News
- Titlee2v image sensors launch with Solar-B mission to study the Sun
- Date22 September 2006
Image sensors from UK-based e2v are to be launched from Japan on 23 September with the Solar-B space mission to study the Sun. The sensors are incorporated into Solar-B's three scientific instruments. They will capture high resolution images during solar atmospheric investigations that will examine the dynamic Sun-Earth relationship.
Solar-B is a major observatory planned to study the interactions between the Sun's activity and its atmosphere. It will yield a rich return of science data, which will help us understand the variability of stars. Solar-B has three primary science instruments, two of which study the sun in the invisible ultraviolet part of the spectrum, whilst the third looks in the more common visible waveband.
Solar-B's Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) was built by a consortium led by University College London's Mullard Space Science Laboratory using e2v's large area, back-illuminated CCDs (charge coupled devices). Just as the human skin can be damaged by high energy UV radiation, scientific detectors can also be damaged. These CCDs were optimised for stability under the damaging ultraviolet radiation from the Sun and supplied in a custom package that simplified the interfacing to the optical instrument's focal plane.
The X-ray Telescope instrument (XRT) views the sun using even more energetic X-ray wavelengths and studies higher energy interactions in the Sun's atmosphere. e2v worked with ISAS in Japan and supplied large area, back-illuminated CCDs, again optimised for stability and sensitivity.
The Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) focal plane package operates in the mainly visible part of the spectrum. e2v worked with Lockheed-Martin to develop a suite of three highly differentiated custom sensors to meet the varying needs of the instrument. These sensors range in size from a small correlation tracker to a large area filtergraph CCD. SOT is the first telescope of its kind to be sent into space specifically for solar observations.
The e2v sensors will help Solar-B to examine the interaction between the Sun's magnetic field and its corona, at the smallest scales to date. This will provide a better understanding of the mechanisms that give rise to solar magnetic variability and how this variability affects space weather. It will also help determine the reasons behind severe solar eruptions and to provide an improved understanding of the Sun-Earth relationship.
Aerospace Imaging Business Sector Manager at e2v, Ralph Holtom, comments: 'This mission exemplifies the way e2v likes to work with its customers. We became involved with Solar-B when it was being conceptually planned by what was then ISAS in Japan. We advised on what was possible and helped plan the detector philosophy; we believe our inputs enabled the mission scientists to incorporate the most advanced technology whilst minimising mission risk with relation to science rewards. It has been a very long involvement, but the best relationships evolve with time and are worth the investment. In the end, the mission became international and e2v was selected to supply all of the CCDs in the missions' science instruments. This is largely thanks to our commitment in project support and our unsurpassed reputation in the supply of devices of the highest quality with stable performance in UV and X-ray, as well as in the more standard visible waveband. We very much look forward to seeing the results from this mission.'