The high-energy detector of the New Hard X-ray Mission (NHXM): design concept

The New Hard X-ray Mission (NHXM) is conceived to extend the grazing-angle reflection imaging capability up to 80 keV energy. The payload of the mission consists of four telescopes: three of the them having at their focal plane an identical spectral-imaging camera operating between 0.2 and 80 keV, while the fourth one is equipped with a X-ray imaging polarimeter. The three cameras consist of two detection layers: a Low Energy Detector (LED) and a High Energy Detector (HED) surrounded by an Anti Coincidence (AC) system. Here we present the preliminary design and the solutions that we are currently studying to meet the requirements for the high energy detectors. These detectors will be based on Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) pixel sensors coupled to pixel read-out electronics using custom CMOS ASICs.