Speaker
Prof.
Lawrence Pinsky
(University of Houston)
Description
Medipix technology in the form of Timepix chips from the Medipix2 Collaboration have been in continuous operation in LEO (Low Earth Orbit) externally (in vacuum) on satellites and internally within the ISS for over three and half years. To date no failures of the Timepix chips themselves have occurred during any of the more than 30 combined exposure-years, although there have been a few minor failures in the supporting electronics. These exposures include numerous single devices powered and readout via ISS onboard laptops, self-contained battery-powered units on the first test of NASA’s new Orion MPCV during the EFT-1 flight, as well is dedicated satellite based devices including the 5-chip LUCID (Langton Ultimate Cosmic-ray Intensity Detector) device on the UK’s TechDemoSat mission. A summary of the functional information and the data gathered from these missions are presented along with the recent evaluation of n-in-p Si sensors on both Timepix and Timepix3 chips in comparison with the baseline results using the nominal p-in-n Si sensors.
Future plans include flying additional single units as radiation monitors inside the ISS and the upcoming test of the inflatable Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) module as well as deploying a multiple Timepix stack to evaluate its potential to improve incident particle ID capability. In the longer term the primary charged particle radiation monitors to be flown on the next few flights of the Orion, called the HERA (Hybrid Electronic Radiation Assessor), is undergoing the final verification process. Evaluation of the Data-Driven Timepix3 from the Medipix3 Collaboration is underway as well, and it will be used in the verification process for the frame based Timepix and Timepix2-based devices from the Medipix2 Collaboration. The Timepix2 is in the final design process at CERN, and will be evaluated for replacement in the HERA hardware for eventual operational Orion missions. The Medipix4 Collaboration has just formed and is in the process of developing the design concept for the Timepix4 chip. The University of Houston, with support from NASA and the University, is one of the founding members of the Medipix4 Collaboration, which will hopefully ultimately provide the basis for future long term radiation monitoring and active personal dosimeter devices.
With Contributions from: T. Campbell-Ricketts, S. George, A. Empl, D. Turecek, L. Tlustos, A. Bahadori, N.Stoffle, R. Rios, D. Fry, E. Semones, C. Zeilin, S. Pospisil, & J. Jakubek.
Primary author
Prof.
Lawrence Pinsky
(University of Houston)
