Soft x-ray imager (SXI) onboard ASTRO-H

We are designing an X-ray CCD camera (SXI) for ASTRO-H, including many new items. We have developed the CCD, CCD-NeXT4, that is a P-channel type CCD. It has a thick depletion layer of 200μm with an imaging area of 30mm square. Since it is back-illuminated, it has a good low energy response and is robust against the impact of micro-meteorites. We will employ 4 chips to cover the area of 60mm square. A mechanical rather than peltier cooler will be employed so that we can cool the CCD to -120°C. We will also introduce an analog ASIC that is placed very close to the CCD. It performs well, having a similar noise level to that assembled by using individual parts used on SUZAKU. We also employ a modulated X-ray source (MXS), that improves the accuracy of the calibration. The SXI will have one of the largest SΩ among various satellites.