ATHENA will be ESA’s next generation X-ray space observatory. The X-ray integrated field unit (X-IFU) instrument will be ATHENA’s cryogenic spectro-imager. In this work, we present total ionizing dose (TID) tests performed on an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designed for X-IFU’s warm front-end electronics (WFEE). In particular, space environment ionizing particles could cause an increase of flicker noise, affecting the performances of such a detection chain readout. We present low frequency noise measurements of the main components of the WFEE (low noise amplifier and slow current DAC) and the effect of total ionizing dose (TID). Five ASICs were irradiated up to 200 krad with a 60Co source. We discuss the impact on the noise of such radiation effects beyond the life-time of a space mission as ATHENA.
KEYWORDS: Design, Digital electronics, Transceivers, Time division multiplexing, Transistors, Simulations, Application specific integrated circuits, Analog electronics, Amplifiers, Radiation effects
This paper gives a review of the ASIC design evolutions of the WFEE in the context of the ATHENA mission. The development follows the evolutions of the X-IFU instrument detection chain and secures the ASIC technology access continuity by using an ST SiGe 130 nm technology instead of the previous use of an AMS SiGe 350 nm node. First ASIC prototypes based on this ST 130 nm SiGe technology have been developed to answer these technical challenges and meet the new requirements. This paper will give a brief review of these ASICs dedicated to the WFEE.
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