Development of a prototype detector for MeV gamma-ray detection on a CubeSat

Trotz der beeindruckenden Fortschritte, die die Röntgen- und Gammastrahlenobservatorien in den letzten Jahrzehnten erzielt haben, ist der Energiebereich zwischen 200 keV und 50 MeV nach wie vor kaum erforscht. Diese Lücke, die in der Literatur oft als ``MeV-Lücke'' bezeichnet wird, ist nicht auf einen Mangel an überzeugender Wissenschaft zurückzuführen, sondern auf technische Herausforderungen und Nachweisschwierigkeiten, die mit MeV-Beobachtungen einhergehen. COMPTEL an Bord von CGRO (1991-2000) war das letzte Teleskop, das eine vollständige Durchmusterung des MeV-Himmels mit einer relativ bescheidenen Empfindlichkeit durchführte. Für die Zukunft sind zahlreiche Missionen vorgeschlagen worden, insbesondere AMEGO, die die Leistung von COMPTEL um mindestens eine Größenordnung verbessern sollen. Der Zeitrahmen für die Entwicklung, den Aufbau und den Start solch großer Missionen beträgt jedoch etwa 10 Jahre und ist mit erheblichen Kosten verbunden. In diesem Szenario könnte ein viel kleinerer Satellit, der sich der neuen Welle von schnellen, relativ kostengünstigen Weltraumforschungsmissionen anschließt, die durch CubeSats ermöglicht werden, in kürzerer Zeit rentabel sein. In dieser Arbeit werden die Verfügbarkeit und die Leistung eines Compton-Teleskops auf der Grundlage des CubeSat-Standards, genannt MeVCube, untersucht. Die Auswirkungen der Materialwahl und verschiedener CubeSat-Nutzlasten wurden durch Simulationen bewertet. Trotz der begrenzten Größe kann selbst ein kleines Teleskop, das auf einem CubeSat fliegt, den Energiebereich von Hunderten von keV bis zu einigen MeV mit einer Empfindlichkeit abdecken, die mit der der letzten Generation von Großmissionen wie COMPTEL und INTEGRAL vergleichbar ist. Es wurden auch experimentelle Messungen an Cadmium-Zink-Tellurid-Halbleiterdetektoren und einer für den Weltraumbetrieb geeigneten Ausleseelektronik mit geringem Stromverbrauch durchgeführt.Despite the impressive progresses achieved both by X-ray and gamma-ray observatories in the last decades, the energy range between 200 keV and 50 MeV remains poorly explored. This gap in coverage, often referred in literature as the ``MeV gap'', is not due to lack of compelling science, but instead to technical challenges and detection difficulties that comes with MeV observations. COMPTEL, on-board CGRO (1991-2000), was the last telescope to accomplish a complete survey of the MeV-sky with a relatively modest sensitivity. Many missions have been proposed for the future, most notably AMEGO, aiming to improve COMPTEL's performance by at least one order of magnitude. However, the timescale for development, assembly and launch of such large missions is around 10 years, with substantial costs. Looking at this scenario, a much smaller satellite, joining the new wave of rapid, relatively inexpensive space science missions enabled by CubeSats, may be profitable on a shorter time-scale. This thesis evaluates the availability and performance of a Compton telescope based on the CubeSat standard, named MeVCube. The impact of material choice and different CubeSat payloads has been evaluated through simulations. Despite the limited size, even a small telescope flying on a CubeSat can cover the energy range from hundreds of keV up to few MeVs with a sensitivity comparable to that of the last generation of large-scale missions like COMPTEL and INTEGRAL. Experimental measurements on Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride semiconductor detectors and low-power read-out electronics suitable for space operation have been performed as well

Introducing the MeVCube concept: a CubeSat for MeV observations

Despite the impressive progress achieved both by X-ray and gamma-ray observatories in the last few decades, the energy range between $\sim200\;\mathrm{keV}$ and $\sim50\;\mathrm{MeV}$ remains poorly explored. COMPTEL, on-board the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO, $1991$-$2000$), opened the MeV gamma-ray band as a new window to astronomy, performing the first all-sky survey in the energy range from $0.75$ to $30\;\mathrm{MeV}$. More than $20$ years after the de-orbit of CGRO, no successor mission is yet operating. Over the past years many concepts have been proposed, for new observatories exploring different configurations and imaging techniques; a selection of the most recent ones includes AMEGO, ETCC, GECCO and COSI. We propose here a novel concept for a Compton telescope based on the CubeSat standard, named MeVCube, with the advantages of small cost and relatively short development time. The scientific payload is based on two layers of pixelated Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride (CdZnTe) detectors, coupled with low-power read-out electronics (ASIC, VATA450.3). The performance of the read-out electronics and CdZnTe custom designed detectors have been measured extensively at DESY. The performance of the telescope is accessed through simulations: despite a small effective area limited to a few $\mathrm{cm}^{2}$, MeVCube can reach an angular resolution of $1.5^{\circ}$ and a sensitivity comparable to the one achieved by the last generation of large-scale satellites like COMPTEL and INTEGRAL. Combined with a large field-of-view and a moderate cost, MeVCube can be a powerful instrument for transient observations and searches of electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational wave events

Introducing the MeVCube concept: a CubeSat for MeV observations

Despite the impressive progress achieved both by X-ray and gamma-ray observatories in the last few decades, the energy range between ∼ 200 keV and ∼ 50 MeV remains poorly explored. COMPTEL, on-board the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO, 1991-2000), opened the MeV gamma-ray band as a new window to astronomy, performing the first all-sky survey in the energy range from 0.75 to 30 MeV. More than 20 years after the de-orbit of CGRO, no successor mission is yet operating. Over the past years many concepts have been proposed, for new observatories exploring different configurations and imaging techniques; a selection of the most recent ones includes AMEGO, ETCC, GECCO and COSI. We propose here a novel concept for a Compton telescope based on the CubeSat standard, named MeVCube, with the advantages of small cost and relatively short development time. The scientific payload is based on two layers of pixelated Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride (CdZnTe) detectors, coupled with low-power read-out electronics (ASIC, VATA450.3). The performance of the read-out electronics and CdZnTe custom designed detectors have been measured extensively at DESY [1]. The performance of the telescope is accessed through simulations: despite a small effective area limited to a few cm2, MeVCube can reach an angular resolution of 1.5° and a sensitivity comparable to the one achieved by the last generation of large-scale satellites like COMPTEL and INTEGRAL. Combined with a large field-of-view and a moderate cost, MeVCube can be a powerful instrument for transient observations and searches of electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational wave events.Peer Reviewe

Characterization of a CdZnTe detector for a low-power CubeSat application

We report spectral and imaging performance of a pixelated CdZnTe detector custom designed for the MeVCube project: a small Compton telescope on a CubeSat platform. MeVCube is expected to cover the energy range between 200 keV and 4 MeV, with a sensitivity comparable to the one of the last generation of larger satellites. In order to achieve this goal, an energy resolution of few percent in full width at half maximum (FWHM) and a 3-D spatial resolution of few millimeters for the individual detectors are needed. The severe power constraints present in small satellites require very low power read-out electronics for the detector. Our read-out is based on the VATA450.3 ASIC developed by Ideas, with a power consumption of only 0.25 mW/channel, which exhibits good performance in terms of dynamic range, noise and linearity. A 2.0 cm× 2.0 cm× 1.5 cm CdZnTe detector, with a custom 8 × 8 pixel anode structure read-out by a VATA450.3 ASIC, has been tested. A preliminary read-out system for the cathode, based on a discrete Amptek A250F charge sensitive pre-amplifier and a DRS4 ASIC, has been implemented. An energy resolution around 3% FWHM has been measured at a gamma energy of 662 keV; at 200 keV the average energy resolution is 6.5%, decreasing to ≲ 2% at energies above 1 MeV. A 3-D spatial resolution of ≈ 2 mm is achieved in each dimension.Peer Reviewe

Characterization of a CdZnTe detector for a low-power CubeSat application

We report spectral and imaging performance of a pixelated CdZnTe detector custom designed for the \emph{MeVCube} project: a small Compton telescope on a CubeSat platform. \emph{MeVCube} is expected to cover the energy range between $200\;\mathrm{keV}$ and $4\;\mathrm{MeV}$, with performance comparable to the last generation of larger satellites. In order to achieve this goal, an energy resolution of few percent in full width at half maximum (FWHM) and a $3$-D spatial resolution of few millimeters for the individual detectors are needed. The severe power constraints present in small satellites require very low power read-out electronics for the detector. Our read-out is based on the VATA450.3 ASIC developed by \emph{Ideas}, with a power consumption of only $0.25\;\mathrm{mW/channel}$, which exhibits good performance in terms of dynamic range, noise and linearity. A $2.0\;\mathrm{cm} \times 2.0\;\mathrm{cm} \times 1.5\;\mathrm{cm}$ CdZnTe detector, with a custom $8 \times 8$ pixel anode structure read-out by a VATA450.3 ASIC, has been tested. A preliminary read-out system for the cathode, based on a discrete \emph{Amptek} A250F charge sensitive pre-amplifier and a DRS4 ASIC, has been implemented. An energy resolution around $3\%$ FWHM has been measured at a gamma energy of $662\;\mathrm{keV}$; at $200\;\mathrm{keV}$ the average energy resolution is $6.5\%$, decreasing to $\lesssim 2\%$ at energies above $1\;\mathrm{MeV}$. A $3$-D spatial resolution of $\approx 2\,\mathrm{mm}$ is achieved

Caratterizzazione dello spettro di 3C 454.3 osservato dal Fermi LAT

Lo strumento LAT, il Large Area Telescope, il principale rivelatore a bordo del satellite Fermi, è descritto dalle cosiddette "Instrument Responce Function" (IRF) che ne caratterizzano la risposta alla radiazione gamma di alta energia tra circa 100 MeV ed oltre 300 GeV. Le IRF comprendono vari descrittori, tra i quali l'area efficace, la risoluzione angolare ed energetica, e sono tabulate in funzione dell'angolo di incidenza e dell'energia ricostruita dall'evento. Recentemente, hanno subito una revisione consistente (dalla "Pass7" alla "Pass8") che ha permesso un notevole aumento dell'area efficace e, soprattutto, un sostanziale miglioramento della risoluzione angolare. In questa tesi sfrutteremo una sorgente extragalattica ben nota e molto intensa (la 3C 454.3) per caratterizzare le differenze e le migliorie delle due versioni di IRF

Scientific Performance of a Nano-satellite MeV Telescope

Over the past two decades, both X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy have experienced great progress. However, the region of the electromagnetic spectrum around 3c1 MeV is not so thoroughly explored. Future medium-sized gamma-ray telescopes will fill this gap in observations. As the timescale for the development and launch of a medium-class mission is 3c10 years, with substantial costs, we propose a different approach for the immediate future. In this paper, we evaluate the viability of a much smaller and cheaper detector: a nano-satellite Compton telescope, based on the CubeSat architecture. The scientific performance of this telescope would be well below that of the instrument expected for the future larger missions; however, via simulations, we estimate that such a compact telescope will achieve a performance similar to that of COMPTEL

Characterization of a CdZnTe detector for a low-power CubeSat application

We report spectral and imaging performance of a pixelated CdZnTe detector custom designed for the MeVCube project: a small Compton telescope on a CubeSat platform. MeVCube is expected to cover the energy range between 200 keV and 4 MeV, with a sensitivity comparable to the one of the last generation of larger satellites. In order to achieve this goal, an energy resolution of few percent in full width at half maximum (FWHM) and a 3-D spatial resolution of few millimeters for the individual detectors are needed. The severe power constraints present in small satellites require very low power read-out electronics for the detector. Our read-out is based on the VATA450.3 ASIC developed by Ideas, with a power consumption of only 0.25 mW/channel, which exhibits good performance in terms of dynamic range, noise and linearity. A 2.0 cm× 2.0 cm× 1.5 cm CdZnTe detector, with a custom 8 × 8 pixel anode structure read-out by a VATA450.3 ASIC, has been tested. A preliminary read-out system for the cathode, based on a discrete Amptek A250F charge sensitive pre-amplifier and a DRS4 ASIC, has been implemented. An energy resolution around 3% FWHM has been measured at a gamma energy of 662 keV; at 200 keV the average energy resolution is 6.5%, decreasing to ≲ 2% at energies above 1 MeV. A 3-D spatial resolution of ≈ 2 mm is achieved in each dimension