Imaging and spectral performance of a wide-gap CdTe double-sided strip detector

Abstract

The fourth flight of the Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager sounding rocket experiment (FOXSI-4) aimed to achieve the first imaging spectroscopic observations of mid-to-large class ($\ge$ GOES C5 class) solar flares, in contrast to the previous three flights that targeted relatively quiet regions of the Sun. To meet the emerging requirements for hard X-ray focal plane detectors for providing simultaneous diagnostics of spectrally ($<1$ keV FWHM) and spatially ($<50\mu m$) separated coronal and chromospheric emissions from solar flares, we developed a new strip-configuration detector called the wide-gap CdTe semiconductor double-sided strip detector (CdTe-DSD).

The wide-gap CdTe-DSD employs a unique design principle to enhance position resolution. This enhancement is realized by expanding the gaps between electrodes to induce charge-sharing across adjacent strip electrodes and using this sharing energy information for position reconstruction to a level finer than the strip-pitch. However, the detector response becomes complex and requires consideration of various factors, such as the charge loss due to wider gaps and the dependence on the depth of photon interaction. Thus, we developed an energy reconstruction method that fully leverages the energy information between adjacent strips and from both the cathode and anode sides, achieving an energy resolution of 0.75 keV (FWHM) at 14 keV. Furthermore, we conducted an X-ray scanning experiment using a synchrotron beam at Spring-8 to evaluate the detector response with a fine scale of 10 $\mu m$. Based on these results, we established a sub-strip position reconstruction method, demonstrating that X-rays interacting at the center of the gap can be determined with an accuracy of 20 $\mu m$, and even those at the strip center can be determined with an accuracy of 50 $\mu m$.