24.06.2025

Erfolgreiche Verteidigung der Dissertation von Herr Wang

We are happy to announce that Dr. Xianqi Wang has successfully defended his doctoral thesis on June 18, 2025, marking a significant milestone in his academic career. Congratulations, Dr. Wang!

During his time at the Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics Tübingen (IAAT), Dr. Wang conducted research in the High-Energy Astrophysics section, focusing on instrumentation for space-based high-energy astrophysics missions. His work centered on the development of the Panel Back-End Electronics (PBEE) for the Large Area Detector (LAD) aboard the enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry Mission (eXTP).
The LAD is a high-throughput instrument focusing on spectral-timing research sensitive in the 2-30 keV range and combines a large effective area with precise energy and timing resolution, enabled by 640 silicon drift detectors. To accurately handle the rapid output of high-throughput data, it is essential to develop corresponding data processing components to accommodate the high rate and time resolution of X-ray detection.

To efficiently process signals, the instrument employs a modular architecture where:

   • Each detection module consists of 16 detectors with Front-End Electronics (FEE) and two radiation-hardened FPGA-based MBEEs.
   • Ten modules connect to a Panel Back-End Electronics (PBEE), with the full system (40 modules + 4 PBEEs) controlled by the Instrument Control Unit (ICU).

Dr. Wang’s research work focused on the development of the Panel Back-End Electronic (PBEE), as well as the testing of PBEE and energy calibration of the LAD’s data handling chain. The PBEE board was successfully designed and manufactured following the stringent requirements. The complex software was also developed by Dr. Wang. The PBEE system was functionally verified through integrated testing, and the experimental results demonstrated that the electronic system's performance indicators met the design specifications. During the first-light testing phase, the initial spectral curve was successfully obtained, and spectral calibration was carried out based on the measured data. Overall, an excellent experimental work.