PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | September 25, 2012
Proc. SPIE. 8453, High Energy, Optical, and Infrared Detectors for Astronomy V
KEYWORDS: CMOS sensors, Imaging systems, Cameras, Sensors, Annealing, Ions, Field programmable gate arrays, Analog electronics, Solar radiation, Tolerancing
The ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter mission, to be launched in 2017, will explore the Sun at a much closer distance
than any previous solar observatory. On board the spacecraft, a high-resolution magnetograph (PHI) will provide
two-dimensional measurements of the photospheric vector magnetic field and line-of-sight velocity. The
environmental conditions encountered during the mission, together with the stringent performance requirements
of the instrument, define the set of specifications for the camera system. A custom designed CMOS sensor (with
2048×2050 pixels) has been developed to fulfill the aimed radiation hardness and performance. This sensor must
demonstrate a cadence above 10 fps with a full-well capacity higher than 105 electrons in a 10-μm pixel pitch.
We report the characterization and qualification tests. The radiation test campaign has been completed up to
a TID of 150 krad(Si), proton fluence up to 4 × 1011 at 10 MeV and 2 × 1011 at 20 MeV, and with heavy ions
to check for latch-up and SEFI failures. In parallel, a radiation tolerant camera electronic readout system has
been built to control the sensor and readout images, digitize the data, and communicate with the data handling
system of the PHI instrument. In addition, we present the main issues related to the camera design and future
perspectives.
