A test platform for the detection and readout chain for the Athena X-IFU

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2107.03412.pdf (18.09 MB)

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https://arxiv.org/abs/2107.03412

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https://arxiv.org/ct?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1117%2F12.2561281&v=b1595cf6
 http://hdl.handle.net/11603/24048

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UMBC Center for Space Sciences and Technology (CSST) / Center for Research and Exploration in Space Sciences & Technology II (CRSST II)
UMBC Faculty Collection
UMBC Physics Department

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https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8397-9338
 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0622-5174
 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9247-3010
 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2237-6696

Date

2021-07-07

Type of Work

journal articles
preprints
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This work was written as part of one of the author's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law.
Public Domain Mark 1.0

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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.