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Control and read-out of the HEPD-02 tracking system onboard CSES-02 satellite

S. Bartocci, R. Battiston, S. Beolè, F. Benotto, P. Cipollone, S. Coli, A. Contin, M. Cristoforetti, C. De Donato, C. De Santis, A. Di Luca, F. Dumitrache, F. M. Follega, S. Garrafa Botta, G. Gebbia, R. Iuppa, A. Lega, M. Lolli, G. Masciantonio, M. Mergè, M. Mese, R. Nicolaidis, F. Nozzoli, A. Oliva, G. Osteria, F. Palma, F. Palmonari, B. Panico, S. Perciballi, F. Perfetto, P. Picozza, M. Pozzato, E. Ricci, M. Ricci, S. B. Ricciarini, Z. Sahnoun, U. Savino, V. Scotti, E. Serra, A. Sotgiu, R. Sparvoli, P. Ubertini, V. Vilona, S. Zoffoli, P. Zuccon

TL;DR

The paper presents the design and power-optimized operation of HEPD-02's MAPS-based tracking system for the CSES-02 mission. It details the DIR silicon pixel tracker architecture, the TDAQ hardware and firmware, and power-management strategies that keep combined DIR and TDAQ consumption within a 13 W budget. It validates the approach with laboratory measurements, demonstrating that maximum operation stays under budget and that clock gating and selective readouts can adapt to in-flight conditions. The results illustrate the feasibility of employing MAPS in space-based tracking and suggest future MAPS developments with dedicated power-saving enhancements.

Abstract

The High Energy Particle Detector (HEPD-02) is a payload of the second China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES-02), designed and built by the Italian Limadou collaboration. Its purpose is to detect cosmic rays and trapped particles of radiation belts, in the kinetic energy range 3-100 MeV for electrons, 30-200 MeV for protons. HEPD-02 is the first space detector to use a tracking detector based on Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS). The MAPS provides high spatial resolution, low noise, increased robustness, and low production costs. Operating MAPS in space presents a significant challenge due to strict power consumption requirements. To meet such constraints, a custom Tracker Data Acquisition (TDAQ) board and firmware have been designed and implemented, by using a commercial low-power Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). This paper addresses the design features of the TDAQ unit, enabling the tracking detector to be operated efficiently, with particular focus on the power consumption performance.

Control and read-out of the HEPD-02 tracking system onboard CSES-02 satellite

TL;DR

The paper presents the design and power-optimized operation of HEPD-02's MAPS-based tracking system for the CSES-02 mission. It details the DIR silicon pixel tracker architecture, the TDAQ hardware and firmware, and power-management strategies that keep combined DIR and TDAQ consumption within a 13 W budget. It validates the approach with laboratory measurements, demonstrating that maximum operation stays under budget and that clock gating and selective readouts can adapt to in-flight conditions. The results illustrate the feasibility of employing MAPS in space-based tracking and suggest future MAPS developments with dedicated power-saving enhancements.

Abstract

The High Energy Particle Detector (HEPD-02) is a payload of the second China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES-02), designed and built by the Italian Limadou collaboration. Its purpose is to detect cosmic rays and trapped particles of radiation belts, in the kinetic energy range 3-100 MeV for electrons, 30-200 MeV for protons. HEPD-02 is the first space detector to use a tracking detector based on Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS). The MAPS provides high spatial resolution, low noise, increased robustness, and low production costs. Operating MAPS in space presents a significant challenge due to strict power consumption requirements. To meet such constraints, a custom Tracker Data Acquisition (TDAQ) board and firmware have been designed and implemented, by using a commercial low-power Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). This paper addresses the design features of the TDAQ unit, enabling the tracking detector to be operated efficiently, with particular focus on the power consumption performance.
Paper Structure (7 sections, 7 figures)

This paper contains 7 sections, 7 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. The silicon pixel tracker
  3. The Tracker Data Acquisition (TDAQ) board
  4. The TDAQ firmware
  5. Strategies For An Efficient Power Management
  6. Measured power consumption performances
  7. Conclusion

Figures (7)

  • Figure 1: Exploded view of the HEPD-02 detectors: trigger planes (TR1 and TR2), silicon pixel tracker (DIR), range calorimeter (RAN), energy calorimeter (EN1, EN2), bottom (BOT) and lateral (LAT_01..04) containment detectors.
  • Figure 2: Visualization of DIR turret assembly. In a turret, 3 staves are vertically stacked and connected to the lateral TSP board. Each stave contains 2 columns of 5 ALTAI chips.
  • Figure 3: Visualization of the TDAQ board. In the illustration, the hot/cold redundancy is emphasized by the red/blue contours.
  • Figure 4: Schematic of the TDAQ connections with the DIR detector, the DPCU, and the TRIG boards. The connections on the hot section are also present in the cold section (not drawn).
  • Figure 5: Schematical view of the DIR with the connections to the TDAQ board, ALTAI Master (red squares) chips, ALTAI slaves (blue squares). The internal architecture of the TDAQ firmware is depicted on the right.
  • ...and 2 more figures