Microstrip detector development for x-ray astronomy

摘要

Abstract: Microstrips offer significant advantages over traditional wire grids in gas-filled proportional counters in the areas of energy resolution, durability, and spatial uniformity. The objective of microstrip work at Marshall Space Flight Center is to produce a large area (30 cm square) microstrip with optimized parameters for use in hard x-ray astronomy balloon-borne detectors. MSFC facilities for producing microstrips are used to investigate effects on performance of various parameters such as anode width, anode uniformity, cathode-anode spacing, and substrate conductivity. Mechanical production limitations of 10 cm squares have spawned efforts to piece together several small microstrips to form a `mosaic' pattern which will be large enough for use in an imaging flight detector. In addition, the relative merits of thin film dielectric coatings vs. glass plate separation of orthogonal readout layers for 2D imaging microstrips are being investigated. Selected results of this work and progress toward a large area flight detector will be reported.!3