Present NUV-VUV-EUV-XUV detectors exhibit limitations in performance, technology complexity and lifetime...
BOLD concepts have been proposed to ESA since 2001 by Jean-François Hochedez (ROB) and since 2003 together with Chris Van Hoof and Joachim John (IMEC). Approved by BELSPO in 2005 as an ESA GSTP programme, "BOLD - GSTP" acknowledges that Solar Orbiter -the next envisaged ESA mission planned to study the Sun- requires innovative UV / EUV imaging detectors. BOLD GSTP is managed by Marianne Germain (IMEC); it involves Belgian and French partners (IMEC, CRHEA and ROB).
AlGaN layers have been the subject of intensive studies. As a wide-bandgap semiconductor, AlGaN is primary choice in view of photosensing EUV photons from the Sun (spectral range of interest 10 nm < lambda < 120 nm).
The objective of BOLD-GSTP is to demonstrate the suitability of AlGaN-based imaging detectors for Solar Orbiter in order to have a solid detector baseline for its EUV instruments.
The initial goal is to demonstrate feasibility of the hybridization of AlGaN active membranes onto CMOS APS imaging devices.
To this end, a 2-D array demonstrator of sizeable format (≥ 512x512) and small pixel pitch (10 microns) will be manufactured and characterized from the EUV to the visible.
|
|
|
|
Webmaster
