Qualification model of the space ISGRI CdTe gamma-ray camera

A new generation of large area semiconductor based gamma -ray camera for as trophysics space application has been developed through the gamma -ray IBIS (Imager on Board INTEGRAL Satellite) telescope program, on board the ESA I NTEGRAL satellite. This instrument features a coded-mask aperture imaging s ystem, active and passive shields and two detector arrays. The first one (I SGRI : INTEGRAL Soft Gamma-Ray Imager) is made of 16384 CdTe detectors (4 x 4 nim large, 2 mm thick) operating at room temperature and will operate be tween 15 keV and I MeV. The second detector array (PICsIT : Pixelated CsI T elescope) is made of 4096 CsI scintillators (9.2 x 9.2 nun large, 30 mm hig h) coupled to silicon PIN photodiodes working between 150 keV and 10 MeV. I BIS combine broad band energy, spectroscopic capabilities and high spatial resolution imaging (12 arcmin) over a wide field of view (similar to 20 deg rees x 20 degrees, 50% sensitivity). A "flight-like" model of the detectors has been built, integrated and successfully tested. After a description of the IBIS imaging principle, we will report results obtained with the quali fication model of the ISGRI camera. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All righ ts reserved.