Betancourt-Martinez, GabrielePajot, FrançoisBeaumont, SophieRoudil, GillesMiniussi, AntoineSakai, KazuhiroSmith, StephenWakeham, Nicholaset al2022-01-212022-01-212021-07-07https://arxiv.org/ct?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1117%2F12.2561281&v=b1595cf6http://hdl.handle.net/11603/24048Gabriele Betancourt-Martinez, François Pajot, Sophie Beaumont, Gilles Roudil, Joseph Adams, Hiroki Akamatsu, Simon Bandler, Bernard Bertrand, Marcel Bruijn, Florent Castellani, Edoardo Cucchetti, William Doriese, Michel Dupieux, Hervé Geoffray, Luciano Gottardi, Brian Jackson, Jan van der Kuur, Mikko Kiviranta, Antoine Miniussi, Phillipe Peille, Kevin Ravensberg, Laurent Ravera, Carl Reintsema, Kazuhiro Sakai, Stephen Smith, Nicholas Wakeham, Henk van Weers, Doreen Wernicke, Michael WitthoeftWe 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.11 pagesen-USThis 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 1.0Text