arXiv subjects

T. Schanz

Publications and source records attributed to T. Schanz.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Microchannel plate detector development for ultraviolet astronomy

Observational data from the UV wavelength range is crucial to solve several astrophysical puzzles. Consequently, there are a number of upcoming UV missions from CubeSats up to the future flagship Habitable Worlds Observatory. Besides novel instrument concepts and improved coatings, advanced detectors are key for the success of these missions. The microchannel plate (MCP) detector technology offers a unique asset in the UV: the combination of single-photon counting and visible-blindness. The UV hardware group at the Institut f\"ur Astronomie und Astrophysik T\"ubingen (IAAT) develops a versatile MCP detector system that addresses the complete UV band. While a sealed-tube design is limited to wavelengths above 118\,nm, an open-face variant also covers the whole far- and extreme-UV. Both use the same readout: a coplanar cross-strip anode and FPGA-based electronics. In this contribution, we report on the status of the detector development, present the latest characterization results, and give an outlook on the mission prospects.

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arXiv2025

Progress towards a microchannel plate detector with AlGaN photocathode and cross-strip anode for ultraviolet astronomy

Microchannel plates (MCPs) were the driving detector technology for ultraviolet (UV) astronomy over many years, and still today MCP-based detectors are the baseline for several planned UV instruments. The development of advanced MCP detectors is ongoing and pursues the major goals of maximizing sensitivity, resolution, and lifetime, while at the same time decreasing weight, volume, and power consumption. Development efforts for an MCP-based detector system for the UV are running at IAAT at the University of T\"ubingen. In this publication, we present our latest results towards coating aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN) photocathodes directly on MCPs, to improve quantum detection efficiency in the far- and extreme-UV. Furthermore, we report on the implementation of a non-iterative centroiding algorithm for our coplanar cross-strip anode directly in an FPGA.

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arXiv2020

Status of the STUDIO UV balloon mission and platform

Stratospheric balloons offer accessible and affordable platforms for observations in atmosphere-constrained wavelength ranges. At the same time, they can serve as an effective step for technology demonstration towards future space applications of instruments and other hardware. The Stratospheric UV Demonstrator of an Imaging Observatory (STUDIO) is a balloon-borne platform and mission carrying an imaging micro-channel plate (MCP) detector on a 0.5 m aperture telescope. STUDIO is currently planned to fly during the summer turnaround conditions over Esrange, Sweden, in the 2022 season. For details on the ultraviolet (UV) detector, see the contribution of Conti et al. to this symposium. The scientific goal of the mission is to survey for variable hot compact stars and flaring M-dwarf stars within the galactic plane. At the same time, the mission acts as a demonstrator for a versatile and scalable astronomical balloon platform as well as for the aforementioned MCP instrument. The gondola is designed to allow the use of different instruments or telescopes. Furthermore, it is designed to serve for several, also longer, flights, which are envisioned under the European Stratospheric Balloon Observatory (ESBO) initiative. In this paper, we present the design and current status of manufacturing and testing of the STUDIO platform. We furthermore present the current plans for the flight and observations from Esrange.

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arXiv2019

Trigger performance verification of the FlashCam prototype camera

FlashCam is a camera proposed for the medium-sized telescopes of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). We compare camera trigger rates obtained from measurements with the camera prototype in the laboratory and Monte-Carlo simulations, when scanning the parameter space of the fully-digital trigger logic and the intensity of a continuous light source mimicking the night sky background (NSB) during on-site operation. The comparisons of the measured data results to the Monte-Carlo simulations are used to verify the FlashCam trigger logic and the expected trigger performance.

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arXiv2016

Performance Verification of the FlashCam Prototype Camera for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is a future gamma-ray observatory that is planned to significantly improve upon the sensitivity and precision of the current generation of Cherenkov telescopes. The observatory will consist of several dozens of telescopes with different sizes and equipped with different types of cameras. Of these, the FlashCam camera system is the first to implement a fully digital signal processing chain which allows for a traceable, configurable trigger scheme and flexible signal reconstruction. As of autumn 2016, a prototype FlashCam camera for the medium-sized telescopes of CTA nears completion. First results of the ongoing system tests demonstrate that the signal chain and the readout system surpass CTA requirements. The stability of the system is shown using long-term temperature cycling.

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arXiv2016

An Efficient Test Facility For The Cherenkov Telescope Array FlashCam Readout Electronics Production

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the planned next-generation instrument for ground-based gamma-ray astronomy, currently under preparation by a world-wide consortium. The FlashCam group is preparing a photomultiplier-based camera for the Medium Size Telescopes of CTA, with a fully digital Readout System (ROS). For the forthcoming mass production of a substantial number of cameras, efficient test routines for all components are currently under development. We report here on a test facility for the ROS components. A test setup and routines have been developed and an early version of that setup has successfully been used to test a significant fraction of the ROS for the FlashCam camera prototype in January 2016. The test setup with its components and interface, as well as first results, are presented here.

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arXiv2016

Actuator Development at IAAT for the Cherenkov Telescope Array Medium Size Telescopes

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will be the future observatory for TeV gamma-ray astronomy. In order to increase the sensitivity and to extend the energy coverage beyond the capabilities of current facilities, its design concept features telescopes of three different size classes. Based on the experience from H.E.S.S. phase II, the Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics Tübingen (IAAT) develops actuators for the mirror control system of the CTA Medium Size Telescopes (MSTs). The goals of this effort are durability, high precision, and mechanical stability under all environmental conditions. Up to now, several revisions were developed and the corresponding prototypes were extensively tested. In this contribution our latest design revision proposed for the CTA MSTs are presented.

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arXiv2015

FlashCam: a fully-digital camera for the medium-sized telescopes of the Cherenkov Telescope Array

The FlashCam group is currently preparing photomultiplier-tube based cameras proposed for the medium-sized telescopes (MST) of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). The cameras are designed around the FlashCam readout concept which is the first fully-digital readout system for Cherenkov cameras, based on commercial FADCs and FPGAs as key components for the front-end electronics modules and a high performance camera server as back-end. This contribution describes the progress of the full-scale FlashCam camera prototype currently under construction, as well as performance results also obtained with earlier demonstrator setups. Plans towards the production and implementation of FlashCams on site are also briefly presented.

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arXiv2015

Recent developments for the testing of Cherenkov Telescope Array mirrors and actuators in Tübingen

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the next generation Cherenkov telescope facility. It will consist of a large number of segmented-mirror telescopes of three different diameters, placed in two locations, one in the northern and one in the southern hemisphere, thus covering the whole sky. The total number of mirror tiles will be on the order of 10,000, corresponding to a reflective area of ~10^4 m^2. The Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Tübingen (IAAT) is currently developing mirror control alignment mechanics, electronics, and software optimized for the medium sized telescopes. In addition, IAAT is participating in the CTA mirror prototype testing. In this paper we present the status of the current developments, the main results of recent tests, and plans for the production phase of the mirror control system. We also briefly present the Tübingen facility for mirror testing.

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arXiv2013

FlashCam: A fully digital camera for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

FlashCam is a Cherenkov camera development project centered around a fully digital trigger and readout scheme with smart, digital signal processing, and a "horizontal" architecture for the electromechanical implementation. The fully digital approach, based on commercial FADCs and FPGAs as key components, provides the option to easily implement different types of triggers as well as digitization and readout scenarios using identical hardware, by simply changing the firmware on the FPGAs. At the same time, a large dynamic range and high resolution of low-amplitude signals in a single readout channel per pixel is achieved using compression of high amplitude signals in the preamplifier and signal processing in the FPGA. The readout of the front-end modules into a camera server is Ethernet-based using standard Ethernet switches. In its current implementation, data transfer and backend processing rates of ~3.8 GBytes/sec have been achieved. Together with the dead-time-free front end event buffering on the FPGAs, this permits the cameras to operate at trigger rates of up to several tens of kHz. In the horizontal architecture of FlashCam, the photon detector plane (PDP), consisting of photon detectors, preamplifiers, high voltage-, control-, and monitoring systems, is a self-contained unit, which is interfaced through analogue signal transmission to the digital readout system. The horizontal integration of FlashCam is expected not only to be more cost efficient, it also allows PDPs with different types of photon detectors to be adapted to the FlashCam readout system. This paper describes the FlashCam concept, its verification process, and its implementation for a 12 m class CTA telescope with PMT-based PDP.

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arXiv2012

FlashCam: A fully digital camera for CTA telescopes

The future Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will consist of several tens of telescopes of different mirror sizes. CTA will provide next generation sensitivity to very high energy photons from few tens of GeV to >100 TeV. Several focal plane instrumentation options are currently being evaluated inside the CTA consortium. In this paper, the current status of the FlashCam prototyping project is described. FlashCam is based on a fully digital camera readout concept and features a clean separation between photon detector plane and signal digitization/triggering electronics.

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