Development of a new superconducting detector for the ultra-violet and soft X-ray regimes

UV and X-ray astronomy need hyperspectral imaging devices, i.e. large format (1000/spl times/1000) arrays of pixels in which each single-photon event is tagged with spectral information. Such devices permit multicolor imagery and surveys to be obtained with a single camera. Here we discuss the first-stage of development of a new generation of UV/X-ray detectors that will provide 0.1-0.01% energy resolution in an array format.