Mattioli, F.F.MattioliCibella, S.S.CibellaLEONI, RiccardoRiccardoLEONIOrsini, S.S.OrsiniDi Lellis, A. M.A. M.Di LellisSelci, S.S.SelciDE ANGELIS, ElisabettaElisabettaDE ANGELISRispoli, R.R.RispoliMURA, AlessandroAlessandroMURAMILILLO, AnnaAnnaMILILLO2024-02-162024-02-1620110167-9317http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12386/34761Thanks 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.STAMPAenArticle10.1016/j.mee.2011.02.0922-s2.0-79960054623000293663400171https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016793171100219X?via%3Dihubhttps://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/79960054623FIS/05 - ASTRONOMIA E ASTROFISICAERC sectors::Physical Sciences and Engineering::PE9 Universe sciences: astro-physics/chemistry/biology; solar systems; stellar, galactic and extragalactic astronomy, planetary systems, cosmology, space science, instrumentation