Abstract:
Athena is the next generation X-ray observatory to be launched by the European
Space Agency (ESA), bringing several innovations and higher performance than any
previous X-ray mission. Two main instruments will be flying on board Athena: the X-ray
Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) and the Wide Field Imager (WFI). The first consists of a
microcalorimeter instrument based on transition edge sensor technology, and the
second one consists of state-of-the-art DEPFET sensors providing unprecedented
energy resolution and high-speed readout capabilities. The focus of this work lies on the
WFI instrument, specifically on the design and development of the frame pre-
processing pipeline, which is a fundamental element of the WFI’s detector electronics
subsystem.
The unprecedented high-count rate capabilities of the WFI instrument imply that an
enormous amount of data is produced during WFI observations. This precious data far
surpasses the current bandwidth capabilities of modern spacecraft systems, creating
the necessity of on-board data screening and preprocessing, downloading then only the
scientifically relevant X-ray data to the ground.
A demonstrator model of the WFI frame processor has been designed, developed,
and manufactured, demonstrating successfully the technological capability of
processing on-board in real-time the WFI data utilizing a pipeline concept in a single
space qualified FPGA device. This thesis focuses on the description of such pipelines,
outlining the design challenges, and concluding by providing the verification and
validation results obtained during the frame processor demonstrator model
development.
Digital Electronics