Related papers: A setup for soft proton irradiation of X-ray detec…
We report on our activities, currently in progress, aimed at performing accelerator experiments with soft protons and hyper-velocity dust particles. They include tests of different types of X-ray detectors and related components (such as…
In low earth orbit, there are many cosmic rays composed primarily of high energy protons. These cosmic rays cause surface and bulk radiation effects, resulting in degradation of detector performance. Quantitative evaluation of radiation…
Context: Environmental soft protons have affected the performance of the X-ray detectors on board Chandra and XMM-Newton, and they pose a threat for future high energy astrophysics missions with larger aperture, such as ATHENA. Aims: We aim…
A proton irradiation site for silicon detectors has been developed and commissioned at the Bonn Isochronous Cyclotron. The accelerator provides 14 MeV proton beams of up to 1 $\mu$A at beam widths of a few mm to the setup. Devices Under…
In-orbit experience has shown that soft protons are funneled more efficiently through focusing Wolter-type optics of X-ray observatories than simulations predicted. These protons can degrade the performance of solid-state X-ray detectors…
The characteristics of a hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) detector are presented here for monitoring in space solar flares and the evolution of large energetic proton events up to hundreds of MeV. The a-Si:H presents an excellent…
Soft protons are a potential threat for X-ray missions using grazing incidence optics, as once focused onto the detectors they can contribute to increase the background and possibly induce radiation damage as well. The assessment of these…
As observed on the signal of the Planck-HFI highly sensitive bolometers, the effect of cosmic rays on detectors is a major concern for future similar space missions. Their instruments will have a larger detection surface, increased…
During the three years long assessment phase of the LOFT mission, candidate to the M3 launch opportunity of the ESA Cosmic Vision programme, we estimated and measured the radiation damage of the silicon drift detectors (SDDs) of the…
Minimization of charged particle background in X-ray telescopes is a well known issue. Charged particles (chiefly protons and electrons) naturally present in the cosmic environment constitute an important background source when they collide…
Future X-ray astrophysics missions will survey large areas of the sky with unparalleled sensitivity, enabled by lightweight, high-resolution optics. These optics inherently produce curved focal surfaces with radii as small as 2 m, requiring…
The high time resolution observations of the X-ray sky hold the key to a number of diagnostics of fundamental physics, some of which are unaccessible to other types of investigations, such as those based on imaging and spectroscopy.…
Both the interplanetary space and the Earth magnetosphere are populated by low energy ($\leq300$ keV) protons that are potentially able to scatter on the reflecting surface of Wolter-I optics of X-ray focusing telescopes and reach the focal…
The Low Energy X-ray Telescope is a main payload on the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope satellite. The swept charge device is selected for the Low Energy X-ray Telescope. As swept charge devices are sensitive to proton irradiation,…
The silicon drift detectors are at the basis of the instrumentation aboard the Large Observatory For x-ray Timing (LOFT) satellite mission, which underwent a three year assessment phase within the "Cosmic Vision 2015 - 2025" long-term…
Thin filters and gas tight windows are used in Space to protect sensitive X-ray detectors from out-of-band electromagnetic radiation, low-energy particles, and molecular contamination. Though very thin and made of light materials, filters…
Ultra-high dose rate radiation therapy (FLASH) based on proton irradiation is of major interest for cancer treatments but creates new challenges for dose monitoring. Amorphous hydrogenated silicon is known to be one of the most…
The development of instrumentation for operation in high-radiation environments represents a challenge in various research fields, particularly in particle physics experiments and space missions, and drives an ever-increasing demand for…
The irradiation represents a useful tool for determining the characteristics of defects in semiconductors as well as a method to evaluate their degradation, fact with important technological consequences. In this contribution, starting from…
The Wide Field Imager (WFI), one of two instruments on ESA's next large X-ray mission Athena, is designed for imaging spectroscopy of X-rays in the range of 0.2 to 15 keV with a large field of view and high count rate capability. The focal…