Development of the wide field imager for Athena

Norbert Meidinger; Josef Eder; Maria Fürmetz; Kirpal Nandra; Daniel Pietschner; Markus Plattner; Arne Rau; Jonas Reiffers; Rafael Strecker; Marco Barbera; Thorsten Brand; Jörn Wilms

doi:10.1117/12.2187012

24 August 2015 Development of the wide field imager for Athena

Norbert Meidinger, Josef Eder, Maria Fürmetz, Kirpal Nandra, Daniel Pietschner, Markus Plattner, Arne Rau, Jonas Reiffers, Rafael Strecker, Marco Barbera, Thorsten Brand, Jörn Wilms

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9601, UV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XIX; 96010H (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2187012
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2015, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The WFI (Wide Field Imager) instrument is planned to be one of two complementary focal plane cameras on ESA’s next X-ray observatory Athena. It combines unprecedented survey power through its large field of view of 40 arcmin x 40 arcmin together with excellent count-rate capability (≥ 1 Crab). The energy resolution of the silicon sensor is state-of-the-art in the energy band of interest from 0.2 keV to 15 keV, e.g. the full width at half maximum of a line at 6 keV will be ≤ 150 eV until the end of the nominal mission phase. This performance is accomplished by using DEPFET active pixel sensors with a pixel size of 130 μm x 130 μm well suited to the on-axis angular resolution of 5 arcsec of the mirror system. Each DEPFET pixel is a combined detector-amplifier structure with a MOSFET integrated onto a fully depleted 450 μm thick silicon bulk. Two different types of DEPFET sensors are planned for the WFI instrument: A set of four large-area sensors to cover the physical size of 14 cm x 14 cm in the focal plane and a single smaller gateable DEPFET sensor matrix optimized for high count-rate observations. Here we present the conceptual design of the instrument with focus on the critical subsystems and describe the instrument performance expectations. An outline of the model philosophy and the project organization completes the presentation.

Citation Download Citation

Norbert Meidinger, Josef Eder, Maria Fürmetz, Kirpal Nandra, Daniel Pietschner, Markus Plattner, Arne Rau, Jonas Reiffers, Rafael Strecker, Marco Barbera, Thorsten Brand, and Jörn Wilms "Development of the wide field imager for Athena", Proc. SPIE 9601, UV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XIX, 96010H (24 August 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2187012

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

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

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available