The High Time Resolution Spectrometer (HTRS) aboard the International X-ray Observatory (IXO)

Abstract

The High Time Resolution Spectrometer (HTRS) is one of the five focal plane instruments of the International X-ray Observatory (IXO). The HTRS is the only instrument matching the top level mission requirement of handling a one Crab X-ray source with an efficiency greater than 10%. It will provide IXO with the capability of observing the brightest X-ray sources of the sky, with sub-millisecond time resolution, low deadtime, low pile-up (less than 2% at 1 Crab), and CCD type energy resolution (goal of 150 eV FWHM at 6 keV). The HTRS is a non-imaging instrument, based on a monolithic array of Silicon Drift Detectors (SDDs) with 31 cells in a circular envelope and a X-ray sensitive volume of 4.5 cm² x 450 μm. As part of the assessment study carried out by ESA on IXO, the HTRS is currently undergoing a phase A study, led by CNES and CESR. In this paper, we present the current mechanical, thermal and electrical design of the HTRS, and describe the expected performance assessed through Monte Carlo simulations.