The SPI instrument has been launched on-board the INTEGRAL observatory on October 17, 2002. SPI is a spectrometer devoted to the sky observation in the 20 keV-8 MeV energy range using 19 germanium detectors. The performance of the cryogenic system is nominal and allows to cool the 19 kg of germanium down to 85 K with a comfortable margin. The energy resolution of the whole camera is 2.5 keV at 1.1 MeV. This resolution degrades with time due to particle irradiation in space. We show that the annealing process allows the recovery of the initial performance. The anticoincidence shield works as expected, with a low threshold at 75 keV, reducing the GeD background by a factor of 20. The digital front-end electronics system allows the perfect alignement in time of all the signals as well as the optimisation of the dead time (12%). We demonstrate that SPI is able to map regions as complex as the galactic plane. The obtained spectrum of the Crab nebula validates the present version of our response matrix. The 3sigma sensitivity of the instrument at 1 MeV is 8x10(-7) ph cm(-2) s(-1) keV(-1) for the continuum and 3x10(-5) ph cm(-2) s(-1) for narrow lines.
Attié D., Cordier B., Gros M., Laurent Ph., Schanne S., Tauzin G., von Ballmoos P., Bouchet L., Jean P., Knödlseder J., Mandrou P., Paul Ph., Roques J.-P., Skinner G., Vedrenne G., Georgii R., von Kienlin A., Lichti G., Schönfelder V., Strong A., Wunderer C., Shrader C., Sturner S., Teegarden B., Weidenspointner G., Kiener J., Porquet M.-G., Tatischeff V., Crespin S., Joly S., André Y., Sanchez F., Leleux P., INTEGRAL/SPI ground calibration, 10.1051/0004-6361:20031302
Borrel V., Kandel B., Albernhe F., Frabel P., Cordier B., Tauzin G., Crespin S., Coszach R., Denis J.M., Leleux P., Fast neutron-induced damage in INTEGRAL n-type HPGe detectors, 10.1016/s0168-9002(99)00218-1
Bouchet L., Jourdain E., Roques J. P., Mandrou P., von Ballmoos P., Boggs S., Caraveo P., Cassé M., Cordier B., Diehl R., Durouchoux P., von Kienlin A., Knodlseder J., Jean P., Leleux P., Lichti G. G., Matteson J., Sanchez F., Schanne S., Schoenfelder V., Skinner G., Strong A., Teegarden B., Vedrenne G., Wunderer C., SPI/INTEGRAL observation of the Cygnus region, 10.1051/0004-6361:20031324
Gehrels N., Instrumental background in balloon-borne gamma-ray spectrometers and techniques for its reduction, 10.1016/0168-9002(85)90732-6
Kandel B., Borrel V., Albernhe F., Frabel P., Cordier B., Tauzin G., Crespin S., Coszach R., Denis J.M., Leleux P., Influence of temperature on the behaviour of INTEGRAL n-type HPGe detectors irradiated with fast neutrons, 10.1016/s0168-9002(99)00219-3
Jean P., Vedrenne G., Roques J. P., Schönfelder V., Teegarden B. J., von Kienlin A., Knödlseder J., Wunderer C., Skinner G. K., Weidenspointner G., Attié D., Boggs S., Caraveo P., Cordier B., Diehl R., Gros M., Leleux P., Lichti G. G., Kalemci E., Kiener J., Lonjou V., Mandrou P., Paul Ph., Schanne S., von Ballmoos P., SPI instrumental background characteristics, 10.1051/0004-6361:20031156
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Lafond E., Mur M., Schanne S., The digital ASIC for the Digital Front End Electronics of the SPI astrophysics gamma-ray experiment, 10.1109/23.710946
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Mur M., Cordier B., Donati M., Duc R., Fallon J.L., Larque T., Louis F., Schanne S., Zonca E., The digital front-end electronics for the space-borne INTEGRAL-SPI experiment: ASIC design, design for test strategies and self-test facilities, 10.1109/tns.2002.803855
Schanne S., Cordier B., Gros M., Mur M., Crespin S., Joly S., Knodlseder J., Mandrou P., Paul P., Roques J.-P., Vedrenne G., Andre Y., Clair M.-A., Clauss P., Georgii R., Lichti G., von Kienlin A., Dubath P., The space-borne INTEGRAL-SPI gamma ray telescope: test and calibration campaigns, 10.1109/tns.2002.1039642
Schanne Stephane, Cordier Bertrand, Gros Maurice, Attie David, von Ballmoos Peter, Bouchet Laurent, Carli Raffaelo, Connell Paul, Diehl Roland, Jean Pierre, Kiener Juergen, von Kienlin Andreas, Knoedlseder Juergen, Laurent Phillipe, Lichti Giselher G., Mandrou Pierre, Paul Jaques, Paul Philippe, Roques Jean-Pierre, Sanchez Filomeno, Schoenfelder Volker, Shrader Chris, Skinner Gerald K., Strong Andrew W., Sturner Steven J., Tatischeff Vincent, Teegarden Bonnard J., Vedrenne Gilbert, Weidenspointner Georg, Wunderer Cornelia B., Calibration of the spectrometer aboard the INTEGRAL satellite, 10.1117/12.461604
Skinner G., Connell P., The Spiros imaging software for the Integral SPI spectrometer , 10.1051/0004-6361:20031260
Sturner S. J., Shrader C. R., Weidenspointner G., Teegarden B. J., Attié D., Cordier B., Diehl R., Ferguson C., Jean P., von Kienlin A., Paul Ph., Sánchez F., Schanne S., Sizun P., Skinner G., Wunderer C. B., Monte Carlo simulations and generation of the SPI response, 10.1051/0004-6361:20031171
Vedrenne G., Roques J.-P., Schönfelder V., Mandrou P., Lichti G. G., von Kienlin A., Cordier B., Schanne S., Knödlseder J., Skinner G., Jean P., Sanchez F., Caraveo P., Teegarden B., von Ballmoos P., Bouchet L., Paul P., Matteson J., Boggs S., Wunderer C., Leleux P., Weidenspointner G., Durouchoux Ph., Diehl R., Strong A., Cassé M., Clair M. A., André Y., SPI: The spectrometer aboard INTEGRAL, 10.1051/0004-6361:20031482
von Kienlin A., Beckmann V., Rau A., Arend N., Bennett K., McBreen B., Connell P., Deluit S., Hanlon L., Hurley K., Kippen M., Lichti G. G., Moran L., Preece R., Roques J.-P., Schönfelder V., Skinner G., Strong A., Williams R., INTEGRAL Spectrometer SPI's GRB detection capabilities
: GRBs detected inside SPI's FoV and with the anticoincidence system ACS, 10.1051/0004-6361:20031231
Bibliographic reference
Roques, JP ; Leleux, Pierre ; et. al. SPI/INTEGRAL in-flight performance. In: Astronomy & Astrophysics : a European journal, Vol. 411, no. 1, p. L91-L100 (2003)
