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Note: Operation of gamma-ray microcalorimeters at elevated count rates using filters with constraints
B K Alpert1, R D Horansky, D A Bennett
1National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA.
The Review of Scientific Instruments
|June 8, 2013
Summary
New filters enable microcalorimeter detectors to handle 50% more X- and gamma-ray photons. This advancement addresses pulse pileup, improving detector throughput and preserving energy resolution for precise photon detection.
Area of Science:
- Physics
- Detector Technology
- Spectroscopy
Background:
- Microcalorimeter sensors offer superior energy precision for X- and gamma-ray photons compared to semiconductor detectors.
- High throughput in microcalorimeter spectrometers requires arrays and higher count rates per pixel.
- Millisecond recovery times and pulse pileup limit current gamma-ray microcalorimeters' count rates.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate a method for operating microcalorimeter detectors at elevated count rates.
- To overcome the limitations of pulse pileup in high-precision photon detection.
- To improve the overall throughput of microcalorimeter-based spectrometers.
Main Methods:
- Utilized convolution filters engineered to be orthogonal to the exponential decay tail of preceding pulses.
- Tested microcalorimeter detector operation with these novel filters at increased photon incidence.
- Compared performance against conventional filtering techniques.
Main Results:
- Achieved 50% higher count rates compared to conventional filtering methods.
- Maintained sensor energy resolution largely intact despite the increased count rate.
- Demonstrated effective mitigation of pulse pileup effects.
Conclusions:
- Convolution filters orthogonal to pulse tails enable higher count rates in microcalorimeters.
- This technique significantly enhances detector throughput without compromising energy resolution.
- The findings pave the way for more efficient high-precision X- and gamma-ray spectroscopy.
