A Highly Linear Calibration Metric for TES X-ray Microcalorimeters

Published

August 2, 2018

Author(s)

Christine G. Pappas, Joseph W. Fowler, Douglas A. Bennett, William B. Doriese, Young I. Joe, Kelsey M. Morgan, Galen C. O'Neil, Joel N. Ullom, Daniel S. Swetz

Abstract

Transition-edge sensor X-ray microcalorimeters are usually calibrated empirically, as the most widely-used calibration metric, optimal filtered pulse height (OFPH), in general has an unknown dependance on photon energy, E_γ. Because the calibration function can only be measured at specific points where photons of a known energy can be produced, this unknown dependence of OFPH on E_γ leads to calibration errors and the need for time-intensive calibration measurements and analysis. A calibration metric that is nearly linear as a function of E_γ could help alleviate these problems. In this work, we assess the linearity of a physically motivated calibration metric, E_Joule. We measure calibration pulses in the range 4.5 keV< E_γ <9.6 keV with detectors optimized for 6 keV photons to compare the linearity properties of E_Joule to OFPH. In these test data sets, we find that E_Joule fits a linear function an order of magnitude better than OFPH. Furthermore, calibration functions using E_J, an optimized version of E_Joule, are linear within the 2-3 eV noise of the data.

Citation

Journal of Low Temperature Physics

Volume

193

Issue

3-4

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-018-1999-8

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Keywords

transition-edge sensor X-ray microcalorimeters, optimal filtered pulse height, OFPH, photon energy, E_?, photons, calibration errors, E_Joule, detectors, linearity properties

Citation

Pappas, C. , Fowler, J. , Bennett, D. , Doriese, W. , Joe, Y. , Morgan, K. , O'Neil, G. , Ullom, J. and Swetz, D. (2018), A Highly Linear Calibration Metric for TES X-ray Microcalorimeters, Journal of Low Temperature Physics, [online], https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-018-1999-8 (Accessed April 26, 2024)