XMM - RGS Cryogenic Detector Housing

The Reflection Grating Spectrometer experiment (RGS) on the ESA corner stone X-Ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM) uses charge coupled devices (CCD) as detectors. Thermal requirements are the main driver for the layout of the detector housing. Parasitic heat inputs stem primarily from radiative coupling and from conduction over the structural support. Improvements in the design of the electro optical model (EOM) over the bread board model (BBM) resulted in a system that guarantees a CCD temperature of -130 °C at the end of the mission while not precluding the possibility to heat the detectors as high as +130°C which might be useful for annealing the CCDs.