Performance of the small size telescope sub-array of the Cherenkov Telescope Array observatory

The southern part of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) observatory will consist of at least three types of telescopes: large size, medium size and small size telescopes. Massive Monte Carlo simulations have been performed using the European Grid Infrastructure to analyze the performance of this array. We present the results of these simulations for a sub-array of small size telescopes of the Davies-Cotton type. Such a telescope, called SST-1M, is currently being proposed for the CTA observatory by a group of Polish and Swiss institutions. SST-1M will have a mirror of 4m diameter and it will be equipped with a fully digital camera based on silicon photodetectors. We present the analysis of the sub-array sensitivity, angular resolution, and energy resolution to demonstrate the fulfillment of the requirements of the CTA Consortium. To verify the results obtained in numerical simulations a construction of a mini array of five SST-1M telescopes is planned. We also present the performance of such a mini array and discuss the prospects of its scientific program

An innovative silicon photomultiplier digitizing camera for gamma-ray astronomy

The single-mirror small-size telescope (SST-1M) is one of the three proposed designs for the small-size telescopes (SSTs) of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) project. The SST-1M will be equipped with a 4 m-diameter segmented mirror dish and an innovative fully digital camera based on silicon photo-multipliers (SiPMs). Since the SST sub-array will consist of up to 70 telescopes, the challenge is not only to build a telescope with excellent performance, but also to design it so that its components can be commissioned, assembled and tested by industry. In this paper we review the basic steps that led to the design concepts for the SST-1M camera and the ongoing realization of the first prototype, with focus on the innovative solutions adopted for the photodetector plane and the readout and trigger parts of the camera. In addition, we report on results of laboratory measurements on real scale elements that validate the camera design and show that it is capable of matching the CTA requirements of operating up to high-moon-light background conditions.Comment: 30 pages, 61 figure

DigiCam : fully digital compact camera for SST-1M telescope

The single mirror Small Size Telescopes (SST-1M), being built by a sub-consortium of Polish and Swiss Institutions of the CTA Consortium, will be equipped with a fully digital camera with a compact photodetector plane based on silicon photomultipliers. The internal trigger signal transmission overhead will be kept at low level by introducing a high level of integration. It will be achieved by massively deploying state-of-the-art multi-gigabit transceivers, beginning from the ADC flash converters, through the internal data and trigger signals transmission over backplanes and cables, to the camera's server 10Gb/s Ethernet links. Such approach will allow fitting the size and weight of the camera exactly to the SST-1M needs, still retaining the flexibility of a fully digital design. Such solution has low power consumption, high reliability and long lifetime. The concept of the camera will be described, along with some construction details and performance results

Front-end and slow control electronics for large area SiPMs used for the single mirror Small Size Telescope (SST-1M) of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA)

The single mirror Small Size Telescope (SST-1M) project proposes a design among others for the smallest type of telescopes (SST), that will compose the south observatory of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). The SST camera collecting the Cherenkov light resulting from very high energy gamma-ray interactions in the atmosphere proposes to use Silicon PhotoMultipliers (SiPM). The SST-1M design has led to the use of unique pixel shape and size that required a dedicated development by the University of Geneva and Hamamatsu. An active surface of 3c94 mm2 and a resulting total capacitance of 3c3.4 nF combined with the stringent requirements of the CTA project on timing and charge resolution have led the University of Geneva to develop a custom preamplifier stage and slow-control system. The design and performance of the tailor made preamplifier stage and of the slow control electronics will be briefly described. The bias circuit of the sensor contains a resistor meant to prevent the sensor from drawing high current. However this resistor also introduces a voltage drop at the sensor input impacting the stability of its operation. A model has been developed in order to derive the parameters needed to account for it at the data analysis level. A solution based on the SST-1M front-end and digital readout is proposed to compensate for the voltage drop at the sensor cathode

The Cherenkov Telescope Array single-mirror small size telescope project: status and prospects

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), the next generation very high energy gamma-ray observatory, will consist of three types of telescopes: large (LST), medium (MST) and small (SST) size telescopes. The small size telescopes are dedicated to the observation of gamma-rays with energy between a few TeV and few hundreds of TeV. The single-mirror small size telescope (SST-1M) is one of several SST designs. It will be equipped with a 4 m-diameter segmented mirror dish and a fully digital camera based on Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes. Currently, the first prototype of the mechanical structure is under assembly in Poland. In 2014 it will be equipped with 18 mirror facets and a prototype of the camera