CZT detectors for high-energy flare spectroscopy: the Room Temperature Semiconductor Spectrometer (RTeSS) on the JAWSAT satellite

W. Thomas Vestrand; H. H. Cutlip; David J. Forrest; Ken A. Levenson; J. R. Marci; James M. Ryan

doi:10.1117/12.312893

1 July 1998 CZT detectors for high-energy flare spectroscopy: the Room Temperature Semiconductor Spectrometer (RTeSS) on the JAWSAT satellite

W. Thomas Vestrand, H. H. Cutlip, David J. Forrest, Ken A. Levenson, J. R. Marci, James M. Ryan

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 3446, Hard X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Detector Physics and Applications; (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.312893
Event: SPIE's International Symposium on Optical Science, Engineering, and Instrumentation, 1998, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

We report on the design and construction of a solar flare spectrometer that will employ four 15 X 15 X 15 mm CZT detectors with coplanar electrodes. The compact spectrometer, which will provide measurements in the 40 - 800 keV energy range, is being constructed for flight on the Joint Air Force Academy/Weber State University Satellite (JAWSAT). JAWSAT is scheduled for a Minuteman II launch into a 650 km sun-synchronous orbit early during the next solar maximum. The terminator orbit will allow our Room Temperature Semiconductor Spectrometer (RTeSS) to monitor solar hard x-ray and gamma-ray emission nearly continuously during the 23rd solar sunspot maximum. The primary scientific objective of the RTeSS is measurement of the broad line complex near 450 keV that is generated in solar flare spectra by the interaction of energetic alpha particles with helium in the solar atmosphere. The RTeSS spectral resolution of approximately 4% FWHM at 662 keV is well matched to the line splitting expected for likely alpha particle angular distributions and should allow us to place important constraints on the acceleration and the transport of flare ions. The primary technological objective of the RTeSS program is to test the feasibility of using CZT detectors for the construction of solar flare spectrometers that are capable of high resolution observations when operating at room temperature. If successful in low earth orbit, CZT solar flare spectrometers could lead to significant savings in mass, volume, and power consumption over conventional high-resolution spectrometers.

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W. Thomas Vestrand, H. H. Cutlip, David J. Forrest, Ken A. Levenson, J. R. Marci, and James M. Ryan "CZT detectors for high-energy flare spectroscopy: the Room Temperature Semiconductor Spectrometer (RTeSS) on the JAWSAT satellite", Proc. SPIE 3446, Hard X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Detector Physics and Applications, (1 July 1998); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.312893

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KEYWORDS

Sensors

Spectroscopy

Solar processes

Satellites

Solar energy

Spectral resolution

Atmospheric particles

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