Qualifying a CMOS Instrumentation Chain for Charged Particles Detection in the Space Environment
Résumé
For the solar system exploration and the distant universe study, the in-situ particle energy measurement and/or the electron/ion event detection are needed. For our on-board satellite application, the particle sensor that is used to convert particle momentum into measurable electrical charges is a Microchannel plate (MCP). The performances of such a sensor depend on the Analog-Front-End (AFE) circuit used to process the incoming charges. Consequently, a CMOS instrumentation chain for charged particle detection has been designed and tested under space environment. This AFE contains 16 channels, all of which includes a charge pre-amplifier (CPA), a pulse shaper (PS) and a monostable circuit to perform the detection. Using a standard 0.35 μm CMOS process, the proposed AFE has a conversion gain of 0.9mV/fC for electrons and a power consumption of 2.15 mW per channel. Its dynamic range is 79 dB and it is possible to convert charges up to 1.5 pC. The circuit works properly from -20 to 80°C with a measured analog gain variation of 1μV.fC-1.K-1. As far as crosstalk is concerned, experiments show that the proposed instrumentation chain can detect negative charges down to 122 fC without any ambiguity. Further, the proposed chain was irradiated at an average rate of 140 rads (Si) per hour up to 360 krad without any functionality loss.
Origine : Accord explicite pour ce dépôt
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