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SuperAGILE is the hard X-ray (10–40 keV) imager for the gamma-ray mission AGILE, currently scheduled for launch in mid-2005. It is based on 4 Si-microstrip detectors, with a total geometric area of 1444 cm2 (max effective about 300 cm2), equipped with one-dimensional coded masks. The 4 detectors are perpendicularly oriented, in order to provide pairs of orthogonal one-dimensional images of the X-ray sky. The field of view of each 1-D detector is 107 °×68°, at zero response, with an overlap in the central 68°×68° area. The angular resolution on axis is 6 arcmin (pixel size). We present here the current status of the hardware development and the scientific potential for GRBs, for which an onboard trigger and imaging system will allow distributing locations through a fast communication telemetry link from AGILE to the ground. © 2004 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gamma-ray observatory AGILE, the first ASI Small Mission, is planned to operate in 2002-2005. We present here Super-AGILE, an X-ray detector added on top of the gamma-ray tracker. Super-AGILE will have a large field of view, providing hard X-ray imaging and moderate spectroscopy together with the gamma-ray detector. Super-AGILE is composed by Si-microstrip detectors, equipped with a low-noise electronics allowing a sensitive range of 10-40 keV, and coupled with a set of mutually orthogonal one-dimensional coded masks. A bidimensional source location capability is obtained by dividing the total 1444 cm² geometric area of the detectors in two orthogonal directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present here a concept for a light and low-power wide field monitor working in the X-ray range, suitable for simultaneous imaging of large portions of the sky and GRB localizations. Our concept evolves from and improves on the design of the 5-kg SuperAGILE experiment, flying on the AGILE mission and currently delivering arcmin-localizations of GRBs at a rate of about 1/month. Similar to SuperAGILE, our concept is based on position sensitive silicon detectors equipped with one-dimensional coded masks. Different options are available for the detector, whose properties, combined with the scientific requirements, drive the design of the experiment. Our approach is based on a modular detector. The experiment design can then be tailored to specific scientific goals of the experiment or the mission (e.g., to cite GRBs only: the brightest GRBs/XRFs on a large field of view—FoV, or many low-fluence GRBs/XRFs on a smaller FoV, or the low energy spectrum of the prompt event, or the detection of high-z GRBs). In this paper we describe the concept, the main detector properties and outline some possible experiment configurations, with examples of their expected performance. Different experiment configurations in terms of area, FoV, angular resolution may be designed starting from the same detectors. Instead, the band-pass is mostly related to the detector properties. A key point of our project is the high degree of readiness of the detectors that are at production level and may be immediately proposed for a future experiment onboard missions with high readiness requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a concept for a coded-mask All Sky Monitor based on Silicon Drift Detectors. The current design has a high level of readiness, minimizes the total weight (<10 kg for each 1-D module with a sensitive area of ∼500 cm2) and power consumption (<10 W per module). In this configuration it is sensitive in the range 3–60 keV, has a fully coded field of view of >2 steradians and an on-axis sensitivity of ∼3 mCrab (5σ, 50 ks). The intrinsic modularity of the detector allows to envisage experiments with different configurations, in terms of field of view, angular resolution or effective area. We show the expected scientific performances of such an experiment, with emphasis on the observations of X-ray Galactic transients and gamma-ray bursts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]