TY - JOUR
T1 - The Light Ion Analyzer (LIA) for the SMILE Mission
AU - Dai, Lei
AU - Kong, Linggao
AU - Zhang, Aibing
AU - Kataria, Dhirendra
AU - Berthomier, Matthieu
AU - Gao, Jun
AU - Su, Bin
AU - Escoubet, C. Philippe
AU - Wang, Chi
AU - Li, Lei
AU - Ren, Yong
AU - Wang, Wenjing
AU - Lv, Yulong
AU - Ding, Jianjing
AU - Nicolaou, Georgios
AU - Wurz, Peter
AU - Raab, Walfried
AU - Vey, Sylvain
AU - Echim, Marius
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2025.
PY - 2025/12/1
Y1 - 2025/12/1
N2 - The Light Ion Analyzer (LIA) instrument, part of the Solar-wind-Magnetosphere–Ionosphere-link- Explorer (SMILE) mission, is designed to measure the ion velocity distribution function within an energy range of 5 eV up to 25 keV. LIA provides in-situ measurements of the ion velocity distribution functions of the solar wind and magnetosheath, from which the moments can be derived on the ground, serving as an upstream input for the magnetosphere-ionosphere downstream responses. Two identical 2π sr field-of-view LIA instruments are mounted on two opposite sides of the spacecraft platform, offering a combined 4π sr instantaneous field-of-view. Each LIA consists of a top-hat electrostatic analyzer, electrostatic aperture deflectors, and a microchannel plate detector for analyzing the energy, direction, and flux of ions. Depending on the operation mode, the angular resolution ranges from 5.625° to 22.5° in elevation and from 7.5° to 30° in azimuth, and the time resolution spans from 0.25 to 2 seconds. This paper describes the design of the LIA, its performance, ground calibration, operation procedures, and resultant data products.
AB - The Light Ion Analyzer (LIA) instrument, part of the Solar-wind-Magnetosphere–Ionosphere-link- Explorer (SMILE) mission, is designed to measure the ion velocity distribution function within an energy range of 5 eV up to 25 keV. LIA provides in-situ measurements of the ion velocity distribution functions of the solar wind and magnetosheath, from which the moments can be derived on the ground, serving as an upstream input for the magnetosphere-ionosphere downstream responses. Two identical 2π sr field-of-view LIA instruments are mounted on two opposite sides of the spacecraft platform, offering a combined 4π sr instantaneous field-of-view. Each LIA consists of a top-hat electrostatic analyzer, electrostatic aperture deflectors, and a microchannel plate detector for analyzing the energy, direction, and flux of ions. Depending on the operation mode, the angular resolution ranges from 5.625° to 22.5° in elevation and from 7.5° to 30° in azimuth, and the time resolution spans from 0.25 to 2 seconds. This paper describes the design of the LIA, its performance, ground calibration, operation procedures, and resultant data products.
KW - Instrument characterization and calibration
KW - Ion spectrometer
KW - Plasma instrumentation
KW - Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE)
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105021637082
U2 - 10.1007/s11214-025-01235-w
DO - 10.1007/s11214-025-01235-w
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:105021637082
SN - 0038-6308
VL - 221
JO - Space Science Reviews
JF - Space Science Reviews
IS - 8
M1 - 109
ER -