Large format arrays of transition edge sensor (TES) are crucial for the next generation of X-ray space observatories. Such arrays are required to achieve an energy resolution of Δ E < 3 eV full-width-half-maximum (FWHM) in the soft X-ray energy range. We are currently developing X-ray microcalorimeter arrays as a backup option for the X-IFU instrument on board of ATHENA space telescope, led by ESA and foreseen to be launched in 2031. In this contribution, we report on the development and the characterization of a uniform 32 × 32 pixel array with (length × width) 140 × 30 μ m2 TiAu TESs, which have a 2.3 μ m thick Au absorber for X-ray photons. The pixels have a typical normal resistance Rn = 121 m Ω and a critical temperature Tc ∼ 90 mK. We performed extensive measurements on 60 pixels out of the array in order to show the uniformity of the array. We obtained an energy resolutions between 2.4 and 2.6 eV (FWHM) at 5.9 keV, measured in a single-pixel mode at AC bias frequencies ranging from 1 to 5 MHz, with a frequency domain multiplexing (FDM) readout system, which is developed at SRON/VTT. We also present the detector energy resolution at X-ray with different photon energies generated by a modulated external X-ray source from 1.45 keV up to 8.9 keV. Multiplexing readout across several pixels has also been performed to evaluate the impact of the thermal crosstalk to the instrument's energy resolution budget requirement. This value results in a derived requirement, for the first neighbour, that is less than 1;× 10-3 when considering the ratio between the amplitude of the crosstalk signal to an X-ray pulse (for example at 5.9 keV).

We report on the development and demonstration of MHz frequency domain multiplexing (FDM) technology to readout arrays of cryogenic transition edge sensor (TES) x-ray microcalorimeters. In our FDM scheme, TESs are AC biased at different resonant frequencies in the low MHz range through an array of high-Q LC resonators. The current signals of all TESs are summed at superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs). We have demonstrated multiplexing for a readout of 31 pixels using room temperature electronics, high-Q LC filters, and TES arrays developed at SRON, and SQUID arrays from VTT. We repeated this on a second setup with 37 pixels. The summed x-ray spectral resolutions @ 5.9 keV are Δ E 31 pix MUX = 2.14 ± 0.03 eV and Δ E 37 pix MUX = 2.23 ± 0.03 eV. The demonstrated results are comparable with other multiplexing approaches. There is potential to further improve the spectral resolution, to increase the number of multiplexed TESs, and to open up applications for TES x-ray microcalorimeters.

We are developing a kilo-pixels Ti/Au TES array as a backup option for Athena X-IFU. Here we report on single-pixel performance of a 32 × 32 array operated in a Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) readout system, with bias frequencies in the range 1-5 MHz. We have tested the pixels response at several photon energies, by means of a 55Fe radioactive source (emitting Mn-Kα at 5.9 keV) and a Modulated X-ray Source (MXS, providing Cr-Kα at 5.4 keV and Cu-Kα at 8.0 keV). First, we report the procedure used to perform the detector energy scale calibration, usually achieving a calibration accuracy better than ∼0.5 eV in the 5.4-8.9 keV energy range. Then, we present the measured energy resolution at the different energies (best single pixel performance: ΔEFWHM = 2.40 ± 0.09 eV @ 5.4 keV; 2.53 ± 0.10 eV @ 5.9 keV; 2.78 ± 0.16 eV @ 8.0 keV), investigating also the performance dependency from the pixel bias frequency and the count rate. Thanks to long background measurements (∼1 d), we finally detected also the Al-Kα line at 1.5 keV, generated by fluorescence inside the experimental setup. We analyzed this line to obtain a first assessment of the single-pixel performance also at low energy (ΔEFWHM = 1.91 eV ± 0.21 eV @ 1.5 keV), and to evaluate the linearity of the detector response in a large energy band (1.5-8.9 keV).