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We describe the performance of position-sensitive metallic magnetic calorimeter X-ray detectors for potential future astrophysics missions, such as Lynx. The motivation behind this is to achieve a large focal plane area by increasing the number of pixels compared to the number of readout channels (called hydra). The detector consists of a 5 × 5 array of gold absorbers thermally coupled to a paramagnetic sensor. Since each absorber has a different thermal link to the sensor, it generates a different pulse shape and enables discrimination of pixel position. Recently, we have been successfully able to discriminate 25 averaged pulse shapes by means of rise-time and pulse height. The measured pulse shapes and distribution agree well with the modeling results. The estimated energy resolutions based on the pulse height and noise data we measured are 2.8–3.7 eV for MnK α X-ray photons at 50 mK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe prototype arrays of magnetically coupled microcalorimeters fabricated with an approach scalable to very large format arrays. The superconducting interconnections and sensor coils have sufficiently low inductance in the wiring and sufficiently high inductance in the coils in each pixel, to enable arrays containing greater than 4000 sensors and 100,000 X-ray absorbers to be used in future astrophysics missions such as Lynx. We have used projection lithography to create submicron patterns (e.g., 400 nm lines and spaces) in our niobium sensor coils and wiring, integrated with gold-erbium sensor films and gold X-ray absorbers. Our prototype devices will explore the device physics of metallic magnetic calorimeters as feature sizes are reduced to nanoscale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have developed prototype arrays of metallic magnetic calorimeters for applications in X-ray astronomy. Each pixel consists of an all-gold X-ray absorber in good thermal contact to a gold-erbium paramagnetic thin film thermometer that is operated in the temperature range of 30-100 mK. The para-magnetic response is coupled to a SQUID amplifier. We have characterized pixels in an array and observed the expected temperature dependence of the magnetization and heat capacity. We have demonstrated a full width at half maximum energy resolution of 1.7 $$\pm $$ 0.1 eV at 6 keV and have also read out these devices using time-division multiplexing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ideal X-ray camera for astrophysics would have more than a million pixels and provide an energy resolution of better than 1 eV FWHM for energies up to 10 keV. We have microfabricated and characterized thin-film magnetic penetration thermometers (MPTs) that show great promise towards meeting these capabilities. MPTs operate in similar fashion to metallic magnetic calorimeters (MMCs), except that a superconducting sensor takes the place of a paramagnetic sensor and it is the temperature dependence of the superconductor's diamagnetic response that provides the temperature sensitivity. We present a description of the design and performance of our prototype thin-film MPTs with MoAu bilayer sensors, which have demonstrated an energy resolution of ∼2 eV FWHM at 1.5 keV and 4.3 eV FWHM at 5.9 keV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]