Characterization of a charge-coupled device array for Bragg spectroscopy

The average pixel distance as well as the relative orientation of an array of six charge-coupled device (CCD) detectors have been measured with accuracies of about 0.5 nm and 50 mu rad, respectively. Such a precision satisfies the needs of modern crystal spectroscopy experiments in the field of exotic atoms and highly charged ions. Two different measurements have been performed by illuminating masks in front of the detector array by remote sources of radiation. In one case, an aluminum mask was irradiated with x rays, and in a second attempt, a nanometric quartz wafer was illuminated by a light bulb. Both methods gave consistent results with a smaller error for the optical method. In addition, the thermal expansion of the CCD detectors was characterized between -105 and -40 degrees C. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics