Balloon-borne hard x-ray spectrometer for flare observations

Ken Kobayashi; Saku Tsuneta; Tomonori Tamura; Kazuyoshi Kumagai; Yukio Katsukawa; Masahito Kubo; Takamasa Yamagami; Yoshitaka Saito

doi:10.1117/12.461284

11 March 2003 Balloon-borne hard x-ray spectrometer for flare observations

Ken Kobayashi, Saku Tsuneta, Tomonori Tamura, Kazuyoshi Kumagai, Yukio Katsukawa, Masahito Kubo, Takamasa Yamagami, Yoshitaka Saito

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 4851, X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Telescopes and Instruments for Astronomy; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.461284
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2002, Waikoloa, Hawai'i, United States

Abstract

We present the design and initial flight results of a balloon-borne hard X-ray detector system for observing high-resolution spectra of solar flares. The instrument is designed to achieve a 3 keV energy resolution over the energy range of 15-120 keV. The instrument uses sixteen 10×10×0.5mm cadmium telluride (CdTe) detectors with indium electrodes that act as Schottky barriers. Pre-flight tests confirmed that all detectors exceeded the target 3 keV resolution. The detector system is designed to optimize radiative cooling in order to achieve the operating temperature of 0°C without refrigeration mechanisms. The first flight took place on August 29, 2001 and while no major flares were observed, the instrument operation was verified and a detector temperature of -13° C was achieved. The second flight took place on May 24, 1974 and during the 8 hours of level flight at an altitude of 41km, we succeeded in observing a class M1.1 solar flare.

Citation Download Citation

Ken Kobayashi, Saku Tsuneta, Tomonori Tamura, Kazuyoshi Kumagai, Yukio Katsukawa, Masahito Kubo, Takamasa Yamagami, and Yoshitaka Saito "Balloon-borne hard x-ray spectrometer for flare observations", Proc. SPIE 4851, X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Telescopes and Instruments for Astronomy, (11 March 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.461284

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