Photonis Provides Modulated X-Ray Sources for Space Mission
On 26 August 2023, The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully launched their X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) with Photonis’s Modulated X-Ray Sources (MXS) on board.
As a collaborative effort between JAXA and NASA, and with assistance from the ESA, the XRISM mission will observe x-rays released by extreme phenomena to assist scientists in studying the evolution of our universe. Targets for the XRISM mission include supernova remnants, binary systems with stellar-mass black holes, galaxies powered by supermassive black holes, and vast clusters of galaxies.
JAXA states that: “XRISM is a new X-Ray astronomical satellite which observes plasma in stars and galaxies. With a new generation of X-Ray imaging spectroscopy technologies, XRISM will resolve mysteries regarding the formation of the universe.”
The payload of the XRISM mission contains two scientific instruments:
- Resolve, a microcalorimeter spectrometer
- Xtend, a wide-field x-ray imager.
In collaboration with SRON (Netherlands Institute for Space Research), Photonis developed and supplied Modulated X-Ray Sources (MXS), which are essential for accurately calibrating the energy scale of the Resolve Instrument.
About Photonis
Photonis is a manufacturer of electro-optic components used in the detection and amplification of ions, electrons and photons. The company designs and manufactures in facilities across the globe and works with customers to continually improve and innovate their products. Photonis innovates and engineers quality components for integration into a variety of applications such as night vision optics, digital cameras, mass spectrometry, physics research, space exploration and many others. The company produces the most widely deployed night vision tube globally, leads the mass spectrometer detector market, and has products installed in most space telescopes and high energy physics experiments in laboratories around the world.
Scientific and industrial detectors from Photonis include:
- Ion and electron detectors (for scientific instruments and mass spectrometry)
- Single photon detectors (image intensifiers and photon multipliers)
- Micropore optics detectors (for x-ray imaging)
- Neutron detectors (for non-destructive testing and neutron tomography)
- Nuclear instrumentation (gamma detectors, neutron detectors, mineral-insulated extensions)
Imaging products from Photonis include:
To request more information or a quotation for Photonis products, contact IL Photonics.