Dr. Daniel M. LaRocca Profile

Dr. Daniel M. LaRocca

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Publications (6)

Proceedings Article | 31 August 2022 Poster + Paper

Mechanical and thermal design of the BlackCAT CubeSat

Logan Baker, Mitchell Wages, Abraham Falcone, Daniel LaRocca, Gooderham McCormick, Cole Armstrong, Tyler Anderson, David Burrows, Zachary Catlin, Joseph Colosimo, Seth Culbertson, Derek Fox, Hannah Grzybowski, Evan Jennerjahn, David Palmer, Lukas Stone, Daniel Washington

Proceedings Volume 12181, 1218158 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629543

KEYWORDS: Thermal engineering, Staring arrays, Sensors, 3D modeling, X-rays, Mechanical engineering, Electronics, Coded apertures, X-ray detectors, Visualization, Tolerancing

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The BlackCAT observatory makes use of a 6U CubeSat platform with an x-ray coded aperture telescope payload. BlackCAT, utilizing its wide field-of-view (0.9 steradians), will monitor deep space for a variety of x-ray transients and flares, with a primary focus on high redshift gamma-ray bursts. The payload consists of a detector module (DM), a dedicated electronics package, mechanical mounts, and thermal straps for passive cooling. The DM includes the DM housing, coded aperture mask, optical blocking filter (OBF), and a focal plane array (FPA) consisting of four x-ray hybrid CMOS detectors (HCDs). Each of these four detectors is a 550×550-pixel Speedster-EXD silicon sensor with a molybdenum package to provide a low-strain thermal and mechanical mounting structure. The primary purpose of the electronics package is reading out and processing data from the HCDs. For optimal scientific performance, the FPA must be maintained at a temperature of -40°C or below. The detectors have an aluminum OBF directly deposited because the silicon detectors are sensitive to optical light. For additional optical blocking against the brightest optical background and UV light, a separate OBF will be mounted in front of the detector surface. The coded aperture mask is a wire mesh made of nickel with a thin layer of gold coating all sides. The mask allows approximately 40% of incident x-rays to strike the detector in a unique pattern that is dependent upon source position and the open cell geometry. This allows for the angular position of the source to be determined to sub-arcminute precision. To prevent deformation due to thermal strain, the mask is required to maintain a set temperature between 10°C and 20°C. The DM housing acts as the primary support structure for the payload and is thick enough to provide shielding from off-axis x-rays and optical/UV light. The OBF is directly connected to the DM housing, while the mask and FPA are both thermally isolated via standoffs to meet respective temperature requirements. Additionally, the DM housing is the interface between the payload components and the chassis. We present an overview of the mechanical and thermal payload requirements, as well as design constraints imposed by the 6U CubeSat form factor. We describe the designs used to meet these requirements and present analyses to demonstrate the efficacy of these designs. The mechanical requirements and information from thermal analyses will drive the overall design of the BlackCAT CubeSat to achieve the science goals throughout the mission lifetime.

Proceedings Article | 31 August 2022 Poster + Paper

Estimating the background of the BlackCAT CubeSat and its impact on science observations

Joseph Colosimo, Abraham Falcone, Tyler Anderson, Cole Armstrong, Logan Baker, David Burrows, Zachary Catlin, Seth Culbertson, Derek Fox, Hannah Grzybowski, Evan Jennerjahn, Daniel LaRocca, Gooderham McCormick, David Palmer, Lukas Stone, Mitchell Wages, Daniel Washington

Proceedings Volume 12181, 1218159 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2617438

KEYWORDS: X-ray astronomy, Coded aperture imaging, X-rays, Sensors, Photons, Electrons, Extreme ultraviolet, Particles, X-ray detectors, Optical filters, Quantum efficiency

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SPIE Journal Paper | 15 April 2022 Open Access

Measuring the soft x-ray quantum efficiency of a hybrid CMOS detector

Joseph Colosimo, Abraham Falcone, Mitchell Wages, Samuel Hull, Daniel LaRocca, David Burrows, Cole Armstrong, Gooderham McCormick, Mitchell Range, Fredric Hancock

JATIS, Vol. 8, Issue 02, 026003, (April 2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.10.1117/1.JATIS.8.2.026003

KEYWORDS: Quantum efficiency, X-rays, Sensors, X-ray detectors, Aluminum, CMOS sensors, Manganese, Transmittance, Silicon, Oxides

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Proceedings Article | 24 August 2021 Presentation + Paper

Measuring the quantum efficiency of X-ray hybrid CMOS detectors

Joseph Colosimo, Abraham Falcone, Mitchell Wages, Samuel Hull, David Burrows, Mitchell Range, Fredric Hancock, Cole Armstrong, Gooderham McCormick, Daniel LaRocca

Proceedings Volume 11821, 118210T (2021) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2594040

KEYWORDS: Quantum efficiency, X-rays, Sensors, X-ray detectors, CMOS sensors, Transmittance, Silicon, Readout integrated circuits

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SPIE Journal Paper | 9 December 2020

On-ground calibration of the HaloSat science instrument

Anna Zajczyk, Philip Kaaret, Daniel LaRocca, William Fuelberth, Hannah Gulick, Keith Jahoda, Donald Kirchner, Ross McCurdy, William Robison, Emily Silich

JATIS, Vol. 6, Issue 04, 044005, (December 2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.10.1117/1.JATIS.6.4.044005

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Calibration, X-rays, Silicon, Aluminum, Space operations, Electronics, Temperature metrology, X-ray detectors, Oxygen

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SPIE Journal Paper | 4 March 2020

Design and construction of the x-ray instrumentation onboard the HaloSat CubeSat

Daniel LaRocca, Philip Kaaret, Donald Kirchner, Anna Zajczyk, William Robison, Thomas Johnson, Keith Jahoda, William Fuelberth, Hannah Gulick, Ross McCurdy, Keith White, Drew Miles

JATIS, Vol. 6, Issue 01, 014003, (March 2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.10.1117/1.JATIS.6.1.014003

KEYWORDS: Sensors, X-rays, Space operations, X-ray detectors, Electronics, Analog electronics, Interfaces, Aluminum, Signal detection, Scintillators

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