| 摘要 |
<p>A multi-element microcalorimeter array includes at least two microcalorimeters (10, 12, 14, 16) with each microcalorimeter including a detector coupled thermally to a cold bath. Each detector has associated with it a thermal sensor to generate a signal proportional to a rise in the detector's temperature. A single negative feedback JFET preamplifier circuit (20) is connected to each of the detectors and includes a JFET (18) with a gate, the signals from the thermal sensors connected to the gate. The output of the preamplifier circuit is proportional to radiation energy absorbed by the detector. Each detector has a different thermal recovery time so that the detectors can be discriminated. The multiplexing arrangement allows reduction of the overall number of preamplifier and post-processing channels for a large multi-element array. The reduction allows significantly lower JFET heat load and significantly lower mass and power requirements for the microcalorimeter array.</p> |
