New design aspects for an energetic particle telescope for space missions

摘要

We describe new aspects which have been achieved in designing a charged particle dE/dx — E telescope to be flown on the upcoming International Solar Polar Mission. The instrument is designed to measure and resolve masses up to iron at energies above 100 keV per nucléon. Weight restrictions and radiation damage considerations forced us to And new solutions for the overall system design and specific components. These achievements will be described. Beside radiation-resistant amplifiers, we developed a new analog-OR, a new sample-and-hold circuit, and an extremely low power threshold discriminator. Power strobing of a fast ADC completes the newly designed aspects of a “classical” measuring technique.