High-efficiency and high-resolution x-ray and gamma-ray imaging detectors for space science

In the past few decades, there have been significant advances in photodetectors and imaging arrays for ultraviolet (UV) and longer wavelength light. However, for revealing some of the mysteries of the cosmos, x-ray observations are indispensable because much of the baryonic matter, and the sites for the most active energy releases in the Universe, are primarily observable in x-rays. Closer to home, NASA’s future exploration of our solar system will require significant advances in hard x-ray detectors and imaging arrays, particularly in quantum efficiency, spatial resolution, and pixel count. For the 2030s and beyond, an x-ray observatory with power matching the capabilities in other wavebands, such as NASA’s planned LYNX x-ray observatory, is a necessary discovery engine for a better exploration of the Universe.