e-Article
A test platform for the detection and readout chain for the Athena X-IFU
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Working Paper
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Betancourt-Martinez, Gabriele; Pajot, François; Beaumont, Sophie; Roudil, Gilles; Adams, Joseph; Akamatsu, Hiroki; Bandler, Simon; Bertrand, Bernard; Bruijn, Marcel; Castellani, Florent; Cucchetti, Edoardo; Doriese, William; Dupieux, Michel; Geoffray, Hervé; Gottardi, Luciano; Jackson, Brian; van der Kuur, Jan; Kiviranta, Mikko; Miniussi, Antoine; Peille, Phillipe; Ravensberg, Kevin; Ravera, Laurent; Reintsema, Carl; Sakai, Kazuhiro; Smith, Stephen; Wakeham, Nicholas; van Weers, Henk; Wernicke, Doreen; Witthoeft, Michael
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Abstract
We present a test platform for the Athena X-IFU detection chain, which will serve as the first demonstration of the representative end-to-end detection and readout chain for the X-IFU, using prototypes of the future flight electronics and currently available subsystems. This test bench, housed in a commercial two-stage ADR cryostat, includes a focal plane array placed at the 50 mK cold stage of the ADR with a kilopixel array of transition-edge sensor microcalorimeter spectrometers and associated cold readout electronics. Prototype room temperature electronics for the X-IFU provide the readout, and will evolve over time to become more representative of the X-IFU mission baseline. The test bench yields critical feedback on subsystem designs and interfaces, in particular the warm readout electronics, and will provide an in-house detection system for continued testing and development of the warm readout electronics and for the validation of X-ray calibration sources. In this paper, we describe the test bench subsystems and design, characterization of the cryostat, and current status of the project.
Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Proc. SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2020
Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Proc. SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2020