|
The ARIEL InfraRed Spectrometer (AIRS) instrument will be implemented on board of the ARIEL (Atmospheric Remote‐sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large‐survey) space mission led by ESA, to study the atmosphere of exoplanets by providing low resolution spectrum of the observed targets over broad infrared wavelength range covering the [1,95-7,8] μm. The satellite will be launched by ARIANE 6 from Kourou in 2029 for a 4 years mission. AIRS is equipped with two integrated Focal Plane Assemblies (iFPA) each resulting of the assembly of two subsystem: the Focal Plane Array (FPA) and the Cold Front-End Electronic (CFEE). Each FPA is equipped with a detector H1RG from Teledyne whose cut-off wavelength had been tuned to fit the wavelength domain of interest. The CFEE is connected by a flex cable to the detector package and passively cooled between around 60K through the AIRS optical benches and the Optical Bench of the ARIEL payload. Two different structural models and four bread board models have been developed to validate and qualify the thermal and mechanical design and to validate the full electrical functional detection chain. The paper will describe all these models and the results obtained during the qualification campaign and the performance tests of the first iFPA model equipped with an eight micrometers cut-off detector. This paper describes also the dedicated cryostat and test benches developed, with associated safety, to check compliance with mission requirement at subsystem level.
|
