Hardware development of Athena WFI frame processing module

Jonas Reiffers; Sebastian Albrecht; Olaf Hälker; Andreas Lederhuber; Benjamin Mican; Francisco Javier Veredas

doi:10.1117/12.2627846

31 August 2022 Hardware development of Athena WFI frame processing module

Jonas Reiffers, Sebastian Albrecht, Olaf Hälker, Andreas Lederhuber, Benjamin Mican, Francisco Javier Veredas

Proceedings Volume 12181, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray; 121813T (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2627846
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2022, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Abstract

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.

Citation Download Citation

Jonas Reiffers, Sebastian Albrecht, Olaf Hälker, Andreas Lederhuber, Benjamin Mican, and Francisco Javier Veredas "Hardware development of Athena WFI frame processing module", Proc. SPIE 12181, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 121813T (31 August 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2627846

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
11 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Field programmable gate arrays

Sensors

Analog electronics

Electronics

Cameras

Head

Imaging systems

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years