Ion detection using a continuous channel electron multiplier
Heavy positive ions pulse counting by spiral-type continuous channel electron multipier, noting long pulse rise time composed of numerous after pulsing
Adler, I.↗
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Mass-dependent channel electron multiplier operation
The absolute counting efficiency and pulse height distributions of a continuous-channel electron multiplier used in the detection of hydrogen, argon and xenon ions are assessed. The assessment technique, which involves the post-acceleration of 8-eV ion beams to energies from 100 to 4000 eV, provides information on counting efficiency versus post-acceleration voltage characteristics over a wide range of ion mass. The charge pulse height distributions for H2 (+), A (+) and Xe (+) were measured by operating the experimental apparatus in a marginally gain-saturated mode. It was found that gain saturation occurs at lower channel multiplier operating voltages for light ions such as H2 (+) than for the heavier ions A (+) and Xe (+), suggesting that the technique may be used to discriminate between these two classes of ions in electrostatic analyzers.
Fields, S. A.↗
Relativistic electron acceleration and decay time scales in the inner and outer radiation belts: SAMPEX
High-energy electrons have been measured systematically in a low-altitude (520 x 675 km), nearly polar (inclination = 82 deg) orbit by sensitive instruments onboard the Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX). Count rate channels with electron energy thresholds ranging from 0.4 MeV to 3.5 MeV in three different instruments have been used to examine relativistic electron variations as a function of L-shell parameter and time. A long run of essentially continuous data (July 1992 - July 1993) shows substantial acceleration of energetic electrons throughout much of the magnetosphere on rapid time scales. This acceleration appears to be due to solar wind velocity enhancements and is surprisingly large in that the radiation belt 'slot' region often is filled temporarily and electron fluxes are strongly enhanced even at very low L-values (L aprroximately 2). A superposed epoch analysis shows that electron fluxes rise rapidly for 2.5 is approximately less than L is approximately less than 5. These increases occur on a time scale of order 1-2 days and are most abrupt for L-values near 3. The temporal decay rate of the fluxes is dependent on energy and L-value and may be described by J = Ke-t/to with t(sub o) approximately equals 5-10 days. Thus, these results suggest that the Earth's magnetosphere is a cosmic electron accelerator of substantial strength and efficiency.
Baker, D. N.↗
Analysis of the Variation of Energetic Electron Flux with Respect to Longitude and Distance Normal to the Magnetic Equatorial Plane for Galileo Energetic Particle Detector Data
In this study we examine ten-minute omni-directional averages of energetic electron data measured by the Galileo spacecraft Energetic Particle Detector (EPD). Count rates from electron channels B1, DC2, and DC3 are evaluated using a power law model to yield estimates of the differential electron fluxes from 1 MeV to 11 MeV at distances between 8 and 51 Jupiter radii. Whereas the orbit of the Galileo spacecraft remained close to the rotational equatorial plane of Jupiter, the approximately 11 degree tilt of the magnetic axis of Jupiter relative to its rotational axis allowed the EPD instrument to sample high energy electrons at limited distances normal to the magnetic equatorial plane. We present a Fourier analysis of the semi-diurnal variation of electron fluxes with longitude.
synchrotron radiation↗
Radially uniform electron source
A thermionic electron source capable of producing uniform count rates in a number of channel electron multipliers simultaneously was required for conditioning multipliers for an extended space mission. It was found that a straight tungsten filament in the center of a cylindrically symmetric geometry surrounded by an array of multipliers emits a radially asymmetric distribution of electrons that changes with time. A source was developed which successfully produces a time-independent radially uniform distribution of electrons by moving the filament out of the direct line of sight and replacing it with a centrally located electron 'cloud.'
Mccomas, D.↗
Distributed Spacecraft Autonomy (DSA): Development of Swarm Autonomy Capability and Scalability for Spacecraft
The Distributed Spacecraft Autonomy project is developing a suite of software tools that enable an operator to command and receive data from a swarm as a single entity, enable a swarm to autonomously coordinate its actions via distributed decision making and reactive closed-loop control, and model swarm behavior in the presence of anomalies or failures. Our use case is the mapping of the electron density of the ionosphere using radio tomography by coordinating the selection of appropriate GPS channels, and by recording Total Electron Count (TEC)measurements. DSA will be demonstrated on board the NASA Ames Starling mission a swarm of four small, LEO spacecraft, scheduled to launch in 2021. We will also perform a ground demonstration with simulated and hardware-in-the-loop elements, to validate the tools for controlling swarms of up to 100 assets.The capability to communicate autonomously between the swarm satellites is demonstrated via a sophisticated simulation architecture. Historical Plasma sphere TEC data obtained via dual-band Novatel GPS Receivers are utilized as a representative input data set for the swarm. The representative TEC data and GPS satellite observability information is fed to the autonomous software package in place of a true real-time ground data collection process. The swarm satellites actively share status updates amongst one another and utilize multi-agent decision making to optimally identify regions of interest in the TEC distribution. The software,aware of the bandwidth limitations of the swarm satellites, prioritizes explorative measurements,which define the range of observability for the satellites, as well as exploitative measurements,which focus on maximizing the observance potential of regions with prolonged, elevated TEC density. The science of this study can ultimately be used to determine the dynamics and coupling of Earth's magnetosphere, ionosphere, and atmosphere and their response to solar and terrestrial inputs. The findings can be applied to the imaging of critical, transient phenomena in the magnetosphere in later missions. Meanwhile, the swarm autonomy capabilities have far reaching potential in future satellite missions.As an experimental demonstration of the autonomous capabilities of the network, a message is first printed within a core Flight Executive (cFE) application. Two cFE applications that communicate with one another within the same core Flight System (cFS) are shown.Communication between mission applications on the internal cFE bus is extended to utilize Data Distribution Service (DDS) for vehicle-to-vehicle networking. The DDS middle ware provides reliable delivery, routing, and topic subscription features over User Data gram Protocol (UDP).Leveraging Linux containerization, a networked set of satellite instances are generated by script to simulate swarm behavior. Swarm commanding and synchronization through the network is demonstrated under various topologies and data-loss conditions. Finally, autonomous swarms calability from 2 satellites to 100 satellites is shown.
Fugate, Jason↗
Distributed Spacecraft Autonomy - Development of Swarm Autonomy Capability and Scalability for Spacecraft
The Distributed Spacecraft Autonomy project is developing a suite of software tools that enable an operator to command and receive data from a swarm as a single entity, enable a swarm to autonomously coordinate its actions via distributed decision making and reactive closed-loop control, and model swarm behavior in the presence of anomalies or failures. Our use case is the mapping of the electron density of the ionosphere using radio tomography by coordinating the selection of appropriate GPS channels, and by recording Total Electron Count (TEC) measurements. DSA will be demonstrated onboard the NASA Ames Starling mission – a swarm of four small, LEO spacecraft, scheduled to launch in 2021. We will also perform a ground demonstration with simulated and hardware-in-the-loop elements, to validate the tools for controlling swarms of up to 100 assets. The capability to communicate autonomously between the swarm satellites is demonstrated via a sophisticated simulation architecture. Historical Plasmasphere TEC data obtained via dual-band Novatel GPS Receivers are utilized as a representative input dataset for the swarm. The representative TEC data and GPS satellite observability information is fed to the autonomous software package in place of a true real-time ground data collection process. The swarm satellites actively share status updates amongst one another and utilize multi-agent decision making to optimally identify regions of interest in the TEC distribution. The software, aware of the bandwidth limitations of the swarm satellites, prioritizes explorative measurements, which define the range of observability for the satellites, as well as exploitative measurements, which focus on maximizing the observance potential of regions with prolonged, elevated TEC density. The science of this study can ultimately be used to determine the dynamics and coupling of Earth’s magnetosphere, ionosphere, and atmosphere and their response to solar and terrestrial inputs. The findings can be applied to the imaging of critical, transient phenomena in the magnetosphere in later missions. Meanwhile, the swarm autonomy capabilities have far reaching potential in future satellite missions. As an experimental demonstration of the autonomous capabilities of the network, a message is first printed within a core Flight Executive (cFE) application. Two cFE applications that communicate with one another within the same core Flight System (cFS) are shown. Communication between mission applications on the internal cFE bus is extended to utilize Data Distribution Service (DDS) for vehicle-to-vehicle networking. The DDS middleware provides reliable delivery, routing, and topic subscription features over User Datagram Protocol (UDP). Leveraging Linux containerization, a networked set of satellite instances are generated by script to simulate swarm behavior. Swarm commanding and synchronization through the network is demonstrated under various topologies and data-loss conditions. Finally, autonomous swarm scalability from 2 satellites to 100 satellites is shown.
Distributed Autonomy↗
Design and development of a fast ion mass spectrometer
Two Fast Ion Mass Spectrometers (FIMS A and FIMS B) were developed. The design, development, construction, calibration, integration, and flight of these instruments, along with early results from the data analysis efforts are summarized. A medium energy ion mass spectrometer that covers mass velocity space with significantly higher time resolution, improved mass resolution, (particularly for heavier ions), and wider energy range than existing instruments had achieved was completed. The initial design consisted of a dual channel cylindrical electrostatic analyzer followed by a dual channel cylindrical velocity filter. The gain versus count rate characteristics of the high current channel electron multipliers (CEM's), which were chosen for ion detection, revealed a systematic behavior that can be used as a criterion for selection of CEM's for long counting lifetimes.
Burch, J. L.↗
Photon-counting detector arrays based on microchannel array plates
The recent development of the channel electron multiplier (CEM) and its miniaturization into the microchannel array plate (MCP) offers the possibility of fully combining the advantages of the photographic and photoelectric detection systems. The MCP has an image-intensifying capability and the potential of being developed to yield signal outputs superior to those of conventional photomultipliers. In particular, the MCP has a photon-counting capability with a negligible dark-count rate. Furthermore, the MCP can operate stably and efficiently at extreme-ultraviolet and soft X-ray wavelengths in a windowless configuration or can be integrated with a photo-cathode in a sealed tube for use at ultraviolet and visible wavelengths. The operation of one- and two-dimensional photon-counting detector arrays based on the MCP at extreme-ultraviolet wavelengths is described, and the design of sealed arrays for use at ultraviolet and visible wavelengths is briefly discussed.
Timothy, J. G.↗
A First Look at Carbon and Oxygen Stable Isotope Measurements of Martian Atmospheric C02 by the Phoenix Lander
Precise stable isotope measurements of the CO2 in the martian atmosphere have the potential to provide important constraints for our understanding of the history of volatiles, the carbon cycle, current atmospheric processes, and the degree of water/rock interaction on Mars. The isotopic composition of the martian atmosphere has been measured using a number of different methods (Table 1), however a precise value (<1%) has yet to be achieved. Given the elevated 13C values measured in carbonates in martian meteorites it has been supposed that the martian atmosphere was enriched in delta(sup 13)C. This was supported by measurements of trapped CO2 gas in EETA 79001[2] which showed elevated delta(sup 13)C values (Table 1). More recently, Earth-based spectroscopic measurements of the martian atmosphere have measured the martian CO2 to be depleted in delta(sup 13)C relative to CO2 in the terrestrial atmosphere. The spectroscopic measurements performed by Krasnopolsky et al. were reported with approx.2% uncertainties which are much smaller than the Viking measurements, but still remain very large in comparison to the magnitude of carbon and oxygen isotope fractionations under martian surface conditions. The Thermal Evolved Gas Analyzer (TEGA) instrument on the Mars Phoenix Lander included a magnetic sector mass spectrometer (EGA) which had the goal of measuring the isotopic composition of martian atmospheric CO2 to within 0.5%. The mass spectrometer is a miniature magnetic sector instrument intended to measure both the martian atmosphere as well as gases evolved from heating martian soils. Ions produced in the ion source are drawn out by a high voltage and focused by a magnetic field onto a set of collector slits. Four specific trajectories are selected to cover the mass ranges, 0.7 - 4, 7 - 35, 14 - 70, and 28 - 140 Da. Using four channels reduces the magnitude of the mass scan and provides simultaneous coverage of the mass ranges. Channel electron multiplier (CEM) detectors that operate in the pulse counting mode detect the ion beams.
Niles, P.B.↗
Design and Performance of a Multi-mode Photon-counting Receiver for the NASA O2O Mission
The NASA Orion O2O mission was designed and tested to support high-rate bi-directional optical communications between one of multiple ground sites and a crewed capsule during a 10-day mission. This paper focuses on the design and performance of the receiver that will be based at the NASA White Sands Complex, New Mexico, USA. The main receiver components consist of two 40-cm apertures, each coupled to a specialty multi-mode optical fiber; each fiber coupled to a custom array of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors; a high-speed, high-channel-count time-to-digital converter; and custom digitizing electronics to perform deserialization, demodulation, clock recovery, and forward error correction with a powerful serially-concatenated pulse-position-modulation turbo code. We show error-free data communication performance up to the maximum required data rate of 267 Mb/s.
optical↗
Atmospheric Emission Photometric Imaging on Spacelab (AEPI)
Two parallel detector systems are used for atmospheric emission photometric emission. The top system is a TV system using the image intensified S.E.C. tube as the detector. The bottom system, the photon counting array (P.C.A.), uses a microchannel plate intensified anode array tube and is equivalent to a 100 channel photomultiplier. For the television, the filters are selected by means of a filter wheel set. The field of view of the is interchangeable between 20 and 6 degrees, by means of a moveable prism. The quartz window mu channel plate intensifier is fiber optically coupled to a 40-25 demagnifying tube which is in turn coupled to the S.E.C. tube. The PCA channel has a fixed field of view of 4 deg and a remote control interchangeable photometric converter optics which converts the imaging array into a multichannel photometer. The mu channel plate array tube amplifies the photons into detectable counts for the PCA electronics. The entire system is pointed by a two axis gimbal. The flight equipment to be acquired consists of a gyro package and an interactive flight control unit panel. The gyro package is necessary because of the inadequate attitude reference supplied by the current Spacelab systems.
Mende, S. B.↗
Recent progress with multi-anode microchannel array detector systems
The construction and modes of operation of Multi-Anode Microchannel Arrays (MAMA's) are briefly reviewed. The MAMA detectors, which are a family of photoelectric, photon-counting array detectors being developed specifically for use in instruments on ground-based and space-borne telescopes, combine the high sensitivity and photometric stability of a conventional channel electron multiplier with a high-resolution imaging capability. The MAMA detectors feature low applied potential (less than 3 kV), high gain (greater than 10 to the 6th electrons/pulse), an absolute event timing accuracy of 100 ns or better, a very long count lifetime (greater than 2.5 x 10 to the 11th counts/sq mm), and a power consumption of less than 30 W for a complete system
Timothy, J. G.↗
Cosmic-ray gradients from Pioneer-10 and Pioneer-11
The paper reports Pioneer 10 and 11 observations of the variation with heliocentric distance of the intensity of cosmic-ray protons, alpha particles, and high-Z nuclei with kinetic energies of at least 480 MeV/nucleon as well as cosmic-ray electrons with energies exceeding 6 MeV. The observations were with three-channel Cerenkov counters at distances between 1.02 and 4.66 AU while the spacecraft traveled from earth to Jupiter. During the 4.5-month observation period, all the counting rates rose steadily, except when they were modified by solar events, Forbush decreases, and Jovian electron events. Two methods are employed to determine the cosmic-ray integral intensity gradient for the observation period from simultaneous data obtained by the two spacecraft; effects of solar particles, Forbush decreases, and Jovian electrons are eliminated in various ways. A radial gradient of 0.15 + or - 2.3% per AU is determined, which is considered to be consistent with zero. Theoretical gradients are computed, and the observed values are found to be an order of magnitude below the expected values. Several reasons for the discrepancy are suggested.
Axford, W. I.↗
Channel electron multiplier efficiency for protons of 0.2-10 keV.
The initial results of absolute proton efficiency measurements made in an auroral particle study by sounding rockets are given. The measurements were made at several counting rates from 1000 to 40,000 counts/sec on rocket-borne equipment. The results agree with those of Egidi et al. (1969) in the high energy range and show a disagreement at low energies.
Iglesias, G. E.↗
A photon counting array photometer
The operation and performance of an array photometer with the ability to discriminate on single photoelectrons are discussed. The system consists of a 100 by 100 array of channels which count single photoelectrons. The photosensor is an Intensified Charge Coupled Device using a Fairchild CCD201 which was fabricated by the Electronic Vision Company. This system has demonstrated a noise level which permits single photoelectron discrimination, high scan rate (400 frames/sec), and low lag. The UMAP system has been successfully operated in the photon counting mode on a 36-inch telescope and on a 48-inch telescope. Data from these observations illustrate the system sensitivity and the spacial resolution which is better defined by the size of an individual pixel element on the CCD.
Currie, D. G.↗
LST and supporting technology
In order to realize the LST objectives of high angular resolution, extended wavelength coverage and faint object detection, the performance of the instruments must be matched to that of the telescope. To insure that adequate technology is available by 1976, an intensive SR & T program has been initiated which builds on previous work and is coordinated with work in other agencies. The primary areas of concern are detectors, on-board computers, and ultraviolet optical components. In the last area grating work is being emphasized. The on-board computer will be necessary to allow pre-processing of raw data and enable detector operation in a pulse counting mode. For detectors, the SEC Vidicon development will be continued but the use of solid-state arrays in the electron bombarded mode and channel plate detectors are being seriously considered. One challenging problem is to provide 2 K cooling to permit ultra-sensitive IR observations to be made.
Sobieski, S.↗
Image plane detector for the dynamics explorer Fabry-Perot interferometer
A compact twelve-channel photon-counting device based on existing Generation II imaging technology has been developed for use as the image-plane detector of the Dynamics Explorer Fabry-Perot interferometer. The device has an S-20 photocathode, three-microchannel plate electron multiplication stages, and an equal-area concentric-ring segmented anode whose geometry mimics that of the interference ring pattern produced by a plane etalon. The twelve channels sample equal and contiguous intervals in the spectrum. The purpose of the delopment has been to utilize the signal multiplex advantage of a multichannel detector in the measurement of Doppler shifts and line-broadening effects for naturally occurring atmospheric emission features of low intensity. The design, testing, calibration, and flight performance of the novel detector system are presented. In addition, measured emission line profiles at high resolution from the satellite instrument are presented to illustrate the operation of the device.
Killeen, T. L.↗