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Abstract:
This paper describes the first performance tests and characterization of the detection chain of the Microchannel
X-ray Telescope (MXT), one of the instruments on board the French-Chinese mission SVOM for the
study of Gamma-Ray Bursts. The MXT detector consists of a back-illuminated 450 μm-thick fully-depleted framestore
silicon pnCCD, operating in the 0.2 − 10 keV energy range. Featuring an imaging area of ≈ 4 cm2, the
device is read out in parallel by two CAMEX ASICs and is powered and controlled by its dedicated Front-End
Electronics. A complete setup based on a cryostat and a multi-energy X-ray source have been designed for the
characterization of the detection chain. The tests, performed at ≈ −65 ◦C, demonstrate a spectral resolution of
(82 ± 2) eV at 1.5 keV as well as a < 200 eV low-level threshold. Both of those results are in compliance with
the performance requirements of the instrument.