A nanotechnology application for low energy neutral atom detection with high angular resolution for the BepiColombo mission to Mercury

Journal
Date Issued
2011
Author(s)
Mattioli, F.
•
Cibella, S.
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•
•
Di Lellis, A. M.
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Selci, S.
•
•
Rispoli, R.
•
•
DOI
Abstract
Thanks to the great progress of micro and nanofabrication techniques, only in recent years it has been possible to propose a space flying instrument able of remote-sensing the surface released neutral particles with a direct technique. This instrument, which will be installed in the BepiColombo/MPO spacecraft to Mercury, is the neutral sensor ELENA (Emitted Low-Energy Neutral Atoms), a time-of-flight (TOF) detector, based on the state-of-the art of ultra-sonic oscillating shutters, and Micro-Channel Plate (MCP) detection. The shuttering system digitizes space and time when tagging the incoming particles without affecting their trajectory and energy. The ELENA shuttering element consists of two self-standing silicon nitride (Si3N4) membranes, one facing the other, patterned with arrays of 200 nm wide nanoslits, organized on a square lattice with 4 μm pitch over a 3 × 3 mm 2 area whereas in the final version it will perform a pitch of 1.4 μm, on a 10 × 10 mm2 area. A capacitive control system is implemented to assure the alignment of the two membranes. The characterization of the shuttering capability has been obtained with a He+ beam at 1 keV. The same fabrication process has been also used to realize a large area mesh filters, in order to reflect unwanted IR radiation to minimize the instrument heat load. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Volume
88
Issue
8
Start page
2330
Uri
Url
Issn Identifier
0167-9317
Rights
open.access
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