WFEE Demonstration Model delivered to CNES

The Warm Front-End Electronics (WFEE) Demonstrator Model was delivered to CNES on November 6, 7 and 8, 2023. Supply of the WFEE has been the responsibility of the Astroparticle and Cosmology (APC) laboratory in Paris since the start of phase A in 2015.

Vincent Albouys statement to the APC team

We would like to thank the entire team of the Astroparticle and Cosmology (APC) laboratory in Paris for the delivery of the WFEE (Warm Front-End Electronics) Demonstration Model to CNES. This Demonstration Model fully meets the project expectations and this gives confidence for the next stages of the development. 
 
This Demonstration Model comes at a most opportune time since the ESA SPC has just approved the restart of industrial activities for ATHENA. It is therefore very likely that the results we will obtain with this DM and during the global early verification campaign will consolidate our design and prepare the team for a successful adoption in 2027. Our sincere thanks to the APC team for the quality of this work and their unfailing dedication to the Athena X-IFU project for several years already!


Technical information on WFEE DM

Damien Prêle (X-IFU Instrument CoI and WFEE Project leader), Manuel Gonzalez (WFEE instrument scientist) and Horacio Arnaldi (Postdoc in instrumentation) came from APC to deliver to CNES the WFEE demonstrator model. The DM is representative of the WFEE that is part of the X-IFU readout chain. It allows the readout of 8 multiplexed channels, including Low Noise Amplifier, DACs, row-addressing buffer and regulator board. The golden aluminum box (Allodine) already has a flight model aspect.  

The Warm Front-End Electronics corresponds to the first stage of the X-IFU readout chain. Their role is to provide biases to the cold electronics (the TESs, MUX SQUIDs and AMP SQUIDs), to amplify the error signal from the AMP SQUID, and to condition (via buffers) the dynamic signals (feedback and row addressing) from the Digital Readout Electronic (DRE) to the Focal Plan Assembly (FPA). 

Vincent ALBOUYS & Damien PRÊLE
X-IFU Project Manager CNES & X-IFU Instrument CoI and WFEE Project leader