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Single drift diode X-ray spectrometer


Date: 05 January 2009
Satellite: IXO
Depicts: Principle of a single drift diode X-ray spectrometer
Copyright: ESA

The High Time Resolution Spectroscopy (HTRS) instrument is based around an array of silicon drift diodes (SDD). The SDD is a completely depleted volume of silicon in which an arrangement of increasingly negatively biased rings drive the electrons generated by the impact of ionising radiation towards a small readout node in the centre of the device. The time needed for the electrons to drift is much less than 1 µs. IXO was an L-class candidate mission in ESA's Cosmic Vision programme that was studied between 2007 and 2011.
Last Update: 1 September 2019
14-Mar-2026 16:45 UT

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