Speaker
Description
The CSES/Limadou mission arises from the collaboration between the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). It is the first to implement a satellite constellation aimed at monitoring ionospheric parameters, potentially correlated with seismic activity.
This contribution focuses on the scintillator counters and the photomultiplier tube (PMT) read-out and trigger generation electronics of the High-Energy Particle Detector (HEPD-02) on board CSES-02 satellite, launched in June 2025. This detector, developed by the Italian Limadou collaboration, is designed to measure the flux of electrons, protons, and nuclei in the range of 3–100 MeV for electrons, 30–200 MeV for protons, and up to a few hundred MeV/nucleon for light nuclei.
The scintillation counter system of HEPD-02 plays a central role in the experiment: it generates the signals that are processed by dedicated electronics responsible for trigger generation and data acquisition. Compared to HEPD-01, the new design introduces two main improvements: the use of segmented LYSO bars, read-out at both ends by PMTs to improve light collection and reduce passive material, and the addition of a thin (2 mm) top trigger plane that extends the detectable energy range to lower values and enhances particle identification.
The PMT read-out and trigger generation system is an upgraded version of the one used in HEPD-01, incorporating several key enhancements. A major improvement is the integration of a new-generation ASIC (CITIROC) for the amplification, shaping, and digitization of PMT signals. Its peak detector functionality ensures optimized signal acquisition across components with varying time profiles, such as plastic scintillators and LYSO crystals.
The trigger logics has also been enhanced, now supporting up to six simultaneous trigger patterns, including one dedicated to Gamma Ray Burst (GRB) detection. To handle the increased particle rates in high-background regions, such as the poles or the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), up to four trigger patterns can be prescaled to prevent data bandwidth saturation.
| Position | Postdoctoral research fellow |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | National Institute for Nuclear Physics - Naples division |
| Country | Italy |