Design and performance of a ruggedized large-area CZT detector module for hard X-ray astronomy

We discuss the design and performance of a large area (40 cm2) CZT module for space-borne X-ray astronomy applications. This module is based upon the 32 mm×32 mm CZT crossed strip detectors that have been under development at UCSD. This compact design includes readout electronics and allows for efficient tiling of modules to form large detector planes for wide field of view coded mask imagers, or for efficient packaging within an anticoincidence shield at the focus of a hard X-ray telescope.