The two DLR units onboard CHEOPS
The two DLR units onboard CHEOPS
The Focal Plane Module (FPM, the triangular unit) and the Sensor Electronics Module (SEM) were both developed by the DLR Institute of Space Research in Berlin. The FPM contains the image sensor – the CCD detector array – and the front-end electronics (FEE). The SEM houses a power supply unit and a processor that controls the FEE and reads out the CCD chip. Thermally conductive straps on the back of the FPM provide it with a thermal connection to the heat sinks that keep the CCD's operating temperature of minus 40 degrees Celsius.
Credit:
ESA / C. Carreau