Announcement
The paper titled “Wide Band Transmission Response of the Filters for the X-IFU Detector of the Athena Observatory”, presented at ICSO 2024, investigates the optical blocking filters used in the X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) aboard the Athena space observatory. These filters, composed of polyimide films coated with aluminum, are designed to block out-of-band radiation—such as […]
Consortium
Last week we had the 20th X-IFU Consortium meeting at IRAP in an hybrid format. A very successful gathering, in part to celebrate the success of the ESA led intermediate review of newAthena, indicating that we are on track for the planned mission adoption in 2027. On-going technology demonstration activities were extensively presented during the […]
Announcement
The SPIE meeting 2026 was the opportunity to present X-IFU as it stands today, as we move towards the start of the mission adoption process, to be concluded in June 2027. The overview presentation given by Philippe Peille (CNES, Instrument manager) showed the status of X-IFU, and presented all the demonstration activities that are on-going. […]
Announcement
A recent paper by Smith et al., “Transition-edge sensor characteristics in a modified bias circuit for multiplexed readout,”has been accepted for publication in the IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity. The work addresses an important aspect of X-IFU detector readout: the impact of incorporating a bypass resistor into the bias circuit used for time-division multiplexing (TDM). […]
Announcement
A major milestone has been reached beginning of October 2025 in the development of the Warm Front-End Electronics (WFEE) for the ATHENA X-IFU detection chain with the successful coupling of WFEE demonstrator model 2 (DM2) during the Focal Plane Assembly (FPA) DM1.1 test campaign at SRON (Space Research Organisation Netherlands). The WFEE, developed by APC […]
Announcement
Image above : The CryoAC demonstration prototype integrated in the detectors flange of the Focal Plane Assembly Demonstration Model 1.1. Image credit: SRON. The X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) is the cryogenic instrument onboard NewAthena mission. In the late 30s, it will transform our understanding of the hottest components and the most energetic phenomena in […]
Announcement
SRON is responsible for building the camera for the X-IFU imaging spectrometer onboard the NewAthena X-ray space telescope. A latest Demonstration Model has now been successfully assembled in SRON’s cleanroom and is mounted into a cryogenic test setup which cools the detector stage to a temperature of 50 milliKelvin. In the late 30s , ESA […]
Consortium
From July 2023 to November 2023, the Athena mission and its instruments underwent a reformulation phase. This led to a modification of certain X-IFU performances, detailed in the new scientific reference publication on the instrument. The publication has just been published in Experimental Astronomy.
Science
From the calcium in our bones to the iron in our blood, and oxygen we breathe, are largely the result of stellar processes, particularly supernovae. In the well known sentence “we are all made of stars,” we acknowledge our cosmic heritage and the role of these stellar explosions in making life possible.