Measurements of charge transfer efficiency in a proton-irradiated swept charge device

Abstract

Charged Coupled Devices (CCDs) have been successfully used in several low energy X-ray astronomical satellites over the past two decades. Their high energy resolution and high spatial resolution make them a perfect tool for low energy astronomy, such as observing the formation of galaxy clusters and the environment around black holes. The Low Energy X-ray Telescope (LE) group is developing a Swept Charge Device (SCD) for the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT) satellite. A SCD is a special low energy X-ray CCD, which can be read out a thousand times faster than traditional CCDs, simultaneously keeping excellent energy resolution. A test method for measuring the charge transfer efficiency (CTE) of a prototype SCD has been set up. Studies of the charge transfer inefficiency (CTI) with a proton-irradiated SCD have been performed at a range of operating temperatures. The SCD is irradiated by 3 × 10 8cm-2 10 MeV protons. © 2014 Chinese Physical Society and the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and IOP Publishing Ltd.