Dr. Gerald K. Skinner Profile

Dr. Gerald K. Skinner

Consultant at University of Birmingham

SPIE Involvement:

Author

Publications (26)

Proceedings Article | 30 July 2010 Paper

The proposed high-energy telescope (HET) for EXIST

J. Hong, J. Grindlay, B. Allen, G. Skinner, S. Barthelmy, N. Gehrels, A. Garson, H. Krawczynski, W. Cook, F. Harrison, L. Natalucci, P. Ubertini

Proceedings Volume 7732, 77321Y (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.857713

KEYWORDS: Sensors, X-ray telescopes, Crystals, Hard x-rays, Telescopes, Space telescopes, Photomasks, Electronics, X-ray imaging, Field programmable gate arrays

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Proceedings Article | 3 September 2009 Paper

The high energy telescope on EXIST

J. Hong, J. Grindlay, B. Allen, S. Barthelmy, G. Skinner, N. Gehrels

Proceedings Volume 7435, 74350A (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.826540

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Space telescopes, Image processing, X-ray telescopes, Tungsten, X-rays, Telescopes, X-ray imaging, Crystals, Imaging spectroscopy

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Proceedings Article | 31 August 2009 Paper

X-ray and gamma-ray focusing and interferometry

Gerald Skinner

Proceedings Volume 7437, 74370J (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.826853

KEYWORDS: X-rays, Axicons, X-ray diffraction, Interferometers, Interferometry, Gamma radiation, Sensors, X-ray astronomy, X-ray optics, Point spread functions

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Proceedings Article | 21 August 2009 Paper

Imaging and burst location with the EXIST high-energy telescope

Gerald Skinner, Scott Barthelmy, Mark Finger, Jae Sub Hong, Garrett Jernigan, Steven Sturner, Branden Allen, Jonathan Grindlay

Proceedings Volume 7435, 74350B (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.830184

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Space telescopes, Telescopes, Gamma radiation, Space operations, Spatial resolution, Image restoration, X-rays, Detector arrays, Point spread functions

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The primary instrument of the proposed EXIST mission is a coded mask high energy telescope (the HET), that must have a wide field of view and extremely good sensitivity. In order to achieve the performance goals it will be crucial to minimize systematic errors so that even for very long total integration times the imaging performance is close to the statistical photon limit. There is also a requirement to be able to reconstruct images on-board in near real time in order to detect and localize gamma-ray bursts, as is currently being done by the BAT instrument on Swift. However for EXIST this must be done while the spacecraft is continuously scanning the sky. The scanning provides all-sky coverage and is also a key part of the strategy to reduce systematic errors. The on-board computational problem is made even more challenging for EXIST by the very large number of detector pixels (more than 107, compared with 32768 for BAT). The EXIST HET Imaging Technical Working Group has investigated and compared numerous alternative designs for the HET. The selected baseline concept meets all of the scientific requirements, while being compatible with spacecraft and launch constraints and with those imposed by the infra-red and soft X-ray telescopes that constitute the other key parts of the payload. The approach adopted depends on a unique coded mask with two spatial scales. Coarse elements in the mask are effective over the entire energy band of the instrument and are used to initially locate gamma-ray bursts. A finer mask component provides the good angular resolution needed to refine the burst position and reduces the cosmic X-ray background; it is optimized for operation at low energies and becomes transparent in the upper part of the energy band where an open fraction of 50% is optimal. Monte Carlo simulations and analytic analysis techniques have been used to demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed design and of the two-step burst localization procedure.

Proceedings Article | 15 July 2008 Paper

The milli-arc-second structure imager (MASSIM): a new concept for a high angular resolution x-ray telescope

G. Skinner, Z. Arzoumanian, W. Cash, N. Gehrels, K. Gendreau, P. Gorenstein, J. Krizmanic, M. Miller, J. Phillips, R. Reasenberg, C. Reynolds, R. Sambruna, R. Streitmatter, D. Windt

Proceedings Volume 7011, 70110T (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.789568

KEYWORDS: Spatial resolution, Space operations, X-rays, Sensors, X-ray optics, Stars, X-ray astronomy, Imaging systems, Fresnel lenses, X-ray diffraction

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Proceedings Article | 14 July 2008 Paper

The future of high angular resolution x-ray astronomy

Paul Gorenstein, Webster Cash, Neil Gehrels, Keith Gendreau, John Krizmanic, M. Coleman Miller, Christopher Reynolds, Rita Sambruna, Gerald Skinner, Robert Streitmatter, David Windt

Proceedings Volume 7011, 70110U (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.789978

KEYWORDS: Space telescopes, Telescopes, X-rays, Spatial resolution, Chromatic aberrations, X-ray telescopes, Zone plates, Diffraction, Sensors, Space operations

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Proceedings Article | 21 September 2007 Paper

R and D progress on second-generation crystals for Laue lens applications

N. Barrière, P. von Ballmoos, P. Bastie, P. Courtois, N. Abrosimov, K. Andersen, T. Buslaps, T. Camus, H. Halloin, M. Jentschel, J. Knödlseder, G. Roudil, D. Serre, G. Skinner

Proceedings Volume 6688, 66880O (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.733993

KEYWORDS: Crystals, Diffraction, Copper, Reflectivity, Germanium, Gamma radiation, Lens design, Silicon, Sensors, Absorption

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Proceedings Article | 13 June 2006 Paper

Fast timing with XEUS: evaluation of different detector concepts

Eckhard Kendziorra, Michael Martin, Andrea Santangelo, Jörn Wilms, Didier Barret, Gerry Skinner, Lothar Strüder, Peter Lechner, Johannes Treis

Proceedings Volume 6266, 62661Y (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.671951

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Field effect transistors, Mirrors, Monte Carlo methods, Photons, Point spread functions, Spectroscopy, Imaging systems, Detector arrays, Imaging spectroscopy

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Proceedings Article | 8 September 2005 Paper

Monte-Carlo simulations of the expected imaging performance of the EXIST high-energy telescope

S. Vadawale, J. Hong, J. Grindlay, G. Skinner

Proceedings Volume 5900, 590014 (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.617671

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Signal to noise ratio, Telescopes, Coded aperture imaging, Crystals, Device simulation, Monte Carlo methods, Image compression, Hard x-rays, Photons

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Proceedings Article | 29 September 2004 Paper

XTRA: the fast x-ray timing detector on XEUS

Didier Barret, Jean-Louis Medale, Martin Rohde, Gerry Skinner, Lothar Strueder

Proceedings Volume 5501, (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.550010

KEYWORDS: Sensors, X-rays, Silicon, X-ray detectors, Stars, Mirrors, Photons, Spectroscopy, Electronics, Radiation effects

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The Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) has demonstrated the power of observations in the time domain in the study of X-ray binaries. The dynamical variation of the X-ray emission from accreting neutron stars and stellar mass black holes is a powerful probe of their strong gravitational fields. At the same time, oscillations at the neutron star spin frequency during X-ray bursts have been used to set important constraints on the mass and radius of neutron stars. The X-ray Evolving Universe Spectroscopy mission (XEUS), the potential follow-on mission to XMM-Newton, will have a mirror aperture more than ten times larger than the effective area of the RXTE proportional counter array (RXTE/PCA). Combined with a small dedicated fast X-ray timing detector in the focal plane (XTRA: XEUS Timing for Relativistic Astrophysics), this collecting area will provide a leap in timing sensitivity of more than one order of magnitude over the RXTE/PCA for bright sources, and will open a brand new window on faint X-ray sources, owing to the negligible detector background. Furthermore, the use of advanced Silicon drift chambers will improve the energy resolution by a factor of ~ 6 over the RXTE/PCA. The spectroscopic diagnostics of the strong field region, such as the gravitational redshift and the relativistic broadening of the Iron line, will become exploitable simultaneous with the fast timing. XTRA will provide unique opportunities, enabling for example the testing of general relativity in the strong gravity field regime and investigating with unprecedented accuracy the equation of state of matter at supranuclear density. XTRA when observing bright X-ray sources will record typically several hundred thousand counts per second and careful design will be necessary to ensure that the full potential of these data can be exploited. We describe the proposed implementation of XTRA in the XEUS focal plane using Silicon drift detectors and present the current performance of these devices.

Proceedings Article | 29 January 2004 Paper

CLAIRE gamma-ray lens: flight and long-distance test results

Hubert Halloin, Peter von Ballmoos, Jean Evrard, Gerald Skinner, Margarida Hernanz, Nikolai Abrosimov, Pierre Bastie, Bernard Hamelin, V. Lonjou, Jose Alvarez, A. Laurens, Pierre Jean, Juergen Knoedleseder, Robert Smither, Gilbert Vedrenne

Proceedings Volume 5168, (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.508307

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Crystals, Diffraction, Photons, Gamma radiation, Telescopes, Sun, Electroluminescence, Astrophysics, Space telescopes

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Proceedings Article | 29 January 2004 Paper

MAX: a gamma-ray lens for nuclear astrophysics

Peter von Ballmoos, Hubert Halloin, Gerald Skinner, Robert Smither, Jaques Paul, Nikolai Abrosimov, Jose Alvarez, Pierre Astier, Pierre Bastie, Didier Barret, Angela Bazzano, Arnaud Boutonnet, Pascal Brousse, Bertrand Cordier, Thierry Courvoisier, Guido Di Cocco, Andrea Giuliani, Bernard Hamelin, Margarida Hernanz, Pierre Jean, Jordi Isern, Jurrgen Knödlseder, Phillipe Laurent, Francois Lebrun, Alexandre Marcowith, Vincent Martinot, Lorenzo Natalucci, Jean-Francois Olive, Reynald Pain, Rachida Sadat, Herve Sainct, Pietro Ubertini, Gilbert Vedrenne

Proceedings Volume 5168, (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.509672

KEYWORDS: Crystals, Gamma radiation, Diffraction, Sensors, Germanium, Space telescopes, Telescopes, Photonic crystals, Astrophysics, Laser crystals

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Proceedings Article | 29 January 2004 Paper

Fresnel lenses for x-ray and gamma-ray astronomy

Gerald Skinner, Peter von Ballmoos, Neil Gehrels, John Krizmanic

Proceedings Volume 5168, (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.508316

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Gamma radiation, Fresnel lenses, Spatial resolution, X-rays, Space operations, Interferometry, Telescopes, Space telescopes, X-ray astronomy

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