A fast calculation algorithm for the charge transfer loss in CCDs

Charge transfer loss due to deep level traps in CCDs is a common phenomenon . In single-photon counting CCDs for X-ray detection, the charge loss resul ts in a degradation of spectroscopic resolution. The transfer loss of a sig nal depends on various parameters like temperature. number of transferred c harges, number of charges in the preceding signals and the elapsed time bet ween these signals. Each signal has to be corrected individually with respe ct to these parameters An algorithm based on first principles of capture an d emission, that allows a fast determination of the transfer loss is presen ted. The model was tested on calibration data of an X-ray pn-CCD of the EPI C consortium for XMM. The model describes the experimental data very well. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.