Signal readout for Transition-Edge Sensor X-ray imaging spectrometers

Abstract: Arrays of low-temperature microcalorimeters provide a promising technology for X-ray astrophysics: the imaging spectrometer. A camera with at least several thousand pixels, each of which has an energy-resolving power ($E/\Delta E\urss{FWHM}$) of a few thousand across a broad energy range (200~eV to 10~keV or higher), would be a revolutionary instrument for the study of energetic astrophysical objects and phenomena. Signal readout is a critical enabling technology. Multiplexed readout, in which signals from multiple pixels are combined into a single amplifier channel, allows a kilo pixel-scale microcalorimeter array to meet the stringent requirements for power consumption, mass, volume, and cooling capacity in orbit. This chapter describes three different multiplexed-readout technologies for transition-edge-sensor microcalorimeters: time-division multiplexing, frequency-domain multiplexing, and microwave-SQUID multiplexing. For each multiplexing technique, we present the basic method, discuss some design considerations and parameters, and show the state of the art. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of future prospects.