X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS)
Suzaku at ISAS
XRS at GSFC
HXD at Tokyo U.
XRT at GSFC
The X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS) is one of three science instruments aboard Suzaku (formerly Astro-E2), an orbiting X-ray astronomy observatory. Suzaku was developed jointly by the Institute for Space and Astronautical at the Japan Aerospace and Exploration Agency (ISAS/JAXA) and by NASA. The XIS was developed and built by a collaboration between MIT, ISAS and the Universities of Osaka and Kyoto.
There are four independent XIS sensors aboard the spacecraft, each with its own X-ray telescope, and each employing an X-ray sensitive charged coupled device (CCD) that records the location and energy of incident X-ray photons. The CCDs are similar to those used in previous space mission, such as Chandra, but several improvements have been made to increase the energy resolution and mitigate the effects of on-orbit radiation damage.
The XIS CCD detectors were fabricated at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory, and the thermoelectric cooling system and analog electronics were also provided by MIT. The digital electronics, onboard processing software, and certain parts of the sensor housing were developed jointly in Japan by ISAS/JAXA, the University of Kyoto, and the University of Osaka.
This website is intended primarily as a repository of technical status information for users of the XIS. Detailed information about the XIS can be found in the XIS Chapter of the Suzaku Technical Description and by using the menu at the left. Further information for researchers about Suzaku can be found at the GSFC Suzaku Guest Observer Facility, and information for the general public can be found at the Suzaku Learning Center.