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Completed TRL 3 (started at 2, targeting 3)
X-ray detectors, are saturated quickly when observing Sun eruptions because of a large amount of flux at low energies. Traditional solutions like aluminum filters block low energy x-rays and therefore make it nearly impossible to address many science goals that require access to low energy readings. We propose to develop an attenuator array that can counter such negative effects and be used in a variety of future missions. Multiple attenuators will then be fabricated to account for all experiment needs, which in turn will be provided for examination and characterization both by the fab team as well as for initial transmission measurements. A process will be developed for stacking multiple attenuators. The stacked attenuators will be subjected to the characterization process that we developed under last year's IRAD. This will provide further validation of our performance expectation for stacked attenuators, it will include vibration and thermal tests as well, and will achieve TRL4 for stacked attenuators.
Current x-ray instruments that observe the Sun such as the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) include attenuating filters generally made of metal. Their purpose is to reduce the total x-ray flux which increases exponentially at low energies. The primary purpose of the attenuator to maintain the count rate on the detector below the maximum that it can handle. Effects such as pile-up encountered at high fluxes can degrade the observed spectrum in ways that are not possible to correct. The downside of this traditional attenuators approach is that their transmission is a steep function of energy such that they block virtually all flux below a given cut-off frequency while allowing nearly all flux above the cutoff to pass. This renders an x-ray instrument unable to observe a portion of the spectrum when the attenuator is used to control the total flux.
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