A Wide Field Auroral Imager (WFAI) for low Earth orbit missions

Bannister, Nigel; Bunce, E. J.; Cowley, S. W. H.; Fairbend, Ray; Fraser, George W.; Hamilton, F. J.; Lapington, J. S.; Lees, J.E.; Lester, M.; Milan, S. E.; Pearson, James F.; Price, Gareth J; Willingale, Richard

doi:10.5194/angeo-25-519-2007

Cited by 11 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…A direct and reliable comparison between MFO and MPO designs of lobster eye X-ray optics is difficult, as in both cases the real optics performance deviates from the theoretical. The necessary slumping of the MPOs introduces additional sources of error [4,80], whilst the MFO design is harder to assemble. Both designs differ in geometry using both Angel and Schmidt designs, and require different manufacturing and assembling technology.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lobster Eye X-ray Optics

Hudec¹,

Feldman²

2022

Preprint

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This chapter describes the history, principles, and recent developments of large field of view X-ray optics based on lobster eye designs. Most of grazing incidence (reflective) X-ray imaging systems used in astronomy and other applications, are based on the Wolter 1 (or modified) arrangement. But there are also other designs and configurations proposed for future applications for both laboratory and space environments. Kirkpatrick-Baez (K-B) based lenses as well as various types of lobster eye optics serve as an example. Analogously to Wolter lenses, all these systems use the principle that the X-rays are reflected twice to create focal images. Various future projects in X-ray astronomy and astrophysics will require large optics with wide fields of view. Both large Kirkpatrick-Baez modules and lobster eye X-ray telescopes may serve as solutions as these can offer innovations such as wide fields of view, low mass and reduced costs. The basic workings of lobster eye optics using Micro Pore Optics (MPOs) and their various uses are discussed. The issues and limiting factors of these optics are evaluated and current missions using lobster eye optics to fulfill their science objectives are reviewed. The Multi Foil Optics (MFO) approach represents a promising alternative. These arrangements can also be widely applied in laboratory devices. The chapter also examines the details of alternative applications for non-Wolter systems in other areas of science, where some of these systems have already demonstrated their advantages such as the K-B systems which have already found wide applications in laboratories and synchrotrons.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lobster Eye X-ray Optics

Hudec¹,

Feldman²

2022

Preprint

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“…One other design that could be considered for auroral imaging is the Wide Field Auroral Imager (WFAI) proposed by Bannister et al [2007]. This imager has an FOV of 45.8°and a large gathering power, 1.0 sr cm 2 per the published numbers, but lacks resolution in the image plane.…”

Section: Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selection of FUV auroral imagers for satellite missions

et al. 2016

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A survey of previously flown and recently designed FUV auroral imagers is presented in conjunction with selection criteria to optimize the potential scientific impact of future satellite‐based FUV auroral observations. The selection of the appropriate suppressive imager is ultimately broken down to four field‐of‐view categories: (1) less than 10°, (2) 10° to 16°, (3) 16° to 24°, and (4) greater than 24°. The determination of the field of view follows as a necessary consequence of the orbit of the satellite, which is often imposed by the mission. The first category of imagers has a wide range of available choices, the second and third categories have a couple of options each where a distinction is made between narrow and wide aggregate filter bandwidth, and the fourth category is limited to on‐axis designs introduced by the authors. High‐resolution imaging is possible up to 50° field of view with the class of imager design first presented in this paper.

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“…Geomagnetic activities have been shown to be closely correlated with the intensity and distribution of auroras. Thus, aurora research elucidates the disturbance of the Earth’s magnetic field during magnetic storms and substorms, the magnetospheric plasma injection process, the ionospheric response to solar wind changes and the dynamic characteristics of ionosphere–magnetosphere interactions [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Our team developed the extreme ultraviolet camera (EUVC) for the lunar lander of the Chang’e-III mission, launched in 2013, to capture global and instantaneous EUV images of the Earth’s plasmasphere [ 6 , 7 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photon Counting Imaging with Low Noise and a Wide Dynamic Range for Aurora Observations

Han

Song

Zhang

et al. 2020

Sensors

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The radiation intensity of observed auroras in the far-ultraviolet (FUV) band varies dramatically with location for aerospace applications, requiring a photon counting imaging apparatus with a wide dynamic range. However, combining high spatial resolution imaging with high event rates is technically challenging. We developed an FUV photon counting imaging system for aurora observation. Our system mainly consists of a microchannel plate (MCP) stack readout using a wedge strip anode (WSA) with charge induction and high-speed electronics, such as a charge sensitive amplifier (CSA) and pulse shaper. Moreover, we constructed an anode readout model and a time response model for readout circuits to investigate the counting error in high counting rate applications. This system supports global rates of 500 kilo counts, 0.610 dark counts s−1 cm−2 at an ambient temperature of 300 K and 111 µm spatial resolution at 400 kilo counts s−1 (kcps). We demonstrate an obvious photon count loss at incident intensities close to the counting capacity of the system. To preserve image quality, the response time should be improved and some noise performance may be sacrificed. Finally, we also describe the correlation between counting rate and imaging resolution, which further guides the design of space observation instruments.

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A Wide Field Auroral Imager (WFAI) for low Earth orbit missions

Cited by 11 publications

References 41 publications

Lobster Eye X-ray Optics

Lobster Eye X-ray Optics

Selection of FUV auroral imagers for satellite missions

Photon Counting Imaging with Low Noise and a Wide Dynamic Range for Aurora Observations

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