showing 6 related works from this author
Direct sunlight facility for testing and research in HCPV
2014
A facility for testing different components for HCPV application has been developed in the framework of "Fotovoltaico ad Alta Efficienza" (FAE) project funded by the Sicilian Regional Authority (PO FESR Sicilia 2007/2013 4.1.1.1). The testing facility is equipped with an heliostat providing a wide solar beam inside the lab, an optical bench for mounting and aligning the HCPV components, electronic equipments to characterize the I-V curves of multijunction cells operated up to 2000 suns, a system to circulate a fluid in the heat sink at controlled temperature and flow-rate, a data logging system with sensors to measure temperatures in several locations and fluid pressures at the inlet and ou…
The Palermo XACT facility: a new 35 m long soft x-ray beam-line for the development and calibration of next-generation x-ray observatories
2006
The X-ray Astronomy Calibration and Testing (XACT) facility of the Instituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) at Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo has recently undergone a major upgrade with the design and construction of a 35 meter long vacuum beam-line operating in the soft X-rays (0.1-20 keV) and the addition of new hardware to meet the requirements for testing and calibration of next generation X-ray missions. We report on the present configuration of the facility and briefly survey the range of its applications.
A single stage adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator for testing x-ray microcalorimeters
2004
A single stage Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigerator (ADR), has been set-up at the X-ray Astronomy Calibration and Testing (XACT) facility of INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo G.S. Vaiana, for the development and testing of cryogenic X-ray detectors for laboratory and astrophysical applications. The ADR allows to cool detectors at temperatures below 40 mK and to maintain them at constant operating temperature for many hours. We describe the design and construction of the ADR and present test results and performances.
ATHENA X-IFU thermal filters development status toward the end of the instrument phase-A
2018
Copyright 2018 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited. The X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) is one of the two instruments of the Athena astrophysics space mission approved by ESA in the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 Science Programme. The X-IFU consists of a large array of transition edge sensor micro-calorimeters that will operate at 100 mK inside a sophisticated cryostat. A set of thin filters, highly transparent to X-rays, will be m…
Calibration of the XRT-SOLARB flat mirror samples at the XACT Facility of INAF-OAPA
2004
The X-Ray Telescope (XRT) experiment on-board the Japanese satellite SOLAR-B (launch in 2006) is equipped with a modified Wolter I grazing incidence X-ray telescope (focal length 2700 mm) to image the full Sun at ~ 1.5" angular resolution onto a 2048 x 2048 back illuminated CCD focal plane detector. The X-ray telescope consisting of one single reflecting shell is coated with ion beam sputtered Iridium over a binding layer of Chromium to provide nearly 5 square centimetres effective area at 60 A. We present preliminary results of X-ray calibrations of the XRT flat mirror samples performed at the X-ray Astronomy Calibration and Testing (XACT) facility of INAF-OAPA. We describe the instrumenta…
Calibration of the Lunar Orbital X-ray Fluorescence Imaging Spectrometer (LOXIA) of Chang'E-1 satellite at INAF-OAPA
2007
The Lunar Orbital X-ray Fluorescence Imaging Spectrometer (LOXIA) designed and constructed at the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to perform chemical composition analysis of the Moon surface will operate on-board the Chang'E-1 mission, the first Chinese lunar spacecraft to be launched in 2007. We report the main results of the calibration measurements that we have performed using the X-ray beamline of the XACT facility of INAFOsservatorio Astronomico di Palermo G.S. Vaiana to determine the quantum efficiency of the XRS detector in the soft X-rays as a function of photon energy and angle of incidence.