Development of the strontium iodide coded aperture (SICA) instrument

Lee J. Mitchell; Bernard F. Phlips; J. Eric Grove; Ryan Cordes

doi:10.1117/12.2195575

24 August 2015 Development of the strontium iodide coded aperture (SICA) instrument

Lee J. Mitchell, Bernard F. Phlips, J. Eric Grove, Ryan Cordes

Proceedings Volume 9601, UV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XIX; 96010A (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2195575
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2015, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The work reports on the development of a Strontium Iodide Coded Aperture (SICA) instrument for use in space-based astrophysics, solar physics, and high-energy atmospheric physics. The Naval Research Laboratory is developing a prototype coded aperture imager that will consist of an 8 x 8 array of SrI₂:Eu detectors, each read out by a silicon photomultiplier. The array would be used to demonstrate SrI₂:Eu detector performance for space-based missions. Europium-doped strontium iodide (SrI₂:Eu) detectors have recently become available, and the material is a strong candidate to replace existing detector technology currently used for space-based gamma-ray astrophysics research. The detectors have a typical energy resolution of 3.2% at 662 keV, a significant improvement over the 6.5% energy resolution of thallium-doped sodium iodide. With a density of 4.59 g/cm and a Z_eff of 49, SrI₂:Eu has a high efficiency for MeV gamma-ray detection. Coupling this with recent improvements in silicon photomultiplier technology (i.e., no bulky photomultiplier tubes) creates high-density, large-area, low-power detector arrays with good energy resolution. Also, the energy resolution of SrI2:Eu makes it ideal for use as the back plane of a Compton telescope.

Citation Download Citation

Lee J. Mitchell, Bernard F. Phlips, J. Eric Grove, and Ryan Cordes "Development of the strontium iodide coded aperture (SICA) instrument", Proc. SPIE 9601, UV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XIX, 96010A (24 August 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2195575

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