Effect of high-flux astronomical sources on the constellation-X microcalorimeter spectrometer

We study the effects of high flux on transition-edge sensors by using a non-linear microcalorimeter model with parameters suitable for the Constellation-X mission. A photon event list was created that simulated the flux and spectrum of the Crab nebula incident on the detector when folded through the Constellation-X optics and filters. Simulations show that even at Crab levels of flux, the Con-X microcalorimeter does not “latch” into the normal state.