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Free-electron lasers (FELs) present new challenges for camera development compared with conventional light sources. At SLAC a variety of technologies are being used to match the demands of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) and to support a wide range of scientific applications. In this paper an overview of X-ray detector design requirements at FELs is presented and the various cameras in use at SLAC are described for the benefit of users planning experiments or analysts looking at data. Features and operation of the CSPAD camera, which is currently deployed at LCLS, are discussed, and the ePix family, a new generation of cameras under development at SLAC, is introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We are developing a novel phonon-mediated distributed-TES X-ray detector in which X-rays are absorbed in a large germanium or silicon crystal, and the energy is read out by four distributed TESs. This design takes advantage of existing TES technology while overcoming the difficulties of designing spatially large arrays. The sum of the four TES signals will yield energy resolution of and the partitioning of energy between the four will yield position resolution of and . These macropixels, with advances in multiplexing, could be close-packed into arrays equivalent to imaging instruments of 10 megapixels or more. We report on our progress to date and discuss its application to galaxy cluster searches and studies of the Warm-Hot Interstellar Medium. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

For future solar X-ray satellite missions, we are developing a phonon-mediated macro-pixel composed of a Ge crystal absorber with four superconducting transition-edge sensors (TES) distributed on the backside. The X-rays are absorbed on the opposite side and the energy is converted into phonons, which are absorbed into the four TES sensors. By connecting together parallel elements into four channels, fractional total energy absorbed between two of the sensors provides x-position information and the other two provide y-position information. We determine the optimal distribution for the TES sub-elements to obtain linear position information while minimizing the degradation of energy resolution. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]