Speaker
Description
AstroPix is a novel monolithic High-Voltage CMOS (HV-CMOS) active pixel sensor designed for use in medium-range gamma-ray observatories like AMEGO-X. To meet mission requirements, the sensor must demonstrate low power consumption (< 1.5 mW/cm2) and deliver a required dynamic range between 25 and 700 keV with an energy resolution below 10% at 122 keV. The third sensor version features a pixel matrix of 35x35 pixels with a 500 um pitch, and is a first full-scale chip. A coordinate readout scheme is implemented by connecting pixels via logical OR lines along both rows and columns. This provides independent row and column signals which are matched to pinpoint the event location. Version four contains a smaller pixel matrix of 13x16 pixels and features a per-pixel readout, which will be the standard for all subsequent versions. To maximize the probability of photon detection, full depletion of the sensor is critical. We are evaluating the performance of the devices, including charged particle detection efficiency, spatial resolution, and depletion depth, in a dedicated testbeam environment at the DESY II Testbeam Facility. Utilizing a reference tracking telescope, we can precisely evaluate the device-under-test performance by direct data comparison under controlled conditions. This talk will present the integration and performance validation of the AstroPix v3 and v4 sensors within the beam telescopes, along with first experimental results from the recent beamtimes.