Evaluation of a Timepix3 Telescope for Applications as a Compton Scatter Polarimeter for Hard X- and Soft γ-Rays

This work presents a simulation study of a Timepix3 telescope composed of nine detectors for use as a Compton scatter polarimeter in the energy range of 35–100 keV. Four detectors carry 1 mm thick silicon (Si) sensors and five detectors carry 1 mm thick cadmium telluride (CdTe) sensors. The modulation factor for 100% linearly polarized X-ray beams was found to be μ100>70% in the energy range of 55–80 keV. The quality factor of the polarimeter has its maximum 12.8% at the energy 75 keV. The comparison of quality factors and the calculations of a hypothetical observation of the Crab nebula show that this multilayer Timepix3 approach is competitive with contemporary X-ray polarimeters.