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Multi-pixel Silicon Drift Detectors (SDD), widely employed in X-ray applications, can also be applied to electron spectroscopy experiments. The objective of the TRISTAN project is to equip the KATRIN beam line with a multi-pixel SDD focal plane array. This would allow to extend the physics program of KATRIN, whose main goal is the determination of the neutrino mass via a precise measurement of the tritium beta decay spectrum close to the endpoint. An extension of the measurement interval would enable a sensitive search for physics beyond the standard model, in particular keV-scale sterile neutrinos, a prime dark matter candidate. The SDD technology guarantees excellent energy resolution and high throughput capabilities. A custom 47-pixel prototype, based on a monolithic SDD tile, has been developed and tested for the TRISTAN project. The full functionality of the system has been verified for all 47 channels. Good spectroscopic performance has been observed with a 55Fe X-ray source. This is a crucial step towards the realization of the final 21-fold 166-pixel TRISTAN focal plane detector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the first experimental results achieved with a monolithic array of 166 Silicon Drift Detectors (SDD). This detector was developed for the TRISTAN experiment, targeting the search for a sterile neutrino in the keV mass range by means of accurate Beta spectroscopy of the Tritium decay. We briefly report on the design and characterization with X-rays of the full signal chain: from the SDD array, operated in a planar configuration with all the components of the final system, to the acquisition platform simultaneously acquiring all 166 channels. The average energy resolution is better than 250eV FWHM at 5.9keV at a temperature of 0 °C, a 6 μ s shaping time, and an average count rate of 1kcps per channel, 100 times smaller than the final experiment one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ComPol is a proposed CubeSat mission dedicated to long-term study of gamma-ray polarisation of astrophysical objects. Besides spectral and timing measurements, polarisation analysis can be a powerful tool in constraining current models of the geometry, magnetic field structure and acceleration mechanisms of different astrophysical sources. The ComPol payload is a Compton telescope optimised for polarimetry and consists of a 2 layer stacked detector configuration. The top layer, the scatterer, is a Silicon Drift Detector matrix developed by the Max Planck Institute for Physics and Politecnico di Milano. The second layer is a calorimeter consisting of a CeBr 3 scintillator read-out by silicon photo-multipliers developed at CEA Saclay. This paper presents the results of the prototype calorimeter calibration campaign, executed in March 2022 at IJCLab Orsay and simulations of the expected performance of the polarimeter using updated performance figures of the detectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon Drift Detectors, widely employed in high-resolution and high-rate X-ray applications, are considered here with interest also for electron detection. The accurate measurement of the tritium beta decay is the core of the TRISTAN (TRitium Investigation on STerile to Active Neutrino mixing) project. This work presents the characterisation of a single-pixel SDD detector with a mono-energetic electron beam obtained from a Scanning Electron Microscope. The suitability of the SDD to detect electrons, in the energy range spanning from few keV to tens of keV, is demonstrated. Experimental measurements reveal a strong effect of the detector's entrance window structure on the observed energy response. A detailed detector model is therefore necessary to reconstruct the spectrum of an unknown beta-decay source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]