Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2014

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International Session (Oral)

Symbol P (Space and Planetary Sciences) » P-CG Complex & General

[P-CG11_28AM2] Instrumentation for space science

Mon. Apr 28, 2014 11:00 AM - 12:45 PM 421 (4F)

Convener:*Ayako Matsuoka(Research Division for Space Plasma, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Ichiro Yoshikawa(The University of Tokyo), Chair:Ayako Matsuoka(Research Division for Space Plasma, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Ichiro Yoshikawa(The University of Tokyo)

11:15 AM - 11:30 AM

★ [PCG11-04] Development of a wide-field X-ray imaging spectrometer for solar system exploration

*Yuichiro EZOE1 (1.Tokyo Metropolitan University)

Keywords:X-ray, imaging spectroscopy, Earth's magnetosphere, Jupiter, Mars

We present our development of a wide-field X-ray imaging spectrometer for solar system exploration. In the past decade or so, various types of X-ray emission have been discovered in the solar system (Bhardwaj et al., 2007, Planet. Space, Sci., Ezoe et al., 2011, Adv. Space, Res.). These X-rays are often associated with energetic particles in planetary magnetosphere and neutrals in planetary atmosphere and cometary coma. Therefore, X-ray observations of solar system objects will lead to better understanding of solar system environments and astrophysical phenomena.For this purpose, we are developing a wide-field X-ray imaging spectrometer for future exploration missions such as GEO-X (Ezoe et al. 2014, Space Sci. Symposium) and JMO (Sasaki et al. 2011, EPSC-DPS). This instrument is composed of an ultra light-weight X-ray telescope and a low-power radiation-hard semiconductor pixel sensor. The telescope covers a wide field of view of ~4 deg in diameter in 0.3--2 keV with the angular resolution of <5 arcmin. It uses sidewalls of etched holes through thin 4-inch silicon wafers for X-ray mirrors (Ezoe et al., 2010, Mircosys. Tehc.). The detector covers a wide area of ~20 x 20 mm^2 with a ~300 x 300 um^2 pixel. It is an active pixel sensor developed by MPE and PNsensor (Strueder et al., 2010, SPIE). Compared to X-ray CCDs, this type is more radiation hard and allows higher frame time less than 1 ms. This instrument can satisfy stringent resource constraints in the exploration missions. The mass, size, and power are estimated to be ~10 kg, ~30 cm cubic, and ~10 W, respectively. Multiple units of this instrument are considered for GEO-X to achieve a wider field of view, while one unit will meet science requirements of JMO. In this presentation, we will describe design, fabrication, and performance of the instrument components and future prospects.