KEYWORDS: Clocks, Sensors, Oscillators, Electronics, Space operations, Picosecond phenomena, Field programmable gate arrays, X-ray telescopes, Signal detection, Field effect transistors
The wide field imager (WFI) is one of two instruments of the x-ray advanced telescope for high-energy astrophysics (Athena) mission selected by ESA. The WFI instrument uses a camera with a DEPFET sensor, Detector electronics (DE) to control the camera, and additional electronics units to communicate with the spacecraft on-board-computer (OBC). The spacecraft event time (SCET) is generated on the OBC and synchronized with ground. The SCET timing synchronization between the OBC and the sensor photon detection presents particular challenges. The science user requirement of the absolute knowledge error of the WFI time stamp relative to the OBC clock is 5 µs with a confidence level of 99.73%. In this paper, we present the WFI timing distribution implementation. The three main contributors of the timing distribution are: (1) time delays and jitter between OBC and DE, (2) internal delays of the DE, and (3) delay between a photon capture and the time stamping in the DE. The first contributor is the most critical and two solving methods are identified. The first method uses only the timecode of the SpaceWire (SpW) communication network, and the second method uses a combination of pulse-per-second (PPS) signal and SpW network. SpW network standard was published in 2003 and few missions such as ESA solar orbiter use it exclusively for time distribution. In our analysis, we found that using the second method with a PPS signal, delays contribution is in order of nanoseconds.
KEYWORDS: Field programmable gate arrays, Sensors, Analog electronics, Electronics, Imaging systems, Head, Cameras, Signal processing, Field effect transistors, Photons
The wide field imager (WFI) is one of the two focal plane instruments on-board the Athena x-ray astronomy mission, the second large-class mission of the European Space Agency. Athena is planned to be launched in 2034 and will be stationed in Lagrange point L1, from where it will perform observations in the x-ray spectrum, from 0.2 keV to 15 keV. The frame processing module (FPM) is part of the detector electronics (DE) of the Athena WFI, which has the main task of reading out the WFI detector array, digitizing it, performing real-time frame processing, and event extraction, using offset correction and threshold maps. The high number of 512×512 pixels on each large detector (LD), the fast readout cycle (5 ms) and the complex sequence of digital signals required to read out the WFI detectors present some stringent design requirements on the electronics used in the FPM as well as on the programmable logic implemented in the selected field programmable gate array (FPGA). This paper describes the hardware design of the FPM and the preliminary engineering model that has already been manufactured. Given the criticality of the FPM, this early development model already includes most of the flight-like electronics based on state-of-the-art radiation hard ADCs, FPGAs and SSRAM memories. Specific design challenges are addressed related to the electronic implementation of the FPM, which already fulfils most of the design rules according the ECSS standards.
The core element of the Athena Wide-Field-Imager (WFI) is its detector assembly. The scientific raw data rate, depending on the observation mode, reaches values up to 3.65 Gbit/s. We demonstrate the error-free real-time processing capability using an input data stream that simulates scientific observations, e.g. a crab-like point source with 78,000 up to 195,000 photons per second.
The Wide Field Imager (WFI) instrument for ESA’s next large X-ray mission Athena is designed for imaging and spectroscopy over a large field of view, and high count rate observations up to and beyond 1 Crab source intensity. The other focal plane instrument, the cryogenic X-IFU camera, is designed for high-spectral resolution imaging. Both cameras share alternately a mirror system based on silicon pore optics with a focal length of 12 m and unprecedented large effective area of about 1.4 m2 at 1keV. The WFI instrument employs DEPFET active pixel sensors, which are fully depleted, back-illuminated silicon devices of 450 μm thickness. The detectors provide high quantum efficiency and state-of-the art energy resolution in the 0.2 keV to 15 keV energy range with extremely fast readout speeds compared to previous generations of Si detectors for X-ray astronomy. The focal plane comprises a Large Detector Array (LDA) and a Fast Detector (FD). The LDA comprises about 1 million pixels and a time resolution in full frame mode of 5 ms. The FD optimized for bright point source observations permits a time resolution of even 80 μs with about 4000 pixels. Both detectors have a pixel size of 130 μm × 130 μm, providing oversampling of the PSF by a factor >2. The instrument development is in phase B of the project after a successful Preliminary Requirements Review and endorsement of the both instrument consortia by ESA. Critical technology developments for the WFI focal plane camera are currently investigated and finally experimentally verified with breadboard models: the detector function and performance, the real-time capability of onboard event pre-processing and the integrity of the large-area and ultra-thin optical blocking filter after environmental tests. Flight-size sensors have been produced and a flight-like detector assembly has been developed. First test results of a flight-size detector are expected in near future. Based on the thermal design and model for the camera head (CH), thermal interface requirements have been estimated.
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