Search

et al., Feedhorn- and orthomode transducer- (OMT) coupled transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers have been designed and micro-fabricated to meet the optical specifications of the LiteBIRD high frequency telescope (HFT) focal plane. We discuss the design and optical characterization of two LiteBIRD HFT detector types: dual-polarization, dual-frequency-band pixels with 195/280 GHz and 235/337 GHz band centers. Results show well-matched passbands between orthogonal polarization channels and frequency centers within 3% of the design values. The optical efficiency of each frequency channel is conservatively reported to be within the range 0.64−0.72, determined from the response to a cryogenic, temperature-controlled thermal source. These values are in good agreement with expectations and either exceed or are within 10% of the values used in the LiteBIRD sensitivity forecast. Lastly, we report a measurement of loss in Nb/SiNx/Nb microstrip at 100 mK and over the frequency range 200–350 GHz, which is comparable to values previously reported in the literature., This work is supported by NASA under grant no. 80NSSC18K0132.

The Infra-Red Telescope (IRT) is part of the payload of the THESEUS mission, which is one of the two ESA M5 candidates within the Cosmic Vision program, planned for launch in 2032. The THESEUS payload, composed by two high energy wide field monitors (SXI and XGIS) and a near infra-red telescope (IRT), is optimized to detect, localize and characterize Gamma-Ray Bursts and other high-energy transients. The main goal of the IRT is to identify and precisely localize the NIR counterparts of the high-energy sources and to measure their distance. Here we present the design of the IRT and its expected performance., Proceedings of the SPIE 2020, paper 11444-305

This paper describes the simulated in-orbit environment and the first on-ground experimental characterisation of the focal plane of the Micro-channel X-ray Telescope (MXT) on board the Chinese-French Space-based multi-band astronomical Variable Object Monitor (SVOM), for the study of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). MXT will mount a back-illuminated 450 µm-thick fully-depleted frame-store pnCCD at the focal plane of lobster-eye optics to study the afterglow of GRBs in the 0.2 to 10 keV energy range. The performances of the MXT detector are predicted to degrade due to the radiation environment of the low Earth orbit of the SVOM satellite, which includes regular passages through the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA). Of special concern are the leakage current and the Charge Transfer Efficiency (CTE), affecting the low-energy threshold and the spectral resolution of the camera, which will be operated at -65°C. In-orbit degradation will be experimentally studied on ground at the beginning of 2019 with proton irradiation tests at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland. In preparation for this test campaign, simulations were performed to evaluate the particle flux on the detector and hence the displacement damage at the end of the mission, with emphasis on the contribution of protons trapped in the radiation belts. The simulations used the SPENVIS web service and the Geant4 toolkit, and were based on a simplified geometrical model of the camera, increasingly detailed around the focal plane of MXT. In parallel, a first laboratory characterisation was performed on the Engineering Model (EM) of the MXT focal plane.

The SVOM (Space-based multi-band astronomical Variable Objects Monitor) French-Chinese mission is dedicated to the detection, localization and study of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) and other high-energy transient phenomena. We first present the general description of the French payload composed of the ECLAIRs instrument, dedicated to GRB detection and localization and the MXT instrument, dedicated to GRB follow-up observation in soft X-ray band. Then the paper describes more in detail the design and the performances of the MXT instrument, finally a status of MXT development will be given.

Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2018, Austin, Texas, United States.

The Laboratoire Electronique et Traitement de l’Information (LETI) of the Commissariat a l’Energie Atomique (CEA, Grenoble, France) has been involved in the development of infrared detectors based on HgCdTe (MCT) material for over 30 years, mainly for defence and security programs [1]. Once the building blocks are developed at LETI (MCT material process, diode technology, hybridization, …), the industrialization is performed at SOFRADIR (also in Grenoble, France) which also has its own R&D program [2]. In past years, LETI also developed infrared detectors for space astrophysics in the mid infrared range – the long wave detector of the ISOCAM camera onboard ISO – as well as in the far infrared range – the bolometer arrays of the Herschel/PACS photometer unit –, both instruments which were under the responsibility of the Astrophysics department of CEA (IRFU/SAp, Saclay, France). Nowadays, the infrared detectors used in space and ground based astronomical instruments all come from vendors in the US. For programmatic reasons – increase the number of available vendors, decrease the cost, mitigate possible export regulations, …– as well as political ones – spend european money in Europe –, the European Space Agency (ESA) defined two roadmaps (one in the NIR-SWIR range, one in the MWIR-LWIR range) that will eventually allow for the procurement of infrared detectors for space astrophysics within Europe. The French Space Agency (CNES) also started the same sort of roadmaps, as part of its contribution to the different space missions which involve delivery of instruments by French laboratories. It is important to note that some of the developments foreseen in these roadmaps also apply to Earth Observations. One of the main goal of the ESA and CNES roadmaps is to reduce the level of dark current in MCT devices at all wavelengths. The objective is to use the detectors at the highest temperature where the noise induced by the dark current stays compatible with the photon noise, as the detector operating temperature has a very strong impact at system level. A consequence of reaching low levels of dark current is the need for very low noise readout circuits. CEA and SOFRADIR are involved in a number of activities that have already started in this framework. CEA/LETI does the development of the photo-voltaic (PV) layers – MCT material growth, diode technologies–, as well as some electro-optical characterisation at wafer, diode and hybrid component levels, and CEA/IRFU/SAp does all the electro-optical characterisation involving very low flux measurements (mostly dark current measurements). Depending of the program, SOFRADIR can also participate in the development of the hybrid components, for instance the very low noise readout circuits (ROIC) can be developed either at SOFRADIR or at CEA/LETI. Depending of the component specifications, the MCT epitaxy can be either liquid phase (LPE, which is the standard at SOFRADIR for production purposes) or molecular beam (MBE), the diode technology can be n/p (standard at LETI and SOFRADIR) or p/n (under development for several years now) [3], and the input stage of the ROIC can be Source Follower per Detector (SFD for very low flux low noise programs) or Capacitive Trans Impedance Amplifier (CTIA for intermediate flux programs) [4]. This paper will present the different developments and results obtained so far in the two NIR-SWIR and MWIR-LWIR spectral ranges, as well as the perspectives for the near future. CEA/LETI is also involved in the development of MCT Avalanche Photo Diodes (APD) that will be discussed in other papers [5,6].

We have demonstrated the benefits of the high-resolution extension to the SpaceWire standard. Initially limited to 280 ns, we are able now to achieve a time-tagging accuracy of 40 ns, which represents a gain by a factor of seven. When in the free-running counter configuration, the highest time resolution could still be achieved even with low SpaceWire data rates. In that case, the time resolution is dramatically increased with our extension with respect to the standard; e.g., the gain is 35 for a data rate of 10 Mbps and a 100-MHz free running counter. As mentioned, the footprint of the extension stays very limited, which allows an easy implementation in any space FPGA. Such an extension combines the benefits of the SpaceWire standard and high-resolution time tagging without the need for another dedicated interface for clock and synchronization signal distribution.

Caliste project aims at hybridizing 1 cm 2 CdTe or CdZnTe pixel detectors with low-noise full custom front-end electronics, in a single component standing in a 1×1×2 cm 3 volume. Caliste device is 4-side buttable and can be used as elementary detection unit of a large mosaic to form a hard X-ray focal plane of any size and shape. Caliste is especially designed to match astronomical space mission requirements and its design takes into account environmental constraints, radiation environment in particular. This new imaging spectrometer for hard X-rays detection offers high spectral and spatial resolution together with accurate time-tagging capability and low dead time. Caliste concept relies on a 3D hybridization technology that consists in stacking full custom ASICs perpendicular to the detection surface into a single component. This technique simultaneously permits to realize a buttable imager and to enhance performance and uniformity response. Our last prototype is called Caliste 256 and integrates 16×16 pixels array, 580 μm pitch and 256 corresponding independent spectroscopy channels. This paper presents Caliste 256 design and properties. We emphasize spectral performance and demonstrate spectral resolution capabilities better than 1 keV FWHM at 60 keV.

In the frame of the Simbol-X mission of hard X-ray astrophysics, a prototype of micro-camera with 64 pixels called Caliste 64 has been designed and several samples have been tested. The device integrates ultra-low-noise IDeF-X V1.1 ASICs from CEA and a 1 cm 2 Al Schottky CdTe detector from Acrorad because of its high uniformity and spectroscopic performance. The process of hybridization, mastered by the 3D Plus company, respects space applications standards. The camera is a spectro-imager with time-tagging capability. Each photon interacting in the semiconductor is tagged with a time, a position and an energy. Time resolution is better than 100 ns rms for energy deposits greater than 20 keV, taking into account electronic noise and technological dispersal of the front-end electronics. The spectrum summed across the 64 pixels results in an energy resolution of 664 eV fwhm at 13.94 keV and 842 eV fwhm at 59.54 keV, when the detector is cooled down to −10 °C and biased at −500 V.

Caliste project aims at hybridizing 1 cm2 Cd(Zn)Te detectors with low noise front-end electronics, in a single component standing in a 1 times 1times 2 cm3 volume. The micro-camera is a spectroscopic imager for X and gamma rays detection, with time-tagging capability. Hybridization consists in stacking full custom ASICs perpendicular to the detection surface. The first prototype Caliste 64 integrates a detector of 8 times 8 pixels of 1 mm pitch. Fabrication and characterizations of nine cameras units validate the design and the hybridization concept. Spectroscopic tests result in a mean energy resolution of ~0.7 keV FWHM at 14 keV and ~0.85 keV FWHM at 60 keV using 1 mm-thick Al Schottky CdTe detectors biased at -400 V and cooled down to -15degC. The new prototype called Caliste 256 integrates 16 times 16 pixels of 580 mum pitch in the same volume as Caliste 64. Electrical tests with the first sample fabricated without detector result in a mean equivalent noise charge of 64 e- rms (9.6 mus, no leakage current). Caliste devices are 4-side buttable and can be used as elementary detection units of a large hard X-ray focal plane, as for the 64 cm2 high energy detector of the Simbol-X astronomical space mission.

The very last member of the IDeF-X ASIC family is presented: IDeF-X ECLAIRs is a 32-channel front end ASIC designed for the readout of Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) and Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CdZnTe) Detectors. Thanks to its noise performance (Equivalent Noise Charge floor of 33 e- rms) and to its radiation hardened design (Single Event Latchup Linear Energy Transfer threshold of 56 MeV.cm2.mg-1), the chip is well suited for soft X-rays energy discrimination and high energy resolution, ldquospace proof,rdquo hard X-ray spectroscopy. We measured an energy low threshold of less than 4 keV with a 10 pF input capacitor and a minimal reachable sensitivity of the Equivalent Noise Charge (ENC) to input capacitance of less than 7 e-/pF obtained with a 6 mus peak time. IDeF-X ECLAIRs will be used for the readout of 6400 CdTe Schottky monopixel detectors of the 2D coded mask imaging telescope ECLAIRs aboard the SVOM satellite. IDeF-X ECLAIRs (or IDeF-X V2) has also been designed for the readout of a pixelated CdTe detector in the miniature spectro-imager prototype Caliste 256 that is currently foreseen for the high energy detector module of the Simbol-X mission.

In the frame of the hard X-ray simbol-X observatory, a joint CNES-ASI space mission to be flown in 2013, a prototype of miniature camera equipped with 64 pixels has been designed. The device, called CALISTE 64, is a spectro- imager with high resolution event time-tagging capability. CALISTE 64 integrates a CdTe semiconductor detector with segmented electrode and its front-end electronics made of 64 independent analogue readout channels. This 10times10times18 mm3 camera, able to detect photons in the range from 2 keV up to 250 keV, is an elementary detection unit juxtaposable on its four sides. Consequently, large detector array can be made assembling a mosaic of CALISTE 64 units. Electronics readout module is achieved by stacking four IDeF-X V1.1 ASICs in a 3D-module, perpendicular to the detection plane. We achieved good noise performances, with an equivalent noise charge better than 60 electrons rms in average. We choose CdTe detectors equipped with aluminum Schottky barrier contacts because of their very low dark current and excellent spectroscopic performances. The first integrated CALISTE 64 camera was realized and tested. The device operates properly and all the 64 pixels show good spectra. When the crystal is cooled down to -10degC and biased at -400 V, the resulting sum spectrum shows a spectral resolution of 697 eV FWHM at 13.9 keV and 808 eV FWHM at 59.54 keV. This paper presents the CALISTE 64 design and preliminary performance test results.

Introduction. Le diabète touche plus de 3,3 millions de Français. Son coût représente près de 10 milliards d’euros par an, dont 250 millions en analyses de biologie médicale. Selon les recommandations, le suivi de l’équilibre glycémique s’effectue sur l’hémoglobine glyquée (HbA1c) et non sur la mesure de la glycémie à jeun au laboratoire (GAJ). Pourtant, il semble que beaucoup de GAJ soient prescrites chez les patients diabétiques. Objectif. Évaluer le coût des GAJ potentiellement inadaptées en ambulatoire chez les patients diabétiques. Méthode. La base de données de l’Échantillon généraliste des bénéficiaires (EGB) a été utilisée pour inclure les patients diabétiques au 1er janvier 2018. Les GAJ dosées en 2018 ont été recherchées. Pour chaque GAJ, une pratique d’autosurveillance glycémique (ASG) et, en fonction, une Hba1c prescrite de manière synchrone ou la prise d’un traitement à risque d’hypoglycémie étaient recherchées afin de repérer les GAJ justifiées. Elles correspondaient soit à une GAJ annuelle pour contrôler le bon fonctionnement du matériel d’ASG, soit aux GAJ dosées seules pour la recherche d’une hypoglycémie iatrogène en l’absence d’ASG. Le coût d’une GAJ a été utilisé pour obtenir le coût global sur l’EGB puis sur la population française. Résultats. 40 656 patients diabétiques ont été inclus et 66 874 GAJ ont été prescrites, dont 52 771 (78,9 %) étaient potentiellement inadaptées. Ceci représentait un coût de 71 240 € pour l’EGB, soit près de 7 millions d’euros pour la population française. Conclusion. Ce coût ne représente qu’une infime partie du budget de la santé. Cependant, l’impact iatrogénique de la répétition des GAJ potentiellement inadaptées n’ayant pas été étudié, il serait intéressant d’étudier l’enjeu de la multiplication de ce test chez les patients atteints de diabète de type 2.

The Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory, EChO, is a dedicated space mission to investigate the physics and chemistry of Exoplanet atmospheres. Using the differential spectroscopy by transit method, it provides simultaneously a complete spectrum in a wide wavelength range between 0.4μm and 16μm of the atmosphere of exoplanets. The payload is subdivided into 6 channels. The mid-infrared channel covers the spectral range between 5μm and 11μm. In order to optimize the instrument response and the science objectives, the bandpass is split in two using an internal dichroic. We present the opto-mechanical concept of the MWIR channel and the detector development that have driven the thermal and mechanical designs of the channel. The estimated end-to-end performance is also presented.

The Microchannel X-Ray Telescope will be implemented on board the SVOM space mission to observe the afterglow of gamma-ray bursts and localize them with 2 arcmin precision. The optical system is based on microchannel plates assembling in Wolter-I configuration to focus the X-rays in the focal plane, like done for the MIXS telescope of the BepiColombo ESA mission. The sensor part is a 256 × 256 pixel pnCCD from the Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics for high resolution spectroscopy and high quantum efficiency over 0.2 – 10 keV energy range, based on the same technology and design as the eROSITA telescopes for the Russian-German SRG mission. CEA-Irfu (Saclay) is in charge of the design and the realization of the camera, including the focal plane, the calibration wheel, the front-end electronics, the structure housing for background shielding and the active cooling system. A prototype of the full detection chain and the acquisition system was set up. The paper presents the preliminary design of the electrical, mechanical and thermal architectures of the camera. It focuses on the fabrication and testing of the critical elements of the design and concludes on the on-going developments.

The SVOM (Space-based multi-band astronomical Variable Objects Monitor) French-Chinese mission is dedicated to the detection, localization and study of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) and other high-energy transient phenomena. We first present the major principles of the SVOM system including the alert system providing near-real-time GRB localizations to large ground-based telescopes. Then the paper describes the definition of the SVOM payload and more particularly the French payload composed of the ECLAIRs instrument, dedicated to GRB detection and positioning, and the MXT instrument, dedicated to GRB followup observation in soft X-ray band.

In this paper, we report on results obtained both at CEA/LETI and SOFRADIR on p-on-n HgCdTe (MCT) grown by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) Infra-Red Focal Plane Arrays (IR FPAs) for the Long-wave (LW) and the Very-long-wave (VLW) spectral ranges. For many years, p-on-n arsenic-ion implanted planar technology has been developed and improved within the framework of the joint laboratory DEFIR. Compared to n-on-p, p-on-n technology presents lower dark current and series resistance. Consequently, p-on-n photodiodes are well-adapted for very large FPAs operating either at high temperature or very low flux. The long wave (LW) spectral ranges have been firstly addressed with TV/4, 30 µm pitch FPAs. Our results showed state-of-the-art detector performances, consistent with "Rule 07" law [1], a relevant indicator of the maturity of photodiode technology. The low dark current allows increasing the operating temperature without any degradation of the performances. The subsequent development of p-on-n imagers has produced more compact, less energy consuming systems, with a substantial resolution enhancement. Space applications are another exciting but challenging domains and are good candidates for the p-on-n technology. For this purpose, TV/4 arrays, 30 µm pixel pitch, have been manufactured for the very long wave spectral range. For this detection range, the quality of material and reliability of technology are the most critical. Detectors with different cutoff wavelength have been manufactured to aim 12.5 µm at 78K, 12.5 µm at 40K and 15 µm at 78K. Electro-optical characterizations reveal homogeneous imagers with excellent current operabilities (over 99.9% at best). The results highlight the very good quality of p-on-n technology with carrier diffusion limited dark current, fitting the "Rule 07" law, and high quantum efficiency. Further process developments have been made to improve photodiodes performances. Especially the transition temperature where the dark current shifts from diffusion limited regime to another one, has been lowered by more than 10K. Extremely low dark current has been obtained, down to 50 e-/s/pixel.

International audience; In this paper, we present the design of the MWIR channels of EChO. Two channels cover the 5-11 micron spectral range. The choice of the boundaries of each channel is a trade-off driven by the science goals (spectral features of key molecules) and several parameters such as the common optics design, the dichroic plates design, the optical materials characteristics, the detector cut-off wavelength. We also will emphasize the role of the detectors choice that drives the thermal and mechanical designs and the cooling strategy.

Caliste HD is the last member of the Caliste family of Cd(Zn)Te micro-cameras for space applications. This hybrid component is made of the assembly of one 16 × 16 pixel Cd(Zn)Te detector and eight analog front-end ASIC named IDeF-X HD equipped with 32 spectroscopic channels. The pixels are 625 µm pitch and are surrounded by a 20 µm wide guard ring. The new generation of ASIC has the advantage of having a power consumption 4 times lower as the previous version (0.2 W for the full device) and offers the possibility to extend the dynamic range from 250 keV to 1 MeV. The technology is fully compliant with operation in space (tolerant to radiation, thermal and mechanical constraints). This paper presents the preliminary spectroscopic results obtained with the samples produced so far. At −16°C the sum spectrum built with all single events of the 1 mm-thick Al Schottky detector show an energy resolution of 0.82 keV FWHM at 14 keV and 0.92 keV FWHM at 60 keV. A good uniformity in gain and in noise is measured over the 256 pixels; the low level-threshold is lower than 2 keV for all pixels.

SINCE few years, our group is developing a family of ASICs for space applications, named IDeF-X for Imaging Detector Front-end [l]-[4]. IDeF-X HD is the new member of the IDeF-X family. It has been optimized for the readout of 16 × 16 pixels CdTe or CdZnTe pixelated detectors to build a new low power Caliste 256 module [5]. This micro gamma-camera will be the elementary unit of the MAC SI (Modular Assembly of Caliste Spectro Imager) camera: A 2048-pixels 8 cm2 gamma camera designed with 8 identical Caliste modules.

The 6 K cooled primary mirror of the SPICA observatory, to be launched in 2018, allows a photometry gain in sensitivity in the far infrared of more than two orders of magnitude when compared with current instrumentation in space. All the proposed detector solutions will have to deploy radically different solutions from previous developments to cope with the extremely low background and very low power budgets available at all the temperature stages. We present the current design of very large "all Silicon" filled Bolometer Arrays cooled below 100 mK, and the solutions we develop for the BASIC (Bolometer Arrays for the All Silicon SAFARI Imaging Camera) focal planes of SAFARI. They will cover simultaneously three wavelength bands between 30 and 210 μm.

The Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE), is the Herschel Space Observatory`s submillimetre camera and spectrometer. It contains a three-band imaging photometer operating at 250, 350 and 500 microns, and an imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) which covers simultaneously its whole operating range of 194-671 microns (447-1550 GHz). The SPIRE detectors are arrays of feedhorn-coupled bolometers cooled to 0.3 K. The photometer has a field of view of 4' x 8', observed simultaneously in the three spectral bands. Its main operating mode is scan-mapping, whereby the field of view is scanned across the sky to achieve full spatial sampling and to cover large areas if desired. The spectrometer has an approximately circular field of view with a diameter of 2.6'. The spectral resolution can be adjusted between 1.2 and 25 GHz by changing the stroke length of the FTS scan mirror. Its main operating mode involves a fixed telescope pointing with multiple scans of the FTS mirror to acquire spectral data. For extended source measurements, multiple position offsets are implemented by means of an internal beam steering mirror to achieve the desired spatial sampling and by rastering of the telescope pointing to map areas larger than the field of view. The SPIRE instrument consists of a cold focal plane unit located inside the Herschel cryostat and warm electronics units, located on the spacecraft Service Module, for instrument control and data handling. Science data are transmitted to Earth with no on-board data compression, and processed by automatic pipelines to produce calibrated science products. The in-flight performance of the instrument matches or exceeds predictions based on pre-launch testing and modelling: the photometer sensitivity is comparable to or slightly better than estimated pre-launch, and the spectrometer sensitivity is also better by a factor of 1.5-2., Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophyics (Herschel first results special issue)

ISBN: 978-0-07354-0662-9; International audience; The High Energy Detector (HED) is one of the three detection units on board the Simbol-X detector spacecraft. It is placed below the Low Energy Detector so as to collect focused photons in the energy range from 8 to 80 keV. It consists of a mosaic of 64 independent cameras, divided in 8 sectors. Each elementary detection unit, called Caliste, is the hybridization of a 256-pixel Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) detector with full custom front-end electronics into a unique component. The status of the HED design will be reported. The promising results obtained from the first micro-camera prototypes called Caliste 64 and Caliste 256 will be presented to illustrate the expected performance of the instrument.

In the frame of the hard X-ray Simbol-X observatory, a jo int CNES-ASI space mission to be flown in 2014, a prototype of miniature Cd(Zn)Te camera equipped with 64 pixels has been designed. The device, called Caliste 64, is a spectro-imager with high resolution event time-tagging capability. Calis te 64 integrates a Cd(Zn)Te semiconductor detector with segmented electrode and its front-end electronics made of 64 independent analog readout channels. This 1 u 1 u 2 cm 3 camera, able to detect photons in the range from 2 keV up to 250 keV, is an elementary detection unit juxtaposable on its four sides. Consequently, large detector array can be made assembling a mosaic of Caliste 64 units. Electronics readout module is achieved by stacking four IDeF-X V1.1 ASICs, perpendicular to the detection plane. We achieved good noise performances, with a mean Equivalent Noise Charge of ~65 electrons rms over the 64 channels. Time resolution is better than 70 ns rms for energy deposits greater than 50 keV, ta king into account electronic noise and technological dispersal, which enables to reject background by anticoincidence with very low probability of error. For the first prototypes, we chose CdTe detectors equipped with Al-Ti-Au Schottky barrier contacts because of their very low dark current and excellent spectroscopic performances. So fa r, three Caliste 64 cameras have been r ealized and tested. When the crystal is cooled down to -10°C, the sum spectrum built with the 64 pixels of a Caliste 64 sample results in a spectral resolution of 664 eV FWHM at 13.94 keV and 841 eV FWHM at 59.54 keV. Keywords: CdTe, Simbol-X, spectro-imager, X rays

We describe the on-board electronics chain and the on-ground data processing pipeline that will operate on data from the Herschel-SPIRE photometer to produce calibrated astronomical products. Data from the three photometer arrays will be conditioned and digitised by on-board electronics and sent to the ground with no further on-board data processing. On the ground, the data pipeline will process the data from point source, jiggle-map, and scan-map observations in a fully automatic manner, producing measured flux densities (for point source observations) or maps. It includes calculation of the bolometer voltages from the raw telemetry, glitch removal, and corrections for various effects including time constants associated with the detectors and electronics, electrical and optical crosstalk, detector temperature drifts, flatfielding, and non-linear response of the bolometers to strong sources. Flux density calibration will be with respect to standard astronomical sources with the planets Uranus and Neptune being adopted as the baseline primary standards. The pipeline will compute estimated values of in-beam flux density for a standard flat νS(ν) source spectrum.

The Japanese led Space Infrared telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA) will observe the universe over the 5 to 210 micron band with unprecedented sensitivity owing to its cold (~5 K) 3.5m telescope. The scientific case for a European involvement in the SPICA mission has been accepted by the ESA advisory structure and a European contribution to SPICA is undergoing an assessment study as a Mission of Opportunity within the ESA Cosmic Vision 1015-2015 science mission programme. In this paper we describe the elements that are being studied for provision by Europe for the SPICA mission. These entail ESA directly providing the cryogenic telescope and ground segment support and a consortium of European insitutes providing a Far Infrared focal plane instrument. In this paper we describe the status of the ESA study and the design status of the FIR focal plane instrument.

In this paper, an extension to the SpaceWire standard (Parkes et al., 2003) is presented which increases considerably its synchronization capability. Initially developed in the scope of Simbol-X (Ferrando et al., 2006), a CNES formation flying instrument where time-tagging of data science from three detectors is critical to perform on-board processing, the extension can be implemented in all equipments where the use of the performing spacewire standard is not possible due to its intrinsic synchronization limitation. This limitation gives a lack of precision ten times the data transmission period rate plus two periods of the receiver synchronization clock. With the additional feature this uncertainty is reduced to two periods of the receiver synchronization clock. The extension takes advantage of already existing capabilities of the spacewire standard with no impact on the data layer and very limited additional resource needs. The resulting performances measured on a prototype are presented still in the framework of the Simbol-X instrument using ACTEL space qualified FPGA as target.

The very last member of the IDeF-X ASIC family is presented: IDeF-X ECLAIRs is a 32-channel front end ASIC designed for the readout of low capacitive (2 to 5 pF) and low leakage current (1 pA to 2 nA) cadmium telluride (CdTe) and cadmium zinc telluride detectors (CdZnTe). Thanks to its ultra low noise performances (equivalent noise charge floor of 33 e- rms) and to its radiation hardened design (single event latchup linear energy transfer threshold of 56 MeV.cm2.mg-1), the chip is well suited for very low energy discrimination, very high energy resolution, "space proof," hard X-ray spectroscopy. We measured a very low energy threshold of less than 2 keV with a 14 pF input capacitor and a minimal sensitivity of the equivalent noise charge (ENC) to input capacitance of less than 7 e-/pF obtained with a 6 mus peaking time. IDeF-X ECLAIRs will be used for the readout of 6400 CdTe Schottky monopixel detectors of the 2D coded mask imaging telescope ECLAIRs aboard the SVOM satellite [1]. IDeF-X ECLAIRs has also been designed for the readout of a pixelated CdTe detector in the future miniature spectro-imager prototype CALISTE 256 that is currently foreseen for the high energy detector module of the SIMBOL-X mission [2], [3].

SIMBOL-X is a hard X-ray mission, operating in the ~ 0.5-70 keV range, which is proposed by a consortium of European laboratories in response to the 2004 call for ideas of CNES for a scientific mission to be flown on a formation flying demonstrator. Relying on two spacecrafts in a formation flying configuration, SIMBOL-X uses for the first time a ~ 30 m focal length X-ray mirror to focus X-rays with energy above 10 keV, resulting in a two orders of magnitude improvement in angular resolution and sensitivity in the hard X-ray range with respect to non focusing techniques. The SIMBOL-X revolutionary instrumental capabilities will allow to elucidate outstanding questions in high energy astrophysics, related in particular to the physics of accretion onto compact objects, to the acceleration of particles to the highest energies, and to the nature of the Cosmic X-Ray background. The mission, which has gone through a thorough assessment study performed by CNES, is expected to start a competitive phase A in autumn 2005, leading to a flight decision at the end of 2006, for a launch in 2012. The mission science objectives, the current status of the instrumentation and mission design, as well as potential trade-offs are presented in this paper., 10 pages; Proc. of SPIE conference "Optics for EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Astronomy II", San Diego July 31st-Aug.4th, 2005, Vol. 5900

Trabajo presentado al 25th Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics - Session P9: Next generation major instruments, celebrado en Heidelberg (Alemania) del 6 al 10 de diciembre de 2010., Tracing the formation and evolution of all supermassive black holes, including the obscured ones, understanding how black holes influence their surroundings and how matter behaves under extreme conditions, are recognized as key science objectives to be addressed by the next generation of instruments. These are the main goals of the COSPIX proposal, made to ESA in December 2010 in the context of its call for selection of the M3 mission. In addition, COSPIX, will also provide key measurements on the non thermal Universe, particularly in relation to the question of the acceleration of particles, as well as on many other fundamental questions as for example the energetic particle content of clusters of galaxies. COSPIX is proposed as an observatory operating from 0.3 to more than 100 keV. The payload features a single long focal length focusing telescope offering an effective area close to ten times larger than any scheduled focusing mission at 30 keV, an angular resolution better than 20 arcseconds in hard X-rays, and polarimetric capabilities within the same focal plane instrumentation. In this paper, we describe the science objectives of the mission, its baseline design, and its performances, as proposed to ESA.