AMEGO-X Space Telescope & Barrel Imaging Calorimeter of Electron Ion Collider – AstroPix

We have developed AstroPix, a high-voltage monolithic active pixel sensor (HV-MAPS) characterized by ultra-low power consumption (1 mW/cm²), designed for integration into NASA’s AMEGO-X space-based gamma-ray telescope. The AMEGO-X instrument will incorporate 40 tracking sensor layers, spanning a total area of 25 m² and utilizing 64,000 individual chips.

This advanced telescope will detect gamma-ray photons across a broad energy spectrum, from soft energies (>100 keV) to medium ranges (~100 MeV), originating from cosmic phenomena such as gamma-ray bursts, neutron stars, and active galactic nuclei. Its detection mechanisms leverage Compton scattering for lower-energy photons and pair production at higher energies, enabling the system to deliver high-resolution three-dimensional tracking data needed for mapping photon origin.  

A key engineering challenge involves achieving the specified total sensor thickness of 2.2 cm for all layers, necessary to ensure sufficient interaction probability at higher energy levels, while maintaining a fully depleted substrate essential for precise 3D particle tracking and energy measurement of scattered electrons.  

The same AstroPix sensor technology has been selected for implementation in the Barrel Imaging Calorimeter (BIC) at the Electron Ion Collider, underscoring its versatility for cutting-edge applications in both astrophysics and particle physics.