On hold
Below you find masters thesis and project works on hold.
Calibration system upgrade
IRF’s calibration system is used to characterize, verify and finally calibrate ion mass spectrometers and energetic neutral particle instruments for application in space.
A number of upgrades to the system are pending requiring installation and verification of new hardware into the system. The task consists in integrating new components such as a new ion beam profiler, energetic neutral atom sources, or additional moving mounting tables into the vacuum system.
Software to control the new elements needs to be developed and integrated with the existing control software running on low level micro controllers or on higher level control computers. The task combines vacuum technologies, electronics, physics of ion sources, mechanical aspects and software development.
Skills for working with hardware as well as ability to program are a must for this task.
Contact person: Dr. Martin Wieser (martin.wieser@irf.se, +46 980 79198)
Design of High Voltage Power Supply (HVPS)
HVPS are used in IRF-K ion and neutral gas mass spectrometer sto provide bias voltages to CEMs (Channel Electron Multiplier) or MCPs (Micro Channel Plate) or to provide deflection voltages which can either be static or dynamic with millisecond time constants. The HVPS need to be extremely reliable, with small size and mass, low electromagnetic emissions, high efficiency, wide operating temperature range and ability to survive the cosmic radiation environment.
They need to have multiple output voltages within the range +-5 kV. The task will consist of studying or implementing a solution which fulfils the requirements but only for the two mentioned voltages. It will also include selection of radiation tolerant electronic components and in particular the switching regulator and if necessary, to conduct radiation tests on COTS (Commercial Of The Shelf) components.
Contact person: Mr. Herman Andersson (herman.andersson@irf.se, +46 980 79034)
Radiation exposure simulations for instruments to be flown to Jupiter
The Plasma Environment Package (PEP) is an instrument package proposed to be flown on ESA’s Laplace mission to Jupiter. The severe radiation environment around Jupiter combined with limitations in available mass for shielding requires a careful design of the instrument layout in order to maximize protection for sensitive elements like electronics or detectors from the radiation.
The tasks consists in supporting the implementation of detailed radiation simulations together with the responsible engineer. Simulations are done using the GEANT4 radiation simulation package.
Knowledge of Linux and programming languages as well as CAD systems are advantageous for this task.
Contact persons: Stefan Karlsson (stefan.karlsson@irf.se, +46 980 79029) and Dr. Martin Wieser (martin.wieser@irf.se, +46 980 79198)
Review of particle surface interaction
Particle instruments built at IRF often use particle-surface interaction as part of the detection principle. For this task, a review of particle-surface interaction mechanisms with focus on “technical” surfaces as used in real instruments is to be done.
The review should cover ion and neutral atom to surface interaction processes relevant for the energy range of our instruments (from a few eV to 10s of keV) and e.g. include charge exchange reaction mechanisms, secondary electron yields, recoil processes and dependences on projectile-surface combinations.
An overview of relevant models describing these interactions should be collected, supported by published measured properties of typical surfaces. The work consists of a thorough literature search and classification and writing of a summary report.
Contact person: Dr. Martin Wieser (martin.wieser@irf.se, +46 980 79198)