Introduction to a calibration facility for hard X-ray detectors

This paper introduces the current configuration of the Hard X-ray Calibration Facility (HXCF) in 2014, which is used to calibrate the high energy X-ray detectors that will be onboard the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT) satellite, China’s first astronomy satellite. The HXCF consists of an X-ray tube, a skid platform system, a double crystal monochromator, a “T” structure mechanism, a collimator, an adjustable beam, a background shielding box, as well as the box of the control system. The HXCF covers 15–100 keV energy band and has a high fraction of monochromatic light (exceeding 92 % at 15–100 keV) and good monochromaticity (1‰ level). The flux of the monochromatic light is around 104 photons cm−2 s−1. This HXCF could be used to calibrate the energy linearities, the energy resolutions and detection efficiencies of hard X-ray detectors.