Tenders Are Invited For Compact, Extreme Low Frequency And Low Noise Electric Field Probe Development

Tenders are invited for Compact, Extreme Low Frequency and Low Noise Electric Field Probe Development Expro plus ObjectivesTo develop a low frequency and low noise, 3 axis electric field probe, enabling direct ongroundverification by test fornext generation in-situ space plasma sensing missions and for missions with EMC sensitive payload integrated inside the spacecraft structure.DescriptionBackground and Context:Missions that are studying space plasma with wave instruments are imposing low frequency and low-level electric field requirements on the spacecraft in order to limit the unwanted radiated emission that could disturbthe instrument performance. In addition, other increasingly challenging and sensitive payloads also require more stringent control ofelectric fields at lower frequencies. Therefore, the on-ground verification of the electric field requirements driven by the payloads has paramount importance i.e. to confirm the presence of unintentional electric field interference originated from the spacecraftthat can jeopardize the instrument performance. Current electric field probes do not cover the needs of compact probing of low frequency and low noise radiated electric fields in which 3 axes and phase information is needed, in particular to characterise emissions close to units or even inside the spacecraft. By improving both the frequency range and thesensitivity, compact electric field probes could be utilised for improved verification and new applications that were not feasible before.Justification:The commercially available electric field probes are not suitable to capture the low frequencies and the low amplitudes, that are required for upcoming missions of Plasma Observatory, M-Matisse and New ATHENA or required by already flying missions like JUICE and Solar Orbiter.Description:The goal of the activity is to develop a triaxial field probe together with its conditioning unit with start frequency of 0.1 Hz or lower and sensitivity of 0.5 mV/m or lower up-to 200 kHz.An additional constraint for the field probe development is the size. The newly developed field probe shall allow to place minimum of 16 identical field probes around the unit under test at a distance closer than 0.25 m without interfering with each other.Moreover, the field probe needs to produce the field data along eachprincipal axes that can be processed with typical laboratory equipment like spectrum analyser, EMI receiver, digital oscilloscope, data acquisition unit, etc.Task list:- Identification of technology concepts and market research for state-of-the-art field probes in terms of frequency range, sensitivity and dynamic range- Evaluation of weak points of the existing field probes and identification of the critical components needed for the required improvements- Bread boarding of 3 axis sensor (e.g. optimize the type, sizeand shape of sensor) together with its conditioning unit (e.g. design a low noise read out chain including low noise amplifier) also considering constraints like size and cost- Validation tests and reportsDeliverables:- Documentation of the research- The bread board of the improved field probe together with its conditioning unit- Test reports and calibration data Read less Tender Link : https://esastar-publication-ext.sso.esa.int/ESATenderActions/filter/open