STEIN (SupraThermal Electrons, Ions and Neutrals), A New Particle Detection Instrument for Space Weather Research with CubeSats

摘要

The Space Sciences Laboratory at UC Berkeley is proposing a 3U CubeSat mission, the CubeSat for Ions, Neutrals, Electrons, and MAgnetic fields (CINEMA), to be funded by the NSF Space Weather CubeSat program and Kyung Hee University, S. Korea. CINEMA will have a particle detector called STEIN (SupraThermal Electrons, Ions, and Neutrals), part of a new breed of highly capable, low mass, and low power consumption silicon semiconductor detectors (SSDs). STEIN will measure particles in the ～2-100 keV range and distinguish between electrons, ions and neutrals up to -20 keV. It will perform fundamental research on magnetic storms and the storm-time ring current, charged particle precipitation, and electron microbursts. STEIN separates electrons, ions, and neutral atoms with an electrostatic deflection system. It has analog electronics with a very low energy threshold and a mechanical attenuator that lowers the particle count by 10~2. Using a data decimation scheme and the attenuator, STEIN can measure particle fluxes as high as 10~8 (cm~2 s sr keV)~(-1). Preliminary tests of a prototype indicate that the electrostatic deflection system works as expected. After a complete set of tests, a flight version of the instrument will be assembled, in anticipation of a possible launch in 2011.