Speaker
Description
NUSES is an innovative space mission proposed and co-ordinated by the Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI) in collaboration with INFN, several academic institutions, and Thales Alenia Space Italy (TAS-I).
The project features two main scientific payloads: Ziré and Terzina.
Ziré is designed to measure the energy spectra of low-energy cosmic and gamma rays, high-energy astrophysical neutrinos, the Sun-Earth environment, space weather and Magnetosphere-Ionosphere- Lithosphere
Coupling (MILC). Terzina is a space telescope aimed at testing new observational techniques to study ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) and perform neutrino astronomy as pathfinders for future missions (e.g. POEMMA) by detecting atmospheric Cherenkov light from orbit.
A dedicated Low Energy Module (LEM) will extend the sensitive energy range down to the MeV scale for charged particles as well. To achieve its scientific goals, Ziré employs a detection system based on four primary sub-detectors, that make use of silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) to detect scintillation light emitted by particle interactions in the target material.
The research focuses on optimizing the design of these payloads through dedicated simulations to estimate the radiation environment in orbit and to support testing campaigns. These include: Total Ionizing Dose (TID), Total Non-Ionizing Dose (TNID), evaluation of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) electronics. The mission involves the use of thousands of Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM) supplied by Hamamatsu (Ziré) and the Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK) (Terzina).
These devices represent a technologically innovative solution for space applications due to their ability to operate at low voltages (< 80 V), compactness and insensitivity to magnetic fields.
A key aspect is the study of the correlation between radiation induced damage and sensor performance, particularly considering power consumption constraints and increased dark current effects.
A series of static and dynamic characterization tests, along with a Total Ionizing Dose (TID) irradiation campaign using the Cobalt-60 source facility, are being planned at the ESA/ESTEC lab-oratories within the TEC-EDR division.
The aim is to evaluate the performance and radiation tolerance of three silicon photomultiplier devices (SiPM) developed by FBK selected as possible replacements for the Hamamatsu technology, which differ in size and technological design:
the NUV-HD-RH in 1×1 mm² and 3×3 mm², and the NUV-HD-MT in 6×6 mm².
