Development of the microcalorimeter detector for the Athena/X-ray Integral Field Unit
The X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) will be a microcalorimeter instrument on ESA’s Athena X-ray observatory, set to launch around 2037. Athena recently underwent a reformulation exercise resulting in a simplified X-IFU architecture, with a new baseline configuration featuring fewer pixels and readout channels. Newly developed transition edge sensor pixels that are slower and have reduced magnetic field sensitivity have helped enable the new instrument design whilst maintaining flagship quality science. In this paper, we report on the status and plan for continued development of the X-IFU microcalorimeter array. We describe details of the current pixel architecture and performance specifications. We will present the design of the first full scale microcalorimeter arrays that have the necessary flight like electrical and mechanical interfaces for X-IFU. These arrays will undergo testing in a focal-plane assembly (FPA) Development Model (DM) in Europe later in 2024 and serve as a precursor to the X-IFU Engineering Model detector.
Authors
- S. R. Bandler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5112-8106)
- Renata Cumbee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9894-295X)
- Joshua Fuhrman
- E. J. Wassell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3380-7540)
- F. M. Finkbeiner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6842-0544)
- J. A. Chervenak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2450-8055)
- J. S. Adams (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6310-5495)
- Samuel V. Hull (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3132-0536)
- Kazuhiro Sakai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9247-3010)
- F. S. Porter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6374-1119)
- Nicholas A. Wakeham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8397-9338)
- S. J. Smith (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4096-4675)
- Asha Rani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1750-9789)
- Caroline A. Kilbourne (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9464-4103)
- M. C. Witthoeft (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6237-7776)
- Rachel B. Borrelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6346-7124)
- Felipe A. Colazo-Petit
- Richard L. Kelley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-2283-3336)
- Sang Hyuk Yoon
Institutions
- Goddard Space Flight Center (US)
- Sigma Space (United States) (US)
- Hexagon (United States) (US)
- Science Systems and Applications (United States) (US)
- Adnet Systems (United States) (US)
- University of Maryland, College Park (US)
- University of Maryland, Baltimore County (US)
Publication Details
- Published
- 2024-08-21
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3019198
- Citations
- 8
- Primary Topic
- Superconducting and THz Device Technology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.65