Computer Science – Performance
Scientific paper
Dec 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufmsa31b1978s&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #SA31B-1978
Computer Science
Performance
[0358] Atmospheric Composition And Structure / Thermosphere: Energy Deposition, [0394] Atmospheric Composition And Structure / Instruments And Techniques, [2411] Ionosphere / Electric Fields, [2494] Ionosphere / Instruments And Techniques
Scientific paper
We present a new instrument concept for in situ satellite-based measurement of ion drifts / neutral winds, temperature, density, and composition. The Imaging Dispersive Energy Analyzer (IDEA) combines high-throughput dispersive energy analysis with 2-D imaging ion detection to provide complete characterization of the velocity distribution of a charged particle stream. The IDEA deflector operates at a small (<15 V) d.c. potential, with no voltage scanning necessary. All ions transmitted through the entrance collimator are deflected according to kinetic energy and detected by a microchannel plate (MCP) / imaging anode system (100% duty cycle). This produces a characteristic detector image from which the critical atmospheric parameters can be retrieved. Major species are separated by their mean kinetic energies according to the spacecraft velocity (e.g., 4.7 eV for O and 8.2 eV for N2). Spatial distributions are fit by maximal-likelihood routines, with centroid positions yielding each component of the neutral wind / ion drift velocity (assuming knowledge of the spacecraft pointing vector), and temperature determined from distribution width. The IDEA deflector consists of resistive glass side plates to propagate a linear potential gradient between copper end plates. The exit plane is a semi-transparent gate with parallel wires, with each wire at a unique voltage according to vertical position and contact point with the resistive glass. This design yields an 'ideal' electrostatic deflector, with no fringing or perturbed fields, in a very compact geometry. Thus, ions follow predictable trajectories, and straightforward data analysis produces highly accurate measurements of the ion velocity distribution function. Two recently proposed instrument suites, the Ion Drifts, Electric Fields, and Temperature (IDEFT) sensor and the Total Thermosphere Sensor (TTS), use orthogonally-oriented IDEA analyzers and a shared imaging detector to characterize the ionosphere and thermosphere, respectively. These instruments are virtually identical, with the TTS using an electron impact ionizer to convert sampled neutrals to ions for analysis. Small size and mass allows configuration on a variety of small satellites, and detector power reduction efforts are underway to achieve full CubeSat compatibility. We present simulations and predicted performance data for IDEFT and TTS, as well as experimental test data for a recently fabricated prototype IDEA deflector.
Fenn Dan
Schicker S.
Smith Brett
Syrstad E. A.
Watson Mike
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