The sensor, consisting of 19 hexagonally shaped pixels with a total sensitive area of ${5.05}\, cm^{2}$, is connected to three high time resolution spectroscopy (HTRS) ASICs, allowing a fast readout of the detector signals. The detector works in a Charge- Sensitive Amplifier configuration. We assembled a prototype detector module and present here its mechanical design, describe the used sensor, and report about its performance.