Flight model of Timepix X-ray Monitor for Space Applications

AbstraktAbstract

Electronics and related software for data acquisition and measurement control of modified USB Lite interface for Timepix pixel detector. The equipment has been developed specifically for the needs of the satellite and rocket experiments. The basis of electronics is microprocessor AVR XMEGA for control and power management. Mechanical dimensions are designed to be compatible with the platform Cubesat. During the reading of data the developed equipment is capable to distinguish X-rays (one pixel clusters) and allows different image compression for efficient transfer of data from space. In addition it allows to select various binning (counting the number of pixels in one) to reduce the amount of data transferred. The resulting data can be output in different formats: Full image, Sums of columns, Histogram, Basic Statistics Three different measurement modes are implemented: - Simple scanning - according to a schedule or on command executes a single exposure. - Adrenaline mode - waiting for a signal from the UV sensors, measurement starts when the value exceeds a threshold value (ready to "catch" a shining object). - Scan Mode - regularly scans the universe and stores only basic statistical data on the measured signals (mean, median, standard deviation). If these values exceeds a defined level, saves the entire image (or histogram).

Electronics and related software for data acquisition and measurement control of modified USB Lite interface for Timepix pixel detector. The equipment has been developed specifically for the needs of the satellite and rocket experiments. The basis of electronics is microprocessor AVR XMEGA for control and power management. Mechanical dimensions are designed to be compatible with the platform Cubesat. During the reading of data the developed equipment is capable to distinguish X-rays (one pixel clusters) and allows different image compression for efficient transfer of data from space. In addition it allows to select various binning (counting the number of pixels in one) to reduce the amount of data transferred. The resulting data can be output in different formats: Full image, Sums of columns, Histogram, Basic Statistics Three different measurement modes are implemented: - Simple scanning - according to a schedule or on command executes a single exposure. - Adrenaline mode - waiting for a signal from the UV sensors, measurement starts when the value exceeds a threshold value (ready to "catch" a shining object). - Scan Mode - regularly scans the universe and stores only basic statistical data on the measured signals (mean, median, standard deviation). If these values exceeds a defined level, saves the entire image (or histogram).