Energy scales in X-ray microcalorimeters

Microcalorimeter pulse shape characteristics, such as pulse height, decay constant, and rise time, are dependent on the detector temperature and bias as well as incident photon energy. We examine the nature of the temperature dependency by illuminating the Astro-E2 X-ray Spectrometer microcalorimeter array with X-rays generated by electron impact on a selection of foil targets. The resulting pulses are collected over a range of detector temperatures. We observe and model these pulses by fitting the data with non-linear pulse models. Our aim is to determine a robust method for correcting the energy scale obtained in ground calibration for slight differences in the operating conditions while in orbit.