By Gabriele Betancourt-Martinez

This paper gives an overview of a test platform for the Athena/X-IFU detection chain, based at IRAP/CNES, and describes several characterization tests that were performed.
The test bench is housed in a commercial ADR cryostat, and includes a focal plane array placed at the 50 mK cold stage of the ADR with a kilopixel array of transition-edge sensor microcalorimeter spectrometers and associated cold readout electronics. Prototype warm electronics provide the readout. The test bench will evolve over time to become more representative of the X-IFU mission baseline.

We performed cryostat characterization studies to ensure that both the microvibration and static and dynamic magnetic field environments at the focal plane location are within test bench requirements for the overall energy resolution. All measurements indicate that these requirements are respected.

This test bench will serve as the first demonstration of the representative end-to-end detection and readout chain for the X-IFU, and will yield important feedback on subsystem designs and interfaces, in particular the warm readout electronics, and will provide an in-house detection system for continued testing and development of the warm readout electronics and for the validation of X-ray calibration sources.

Access to the manuscript in ADS.