Bd. Ramsey et al., A LARGE-AREA MICROSTRIP-GAS-COUNTER FOR X-RAY ASTRONOMY, Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment, 383(2-3), 1996, pp. 424-430
We have developed a large-area coded-mask telescope for hard-X-ray ast
ronomy. The heart of the instrument is an imaging microstrip-gas-count
er of active area 30 cm x 30 cm and filled with 2 x 10(5) Pa of xenon
+ 2% isobutylene. Fabricated on a single sheet of borosilicate glass,
1 mm thick, the microstrip features fine anodes (10 mu m) and interlea
ved cathodes from which the position sensing is derived. Rear pickup e
lectrodes provide the second coordinate. Full details of the instrumen
t and its performance are presented. A first flight, from a high-altit
ude balloon, is scheduled for the Spring of 1997.