Gow, JPD;
Walton, D;
Smith, A;
Hailey, M;
Curry, P;
Kennedy, T;
(2017)
On-ground and in-orbit characterisation plan for the PLATO CCD normal cameras.
Journal of Instrumentation
, 12
, Article C11035. 10.1088/1748-0221/12/11/C11035.
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Abstract
PLAnetary Transits and Ocillations (PLATO) is the third European Space Agency (ESA) medium class mission in ESA’s cosmic vision programme due for launch in 2026. PLATO will carry out high precision un-interrupted photometric monitoring in the visible band of large samples of bright solar-type stars. The primary mission goal is to detect and characterise terrestrial exoplanets and their systems with emphasis on planets orbiting in the habitable zone, this will be achieved using light curves to detect planetary transits. PLATO uses a novel multi- instrument concept consisting of 26 small wide field cameras The 26 cameras are made up of a telescope optical unit, four Teledyne e2v CCD270s mounted on a focal plane array and connected to a set of Front End Electronics (FEE) which provide CCD control and readout. There are 2 fast cameras with high read-out cadence (2.5 s) for magnitude ∼ 4–8 stars, being developed by the German Aerospace Centre and 24 normal (N) cameras with a cadence of 25 s to monitor stars with a magnitude greater than 8. The N-FEEs are being developed at University College London’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL) and will be characterised along with the associated CCDs. The CCDs and N-FEEs will undergo rigorous on-ground characterisation and the performance of the CCDs will continue to be monitored in-orbit. This paper discusses the initial development of the experimental arrangement, test procedures and current status of the N-FEE. The parameters explored will include gain, quantum efficiency, pixel response non-uniformity, dark current and Charge Transfer Inefficiency (CTI). The current in-orbit characterisation plan is also discussed which will enable the performance of the CCDs and their associated N-FEE to be monitored during the mission, this will include measurements of CTI giving an indication of the impact of radiation damage in the CCDs.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | On-ground and in-orbit characterisation plan for the PLATO CCD normal cameras |
| Event: | PSD11: The 11th International Conference on Position Sensitive Detectors |
| Location: | Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom |
| Dates: | 03 September 2017 - 08 September 2017 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1088/1748-0221/12/11/C11035 |
| Publisher version: | http://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/12/11/C11035 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2017 IOP Publishing Ltd and Sissa Medialab. This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology, Technology, Instruments & Instrumentation, Detectors for UV, visible and IR photons, Photon detectors for UV, visible and IR photons (solid-state) (PIN diodes, APDs, Si-PMTs, G-APDs, CCDs, EBCCDs, EMCCDs etc), Space instrumentation, Instrument optimisation, CHARGE-TRANSFER INEFFICIENCY, MISSION |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Space and Climate Physics |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10040847 |
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