Development of a Monolithic 166-pixel SDD-based Module for Electron Detection

This work presents the design and preliminary X-ray characterization of a module designed for high-precision beta-decay measurements. The module is based on a large 166-pixel monolithic Silicon Drift Detector (SDD) matrix with a total active area of 11.6 cm
²
. The detection system is developed in the context of the TRISTAN project that aims at proving the existence of a keV-mass sterile neutrino via the tritium beta-decay spectrum measurement with unprecedented accuracy. We present a 166-pixel module with all functioning channels, the fundamental milestone towards the final TRISTAN focal plane array that will employ multiple monolithic tiles for a total of 3486 pixels.