McGill University
Technology Development and Prototyping for Space-Based High-Performance, High-Density Signal Processing — This project aims to develop a high-performance, low-power field programmable gate array signal processing platform ( i.e. an integrated circuit designed to be configured after power-up) in order to enhance the data handling and processing capabilities of electronics operating in space environments. It will focus its applicability on the bolometer ( i.e. a sensitive electrical instrument for measuring radiant energy) readout electronics system of the LiteBIRD telescope. LiteBIRD is a millimeter-wavelength space telescope mission being designed and built to map the Cosmic Microwave Background polarization. Its primary science goal is to detect the signature of gravitational waves produced a fraction of a second after the Big Bang. This detection would be one of the most significant scientific discoveries of our time. The telescope also offers new abilities to measure neutrino properties ( i.e. a subatomic particle that is very similar to an electron, albeit with almost negligible intera