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1. Thermalization of Mesh Reinforced Ultra-Thin Al-Coated Plastic Films: A Parametric Study Applied to the Athena X-IFU Instrument

Author: Nicola Montinaro, Luisa Sciortino, Fabio D’Anca, Ugo Lo Cicero, Enrico Bozzo, Stéphane Paltani, Michela Todaro, and Marco Barbera
Subjects: thermalization, FEA, heat transfer analysis, detector, X-ray filter, Athena, Chemical technology, TP1-1185
Abstract: The X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) is one of the two focal plane detectors of Athena, a large-class high energy astrophysics space mission approved by ESA in the Cosmic Vision 2015–2025 Science Program. The X-IFU consists of a large array of transition edge sensor micro-calorimeters that operate at ~100 mK inside a sophisticated cryostat. To prevent molecular contamination and to minimize photon shot noise on the sensitive X-IFU cryogenic detector array, a set of thermal filters (THFs) operating at different temperatures are needed. Since contamination already occurs below 300 K, the outer and more exposed THF must be kept at a higher temperature. To meet the low energy effective area requirements, the THFs are to be made of a thin polyimide film (45 nm) coated in aluminum (30 nm) and supported by a metallic mesh. Due to the small thickness and the low thermal conductance of the material, the membranes are prone to developing a radial temperature gradient due to radiative coupling with the environment. Considering the fragility of the membrane and the high reflectivity in IR energy domain, temperature measurements are difficult. In this work, a parametric numerical study is performed to retrieve the radial temperature profile of the larger and outer THF of the Athena X-IFU using a Finite Element Model approach. The effects on the radial temperature profile of different design parameters and boundary conditions are considered: (i) the mesh design and material, (ii) the plating material, (iii) the addition of a thick Y-cross applied over the mesh, (iv) an active heating heat flux injected on the center and (v) a Joule heating of the mesh. The outcomes of this study have guided the choice of the baseline strategy for the heating of the Athena X-IFU THFs, fulfilling the stringent thermal specifications of the instrument.
Published: 2024
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2. Virtual reality for the analysis and visualization of scientific numerical models.

Author: Salvatore Orlando 0004, Marco Miceli, Ugo Lo Cicero, and Sabina Ustamujic
Published: 2023
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3. Design and acoustic tests of the ATHENA WFI filter wheel assembly development model towards TRL5

Author: Szymon Polak, Jacek Musiał, Robert Pietrzak, Adam Sikorski, Mateusz Dumin, Adam Dacko, Mirosiław Rataj, Tomasz Barciński, Tadeusz Kamisiński, Adam Pilch, Wojciech Binek, Grzegorz Woźniak, Monika Zuchniak, Agata Różańska, Norbert Meidinger, Marcus Plattner, Jintin Frank, Rafael Strecker, Andreas von Kienlin, Marco Barbera, Fabio D’Anca, Daniele Gulli, Ugo Lo Cicero, Nicola Montinaro, Giancarlo Parodi, Enrico Bozzo, and Stephane Paltani
Subjects: Space and Planetary Science, Control and Systems Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Instrumentation, Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
Published: 2023
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4. The Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit: a consolidated design for the system requirement review of the preliminary definition phase

Author: Didier Barret, Vincent Albouys, Jan-Willem den Herder, Luigi Piro, Massimo Cappi, Juhani Huovelin, Richard Kelley, J. Miguel Mas-Hesse, Stéphane Paltani, Gregor Rauw, Agata Rozanska, Jiri Svoboda, Joern Wilms, Noriko Yamasaki, Marc Audard, Simon Bandler, Marco Barbera, Xavier Barcons, Enrico Bozzo, Maria Teresa Ceballos, Ivan Charles, Elisa Costantini, Thomas Dauser, Anne Decourchelle, Lionel Duband, Jean-Marc Duval, Fabrizio Fiore, Flavio Gatti, Andrea Goldwurm, Roland den Hartog, Brian Jackson, Peter Jonker, Caroline Kilbourne, Seppo Korpela, Claudio Macculi, Mariano Mendez, Kazuhisa Mitsuda, Silvano Molendi, François Pajot, Etienne Pointecouteau, Frederick Porter, Gabriel W. Pratt, Damien Prêle, Laurent Ravera, Kosuke Sato, Joop Schaye, Keisuke Shinozaki, Konrad Skup, Jan Soucek, Tanguy Thibert, Jacco Vink, Natalie Webb, Laurence Chaoul, Desi Raulin, Aurora Simionescu, Jose Miguel Torrejon, Fabio Acero, Graziella Branduardi-Raymont, Stefano Ettori, Alexis Finoguenov, Nicolas Grosso, Jelle Kaastra, Pasquale Mazzotta, Jon Miller, Giovanni Miniutti, Fabrizio Nicastro, Salvatore Sciortino, Hiroya Yamaguchi, Sophie Beaumont, Edoardo Cucchetti, Matteo D’Andrea, Megan Eckart, Philippe Ferrando, Elias Kammoun, Simone Lotti, Jean-Michel Mesnager, Lorenzo Natalucci, Philippe Peille, Jelle de Plaa, Florence Ardellier, Andrea Argan, Elise Bellouard, Jérôme Carron, Elisabetta Cavazzuti, Mauro Fiorini, Pourya Khosropanah, Sylvain Martin, James Perry, Frederic Pinsard, Alice Pradines, Manuela Rigano, Peter Roelfsema, Denis Schwander, Guido Torrioli, Joel Ullom, Isabel Vera, Eduardo Medinaceli Villegas, Monika Zuchniak, Frank Brachet, Ugo Lo Cicero, William Doriese, Malcom Durkin, Valentina Fioretti, Hervé Geoffray, Lionel Jacques, Christian Kirsch, Stephen Smith, Joseph Adams, Emilie Gloaguen, Ruud Hoogeveen, Paul van der Hulst, Mikko Kiviranta, Jan van der Kuur, Aurélien Ledot, Bert-Joost van Leeuwen, Dennis van Loon, Bertrand Lyautey, Yann Parot, Kazuhiro Sakai, Henk van Weers, Shariefa Abdoelkariem, Thomas Adam, Christophe Adami, Corinne Aicardi, Hiroki Akamatsu, Pablo Eleazar Merino Alonso, Roberta Amato, Jérôme André, Matteo Angelinelli, Manuel Anon-Cancela, Shebli Anvar, Ricardo Atienza, Anthony Attard, Natalia Auricchio, Ana Balado, Florian Bancel, Lorenzo Ferrari Barusso, Arturo Bascuñan, Vivian Bernard, Alicia Berrocal, Sylvie Blin, Donata Bonino, François Bonnet, Patrick Bonny, Peter Boorman, Charles Boreux, Ayoub Bounab, Martin Boutelier, Kevin Boyce, Daniele Brienza, Marcel Bruijn, Andrea Bulgarelli, Simona Calarco, Paul Callanan, Alberto Prada Campello, Thierry Camus, Florent Canourgues, Vito Capobianco, Nicolas Cardiel, Florent Castellani, Oscar Cheatom, James Chervenak, Fabio Chiarello, Laurent Clerc, Nicolas Clerc, Beatriz Cobo, Odile Coeur-Joly, Alexis Coleiro, Stéphane Colonges, Leonardo Corcione, Mickael Coriat, Alexandre Coynel, Francesco Cuttaia, Antonino D’Ai, Fabio D’anca, Mauro Dadina, Christophe Daniel, Lea Dauner, Natalie DeNigris, Johannes Dercksen, Michael DiPirro, Eric Doumayrou, Luc Dubbeldam, Michel Dupieux, Simon Dupourqué, Jean Louis Durand, Dominique Eckert, Valvanera Eiriz, Eric Ercolani, Christophe Etcheverry, Fred Finkbeiner, Mariateresa Fiocchi, Hervé Fossecave, Philippe Franssen, Martin Frericks, Stefano Gabici, Florent Gant, Jian-Rong Gao, Fabio Gastaldello, Ludovic Genolet, Simona Ghizzardi, Ma Angeles Alcacera Gil, Elisa Giovannini, Olivier Godet, Javier Gomez-Elvira, Raoul Gonzalez, Manuel Gonzalez, Luciano Gottardi, Dolorès Granat, Michel Gros, Nicolas Guignard, Paul Hieltjes, Adolfo Jesús Hurtado, Kent Irwin, Christian Jacquey, Agnieszka Janiuk, Jean Jaubert, Maria Jiménez, Antoine Jolly, Thierry Jourdan, Sabine Julien, Bartosz Kedziora, Andrew Korb, Ingo Kreykenbohm, Ole König, Mathieu Langer, Philippe Laudet, Philippe Laurent, Monica Laurenza, Jean Lesrel, Sebastiano Ligori, Maximilian Lorenz, Alfredo Luminari, Bruno Maffei, Océane Maisonnave, Lorenzo Marelli, Didier Massonet, Irwin Maussang, Alejandro Gonzalo Melchor, Isabelle Le Mer, Francisco Javier San Millan, Jean-Pierre Millerioux, Teresa Mineo, Gabriele Minervini, Alexeï Molin, David Monestes, Nicola Montinaro, Baptiste Mot, David Murat, Kenichiro Nagayoshi, Yaël Nazé, Loïc Noguès, Damien Pailot, Francesca Panessa, Luigi Parodi, Pascal Petit, Enrico Piconcelli, Ciro Pinto, Jose Miguel Encinas Plaza, Borja Plaza, David Poyatos, Thomas Prouvé, Andy Ptak, Simonetta Puccetti, Elena Puccio, Pascale Ramon, Manuel Reina, Guillaume Rioland, Louis Rodriguez, Anton Roig, Bertrand Rollet, Mauro Roncarelli, Gilles Roudil, Tomasz Rudnicki, Julien Sanisidro, Luisa Sciortino, Vitor Silva, Michael Sordet, Javier Soto-Aguilar, Pierre Spizzi, Christian Surace, Miguel Fernández Sánchez, Emanuele Taralli, Guilhem Terrasa, Régis Terrier, Michela Todaro, Pietro Ubertini, Michela Uslenghi, Jan Geralt Bij de Vaate, Davide Vaccaro, Salvatore Varisco, Peggy Varnière, Laurent Vibert, María Vidriales, Fabrizio Villa, Boris Martin Vodopivec, Angela Volpe, Cor de Vries, Nicholas Wakeham, Gavin Walmsley, Michael Wise, Martin de Wit, Grzegorz Woźniak, Barret, Didier, Albouys, Vincent, Herder, Jan-Willem den, Piro, Luigi, Cappi, Massimo, Huovelin, Juhani, Kelley, Richard, Mas-Hesse, J. Miguel, Paltani, Stéphane, Rauw, Gregor, Rozanska, Agata, Svoboda, Jiri, Wilms, Joern, Yamasaki, Noriko, Audard, Marc, Bandler, Simon, Barbera, Marco, Barcons, Xavier, Bozzo, Enrico, Ceballos, Maria Teresa, Charles, Ivan, Costantini, Elisa, Dauser, Thoma, Decourchelle, Anne, Duband, Lionel, Duval, Jean-Marc, Fiore, Fabrizio, Gatti, Flavio, Goldwurm, Andrea, Hartog, Roland den, Jackson, Brian, Jonker, Peter, Kilbourne, Caroline, Korpela, Seppo, Macculi, Claudio, Mendez, Mariano, Mitsuda, Kazuhisa, Molendi, Silvano, Pajot, Françoi, Pointecouteau, Etienne, Porter, Frederick, Pratt, Gabriel W., Prêle, Damien, Ravera, Laurent, Sato, Kosuke, Schaye, Joop, Shinozaki, Keisuke, Skup, Konrad, Soucek, Jan, Thibert, Tanguy, Vink, Jacco, Webb, Natalie, Chaoul, Laurence, Raulin, Desi, Simionescu, Aurora, Torrejon, Jose Miguel, Acero, Fabio, Branduardi-Raymont, Graziella, Ettori, Stefano, Finoguenov, Alexi, Grosso, Nicola, Kaastra, Jelle, Mazzotta, Pasquale, Miller, Jon, Miniutti, Giovanni, Nicastro, Fabrizio, Sciortino, Salvatore, Yamaguchi, Hiroya, Beaumont, Sophie, Cucchetti, Edoardo, D’Andrea, Matteo, Eckart, Megan, Ferrando, Philippe, Kammoun, Elia, Lotti, Simone, Mesnager, Jean-Michel, Natalucci, Lorenzo, Peille, Philippe, de Plaa, Jelle, Ardellier, Florence, Argan, Andrea, Bellouard, Elise, Carron, Jérôme, Cavazzuti, Elisabetta, Fiorini, Mauro, Khosropanah, Pourya, Martin, Sylvain, Perry, Jame, Pinsard, Frederic, Pradines, Alice, Rigano, Manuela, Roelfsema, Peter, Schwander, Deni, Torrioli, Guido, Ullom, Joel, Vera, Isabel, Villegas, Eduardo Medinaceli, Zuchniak, Monika, Brachet, Frank, Cicero, Ugo Lo, Doriese, William, Durkin, Malcom, Fioretti, Valentina, Geoffray, Hervé, Jacques, Lionel, Kirsch, Christian, Smith, Stephen, Adams, Joseph, Gloaguen, Emilie, Hoogeveen, Ruud, van der Hulst, Paul, Kiviranta, Mikko, van der Kuur, Jan, Ledot, Aurélien, van Leeuwen, Bert-Joost, van Loon, Denni, Lyautey, Bertrand, Parot, Yann, Sakai, Kazuhiro, van Weers, Henk, Abdoelkariem, Shariefa, Adam, Thoma, Adami, Christophe, Aicardi, Corinne, Akamatsu, Hiroki, Alonso, Pablo Eleazar Merino, Amato, Roberta, André, Jérôme, Angelinelli, Matteo, Anon-Cancela, Manuel, Anvar, Shebli, Atienza, Ricardo, Attard, Anthony, Auricchio, Natalia, Balado, Ana, Bancel, Florian, Barusso, Lorenzo Ferrari, Bascuñan, Arturo, Bernard, Vivian, Berrocal, Alicia, Blin, Sylvie, Bonino, Donata, Bonnet, Françoi, Bonny, Patrick, Boorman, Peter, Boreux, Charle, Bounab, Ayoub, Boutelier, Martin, Boyce, Kevin, Brienza, Daniele, Bruijn, Marcel, Bulgarelli, Andrea, Calarco, Simona, Callanan, Paul, Campello, Alberto Prada, Camus, Thierry, Canourgues, Florent, Capobianco, Vito, Cardiel, Nicola, Castellani, Florent, Cheatom, Oscar, Chervenak, Jame, Chiarello, Fabio, Clerc, Laurent, Clerc, Nicola, Cobo, Beatriz, Coeur-Joly, Odile, Coleiro, Alexi, Colonges, Stéphane, Corcione, Leonardo, Coriat, Mickael, Coynel, Alexandre, Cuttaia, Francesco, D’Ai, Antonino, D’anca, Fabio, Dadina, Mauro, Daniel, Christophe, Dauner, Lea, DeNigris, Natalie, Dercksen, Johanne, DiPirro, Michael, Doumayrou, Eric, Dubbeldam, Luc, Dupieux, Michel, Dupourqué, Simon, Durand, Jean Loui, Eckert, Dominique, Eiriz, Valvanera, Ercolani, Eric, Etcheverry, Christophe, Finkbeiner, Fred, Fiocchi, Mariateresa, Fossecave, Hervé, Franssen, Philippe, Frericks, Martin, Gabici, Stefano, Gant, Florent, Gao, Jian-Rong, Gastaldello, Fabio, Genolet, Ludovic, Ghizzardi, Simona, Gil, Ma Angeles Alcacera, Giovannini, Elisa, Godet, Olivier, Gomez-Elvira, Javier, Gonzalez, Raoul, Gonzalez, Manuel, Gottardi, Luciano, Granat, Dolorè, Gros, Michel, Guignard, Nicola, Hieltjes, Paul, Hurtado, Adolfo Jesú, Irwin, Kent, Jacquey, Christian, Janiuk, Agnieszka, Jaubert, Jean, Jiménez, Maria, Jolly, Antoine, Jourdan, Thierry, Julien, Sabine, Kedziora, Bartosz, Korb, Andrew, Kreykenbohm, Ingo, König, Ole, Langer, Mathieu, Laudet, Philippe, Laurent, Philippe, Laurenza, Monica, Lesrel, Jean, Ligori, Sebastiano, Lorenz, Maximilian, Luminari, Alfredo, Maffei, Bruno, Maisonnave, Océane, Marelli, Lorenzo, Massonet, Didier, Maussang, Irwin, Melchor, Alejandro Gonzalo, Le Mer, Isabelle, Millan, Francisco Javier San, Millerioux, Jean-Pierre, Mineo, Teresa, Minervini, Gabriele, Molin, Alexeï, Monestes, David, Montinaro, Nicola, Mot, Baptiste, Murat, David, Nagayoshi, Kenichiro, Nazé, Yaël, Noguès, Loïc, Pailot, Damien, Panessa, Francesca, Parodi, Luigi, Petit, Pascal, Piconcelli, Enrico, Pinto, Ciro, Plaza, Jose Miguel Encina, Plaza, Borja, Poyatos, David, Prouvé, Thoma, Ptak, Andy, Puccetti, Simonetta, Puccio, Elena, Ramon, Pascale, Reina, Manuel, Rioland, Guillaume, Rodriguez, Loui, Roig, Anton, Rollet, Bertrand, Roncarelli, Mauro, Roudil, Gille, Rudnicki, Tomasz, Sanisidro, Julien, Sciortino, Luisa, Silva, Vitor, Sordet, Michael, Soto-Aguilar, Javier, Spizzi, Pierre, Surace, Christian, Sánchez, Miguel Fernández, Taralli, Emanuele, Terrasa, Guilhem, Terrier, Régi, Todaro, Michela, Ubertini, Pietro, Uslenghi, Michela, de Vaate, Jan Geralt Bij, Vaccaro, Davide, Varisco, Salvatore, Varnière, Peggy, Vibert, Laurent, Vidriales, María, Villa, Fabrizio, Vodopivec, Boris Martin, Volpe, Angela, de Vries, Cor, Wakeham, Nichola, Walmsley, Gavin, Wise, Michael, de Wit, Martin, Woźniak, Grzegorz, Universidad de Alicante. Departamento de Física, Ingeniería de Sistemas y Teoría de la Señal, Universidad de Alicante. Instituto Universitario de Física Aplicada a las Ciencias y las Tecnologías, Astronomía y Astrofísica, Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI), Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN), Centre National D'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), European Space Agency (ESA), Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON), Department of Physics [Helsinki], Falculty of Science [Helsinki], Helsingin yliopisto = Helsingfors universitet = University of Helsinki-Helsingin yliopisto = Helsingfors universitet = University of Helsinki, Institut d'Astrophysique et de Géophysique [Liège], Université de Liège, Centrum Astronomiczne im. M. Kopernika, Warszawa (CAMK), Faculty of Civil Engineering [Prague] (FSV CTU), Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU), Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory (CAL), Columbia University [New York], NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), AstroParticule et Cosmologie (APC (UMR_7164)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), Institut d'astrophysique spatiale (IAS), and Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES)
Subjects: X-IFU: The X-ray Integral Field Unit, Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO), The X-ray Integral Field Unit [X-IFU], Solar and stellar astrophysics, FOS: Physical sciences, [PHYS.ASTR.CO]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO], Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia E Astrofisica, X-rays, SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR), High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), Astrophysics of Galaxies, Athena: the advanced telescope for high energy astrophysics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Astrophysical phenomena, Space instrumentation, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, High energy, Space and Planetary Science, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), [PHYS.GRQC]Physics [physics]/General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology [gr-qc], the advanced telescope for high energy astrophysics [Athena], Athena: the advanced telescope for high energy astrophysics · X-IFU: The X-ray Integral Field Unit · Space instrumentation · X-rays · Observatory, Observatory, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production, Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Abstract: The Athena X-ray Integral Unit (X-IFU) is the high resolution X-ray spectrometer, studied since 2015 for flying in the mid-30s on the Athena space X-ray Observatory, a versatile observatory designed to address the Hot and Energetic Universe science theme, selected in November 2013 by the Survey Science Committee. Based on a large format array of Transition Edge Sensors (TES), it aims to provide spatially resolved X-ray spectroscopy, with a spectral resolution of 2.5 eV (up to 7 keV) over an hexagonal field of view of 5 arc minutes (equivalent diameter). The X-IFU entered its System Requirement Review (SRR) in June 2022, at about the same time when ESA called for an overall X-IFU redesign (including the X-IFU cryostat and the cooling chain), due to an unanticipated cost overrun of Athena. In this paper, after illustrating the breakthrough capabilities of the X-IFU, we describe the instrument as presented at its SRR, browsing through all the subsystems and associated requirements. We then show the instrument budgets, with a particular emphasis on the anticipated budgets of some of its key performance parameters. Finally we briefly discuss on the ongoing key technology demonstration activities, the calibration and the activities foreseen in the X-IFU Instrument Science Center, and touch on communication and outreach activities, the consortium organisation, and finally on the life cycle assessment of X-IFU aiming at minimising the environmental footprint, associated with the development of the instrument. Thanks to the studies conducted so far on X-IFU, it is expected that along the design-to-cost exercise requested by ESA, the X-IFU will maintain flagship capabilities in spatially resolved high resolution X-ray spectroscopy, enabling most of the original X-IFU related scientific objectives of the Athena mission to be retained. (abridged)., Comment: 48 pages, 29 figures, Accepted for publication in Experimental Astronomy with minor editing
Published: 2023
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5. Filters design and characterization for LAD instrument onboard eXTP

Author: Ugo Lo Cicero, Marco Barbera, Nicola Montinaro, Fabio D’Anca, Michela Todaro, Elena Puccio, Luisa Sciortino, Filippo Ambrosino, Riccardo Campana, Tianxiang Chen, Yong Chen, Yuri Evangelista, Marco Feroci, Na Gao, Fangjun Lu, Yupeng Xu, Levent Cibik, Michael Krumrey, Lo Cicero, Ugo, Barbera, Marco, Montinaro, Nicola, D’Anca, Fabio, Todaro, Michela, Puccio, Elena, Sciortino, Luisa, Ambrosino, Filippo, Campana, Riccardo, Chen, Tianxiang, Chen, Yong, Evangelista, Yuri, Feroci, Marco, Gao, Na, Lu, Fangjun, Xu, Yupeng, Cibik, Levent, and Krumrey, Michael
Subjects: exTP, LAD, X-ray, filters, thin membrane, Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia E Astrofisica
Abstract: Copyright 2022 Society of Photo‑Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this publication for a fee or for commercial purposes, and modification of the contents of the publication are prohibited. The LAD (Large Area Detector) instrument, onboard the Sino-European mission eXTP (enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry), will perform single-photon, high-resolution timing and energy measurements, in the energy range 2–30 keV, with a large collecting area. Its silicon drift detectors need shielding from NIR/Vis/UV light by astrophysical sources and the bright Earth, to avoid performance degradation. Filters made of an Al coated thin polyimide (PI) membrane will guarantee the needed out-of-band rejection while offering high X-ray transparency. They will be placed between the detectors and the capillary plate plate collimators, open to the external environment. The mission is now in phase B2 and a baseline design for the filters was produced. We describe the filter design and modeling activity, and report the characterization performed so far on X-ray transmission, pinhole and defects, thermo-vacuum cycling endurance, and bright Earth optical load shielding properties.
Published: 2022

6. Carbon nanotubes thin filters for x-ray detectors in space

Author: Marco Barbera, Ugo Lo Cicero, Luisa Sciortino, Michela Todaro, Elena Puccio, Fabio D'Anca, Nicola Montinaro, Salvatore Varisco, Pekka Törmä, Lauri Riuttanen, Ilkka Varjos, Bjorn Mikladal, Elena Magnano, Igor Pis, Christian Gollwitzer, Evelyn Handick, Michael Krumrey, Christian Laubis, den Herder, Jan-Willem A., Barbera, Marco, Lo Cicero, Ugo, Sciortino, Luisa, Todaro, Michela, Puccio, Elena, D'Anca, Fabio, Montinaro, Nicola, Varisco, Salvatore, Törmä, Pekka, Riuttanen, Lauri, Varjos, Ilkka, Mikladal, Bjorn, Magnano, Elena, Pis, Igor, Gollwitzer, Christian, Handick, Evelyn, Krumrey, Michael, and Laubis, Christian
Subjects: Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia E Astrofisica, X-ray detectors for astrophysics, optical blocking filters, CNT, synchrotron, absorption spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, mechanical tests
Abstract: In this paper, we present the first results from an investigation performed on nanometric thin pellicles based on carbon nanotubes (CNT) of potential interest for manufacturing large area optical blocking filters to protect soft X-ray detectors in astrophysics space missions. In order to evaluate the effective capability of such materials to block UV/VIS/IR radiation, while being highly transparent in the soft X-rays and strong enough to withstand the severe launch stresses, we have performed a suite of characterization measurements. These include: UV/VIS/IR and X-ray absorption spectroscopy, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy on bare and Al coated small self-standing pellicles; static mechanical tests on small freestanding samples.
Published: 2022
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7. The Space Weather X-Ray spectrometer for the Helianthus sub-L1 mission with solar photonic propulsion

Author: Vladimiro Noce, Salvatore Varisco, Federico Landini, Herve Haudemand, Roberto Candia, Marco Barbera, Ugo Lo Cicero, Fabio Frassetto, Luca Zangrilli, Valeria Caracci, Davide Loreggia, Alfonso Collura, Silvano Fineschi, Rocco Pellegrini, Enrico Cavallini, Marco Pizzarelli, Christian Circi, den Herder, Jan-Willem A., Noce, Vladimiro, Varisco, Salvatore, Landini, Federico, Haudemand, Herve, Candia, Roberto, Barbera, Marco, Lo Cicero, Ugo, Frassetto, Fabio, Zangrilli, Luca, Caracci, Valeria, Loreggia, Davide, Collura, Alfonso, Fineschi, Silvano, Pellegrini, Rocco, Cavallini, Enrico, Pizzarelli, Marco, and Circi, Christian
Subjects: Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia E Astrofisica, Solar Flares, Space Weather, X-Ray Solar Corona, X-Ray sources, X-Ray facilities, X-Ray filters
Abstract: Copyright 2022 Society of Photo‑Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this publication for a fee or for commercial purposes, and modification of the contents of the publication are prohibited. Helianthus is a phase A study of a space weather station with solar photonic propulsion. The scientific payload will be made of: an X-ray spectrometer to detect solar flares; SailCor, a coronagraph with a wide field of view; a plasma analyzer; a magnetometer. The maximum allowed mass for the entire scientific payload shall not exceed 5 kg. The two imaging devices (coronagraph and X-ray spectrometer) are of fundamental importance for the sake of remotely and timely mapping the status of the Sun and provide Earth stations with early warning of potentially disruptive events. An extensive research on available X-Ray detectors was performed and the Amptek FAST-SDD spectrometer was selected. It is a very light, compact and vacuum compatible instrument. In order to prove the device readiness for flight, a measurement campaign was organized to investigate its performance in terms of spectral range, spectral resolution, dynamic range and response speed. The campaign was run at the INAF XACT facility in Palermo (Italy). This paper describes the facility, the measurement campaign and the results.
Published: 2022

8. The Large Area Detector onboard the eXTP mission

Author: Marco Feroci, Giovanni Ambrosi, Filippo Ambrosino, Matias Antonelli, Andrea Argan, Viktor Babinec, Marco Barbera, Jörg Bayer, Pierluigi Bellutti, Bruna Bertucci, Giuseppe Bertuccio, Xingzi Bi, Mirko Boezio, Walter Bonvicini, Giacomo Borghi, Enrico Bozzo, David Baudin, Florent Bouyjou, Daniele Brienza, Franck Cadoux, Riccardo Campana, Jiewei Cao, Elisabetta Cavazzuti, Francesco Ceraudo, Tianxiang Chen, Wen Chen, Daniela Cirrincione, Nicolas De Angelis, Alessandra De Rosa, Ettore Del Monte, Sergio Di Cosimo, Giuseppe Dilillo, Roman Dohnal, Immacolata Donnarumma, Yuri Evangelista, Qingmei Fan, Yannick Favre, Emanuele Fiandrini, Francesco Ficorella, Fabio Fuschino, Na Gao, Olivier Gevin, Marco Grassi, Manuel Guedel, Xingbo Han, Huilin He, Paul Hedderman, jan-willem den herder, Richard Hynek, Bing Hong, Ge Jin, Merlin Kole, Vladimír Karas, Martin Komarek, Claudio Labanti, Loghui Li, Tianming Li, Hong Liang, Olivier Limousin, Rui Liu, Ugo Lo Cicero, Jens Lohering, Giovanni Lombardi, Fang-Jun Lu, Tao Luo, Piero Malcovati, Hanqi Mao, Andrea Marinucci, Filippo Mele, Vasco Mendes, Martin Merkl, Aline Meuris, Małgorzata Michalska, Alfredo Morbidini, Gianluca Morgante, Fabio Muleri, Riccardo Munini, Lorenzo Mussolin, Barbara Negri, Petr Novak, Witold Nowosielski, Alessio Nuti, Piotr Orleanski, Roland Ottensamer, Luigi Pacciani, Stephane Paltani, Teng Pan, Giancarlo Pepponi, Emanuele Perinati, Raffaele Piazzolla, Antonino Picciotto, Samuel Pliego, Alexandre Rachevski, Irina Rashevskaia, Andrea Santangelo, Roberto Serafinelli, Stéphane Schanne, Konrad Skup, Libor Sveda, Jiri Svoboda, Christopher Tenzer, Michela Todaro, Gabreil Torok, Alessio Trois, Andrea Vacchi, Enrico Virgilli, Hao Xiong, Jian Wang, Xianqi Wang, Berend Winter, Xin Wu, Yupeng Xu, Gianluigi Zampa, Nicola Zampa, Andrei Zdziarski, Long Zhang, Shu Zhang, Shuang-Nan Zhang, Wenda Zhang, Xiaoli Zhang, Zhen Zhang, Yupeng Zhou, Nicola Zorzi, den Herder, Jan-Willem A., Feroci, Marco, Ambrosi, Giovanni, Ambrosino, Filippo, Antonelli, Matia, Argan, Andrea, Babinec, Viktor, Barbera, Marco, Bayer, Jörg, Bellutti, Pierluigi, Bertucci, Bruna, Bertuccio, Giuseppe, Bi, Xingzi, Boezio, Mirko, Bonvicini, Walter, Borghi, Giacomo, Bozzo, Enrico, Baudin, David, Bouyjou, Florent, Brienza, Daniele, Cadoux, Franck, Campana, Riccardo, Cao, Jiewei, Cavazzuti, Elisabetta, Ceraudo, Francesco, Chen, Tianxiang, Chen, Wen, Cirrincione, Daniela, De Angelis, Nicola, De Rosa, Alessandra, Del Monte, Ettore, Di Cosimo, Sergio, Dilillo, Giuseppe, Dohnal, Roman, Donnarumma, Immacolata, Evangelista, Yuri, Fan, Qingmei, Favre, Yannick, Fiandrini, Emanuele, Ficorella, Francesco, Fuschino, Fabio, Gao, Na, Gevin, Olivier, Grassi, Marco, Guedel, Manuel, Han, Xingbo, He, Huilin, Hedderman, Paul, den herder, jan-willem, Hynek, Richard, Hong, Bing, Jin, Ge, Kole, Merlin, Karas, Vladimír, Komarek, Martin, Labanti, Claudio, Li, Loghui, Li, Tianming, Liang, Hong, Limousin, Olivier, Liu, Rui, Lo Cicero, Ugo, Lohering, Jen, Lombardi, Giovanni, Lu, Fang-Jun, Luo, Tao, Malcovati, Piero, Mao, Hanqi, Marinucci, Andrea, Mele, Filippo, Mendes, Vasco, Merkl, Martin, Meuris, Aline, Michalska, Małgorzata, Morbidini, Alfredo, Morgante, Gianluca, Muleri, Fabio, Munini, Riccardo, Mussolin, Lorenzo, Negri, Barbara, Novak, Petr, Nowosielski, Witold, Nuti, Alessio, Orleanski, Piotr, Ottensamer, Roland, Pacciani, Luigi, Paltani, Stephane, Pan, Teng, Pepponi, Giancarlo, Perinati, Emanuele, Piazzolla, Raffaele, Picciotto, Antonino, Pliego, Samuel, Rachevski, Alexandre, Rashevskaia, Irina, Santangelo, Andrea, Serafinelli, Roberto, Schanne, Stéphane, Skup, Konrad, Sveda, Libor, Svoboda, Jiri, Tenzer, Christopher, Todaro, Michela, Torok, Gabreil, Trois, Alessio, Vacchi, Andrea, Virgilli, Enrico, Xiong, Hao, Wang, Jian, Wang, Xianqi, Winter, Berend, Wu, Xin, Xu, Yupeng, Zampa, Gianluigi, Zampa, Nicola, Zdziarski, Andrei, Zhang, Long, Zhang, Shu, Zhang, Shuang-Nan, Zhang, Wenda, Zhang, Xiaoli, Zhang, Zhen, Zhou, Yupeng, and Zorzi, Nicola
Subjects: Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia E Astrofisica, EXTP, LAD, Silicon Drift Detector, X-ray timing
Abstract: The Large Area Detector (LAD) is the high-throughput, spectral-timing instrument onboard the eXTP mission, a flagship mission of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the China National Space Administration, with a large European participation coordinated by Italy and Spain. The eXTP mission is currently performing its phase B study, with a target launch at the end-2027. The eXTP scientific payload includes four instruments (SFA, PFA, LAD and WFM) offering unprecedented simultaneous wide-band X-ray timing and polarimetry sensitivity. The LAD instrument is based on the design originally proposed for the LOFT mission. It envisages a deployed 3.2 m2 effective area in the 2-30 keV energy range, achieved through the technology of the large-area Silicon Drift Detectors - offering a spectral resolution of up to 200 eV FWHM at 6 keV - and of capillary plate collimators - limiting the field of view to about 1 degree. In this paper we will provide an overview of the LAD instrument design, its current status of development and anticipated performance.
Published: 2022

9. Deformation analysis of ATHENA test filters made of plastic thin films supported by a mesh under differential static pressure

Author: Elena Puccio, Daniele Gulli, Fabio D'Anca, Salvatore Ferruggia Bonura, Ugo Lo Cicero, Paolo Giglio, Marco Barbera, Nicola Montinaro, Nicola Montinaro, Fabio D'anca, Ugo Lo Cicero, Salvatore Ferruggia Bonura, Daniele Gulli, Elena Puccio, Paolo Giglio, and Marco Barbera
Subjects: Materials science, Optical Profilometry, Stress Analysis, FEA, XRay, ATHENA, X-IFU, Numerical analysis, Detector, Mechanical engineering, Static pressure, Deformation (meteorology), 01 natural sciences, Finite element method, 010309 optics, Settore ING-IND/14 - Progettazione Meccanica E Costruzione Di Macchine, Filter (large eddy simulation), Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia E Astrofisica, Cardinal point, 0103 physical sciences, Thin film, 010306 general physics
Abstract: Within ESA Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 Science Program, ATHENA was selected to be a Large-class high energy astrophysics space mission. The observatory will be equipped with two interchangeable focal plane detectors named X-Ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) and Wide Field Imager (WFI). In order to optimally exploit the detector sensitivity, X-ray transparent filters are required. Such filters need to be extremely thin to maximize the X-ray transparency, that is, no more than a few tens of nm, still they must be able to sustain the severe stresses experienced during launch. Partially representative test filters were made with a thin polypropylene film, coated with Ti, and supported by a thin highly transparent mesh either in stainless steel or niobium. Differential static pressure experiments were carried out on two filter samples. In addition, the roles of the mesh on the mechanical deformation is studied, adopting a finite element model (FEM). The numerical analysis is compared with experimental results and found in good agreement. The FEM is a promising tool that allows to characterize materials and thicknesses in order to optimize the design.
Published: 2019
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10. The HERMES-Technologic and Scientific Pathfinder

Author: Fabrizio Fiore, Luciano Burderi, Michelle Lavagna, Roberto Bertacin, Yuri Evangelista, Riccardo Campana, Fabio Fuschino, Paolo Lunghi, Angel Monge, Barbara Negri, Simone Pirrotta, Simonetta Puccetti, Andrea Sanna, Fabrizio Amarilli, Filippo Ambrosino, Giovanni Amelino-Camelia, Alessio Anitra, Natalia Auricchio, Marco Barbera, Michele Bechini, Pierluigi Bellutti, Giuseppe Bertuccio, Jiewei Cao, Francesco Ceraudo, Tianxiang Chen, Marco Cinelli, Marco Citossi, Aurora Clerici, Andrea Colagrossi, Serena Curzel, Giovanni Della Casa, Evgeny Demenev, Melania Del Santo, Giuseppe Dilillo, Tiziana Di Salvo, Pavel Efremov, Marco Feroci, Chiara Feruglio, Fabrizio Ferrandi, Mauro Fiorini, Michele Fiorito, Filippo Frontera, Dejan Gacnik, Gabor Galgoczi, Na Gao, Angelo Francesco Gambino, Massimo Gandola, Giancarlo Ghirlanda, Andreja Gomboc, Marco Grassi, Alejandro Guzman, Mile Karlica, Uros Kostic, Claudio Labanti, Giovanni La Rosa, Ugo Lo Cicero, Borja Lopez-Fernandez, Piero Malcovati, Alessandro Maselli, Arianna Manca, Filippo Mele, Dorottya Milankovich, Gianluca Morgante, Lara Nava, Paolo Nogara, Masanori Ohno, Daniele Ottolina, Andrea Pasquale, Andras Pal, Matteo Perri, Raffaele Piazzolla, Margherita Piccinin, Samuel Pliego-Caballero, Jacopo Prinetto, Giuseppe Pucacco, Alexander Rashevsky, Irina Rashevskaya, Alessandro Riggio, Jakub Ripa, Francesco Russo, Alessandro Papitto, Silvia Piranomonte, Andrea Santangelo, Francesca Scala, Giulia Sciarrone, David Selcan, Stefano Silvestrini, Giuseppe Sottile, Tomaz Rotovnik, Christoph Tenzer, Ivan Troisi, Andrea Vacchi, Enrico Virgilli, Norbert Werner, lingjun Wang, Yupeng Xu, Gianluigi Zampa, Nicola Zampa, Giovanni Zanotti, ITA, DEU, ESP, CZE, CHN, SVN, HUN, Fiore F., Burderi L., Lavagna M., Bertacin R., Evangelista Y., Campana R., Fuschino F., Lunghi P., Monge A., Negri B., Pirrotta S., Puccetti S., Sanna A., Amarilli F., Ambrosino F., Amelino-Camelia G., Anitra A., Auricchio N., Barbera M., Bechini M., Bellutti P., Bertuccio G., Cao J., Ceraudo F., Chen T., Cinelli M., Citossi M., Clerici A., Colagrossi A., Curzel S., della Casa G., Demenev E., Del Santo M., Dilillo G., Di Salvo T., Efremov P., Feroci M., Feruglio C., Ferrandi F., Fiorini M., Fiorito M., Frontera F., Gacnik D., Galgoczi G., Gao N., Gambino A.F., Gandola M., Ghirlanda G., Gomboc A., Grassi M., Guzman A., Karlica M., Kostic U., Labanti C., la Rosa G., Lo Cicero U., Lopez Fernandez B., Malcovati P., Maselli A., Manca A., Mele F., Milankovich D., Morgante G., Nava L., Nogara P., Ohno M., Ottolina D., Pasquale A., Pal A., Perri M., Piazzolla R., Piccinin M., Pliego-Caballero S., Prinetto J., Pucacco G., Rachevski A., Rashevskaya I., Riggio A., Ripa J., Russo F., Papitto A., Piranomonte S., Santangelo A., Scala F., Sciarrone G., Selcan D., Silvestrini S., Sottile G., Rotovnik T., Tenzer C., Troisi I., Vacchi A., Virgilli E., Werner N., Wang L., Xu Y., Zampa G., Zampa N., and Zanotti G.
Subjects: CubeSats, media_common.quotation_subject, Gamma Ray Bursts, Nano-satellites, X-rays, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, 7. Clean energy, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods, Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia E Astrofisica, 0103 physical sciences, media_common.cataloged_instance, European union, Aerospace engineering, 010306 general physics, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), media_common, Constellation, Physics, High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), COSMIC cancer database, business.industry, Gravitational wave, Modular design, Pathfinder, Sky, Temporal resolution, business, Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Abstract: HERMES-TP/SP (High Energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of Satellites Technologic and Scientific Pathfinder) is a constellation of six 3U nano-satellites hosting simple but innovative X-ray detectors, characterized by a large energy band and excellent temporal resolution, and thus optimized for the monitoring of Cosmic High Energy transients such as Gamma Ray Bursts and the electromagnetic counterparts of Gravitational Wave Events, and for the determination of their positions. The projects are funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research and by the Italian Space Agency, and by the European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under Grant Agreement No. 821896. HERMES-TP/SP is an in-orbit demonstration, that should be tested starting from 2022. It is intrinsically a modular experiment that can be naturally expanded to provide a global, sensitive all sky monitor for high-energy transients., Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, Proceedings of SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation 2020
Published: 2021
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11. Timing techniques applied to distributed modular high-energy astronomy: the H.E.R.M.E.S. project

Author: Andrea Sanna, Luciano Burderi, Tiziana Di Salvo, Fabrizio Fiore, Alessandro Riggio, Angelo Gambino, Michèle Lavagna, Roberto Bertacin, Yuri Evangelista, Riccardo Campana, Fabio Fuschino, Paolo Lunghi, Ángel Monge, Barbara Negri, Simone Pirrotta, Simonetta Puccetti, Fabrizio Amarilli, Filippo Ambrosino, Giavanni Amelino-Camelia, Alessio Anitra, Marco Barbera, Michele Bechini, Paolo Bellutti, Giuseppe Bertuccio, Jiewei Cao, Francesco Ceraudo, Tianxiang Chen, Matteo Cinelli, Marco Citossi, Aurora Clerici, Andrea Colagrossi, Serena Curzel, Giovanni Della Casa, Evgeny Demenev, Melania Del Santo, Giuseppe Dilillo, Pavel Efremov, Marco Feroci, Chiara Feruglio, Fabrizio Ferrandi, Mauro Fiorini, Michele Fiorito, Dejan Gacnik, Gabor Galgoczi, Na Gao, Massimo Gandola, Giancarlo Ghirlanda, Andreja Gamboc, Marco Grassi, Cristiano Guidorzi, Alejandro Guzman, Rosario Iaria, Mile Karlica, Uros Kostic, Claudio Labanti, Giovanni La Rosa, Ugo Lo Cicero, Borja Loper Fernandez, Piero Malcovati, Alessandro Maselli, Arianna Manca, Filippo Mele, Dorottya Milankovich, Gianluca Morgante, Lara Nava, Paolo Nogara, Masanori Ohno, Daniele Ottolina, Andrea Pasquale, Andras Pal, Matteo Perri, Margherita Piccinin, Raffaele Piazzolla, Samuel Pliego-Caballero, Jacopo Prinetto, Giuseppe Pucacco, Irina Rashevskaya, Alexander Rashevsky, Jakub Ripa, Francesco Russo, Alessandro Papitto, Silvia Piranamonte, Andrea Santangelo, Francesca Scala, Giulia Sciarrone, David Selcan, Stefano Silvestrini, Giuseppe Sottile, Tomaz Rotovnik, Christoph Tenzer, Ivan Troisi, Andrea Vacchi, Enrico Virgili, Norbert Werner, Lingjun Wang, Yupeng Xu, Gianluigi Zampa, Nicola Zampa, Giovanni Zanotti, den Herder, J-W A, Nikzad, S, Nakazawa, K, Sanna A., Gambino A.F., Burderi L., Riggio A., Di Salvo T., Fiore F., Lavagna M., Bertacin R., Evangelista Y., Campana R., Fuschino F., Lunghi P., Monge A., Negri B., Pirrotta S., Puccetti S., Amarilli F., Ambrosino F., Amelino-Camelia G., Anitra A., Barbera M., Bechini M., Bellutti P., Bertuccio G., Cao J., Ceraudo F., Chen T., Cinelli M., Citossi M., Clerici A., Colagrossi A., Curzel S., della Casa G., Demenev E., Del Santo M., Dilillo G., Efremov P., Feroci M., Feruglio C., Ferrandi F., Fiorini M., Fiorito M., Gacnik D., Galgoczi G., Gao N., Gandola M., Ghirlanda G., Gomboc A., Grassi M., Guidorzi C., Guzman A., Iaria R., Karlica M., Kostic U., Labanti C., la Rosa G., Lo Cicero U., Lopez Fernandez B., Malcovati P., Maselli A., Manca A., Mele F., Milankovich D., Morgante G., Nava L., Nogara P., Ohno M., Ottolina D., Pasquale A., Pal A., Perri M., Piccinin M., Piazzolla R., Pliego-Caballero S., Prinetto J., Pucacco G., Rashevskaya I., Rashevski A., Ripa J., Russo F., Papitto A., Piranomonte S., Santangelo A., Scala F., Sciarrone G., Selcan D., Silvestrini S., Sottile G., Rotovnik T., Tenzer C., Troisi I., Vacchi A., Virgilli E., Werner N., Wang L., Xu Y., Zampa G., Zampa N., Zanotti G., ITA, DEU, ESP, CZE, CHN, SVN, and HUN
Subjects: CubeSats, High energy, High-energy astronomy, Real-time computing, FOS: Physical sciences, 01 natural sciences, 7. Clean energy, 010309 optics, X-rays, 0103 physical sciences, Nano-satellites, Temporal triangulation, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Constellation, High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), Physics, business.industry, Detector, Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Modular design, Pathfinder, Temporal resolution, Gamma Ray Bursts, Transient (oscillation), Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, business
Abstract: The HERMES-TP/SP (High Energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of Satellites -- Technologic and Scientific Pathfinder) is an in-orbit demonstration of the so-called distributed astronomy concept. Conceived as a mini-constellation of six 3U nano-satellites hosting a new miniaturized detector, HERMES-TP/SP aims at the detection and accurate localisation of bright high-energy transients such as Gamma-Ray Bursts. The large energy band, the excellent temporal resolution and the wide field of view that characterize the detectors of the constellation represent the key features for the next generation high-energy all-sky monitor with good localisation capabilities that will play a pivotal role in the future of Multi-messenger Astronomy. In this work, we will describe in detail the temporal techniques that allow the localisation of bright transient events taking advantage of their almost simultaneous observation by spatially spaced detectors. Moreover, we will quantitatively discuss the all-sky monitor capabilities of the HERMES Pathfinder as well as its achievable accuracies on the localisation of the detected Gamma-Ray Bursts., 19 pages, 13 figures, Proceedings of SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation 2020
Published: 2020
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12. Optical thermal filters for eXTP: manufacturing and characterization

Author: Marco Feroci, Ugo Lo Cicero, Fangjun Lu, Jiewei Cao, Tianxiang Chen, Marco Barbera, Yong Chen, Yupeng Xu, Na Gao, Xiongwei Xu, Jan-Willem A. den Herder, Shouleh Nikzad, Kazuhiro Nakazawa, Chen T., Gao N., Chen Y., Xu Y., Lu F., Cao J., Xu X., Lo Cicero U., Barbera M., and Feroci M.
Subjects: Materials science, business.industry, Infrared, Detector, Filter (signal processing), Acoustic test, medicine.disease_cause, Vibration, Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia E Astrofisica, Burst pressure, Transparent property, Transmission (telecommunications), Vibration test, Thermal, Optical thermal filter, medicine, Optoelectronics, business, Ultraviolet, Polyimide
Abstract: In order to ensure the effective detection of X-ray astronomical detectors by blocking ultraviolet, visible and infrared light, adding optical thermal filter in front of the load is an effective method. According to the scientific requirements of eXTP, optical thermal filters with aluminized polyimide (PI) film structure had been designed and tested in this paper, the results of mechanical tests including burst pressure, vibration and acoustic tests, also the transparent properties of optics in UV, Vis and IR lights are presented. The mechanical test results show that the filters for LAD and SFA can't pass the acoustic tests, causing the thickness of PI should be increased or a nickel mesh structure should be added. Furthermore, the transmission test results indicate that a single-sided Al deposited structure is more suitable than a double-sided one.
Published: 2020
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13. A Temperature-Dependent X-Ray Absorption Characterization of Test Filters for the ATHENA Mission X-IFU Instrument

Author: Salvatore Ferruggia Bonura, Elena Magnano, Konstantin Koshmak, Stefano Nannarone, Ugo Lo Cicero, Luisa Sciortino, Marco Barbera, Sciortino, Luisa, Lo Cicero, Ugo, Ferruggia Bonura, Salvatore, Magnano, Elena, Nannarone, Stefano, Koshmak, Konstantin, and Barbera, Marco
Subjects: Cryostat, Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optic, Materials science, Infrared, Thermal filter, 02 engineering and technology, 01 natural sciences, Optics, 0103 physical sciences, Thermal, Transmittance, General Materials Science, 010306 general physics, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), X-IFU, business.industry, Detector, 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology, Condensed Matter Physics, Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics, ATHENA, K-edge, Filter (video), Materials Science (all), 0210 nano-technology, business
Abstract: In order to work properly, the X-ray Integral Field Unit of the ATHENA mission requires a set of thermal filters that block the infrared radiation, preventing it to reach the detector. Each filter will be mounted and thermally anchored onto a shield of the multistage cryostat and will be kept at the specific temperature of the stage. On the other hand, the filters partially absorb X-rays, and their transmittance has to be carefully characterized. The effect of temperature on the absorption edges of the elements that make up the filters has not been investigated yet. Here, we report the results of a preliminary run on the optical transmission data around the edges of C, N, and O at different temperatures for a selected test sample with 500 nm of polyimide and 100 nm of aluminum. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
Published: 2018
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14. Synchrotron x-ray transmission measurements and modeling of filters investigated for Athena

Author: Elena Puccio, Michela Todaro, Marco Barbera, Angelo Giglia, Luisa Sciortino, P. Laurent, Stefano Nannarone, Ugo Lo Cicero, P. Ferrando, Astrophysique Interprétation Modélisation (AIM (UMR_7158 / UMR_E_9005 / UM_112)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), Puccio E., Todaro M., Lo Cicero U., Sciortino L., Laurent P., Ferrando P., Giglia A., Nannarone S., and Barbera M.
Subjects: synchrotron radiation, Computer science, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Mechanical Engineering, Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Synchrotron radiation, telescopes, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials, law.invention, Telescope, Filter design, Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia E Astrofisica, Transmission (telecommunications), Space and Planetary Science, Control and Systems Engineering, law, Filter (video), [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics], Calibration, Optical filter, Instrumentation, Digital filter, astrophysics space mission Athena, optical and thermal filters, Wide Field Imager, X-ray Integral Field Unit, x-ray transmission, Remote sensing
Abstract: International audience; Advanced Telescope for High-Energy Astrophysics is a large-class astrophysics space mission selected by the European Space Agency to study the theme "Hot and Energetic Universe." The mission essentially consists of a large effective area x-ray telescope and two detectors: the X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) and the Wide Field Imager (WFI). Both instruments require filters to shield from out-of-band radiation while providing high transparency to x-rays. The mission is presently in phase B; thus, to consolidate the preliminary design, investigated filter materials need to be properly characterized by experimental test campaigns. We report results from high-resolution x-ray transmission measurements performed using different synchrotron radiation beamlines to assess the filter calibration accuracy and mitigate the risk related to selecting a unique calibration facility. The main goals of these test campaigns are (i) to verify the compliance of the investigated filter design to the scientific requirements, (ii) to develop an accurate x-ray transmission model, and (iii) to start identifying suitable measurement facilities and achievable accuracy for the flight filters calibration program. In particular, the x-ray transmission model of the X-IFU and WFI filters has been refined within the edges of Al, C, N, and O by deriving the optical constants from two reference samples measured by synchrotron light. The achievable filter calibration accuracy has been estimated by evaluating the agreement between the best-fit according to the developed transmission model and the experimental data.
Published: 2020
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15. The scientific payload on-board the HERMES-TP and HERMES-SP CubeSat missions

Author: Yuri Evangelista, Fabrizio Fiore, Fabio Fuschino, Riccardo Campana, Francesco Ceraudo, Evgeny Demenev, Alejandro Guzman, Claudio Labanti, Giovanni La Rosa, Mauro Fiorini, Massimo Gandola, Marco Grassi, Filippo Mele, Gianluca Morgante, Paolo Nogara, Raffaele Piazzolla, Samuel Pliego Caballero, Irina Rashevskaya, Francesco Russo, Giulia Sciarrone, Giuseppe Sottile, Dorottya Milankovich, András Pál, Filippo Ambrosino, Natalia Auricchio, Marco Barbera, Pierluigi Bellutti, Giuseppe Bertuccio, Giacomo Borghi, Jiewei Cao, Tianxiang Chen, Giuseppe Dilillo, Marco Feroci, Francesco Ficorella, Ugo Lo Cicero, Piero Malcovati, Alfredo Morbidini, Giovanni Pauletta, Antonino Picciotto, Alexandre Rachevski, Andrea Santangelo, Chistoph Tenzer, Andrea Vacchi, Lingjun Wang, Yupeng Xu, Gianluigi Zampa, Nicola Zampa, Nicola Zorzi, Luciano Burderi, Michèle Lavagna, Roberto Bertacin, Paolo Lunghi, Angel Monge, Barbara Negri, Simone Pirrotta, Simonetta Puccetti, Andrea Sanna, Fabrizio Amarilli, Giovanni Amelino-Camelia, Michele Bechini, Marco Citossi, Andrea Colagrossi, Serena Curzel, Giovanni Della Casa, Marco Cinelli, Melania Del Santo, Tiziana Di Salvo, Chiara Feruglio, Fabrizio Ferrandi, Michele Fiorito, Dejan Gacnik, Gabor Galgóczi, Angelo Francesco Gambino, Giancarlo Ghirlanda, Andreja Gomboc, Mile Karlica, Pavel Efremov, Uros Kostic, Aurora Clerici, Borja Lopez Fernandez, Alessandro Maselli, Lara Nava, Masanori Ohno, Daniele Ottolina, Andrea Pasquale, Matteo Perri, Margherita Piccinin, Jacopo Prinetto, Alessandro Riggio, Jakub Ripa, Alessandro Papitto, Silvia Piranomonte, Francesca Scala, David Selcan, Stefano Silvestrini, Tomaz Rotovnik, Enrico Virgilli, Ivan Troisi, Norbert Werner, Giovanni Zanotti, Alessio Anitra, Arianna Manca, Jan-Willem A. den Herder, Shouleh Nikzad, Kazuhiro Nakazawa, Evangelista Y., Fiore F., Fuschino F., Campana R., Ceraudo F., Demenev E., Guzman A., Labanti C., la Rosa G., Fiorini M., Gandola M., Grassi M., Mele F., Milankovich D., Morgante G., Nogara P., Pal A., Piazzolla R., Pliego Caballero S., Rashevskaya I., Russo F., Sciarrone G., Sottile G., Ambrosino F., Auricchio N., Barbera M., Bellutti P., Bertuccio G., Borghi G., Cao J., Chen T., Dilillo G., Feroci M., Ficorella F., Lo Cicero U., Malcovati P., Morbidini A., Pauletta G., Picciotto A., Rachevski A., Santangelo A., Tenzer C., Vacchi A., Wang L., Xu Y., Zampa G., Zampa N., Zorzi N., Burderi L., Lavagna M., Bertacin R., Lunghi P., Monge A., Negri B., Pirrotta S., Puccetti S., Sanna A., Amarilli F., Amelino-Camelia G., Bechini M., Citossi M., Colagrossi A., Curzel S., della Casa G., Cinelli M., Del Santo M., Di Salvo T., Anitra A., Feruglio C., Ferrandi F., Fiorito M., Gacnik D., Galgoczi G., Gambino A.F., Ghirlanda G., Gomboc A., Karlica M., Efremov P., Kostic U., Clerici A., Lopez Fernandez B., Manca A., Maselli A., Nava L., Ohno M., Ottolina D., Pasquale A., Perri M., Piccinin M., Prinetto J., Riggio A., Ripa J., Papitto A., Piranomonte S., Scala F., Selcan D., Silvestrini S., Rotovnik T., Troisi I., Virgilli E., Werner N., Zanotti G., ITA, ESP, CZE, SVN, and HUN
Subjects: Computer science, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, FOS: Physical sciences, Field of view, Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods, Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia E Astrofisica, 0103 physical sciences, CubeSat, Transient (computer programming), Aerospace engineering, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Constellation, High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE), 010308 nuclear & particles physics, business.industry, Gravitational wave, Payload, Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Steradian, Satellite, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, business, Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Abstract: HERMES (High Energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of Satellites) Technological and Scientific pathfinder is a space borne mission based on a LEO constellation of nano-satellites. The 3U CubeSat buses host new miniaturized detectors to probe the temporal emission of bright high-energy transients such as Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). Fast transient localization, in a field of view of several steradians and with arcmin-level accuracy, is gained by comparing time delays among the same event detection epochs occurred on at least 3 nano-satellites. With a launch date in 2022, HERMES transient monitoring represents a keystone capability to complement the next generation of gravitational wave experiments. In this paper we will illustrate the HERMES payload design, highlighting the technical solutions adopted to allow a wide-energy-band and sensitive X-ray and gamma-ray detector to be accommodated in a CubeSat 1U volume together with its complete control electronics and data handling system., Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures. Proceedings of SPIE "Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation" 2020
Published: 2020
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16. Towards an AMTEC-like device based on non-alkali metal for efficient, safe and reliable direct conversion of thermal to electric power

Author: Ugo Lo Cicero, Gianluca Tumminelli, Roberto Candia, Alfonso Collura, Marco Barbera, Salvatore Ferruggia Bonura, Fabio Santoro, and Luisa Sciortino
Subjects: Work (thermodynamics), Computer science, business.industry, 02 engineering and technology, Converters, 010402 general chemistry, 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology, 01 natural sciences, 0104 chemical sciences, Renewable energy, symbols.namesake, Reliability (semiconductor), Thermoelectric effect, symbols, Electric power, 0210 nano-technology, Process engineering, business, Carnot cycle, Thermal energy
Abstract: Alkali Metal ThermoElectric Converters directly convert heat into electric energy and have promising applicability in the field of sustainable and renewable energy. The high theoretical efficiency, close to Carnot's cycle, the lack of moving parts, and the interesting operating temperature range drive the search for new materials able to ensure safe and reliable operation at competitive costs.The present work focuses on the design of a non-alkali metal based cell and on the fabrication of a testing device to validate the design work. The selection of a new operating fluid for the cell improves durability, reliability and safety of the device. Finally, we discuss possible applications to already existing thermal energy sources.
Published: 2018
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17. Thermal modelling of the ATHENA X-IFU filters

Author: Elena Puccio, Antonino Buttacavoli, Salvatore Ferruggia Bonura, Fabio D'Anca, Luisa Sciortino, Marco Barbera, Ugo Lo Cicero, Sciortino, Luisa, Lo Cicero, Ugo, Ferruggia Bonura, Salvatore, D'Anca, Fabio, Buttacavoli, Antonino, Puccio, Elena, and Barbera, Marco
Subjects: Cryostat, Materials science, Condensed Matter Physic, 01 natural sciences, thermal simulation, Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia E Astrofisica, Optics, thermal filter, 0103 physical sciences, Thermal, Emissivity, Radiative transfer, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 010306 general physics, Thermal analysis, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, X-IFU, business.industry, Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Material, Detector, Shot noise, Computer Science Applications1707 Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, ATHENA, Applied Mathematic, Filter (video), business
Abstract: Copyright 2018 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited. The X-IFU instrument of the ATHENA mission requires a set of thermal filters to reduce the photon shot noise onto its cryogenic detector and to protect it from molecular contamination. A set of five filters, operating at different nominal temperatures corresponding to the cryostat shield temperatures, is currently baselined. The knowledge of the actual filter temperature profiles is crucial to have a good estimation of the radiative load on the detector. Furthermore, a few filters may need to be warmed-up to remove contaminants and it is necessary to ensure that a threshold temperature is reached throughout the filters surface. For these reasons, it is fundamental to develop a thermal modeling of the full set of filters in a representative configuration. The baseline filter is a polyimide membrane 45 nm thick coated with 30 nm of highpurity aluminum, mechanically supported by a metallic honeycomb mesh. In this paper, we describe the implemented thermal modeling and report the results obtained in different studies: (i) a trade-off analysis on how to reach a minimum target temperature throughout the outer filter, (ii) a thermal analysis when varying the emissivity of the filter surfaces, and (iii) the effect of removing one of the filters.
Published: 2018
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18. Structural modelling and mechanical tests supporting the design of the ATHENA X-IFU thermal filters and WFI optical blocking filter

Author: Ugo Lo Cicero, Johannes Hartwig, Giancarlo Parodi, Alfonso Collura, Norbert Meidinger, Salvatore Ferruggia Bonura, Adam Pilch, Antonino Buttacavoli, Luisa Sciortino, Szymon Polak, Kurt Dittrich, Valérie Samain, Marco Barbera, Miroslaw Rataj, Fabio D'Anca, Parodi, Giancarlo, D'Anca, Fabio, Lo Cicero, Ugo, Sciortino, Luisa, Rataj, Miroslaw, Polak, Szymon, Pilch, Adam, Meidinger, Norbert, Dittrich, Kurt, Hartwig, Johanne, Samain, Valérie, Collura, Alfonso, Ferruggia Bonura, Salvatore, Buttacavoli, Antonino, and Barbera, Marco
Subjects: Cosmic Vision, Computer science, Condensed Matter Physic, Blocking (statistics), 01 natural sciences, Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia E Astrofisica, WFI, 0103 physical sciences, Sensitivity (control systems), Aerospace engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 010306 general physics, FEA, X-IFU, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, business.industry, Filter, Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Material, Detector, Computer Science Applications1707 Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, Transparency (human–computer interaction), ATHENA, Vibration, Applied Mathematic, Cardinal point, Filter (video), X-Ray, business
Abstract: Copyright 2018 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited. ATHENA is a Large high energy astrophysics space mission selected by ESA in the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 Science Program. It will be equipped with two interchangeable focal plane detectors: the X-Ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) and the Wide Field Imager (WFI). Both detectors require x-ray transparent filters to fully exploit their sensitivity. In order to maximize the X-ray transparency, filters must be very thin, from a few tens to few hundreds of nm, on the other hand, they must be strong enough to survive the severe launch stresses. In particular, the WFI OBF, being launched in atmospheric pressure, shall also survive acoustic loads. In this paper, we present a review of the structural modeling performed to assist the ATHENA filters design, the preliminary results from vibration and acoustic tests, and we discuss future activities necessary to consolidate the filters design, before the preliminary requirement review of the ATHENA instruments, scheduled before the end of 2018.
Published: 2018

19. ATHENA X-IFU thermal filters development status toward the end of the instrument phase-A

Author: Luisa Sciortino, Jan-Willem den Herder, Marco Barbera, Giuseppe Lo Cicero, F. Cuttaia, Gaspare Di Cicca, Salvatore Ferruggia Bonura, Roberto Candia, Salvatore Sciortino, Salvatore Varisco, Philippe Peille, Luigi Piro, Antonino Buttacavoli, Gregor Rauw, Giancarlo Parodi, Fabio D'Anca, Massimo Cappi, Roland H. den Hartog, Fabrizio Villa, Ugo Lo Cicero, Alfonso Collura, Graziella Branduardi-Raymont, Thien Lam Trong, Brian Jackson, Paolo Giglio, Jean-Michel Mesnager, Didier Barret, Barbera, Marco, Lo Cicero, Ugo, Sciortino, Luisa, D'Anca, Fabio, Lo Cicero, Giuseppe, Parodi, Giancarlo, Sciortino, Salvatore, Rauw, Gregor, Branduardi-Raymont, Graziella, Varisco, Salvatore, Ferruggia Bonura, Salvatore, Collura, Alfonso, Candia, Roberto, Di Cicca, Gaspare, Giglio, Paolo, Buttacavoli, Antonino, Cuttaia, Francesco, Villa, Fabrizio, Cappi, Massimo, Lam Trong, Thien, Mesnager, Jean-Michel, Peille, Philippe, den Hartog, Roland, den Herder, Jan Willem, Jackson, Brian, Barret, Didier, and Piro, Luigi
Subjects: X-ray detector, Cryostat, Cosmic Vision, Photon, Computer science, Shields, Condensed Matter Physic, microcalorimeter, 01 natural sciences, 7. Clean energy, Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia E Astrofisica, X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU), 0103 physical sciences, thermal thin-film filter, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Aerospace engineering, 010306 general physics, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, business.industry, Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Material, Detector, Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Shot noise, Computer Science Applications1707 Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, Transition Edge Sensor, Applied Mathematic, ATHENA X-ray observatory, Radio frequency, Transition edge sensor, business
Abstract: Copyright 2018 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited. The X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) is one of the two instruments of the Athena astrophysics space mission approved by ESA in the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 Science Programme. The X-IFU consists of a large array of transition edge sensor micro-calorimeters that will operate at 100 mK inside a sophisticated cryostat. A set of thin filters, highly transparent to X-rays, will be mounted on the opening windows of the cryostat thermal shields in order to attenuate the IR radiative load, to attenuate radio frequency electromagnetic interferences, and to protect the detector from contamination. Thermal filters are critical items in the proper operation of the X-IFU detector in space. They need to be strong enough to survive the launch stresses but very thin to be highly transparent to X-rays. They essentially define the detector quantum efficiency at low energies and are fundamental to make the photon shot noise a negligible contribution to the energy resolution budget. In this paper, we review the main results of modeling and characterization tests of the thermal filters performed during the phase A study to identify the suitable materials, optimize the design, and demonstrate that the chosen technology can reach the proper readiness before mission adoption.
Published: 2018
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20. Preliminary Mechanical Characterization of Thermal Filters for the X-IFU Instrument on Athena

Author: Antonio Jimenez Escobar, Flavio Nuzzo, Salvatore Ferruggia Bonura, Valérie Samain, Paolo Giglio, Ugo Lo Cicero, Marco Barbera, Angela Ciaravella, Alfonso Collura, Fabio D'Anca, Giancarlo Parodi, Luisa Sciortino, Salvatore Varisco, Barbera, Marco, Lo Cicero, Ugo, Sciortino, Luisa, Parodi, Giancarlo, D'Anca, Fabio, Giglio, Paolo, Ferruggia Bonura, Salvatore, Nuzzo, Flavio, Jimenez Escobar, Antonio, Ciaravella, Angela, Collura, Alfonso, Varisco, Salvatore, and Samain, Valerie
Subjects: Physics, Cryostat, X-IFU, Cosmic Vision, Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optic, business.industry, Detector, Shields, X-ray microcalorimeter, Thermal filter, Condensed Matter Physics, 01 natural sciences, Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics, Characterization (materials science), Optics, Filter (video), 0103 physical sciences, Thermal, Radiative transfer, General Materials Science, Athena, Materials Science (all), 010306 general physics, business, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics
Abstract: The X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) is one of the two instruments of the Athena astrophysics space mission approved by ESA in the Cosmic Vision Science Program. The X-IFU consists of a large array of TES microcalorimeters that will operate at ~ 50 mK inside a sophisticated cryostat. A set of thin filters, highly transparent to X-rays, will be mounted on the cryostat thermal shields in order to attenuate the IR radiative load, to attenuate RF electromagnetic interferences, and to protect the detector from contamination. In this paper, we present the current thermal filters design, describe the filter samples developed/procured so far, and present preliminary results from the ongoing characterization tests.
Published: 2018

21. ATHENA WFI optical blocking filters development status toward the end of the instrument phase-A

Author: Ugo Lo Cicero, Adam Pilch, Szymon Polak, Marco Barbera, Norbert Meidinger, Gregor Rauw, Emanuele Perinati, Teresa Mineo, Paolo Giglio, Miroslaw Rataj, Fabio D'Anca, Salvatore Sciortino, Graziella Branduardi Raymont, Giancarlo Parodi, Luisa Sciortino, Salvatore Varisco, Roberto Candia, Alfonso Collura, Barbera, Marco, Lo Cicero, Ugo, Sciortino, Luisa, D'Anca, Fabio, Parodi, Giancarlo, Rataj, Miroslaw, Polak, Szymon, Pilch, Adam, Meidinger, Norbert, Sciortino, Salvatore, Rauw, Gregor, Branduardi Raymont, Graziella, Mineo, Teresa, Perinati, Emanuele, Giglio, Paolo, Collura, Alfonso, Varisco, Salvatore, and Candia, Roberto
Subjects: X-ray detector, Cosmic Vision, Photon, Wide Field Imager, Field of view, Condensed Matter Physic, 7. Clean energy, 01 natural sciences, 010309 optics, X-ray astronomy, Optics, Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia E Astrofisica, 0103 physical sciences, Athena, Spectral resolution, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Optical blocking filter, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Physics, CMOS sensor, business.industry, Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Material, Detector, Computer Science Applications1707 Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, Photon counting, Applied Mathematic, Active pixel sensor, 13. Climate action, business, DEPFET
Abstract: Copyright 2018 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited. The Wide Field Imager (WFI) is one of the two instruments of the ATHENA astrophysics space mission approved by ESA as the second large mission in the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 Science Programme. The WFI, based on a large array of depleted field effect transistors (DEPFET), will provide imaging in the 0.2-15 keV band over a 40'x40' field of view, simultaneously with spectrally and time resolved photon counting. The WFI detector is also sensitive to UV/Vis photons, with an electron-hole pair production efficiency in the UV/VIS larger than that for X-ray photons. Optically generated photo-electrons may degrade the spectral resolution as well as change the energy scale by introducing a signal offset. For this reason, the use of X-ray transparent optical blocking filters (OBFs) are needed to allow the observation of X-ray sources that present a UV/Vis bright counterpart. The OBFs design is challenging since one of the two required filters is quite large ( 160 mm × 160 mm), very thin (< 200 nm), and shall survive the mechanical load during the launch. In this paper, we review the main results of modeling and characterization tests of OBF partially representative samples, performed during the phase A study, to identify the suitable materials, optimize the design, prove that the filters can be launched in atmospheric pressure, and thus demonstrate that the chosen technology can reach the proper technical readiness before mission adoption.
Published: 2018

22. Radio frequency shielding of thin aluminized plastic filters investigated for the ATHENA X-IFU detector

Author: E.F. Calandra, Pekka Törmä, Brian Jackson, Emilie Gloaguen, Daniele Gulli, Michela Todaro, Marco Barbera, F. Cuttaia, Giuseppe Lo Cicero, Nicola Montinaro, Salvatore Ferruggia Bonura, Fabrizio Villa, Ugo Lo Cicero, Luisa Sciortino, Fabio D'Anca, Giuseppe Lullo, Bert-Joost van Leeuwen, Elena Puccio, Salvatore Varisco, Alfonso Collura, Lo Cicero, Ugo, Lo Cicero, Giuseppe, Puccio, Elena, Montinaro, Nicola, Gulli, Daniele, Todaro, Michela, Calandra, Enrico, Törmä, Pekka, Cuttaia, Francesco, Villa, Fabrizio, Ferruggia Bonura, Salvatore, Lullo, Giuseppe, Collura, Alfonso, D'Anca, Fabio, Sciortino, Luisa, Varisco, Salvatore, Jackson, Brian, van Leeuwen, Bert-Joost, Gloaguen, Emilie, and Barbera, Marco
Subjects: Cryostat, Materials science, Physics::Instrumentation and Detectors, X-ray detector, RF attenuation, Field of view, Condensed Matter Physic, 02 engineering and technology, reverberation chamber, 7. Clean energy, Electromagnetic interference, Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia E Astrofisica, Optics, X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU), thermal thin-film filter, 0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, business.industry, Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Material, 020502 materials, Detector, Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, x-ray detector, Computer Science Applications1707 Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, 020206 networking & telecommunications, resonance mode, Applied Mathematic, ATHENA X-ray observatory, EMI shielding, 0205 materials engineering, Electromagnetic shielding, Radio frequency, Antenna (radio), business
Abstract: Copyright 2018 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited. The X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) is one of the two detectors of the ATHENA astrophysics space mission approved by ESA in the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 Science Programme. The X-IFU consists of a large array of transition edge sensors (TES) micro-calorimeters covering a field of view of 5' diameter, sensitive in the energy range 0.2-12 keV, and providing a spectral resolution of 2.5 eV at 7 keV. Both the TES and superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUID) based read-out electronics are very sensitive to electromagnetic interferences (EMI), and a proper shielding of the focal plane assembly (FPA) is required to prevent a deterioration of the energy resolution. A set of thin filters, highly transparent to X-rays, will be mounted on the FPA and on the cryostat thermal shields in order to attenuate the infrared radiative load, and to protect the detector from contamination. Some of these filters are also aimed at providing proper radio frequency (RF) shielding in the frequency range of the satellite telemetry downlink antenna. In addition, filters should also be effective in shielding any RF interference generated by other on-board electronics. In this paper, we present results from RF measurements performed on thin plastic foils coated with an aluminum layer, with and without metal meshes, and identify the filter characteristics matching the RF shielding requirements.
Published: 2018
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23. Temperature effects on the performances of the ATHENA X-IFU thermal filters

Author: Igor Píš, Matteo Levantino, Marco Barbera, Flavio Nuzzo, Alfonso Collura, Luisa Sciortino, Antonio Jimenez Escobar, Elena Magnano, Angela Ciaravella, Ugo Lo Cicero, Barbera, M., Lo Cicero, U., Sciortino, L., Magnano, E., Píš, I., Ciaravella, A., Collura, A., Jimenez Escobar, A., Levantino, M., and Nuzzo, F.
Subjects: Cryostat, Materials science, Absorption spectroscopy, business.industry, thermal filters, ATHENA mission, Shot noise, 02 engineering and technology, Atmospheric temperature range, 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology, ATHENA mission, thermal filters, XANES, 01 natural sciences, XANES, Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia E Astrofisica, Optics, 0103 physical sciences, Radiative transfer, Calibration, 010306 general physics, 0210 nano-technology, business, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), Polyimide
Abstract: The X-Ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) detector on-board ATHENA is an array of TES micro-calorimeters that will operate at ~50 mK. In the current investigated design, five thermal filters (TF) will be mounted on the cryostat shields to attenuate IR radiative load and avoid energy resolution degradation due to photon shot noise. Each filter consists of a thin polyimide film (~50 nm thick) coated with aluminum (~30 nm thick). Since the TF operate at different temperatures in the range 0.05-300 K, it is relevant to study how temperature affects their mechanical/optical performances (e.g. near edge absorption fine structures of the atomic elements in the filter material). Such results are crucial for the proper design of the filters as well as to establish the calibration program operating temperatures. We report the preliminary results of visual inspections performed on test filters of polyimide/Al at different pressure and temperature conditions, IR transmission measurements (1-15 μm) performed in the temperature range 10- 300 K, and X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy measurements (175-1650 eV) performed in the temperature range 130-300 K.
Published: 2016
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24. Electrical connections and driving electronics for piezo-actuated x-ray thin glass optics

Author: Alfonso Collura, Carlo Pelliciari, Bianca Salmaso, Marta Civitani, Stefano Basso, Daniele Spiga, Ugo Lo Cicero, Maurizio Salvatore Di Bella, Roberto Candia, Giuseppe Lullo, Luisa Sciortino, Marco Barbera, Lo Cicero, U., Sciortino, L., Lullo, G., Di Bella, M., Barbera, M., Collura, A., Candia, R., Spiga, D., Basso, S., Civitani, M., Pelliciari, C., and Salmaso, B.
Subjects: Materials science, business.industry, X-ray telescope, Modular design, Settore ING-INF/01 - Elettronica, Active X-ray optics, thin glass optics, piezoelectric actuators, piezoelectric multichannel drivers, interconnections patterning, X-ray telescope mirrors, Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia E Astrofisica, Optics, visual_art, visual_art.visual_art_medium, Optoelectronics, Electronics, Ceramic, Thin film, business, Actuator, Electrical conductor, Voltage
Abstract: Use of thin glass modular optics is a technology currently under study to build light, low cost, large area X-ray telescopes for high energy astrophysics space missions. The angular resolution of such telescopes is limited by local deviations from the ideal shape of the mirrors. One possible strategy to improve it consists in actively correcting the mirror profile by gluing thin ceramic piezo-electric actuators on the back of the glasses. A large number of actuators, however, requires several electrical connections to drive them with the different needed voltages. We have developed a process for depositing conductive paths directly on the back of non-planar thin foil mirrors by means of a photolithographic process, combined with metal thin film evaporation and selective removal. We have also designed and built a modular multichannel electronic driver with each module capable of driving simultaneously up to 16 actuators with a very low power consumption. Here we present our electrical interconnections technology and the solutions adopted in the implementation of the electronics.
Published: 2016

25. Surface investigation and aluminum oxide estimation on test filters for the ATHENA X-IFU and WFI detectors

Author: Luisa Sciortino, Marco Barbera, Igor Píš, Ugo Lo Cicero, Elena Magnano, Sciortino, L., Lo Cicero, U., Magnano, E., Píš, I., and Barbera, M.
Subjects: Photon, Materials science, business.industry, Photoemission spectroscopy, Infrared, Athena mission, thermal filters, aluminum oxide, thermal filters, Detector, 02 engineering and technology, Radiation, 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology, 01 natural sciences, 7. Clean energy, 010309 optics, aluminum oxide, Optics, Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia E Astrofisica, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Filter (video), 0103 physical sciences, Prototype filter, 0210 nano-technology, business, Athena mission
Abstract: The ATHENA mission provides the demanded capabilities to address the ESA science theme "Hot and Energetic Universe". Two complementary instruments are foreseen: the X-IFU (X-ray Integral Field Unit) and WFI (Wide Field Imager). Both the instruments require filters to avoid that the IR radiation heats the X-IFU cryogenic detector and to protect the WFI detector from UV photons. Previous experience on XMM filters recommends to employ bilayer membrane consisting of aluminum deposited on polyimide. In this work, we use the X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) to quantify the native aluminum oxide thickness that affects the spectral properties of the filter. The estimation of the oxide thickness of the prototype filter for ATHENA is a considerable information for the conceptual design of the filters. © (2016) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Published: 2016
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26. The thin and medium filters of the EPIC camera on-board XMM-Newton: measured performance after more than 15 years of operation

Author: Alfonso Collura, Fabio Gastaldello, Nicola La Palombara, Simonpietro Agnello, Salvatore Varisco, Luisa Sciortino, N. Sartore, Marco Barbera, Gianpiero Buscarino, A. M. Venezia, Andrea Tiengo, Ugo Lo Cicero, ITA, Barbera, M., Gastaldello, F., Sciortino, L., Agnello, S., Buscarino, G., Collura, A., la Palombara, N., Cicero, U., Sartore, N., Tiengo, A., Varisco, S., and Venezia, A.
Subjects: EPIC, 01 natural sciences, filters, X-rays: instrumentation, X-rays: XMM-Newton, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Space and Planetary Science [X-rays], symbols.namesake, Apparent magnitude, Optics, Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia E Astrofisica, Observatory, 0103 physical sciences, Statistical analysis, 010306 general physics, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Remote sensing, Physics, business.industry, Atomic force microscopy, X-rays: filter, Detector, Astronomy and Astrophysic, On board, Space and Planetary Science, symbols, business, Raman scattering
Abstract: After more than 15 years of operation of the EPIC camera on board the XMM-Newton X-ray observatory, we have reviewed the status of its Thin and Medium filters. We have selected a set of Thin and Medium back-up filters among those still available in the EPIC consortium and have started a program to investigate their status by different laboratory measurements including: UV/VIS transmission, Raman scattering, X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, and Atomic Force Microscopy. Furthermore, we have investigated the status of the EPIC flight filters by performing an analysis of the optical loading in the PN offset maps to gauge variations in the optical and UV transmission. We both investigated repeated observations of single optically bright targets and performed a statistical analysis of the extent of loading versus visual magnitude at different epochs. We report the results of the measurements conducted up to now. Most notably, we find no evidence for change in the UV/VIS transmission of the back-up filters in ground tests spanning a 2 year period and we find no evidence for change in the optical transmission of the thin filter of the EPIC-pn camera from 2002 to 2012. We point out some lessons learned for the development and calibration programs of filters for X-ray detectors in future Astronomy missions.
Published: 2016

27. CHP efficiency of a 2000 × CPV system with reflective optics

Author: Filippo Paredes, Franco Mario Gelardi, Alfonso Collura, G. Bonsignore, Marco Barbera, A. Agliolo Gallitto, Luisa Sciortino, Fabio Maria Montagnino, Marco Cannas, Ugo Lo Cicero, Sergio Milone, and Simonpietro Agnello
Subjects: Materials science, business.industry, Water flow, Thermal power station, Thermal contact, Heat sink, law.invention, Volumetric flow rate, Optics, law, Solar cell, Thermal, Electric power, business
Abstract: In this work we have developed a combined heat and power (CHP) prototype that operates at 2000 × concentration based on reflective optics. The receiver consists of a InGaP/InGaAs/Ge triple-junction solar cell in thermal contact with an aluminium heat sink driving a forced water flow. This CHP system was tested both indoor (DNI of 650 W/m2) and outdoor (DNI of 900 W/m2) under different conditions of fluid parameters as the flow rate (ranging from 0.2 liters/min to 1.2 liters/min) and temperature (ranging from 25 °C to 60 °C). Electrical and thermal power were determined by acquiring IV curves and by measuring the heat subtracted from the cell while it delivered the maximum electrical power, respectively. The obtained results demonstrate that this CHP system achieves a total efficiency of about 80%, shared between the electrical (30%) and the thermal one (50%).
Published: 2015
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28. Combined heat and power generation with a HCPV system at 2000 suns

Author: Franco Mario Gelardi, Fabio Maria Montagnino, G. Bonsignore, Alfonso Collura, Piero Salinari, Ugo Lo Cicero, Sergio Milone, Marco Barbera, Marco Cannas, Luisa Sciortino, Simonpietro Agnello, Filippo Paredes, Paredes, F., Montagnino, F., Bonsignore, G., Buscemi, A., Milone, S., Agnello, S., Barbera, M., Gelardi, F., Sciortino, L., Collura, A., Lo Cicero, U., and Cannas, M.
Subjects: Materials science, business.industry, InGaP/InGaAs/Ge triple-junction solar cell, Heat sink, Solar energy, Solar mirror, Solar cell efficiency, Electricity generation, Optics, reflactive optics, Heat transfer, Concentrating Photovoltaic, Optoelectronics, business, Electrical efficiency, Thermal energy
Abstract: In the framework of the FAE “Fotovoltaico ad Alta Efficienza” (“High Efficiency Photovoltaic”) Research Project funded by the Sicilian Region under the program PO FESR Sicilia 2007/2013 4.1.1.1, we have developed an innovative solar CHP system for the combined production of heat and power at the high concentration level of 2000 suns [1]. This work shows the experimental results obtained on FAE-HCPV modules and analyses the behaviour of the system. The solar radiation is concentrated on commercial InGaP/InGaAs/Ge triple-junction solar cells designed for intensive work. The primary optics is a rectangular off-axis parabolic mirror (with a size of 46x46 = 2116 cm2 in a projection normal to the sun), providing a nominal concentration greater than 2000 suns per cell. As secondary optics at the focus of the parabolic mirror we use a frustum made of BK7 glass glued in optical contact with a TaiCrystal cell (108 mm2 ). The total optical transmission in the relevant spectral range (320-1800 nm) is about 90% and the field of view on sky of the cell is a square with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) side of 2.6 degrees. The 1 kWe module prototypes consist of 20 multijunction cells, each one is integrated with the secondary optic and the active heat sink. Primary reflective optics and integrated receivers are mounted on a 2 axis tracker (Alt-Azimuth type) composed by a N-S primary axis supporting 10 E-W secondary rotation supports, each one is moving a couple of mirrors and receivers. The secondary axes are driven by a linear actuator via a parallelogram transmission. The system is highly scalable and it can be installed on roofs, urban areas or industrial spaces. The tracking algorithms are managed by a double control loop: an “open loop” algorithm (providing an accuracy of a fraction of a degree, limited by installation inaccuracies and by mechanical tolerances) and a “closed loop” system (based on a four quadrant sun sensor) providing a high tracking accuracy. The cell is connected to an active heat transfer system properly designed in order to reduce the thermal resistance of each substrate of connection material. The particular fluid dynamic geometry of the heat sink allows to keep the cell at a high level of electrical efficiency (ηel ≈ 35%), while bringing the heat transfer fluid (water and glycol) up to an output temperature of 90°C, suitable for civil and industrial low temperature applications. Accordingly with the experimental data collected from the first 1 kWe prototypes, the total amount of extracted thermal energy is more than 50% of the harvested solar radiation, that, in addition to a system electrical efficiency of about 30% [2], contributes to reach an overall CHP efficiency of 80%. By a variation of the flow rate from 0.2 l/min to 1.0 l/min of the cooling fluid on the heat sink it is possible to modulate both the thermal response and the electric efficiency of the system. The on field results confirmed a maximum electric power generated of 50 We per cell at a DNI of 850 W/m2 and 90 Wth at 85°C of the output cooling fluid temperature.
Published: 2015

29. Electrical-optical characterization of multijunction solar cells under 2000X concentration

Author: Franco Mario Gelardi, Marco Barbera, Alfonso Collura, Ugo Lo Cicero, Marco Cannas, Roberto Candia, G. Bonsignore, Luisa Sciortino, Fabio Maria Montagnino, Filippo Paredes, Simonpietro Agnello, A. Agliolo Gallitto, Ignazio Dentici, Bonsignore,G, Agliolo Gallitto,A, Agnello,S, Barbera,M, Candia,R, Cannas,M, Collura,A, Dentici,I, Gelardi,FM, Lo Cicero,U, Montagnino,FM, Paredes,F, and Sciortino,L
Subjects: Engineering, business.industry, Parabolic reflector, Band gap, Aperture, Photovoltaic system, Electroluminescence, Concentration ratio, Spectral line, Semiconductor, Optics, Multijunction InGaP/InGaAs/Ge solar cells, high concentration photovoltaic, electroluminescence, I-V curve, Optoelectronics, business
Abstract: In the framework of the FAE "Fotovoltaico ad Alta Efficienza" ("High Efficiency Photovoltaic") Research Project (PO FESR Sicilia 2007/2013 4.1.1.1), we have performed electrical and optical characterizations of commercial InGaP/InGaAs/Ge triple-junction solar cells (1 cm2) mounted on a prototype HCPV module, installed in Palermo (Italy). This system uses a reflective optics based on rectangular off-axis parabolic mirror with aperture 45×45 cm2 leading to a geometrical concentration ratio of 2025. In this study, we report the I-V curve measured under incident power of about 700 W/m2 resulting in an electrical power at maximum point (PMP) of 41.4 W. We also investigated the optical properties by the electroluminescence (EL) spectra of the top (InGaP) and middle (InGaAs) subcells. From the analysis of the experimental data we extracted the bandgap energies of these III-V semiconductors in the range 305÷385 K.
Published: 2014

30. Metal thin-film temperature sensor embedded in heat-sink for CPV cells characterization

Author: A. Collura, Marco Cannas, G. Bonsignore, Marco Barbera, Ugo Lo Cicero, Luisa Sciortino, Simonpietro Agnello, Lo Cicero, U, Agnello, S, Barbera, M, Bonsignore, G, Cannas, M, Collura, A, and Sciortino, L
Subjects: Materials science, HCPV, multi-junction cell, temperature, thin-film sensor, heat sink, business.industry, Photovoltaic system, Heat sink, Characterization (materials science), Temperature gradient, Excess heat, Heat flux, Thermometer, Electronic engineering, Optoelectronics, business, Metal thin film
Abstract: The efficiency of a photovoltaic cell is dependent on its temperature, for this reason an accurate measurement of this parameter is important to fully characterize the device and to optimize its performance. For CPV applications a significant heat flux is needed to remove excess heat from the cell towards a heat sink, making it difficult to derive the cell temperature. In fact, measurements performed directly between the cell and the heat-sink, by use of commercial bulk sensors, would produce a significant disturbance in the heat flow; on the other hand, a measurement performed out of the cell / heat sink axis would be subject to large uncertainties, due to the high radial temperature gradient. We approached the problem of accurate temperature monitoring of PV cells by fabricating a metal thin-film thermometer directly on the heat sink. The measure is thus very accurate while the sensor thinness ensures minimal disturbance to the heat flow.
Published: 2014

31. Direct sunlight facility for testing and research in HCPV

Author: Gaspare Di Cicca, Franco Mario Gelardi, A. Collura, Marco Cannas, Filippo Paredes, Gianluca Napoli, Alessandro Buscemi, Fabio Maria Montagnino, Salvo Varisco, Roberto Candia, Simonpietro Agnello, L. Spallino, Luisa Sciortino, Marco Barbera, G. Bonsignore, Ugo Lo Cicero, Sciortino, L, Agnello, S, Barbera, M, Bonsignore, G, Buscemi, A, Candia, R, Cannas, M, Collura, A, Di Cicca, G, Gelardi, FM, Lo Cicero, U, Montagnino, FM, Napoli, G, Paredes, F, Spallino, L, and Varisco, S
Subjects: Sunlight, Engineering, Heliostat, business.industry, Nuclear engineering, Mechanical engineering, Heat sink, Solar energy, Suns in alchemy, Electronic equipment, Data logger, heliostat, High Concentrated PhotoVoltaic module, multijunction cell, business
Abstract: A facility for testing different components for HCPV application has been developed in the framework of "Fotovoltaico ad Alta Efficienza" (FAE) project funded by the Sicilian Regional Authority (PO FESR Sicilia 2007/2013 4.1.1.1). The testing facility is equipped with an heliostat providing a wide solar beam inside the lab, an optical bench for mounting and aligning the HCPV components, electronic equipments to characterize the I-V curves of multijunction cells operated up to 2000 suns, a system to circulate a fluid in the heat sink at controlled temperature and flow-rate, a data logging system with sensors to measure temperatures in several locations and fluid pressures at the inlet and outlet of the heat sink, and a climatic chamber with large test volume to test assembled HCPV modules.
Published: 2014

32. Status of the EPIC thin and medium filters on-board XMM-Newton after more than 10 years of operation I: laboratory measurements on back-up filters

Author: Nicola La Palombara, A. M. Venezia, Fabio Gastaldello, Simonpietro Agnello, Salvatore Varisco, Gianpiero Buscarino, Andrea Tiengo, Ugo Lo Cicero, Alfonso Collura, Marco Barbera, Luisa Sciortino, Barbera, M, Agnello, S, Buscarino, G, Collura, A, Gastaldello, F, La Palombara, N, Lo Cicero, U, Tiengo, A, Sciortino, L, Varisco, S, and Venezia, AM
Subjects: Physics, business.industry, Atomic force microscopy, Detector, X-ray detector, EPIC, On board, Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia E Astrofisica, Optics, Observatory, X-rays: XMM-Newton, X-rays: instrumentation, X-rays: filters, Calibration, Data analysis, business
Abstract: After more than ten years of operation of the EPIC camera on board the X-ray observatory XMM-Newton, we have reviewed the status of its Thin and Medium filters by performing both laboratory measurements on back-up filters, and analysis of data collected in-flight. We have selected a set of Thin and Medium back-up filters among those still available in the EPIC consortium, and have started a program to investigate their status by different laboratory measurements including: UV/VIS transmission, X-ray transmission, RAMAN IR spectroscopy, X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, and Atomic Force Microscopy. We report the results of the measurements conducted up to now, and point out some lessons learned for the development and calibration programs of filters for X-ray detectors in future Astronomy missions.
Published: 2013
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33. Planar Array Technology for the Fabrication of Germanium X-Ray Microcalorimeters

Author: Marco Barbera, Salvatore Varisco, Ugo Lo Cicero, C. Arnone, Alfonso Collura, Giuseppe Lullo, LO CICERO, U, ARNONE, C, BARBERA, M, COLLURA, A, LULLO, G, and VARISCO, S
Subjects: Materials science, Fabrication, Silicon, Physics::Instrumentation and Detectors, business.industry, Planar array, Doping, X-ray detector, chemistry.chemical_element, Germanium, Cryogenics, Settore ING-INF/01 - Elettronica, X-ray, detectors, microcalorimeter, planar technology, chemistry, Optoelectronics, Wafer, business
Abstract: Several technologies are presently competing for measuring the temperature increase in cryogenic micro-calorimeters used as high resolution energy-dispersive X-ray detectors. Doped germanium, whose resistivity depends on temperature, is a promising material for this purpose, because of its comparatively low specific heat and the possibility of making wafers with high doping uniformity by neutron transmutation. Presently, Ge-based microcalorimeters are still micro-machined and manually assembled. Here we present a planar approach to the fabrication of 2-D arrays of microcalorimeters and show the preliminary technological results.
Published: 2008

34. GrailQuest and HERMES: hunting for gravitational wave electromagnetic counterparts and probing space-time quantum foam

Author: F. Scala, Silvia Piranomonte, Yupeng Xu, Piero Malcovati, Samuel Pliego-Caballero, Angelo Francesco Gambino, Chiara Ferruglio, Fabrizio Fiore, M. Rapisarda, Giovanni Della Casa, G. Zanotti, Andrea Vacchi, Stefano Silvestrini, Lorenzo Amati, Simone Pirrotta, Giuseppe Bertuccio, Alessandro Maselli, András Pál, M. Fiorini, Salvatore Capozziello, D. Milankovich, Mile Karlica, Irina Rashevskaya, A. Anitra, Marco Grassi, Barbara Negri, Filippo Frontera, Margherita Piccinin, Alexander Rashevsky, Daniele Ottolina, Simonetta Puccetti, N. Zampa, Claudio Labanti, A. Guzmán, Borja Lopez Fernandez, Luciano Burderi, E. Demenev, Ugo Lo Cicero, G. Dilillo, C. Guidorzi, Andrea Santangelo, P. Nogara, Giovanni La Rosa, A. Pasquale, Masanori Ohno, Marco Barbera, Roberto Bertaccin, Alessandro Riggio, Norbert Werner, Melania Del Santo, Raffaele Piazzolla, Jakub Ripa, F. Mele, Filippo Ambrosino, Massimo Della Valle, Michele Bechini, Ivan Troisi, J. Prinetto, Tian-Xiang Chen, Marco Feroci, Jiewei Cao, C. Tenzer, Lingjun Wang, M. Citossi, Giancarlo Ghirlanda, Lara Nava, Pierluigi Bellutti, David Selcan, Francesco Russo, A. Monge, Pavel Efremov, Silvia Zane, F. Ceraudo, Uros Kostic, Giuseppe Sottile, Andrea Sanna, Fabrizio Ferrandi, M. Perri, A. Gomboc, R. Iaria, G. Sciarrone, Marco Cinelli, Y. Evangelista, Giuseppe Pucacco, Na Gao, Tiziana Di Salvo, M. Gandola, Tomaz Rotovnik, Enrico Costa, Dejan Gacnik, Gábor Galgóczi, Gianluigi Zampa, Mariafelicia De Laurentis, Paolo Lunghi, Michele Fiorito, Arianna Manca, Riccardo Campana, F. Fuschino, Andrea Colagrossi, Aurora Clerici, S. Curzel, Alessandro Papitto, Fabrizio Amarilli, E. Virgilli, Gianluca Morgante, Giovanni Amelino-Camelia, Burderi, Luciano, Di Salvo, Tiziana, Riggio, Alessandro, Gambino, Angelo Francesco, Sanna, Andrea, Fiore, Fabrizio, Amarilli, Fabrizio, Amati, Lorenzo, Ambrosino, Filippo, Amelino-Camelia, Giovanni, Anitra, Alessio, Barbera, Marco, Bechini, Michele, Bellutti, Paolo, Bertaccin, Roberto, Bertuccio, Giuseppe, Campana, Riccardo, Cao, Jiewei, Capozziello, Salvatore, Ceraudo, Francesco, Chen, Tianxiang, Cinelli, Marco, Citossi, Marco, Clerici, Aurora, Colagrossi, Andrea, Costa, Enrico, Curzel, Serena, De Laurentis, Mariafelicia, Della Casa, Giovanni, Della Valle, Massimo, Demenev, Evgeny, Del Santo, Melania, Dilillo, Giuseppe, Efremov, Pavel, Evangelista, Yuri, Feroci, Marco, Ferruglio, Chiara, Ferrandi, Fabrizio, Fiorini, Mauro, Fiorito, Michele, Frontera, Filippo, Fuschino, Fabio, Gacnik, Dejan, Galgoczi, Gabor, Gao, Na, Gandola, Massimo, Ghirlanda, Giancarlo, Gamboc, Andreja, Grassi, Marco, Guidorzi, Cristiano, Guzman, Alejandro, Iaria, Rosario, Karlica, Mile, Kostic, Uro, Labanti, Claudio, La Rosa, Giovanni, Lo Cicero, Ugo, Lopez Fernandez, Borja, Lunghi, Paolo, Malcovati, Piero, Maselli, Alessandro, Manca, Arianna, Mele, Filippo, Milankovich, Dorottya, Monge, Angel, Morgante, Gianluca, Nava, Lara, Negri, Barbara, Nogara, Paolo, Ohno, Masanori, Ottolina, Daniele, Pasquale, Andrea, Pal, Andra, Perri, Matteo, Piccinin, Margherita, Piazzolla, Raffaele, Pirrotta, Simone, Pliego-Caballero, Samuel, Prinetto, Jacopo, Pucacco, Giuseppe, Puccetti, Simonetta, Rapisarda, Massimo, Rashevskaya, Irina, Rashevsky, Alexander, Ripa, Jakub, Russo, Francesco, Papitto, Alessandro, Piranomonte, Silvia, Santangelo, Andrea, Scala, Francesca, Sciarrone, Giulia, Selcan, David, Silvestrini, Stefano, Sottile, Giuseppe, Rotovnik, Tomaz, Tenzer, Christoph, Troisi, Ivan, Vacchi, Andrea, Virgilli, Enrico, Werner, Norbert, Wang, Lingjun, Xu, Yupeng, Zampa, Gianluigi, Zampa, Nicola, Zane, Silvia, Zanotti, Giovanni, ITA, GBR, DEU, ESP, CZE, CHN, SVN, HUN, den Herder J-WA, Nikzad, S, Nakazawa, K, Burderi L., Di Salvo T., Sanna A., Fiore F., Riggio A., Gambino A.F., Amarilli F., Amati L., Ambrosino F., Amelino-Camelia G., Anitra A., Barbera M., Bechini M., Bellutti P., Bertacin R., Bertuccio G., Campana R., Cao J., Capozziello S., Ceraudo F., Chen T., Cinelli M., Citossi M., Clerici A., Colagrossi A., Costa E., Curzel S., De Laurentis M., Della Casa G., Demenev E., Del Santo M., Della Valle M., Dilillo G., Efremov P., Evangelista Y., Feroci M., Feruglio C., Ferrandi F., Fiorini M., Fiorito M., Frontera F., Fuschino F., Gacnik D., Galgoczi G., Gao N., Gandola M., Ghirlanda G., Gomboc A., Grassi M., Guidorzi C., Guzman A., Iaria R., Karlica M., Kostic U., Labanti C., La Rosa G., Lo Cicero U., Lopez Fernandez B., Lunghi P., Malcovati P., Maselli A., Manca A., Mele F., Milankovich D., Monge A., Morgante G., Nava L., Negri B., Nogara P., Ohno M., Ottolina D., Pasquale A., Pal A., Perri M., Piccinin M., Piazzolla R., Pirrotta S., Pliego-Caballero S., Prinetto J., Pucacco G., Puccetti S., Rapisarda M., Rashevskaya I., Rashevski A., Ripa J., Russo F., Papitto A., Piranomonte S., Santangelo A., Scala F., Sciarrone G., Selcan D., Silvestrini S., Sottile G., Rotovnik T., Tenzer C., Troisi I., Vacchi A., Virgilli E., Werner N., Wang L., Xu Y., Zampa G., Zampa N., Zane S., and Zanotti G.
Subjects: Physics, CubeSats, Gamma-Ray Bursts, Photon, Gravitational Wave counterparts, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Gravitational wave, Space time, Quantum gravity, Astronomy, Triangulation (social science), 01 natural sciences, Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia E Astrofisica, All-sky monitor, Observatory, X-rays, 0103 physical sciences, Nano-satellites, Temporal triangulation, Gamma-ray burst, Quantum foam, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics
Abstract: GrailQuest (Gamma-ray Astronomy International Laboratory for Quantum Exploration of Space-Time) is an ambitious astrophysical mission concept that uses a fleet of small satellites whose main objective is to search for a dispersion law for light propagation in vacuo. Within Quantum Gravity theories, different models for space-time quantization predict relative discrepancies of the speed of photons w.r.t. the speed of light that depend on the ratio of the photon energy to the Planck energy. This ratio is as small as 10-23 for photons in the γ- ray band (100 keV). Therefore, to detect this effect, light must propagate over enormous distances and the experiment must have extraordinary sensitivity. Gamma-Ray Bursts, occurring at cosmological distances, could be used to detect this tiny signature of space-time granularity. This can be obtained by coherently combine a huge number of small instruments distributed in space to act as a single detector of unprecedented effective area. This is the first example of high-energy distributed astronomy: a new concept of modular observatory of huge overall collecting area consisting in a fleet of small satellites in low orbits, with sub-microsecond time resolution and wide energy band (keV-MeV). The enormous number of collected photons will allow to effectively search these energy dependent delays. Moreover, GrailQuest will allow to perform temporal triangulation of impulsive events with arc-second positional accuracies: an extraordinary sensitive X-ray/Gamma all-sky monitor crucial for hunting the elusive electromagnetic counterparts of Gravitational Waves, that will play a paramount role in the future of Multi-messenger Astronomy. A pathfinder of GrailQuest is already under development through the HERMES (High Energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of Satellites) project: a fleet of six 3U cube-sats to be launched by the end of 2022.
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34 results on '"Ugo Lo Cicero"'

1. Thermalization of Mesh Reinforced Ultra-Thin Al-Coated Plastic Films: A Parametric Study Applied to the Athena X-IFU Instrument

2. Virtual reality for the analysis and visualization of scientific numerical models.

3. Design and acoustic tests of the ATHENA WFI filter wheel assembly development model towards TRL5

4. The Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit: a consolidated design for the system requirement review of the preliminary definition phase

5. Filters design and characterization for LAD instrument onboard eXTP

6. Carbon nanotubes thin filters for x-ray detectors in space

7. The Space Weather X-Ray spectrometer for the Helianthus sub-L1 mission with solar photonic propulsion

8. The Large Area Detector onboard the eXTP mission

9. Deformation analysis of ATHENA test filters made of plastic thin films supported by a mesh under differential static pressure

10. The HERMES-Technologic and Scientific Pathfinder

11. Timing techniques applied to distributed modular high-energy astronomy: the H.E.R.M.E.S. project

12. Optical thermal filters for eXTP: manufacturing and characterization

13. A Temperature-Dependent X-Ray Absorption Characterization of Test Filters for the ATHENA Mission X-IFU Instrument

14. Synchrotron x-ray transmission measurements and modeling of filters investigated for Athena

15. The scientific payload on-board the HERMES-TP and HERMES-SP CubeSat missions

16. Towards an AMTEC-like device based on non-alkali metal for efficient, safe and reliable direct conversion of thermal to electric power

17. Thermal modelling of the ATHENA X-IFU filters

18. Structural modelling and mechanical tests supporting the design of the ATHENA X-IFU thermal filters and WFI optical blocking filter

19. ATHENA X-IFU thermal filters development status toward the end of the instrument phase-A

20. Preliminary Mechanical Characterization of Thermal Filters for the X-IFU Instrument on Athena

21. ATHENA WFI optical blocking filters development status toward the end of the instrument phase-A

22. Radio frequency shielding of thin aluminized plastic filters investigated for the ATHENA X-IFU detector

23. Temperature effects on the performances of the ATHENA X-IFU thermal filters

24. Electrical connections and driving electronics for piezo-actuated x-ray thin glass optics

25. Surface investigation and aluminum oxide estimation on test filters for the ATHENA X-IFU and WFI detectors

26. The thin and medium filters of the EPIC camera on-board XMM-Newton: measured performance after more than 15 years of operation

27. CHP efficiency of a 2000 × CPV system with reflective optics

28. Combined heat and power generation with a HCPV system at 2000 suns

29. Electrical-optical characterization of multijunction solar cells under 2000X concentration

30. Metal thin-film temperature sensor embedded in heat-sink for CPV cells characterization

31. Direct sunlight facility for testing and research in HCPV

32. Status of the EPIC thin and medium filters on-board XMM-Newton after more than 10 years of operation I: laboratory measurements on back-up filters

33. Planar Array Technology for the Fabrication of Germanium X-Ray Microcalorimeters

34. GrailQuest and HERMES: hunting for gravitational wave electromagnetic counterparts and probing space-time quantum foam

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34 results on '"Ugo Lo Cicero"'

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