09-07, 16:00–16:30 (Europe/Berlin), Main Stage
KiCad is used to design an incredible variety of electronics. At APC, a CNRS research laboratory in Paris, we use it to develop readout electronics for cosmology and astrophysics instruments that operate under vacuum, in the radiation environment of space, and sometimes at cryogenic temperatures.
For ESA's ATHENA space mission, currently under development, we are designing compact rigid-flex PCBs that must fit within a highly constrained mechanical assembly while satisfying the reliability requirements imposed by ECSS space standards. In particular, the final shape of the flexible sections must be accurately predicted before manufacturing to ensure proper integration, while avoiding overly conservative designs that increase mass and occupied volume.
To address this challenge, we developed, together with internship student Martin Prêle, a physics-based tool to predict the 2D deformation of rigid-flex PCBs from their geometry and boundary conditions. The predictions were validated experimentally on fabricated PCBs, showing excellent agreement with measured shapes.
In this talk, I will present how a practical PCB design challenge encountered in the development of space electronics led us to combine KiCad-based design workflows with physics-based mechanical modeling. The resulting approach enables more compact and predictable rigid-flex PCB designs.
I am an Argentinian experimental physicist working as a research engineer at the AstroParticule and Cosmology (APC) laboratory in Paris, France. For over a decade, my work has focused on the development, characterization, and readout of cryogenic detectors for astrophysics and cosmology instruments. For the past five years, I have been deeply involved in the Warm Front-End Electronics (WFEE) for the ATHENA X-IFU space instrument, leading the testing and validation of custom ASICs developed for the mission. I use KiCad to design high-reliability, space-grade rigid-flex PCBs.