X-ray imaging spectrometers in present and future satellite missions

Observations in X-ray astronomy require imaging spectroscopy detectors with high-energy resolution, high quantum efficiency, two-dimensional position resolution, large sensitive area, low power consumption, and fast readout. This paper gives a review of the functional principle and performance of fully depleted pn-CCDs and DEPFET based Active Pixel Sensors, both developed at the semiconductor laboratory in Munich, Germany. While pn-CCDs have proved their quality and reliability onboard of the European XMM-Newton satellite in the last 3 years, the Active Pixel Sensor is a promising candidate for the Wide Field Imager of the future XEUS mission.