LATMOS is organized around several scientific or support departments, and five professional technical departments bringing together all the engineers and technicians (around 60 ITA and BIATOSS) who, in their field of expertise, are involved in the development and exploitation of laboratory instrumentation or modeling projects.
This “matrix” organization of technical skills for projects carried out by the scientific departments allows each engineer/technician to be involved in several projects in parallel, promoting the dissemination of the know-how and experiences that have been acquired.
The Instrumental and Scientific Computing (IIS) department of LATMOS brings together around twenty engineers (permanent and non-permanent) specialized in the fields of instrumental computing and scientific computing. The majority is distributed in a scientific “project” organization.
The research work carried out by the laboratory involves the technical support of various embedded software development projects, software tools necessary for AIT/AIV activities of instruments developed at LATMOS, various software applications for operation experiments and their data, digital codes, as well as expertise in mathematical and statistical methods and intensive scientific computing in order to design or optimize algorithms for processing observation data (satellite and in-situ ) and assimilation of this data into models.
The mission of the IIS departments is to provide the necessary support to LATMOS research teams specialized in the study of fundamental physico-chemical processes governing the terrestrial and planetary atmospheres and their interfaces with the surface, the ocean, and the interplanetary environment. .
The activities of the IIS department are therefore deployed around 3 axes:
For all development of embedded software, real-time control, or test and validation software tools for instrumentation, in close collaboration with the other technical departments of the unit.
To support the activities of scientific departments by helping them to formalize a scientific problem, for its modeling, representation and processing or by ensuring the management and creation of IT solutions meeting their needs, through design, development or adaptation of analysis methods or existing codes: numerical calculation, statistics, signal processing, image processing, modeling, optimization of heavy simulation codes, adaptation to computer technologies (parallelization, migration to other computer languages, web , configuration management, databases…); development, deployment and maintenance of scientific applications and data processing chains (from specification to integration) for the automatic processing of large volumes of data.
Pour réaliser les tâches dites de « operational production”: design of observation plans for the various scientific experiments in which the laboratory participates (ground instruments or space missions), data recovery, execution of data processing chains and delayed-time validation of experiment measurements, organization of data and monitoring of their exploitation until their visualization, archiving and provision of the data to our French or international partners (other laboratories or space agencies), either through dedicated websites hosted in the unit, or through archiving centers managed by space agencies (CNES, ESA, NASA, etc.) or virtual observatories (VOSCAT for example)
The IIS department is thus involved in three of the laboratory’s technological sectors (Instrumental computing, Modeling, Data acquisition and management).
The ISS department brings together all the functions of computer engineers (project managers, analysts, developers) necessary for the successful management of complex and large-scale IT projects that can be distributed internationally. Some engineers are required to carry out managerial tasks, sometimes with the management of a team, and/or multiple interfaces (partnership with external, academic or industrial stakeholders (CNRS, IFREMER, CNES, ACRI, ESA, NASA, under -industrial contractors). These partners have expertise complementary to ours, helping to develop our business expertise, particularly in the area of product control (methodologies, quality standards).
The know-how in leading projects subject to high requirements (scheduling/cost/quality) and the multi-profession positioning (physics and/or chemistry, electronics, radio, telecommunications…+computer science) of the majority of engineers of the IIS department ensure a perfect understanding of the challenges of scientific projects and the optimal conditions for the successful completion of associated IT projects.
The know-how of the IIS department is also used by taking part in the development of technical documentation associated with the codes developed and/or the writing of scientific publications. The engineers also ensure the link with the scientific users of the products and codes at the national and international level and more generally for the dissemination and promotion of the research work of the LATMOS scientific teams.
Ensure technological monitoring of the evolution of hardware architectures, operating systems and emerging technologies in intensive computing, distributed computing and cloud computing, virtualization and on the issues of processing large volumes of data or big data (Big Data).
Ensure scientific monitoring of the evolution of concepts, tools and methods of analysis or digital methods: the evolution of calculation tools and resources allows increasingly complex modeling.
Get involved in business networks that take into account the most recent debates at the intersection of the IT field and the disciplines in contact with it: version management, automation of production and deployment, sustainability and reproduction of data and programs, etc.
Support researchers in constructing a data management plan, understanding the challenges and expectations and defining its purposes within the framework of the H2020 and international regulatory context.
Ensure the evolution and renewal of programming languages (porting existing codes to other languages) and production tools in the world of free software.
For all development of embedded software, real-time control, or test and validation software tools for instrumentation, in close collaboration with the other technical departments of the unit.
To support the activities of scientific departments by helping them to formalize a scientific problem, for its modeling, representation and processing or by ensuring the management and creation of IT solutions meeting their needs, through design, development or adaptation of analysis methods or existing codes: numerical calculation, statistics, signal processing, image processing, modeling, optimization of heavy simulation codes, adaptation to computer technologies (parallelization, migration to other computer languages, web , configuration management, databases…); development, deployment and maintenance of scientific applications and data processing chains (from specification to integration) for the automatic processing of large volumes of data.
To carry out the so-called “operational production” tasks: design of observation plans for the various scientific experiments in which the laboratory participates (ground instruments or space missions), data recovery, execution of data processing chains and delayed-time validation from measurements of experiments, organization of data and monitoring of their exploitation until their visualization, archiving and making the data available to our French or international partners (other laboratories or space agencies), or via dedicated websites hosted in the unit, either through archiving centers managed by space agencies (CNES, ESA, NASA, etc.) or virtual observatories (VOSCAT for example)
The IIS department is thus involved in three of the laboratory’s technological sectors (Instrumental computing, Modeling, Data acquisition and management).
The ISS department brings together all the functions of computer engineers (project managers, analysts, developers) necessary for the successful management of complex and large-scale IT projects that can be distributed internationally. Some engineers are required to carry out managerial tasks, sometimes with the management of a team, and/or multiple interfaces (partnership with external, academic or industrial stakeholders (CNRS, IFREMER, CNES, ACRI, ESA, NASA, under -industrial contractors). These partners have expertise complementary to ours, helping to develop our business expertise, particularly in the area of product control (methodologies, quality standards).
The know-how in leading projects subject to high requirements (scheduling/cost/quality) and the multi-profession positioning (physics and/or chemistry, electronics, radio, telecommunications…+computer science) of the majority of engineers of the IIS department ensure a perfect understanding of the challenges of scientific projects and the optimal conditions for the successful completion of associated IT projects.
The know-how of the IIS department is also used by taking part in the development of technical documentation associated with the codes developed and/or the writing of scientific publications. The engineers also ensure the link with the scientific users of the products and codes at the national and international level and more generally for the dissemination and promotion of the research work of the LATMOS scientific teams.
Ensure technological monitoring of the evolution of hardware architectures, operating systems and emerging technologies in intensive computing, distributed computing and cloud computing, virtualization and on the issues of processing large volumes of data or big data (Big Data).
Ensure scientific monitoring of the evolution of concepts, tools and methods of analysis or digital methods: the evolution of calculation tools and resources allows increasingly complex modeling.
Get involved in business networks that take into account the most recent debates at the intersection of the IT field and the disciplines in contact with it: version management, automation of production and deployment, sustainability and reproduction of data and programs, etc.
Support researchers in constructing a data management plan, understanding the challenges and expectations and defining its purposes within the framework of the H2020 and international regulatory context.
Ensure the evolution and renewal of programming languages (porting existing codes to other languages) and production tools in the world of free software.
The Electronics department of LATMOS brings together around fifteen engineers (permanent and non-permanent) specialized in the fields of analog and digital electronics. Each of them is involved in one or more scientific project(s). The research work carried out at LATMOS has a strong instrumental component.
The involvement of the electronics department can be done at all levels of instrument development according to the specific needs of each project: modeling/simulation, design, development/manufacturing, integration, testing and validation.
The Electronics department is involved in three of the laboratory’s technological sectors (Optical Instrumentation, Microwaves, Physico-chemical Analysis) and works in close collaboration with the laboratory’s 2 other technical departments (Scientific & Instrumental Computing and Mechanics, Thermal, Optics).
The expertise of the LATMOS Electronics department covers:
LATMOS develops instruments for space, ground or airborne applications and to do this has strong expertise in analog electronics over a wide frequency band:
LATMOS participates in the creation of digital signal processing systems, for space, ground or airborne instrumentation projects, mainly in the field of earth observation (oceans and atmosphere) or the study of earth objects. solar system (planets and small bodies).
The instrumental sectors mainly developed in the laboratory, using rapid digital processing technologies, are linked to remote sensing (radars and lidars) and optical spectrometry and imaging (UV IR vis). The department has particular expertise in the field of electronics subject to the space environment.
study and creation of digital electronic systems:
– development of cards based on FPGA programmable logic, fast CAN and DAC converters, and analog (production of analog front ends, detector reading electronics)
– development of embedded platforms based on microcontrollers, and creation of on-board software
– development of instrument control/command software interfaces. Development of human/machine graphical interfaces
rapid acquisition systems for atmospheric RADAR and/or LIDAR (ADC 400Msps, signal processing on Xilinx Virtex FPGA, more than 300,000 acquisitions and FFTs per second)
research and development based on new hybrid SOC Xilinx ZYNQ systems for new radar processing chains
mastery of the development of radiation-hardened FPGAs (Rad Hardened) with anti-fuse and flash technologies from the company Microsemi (Actel) (exclusive supplier for ESA)
microcontrollers and on-chip systems (Microchip, Cypress, Freescale, ARM 9, Analog Devices, Atmel, Arduino)
signal acquisition and processing (From high-resolution 24-bit ADC to fast 1Gsps ADC, fast DACs, digital filtering, signal conditioning, PSoCs)
generation of DDS signals, PLL synthesizers, arbitrary generators, I/Q modulation, microwave architectures
FPGA prototyping cards Xilinx, Innovative Integration, Enclustra, Opal Kelly (FPGA Xilinx Zynq ZC 702, Virtex 5 XC5VLX330, ML510 Virtex5 XC5VFX130T, Virtex 6 LX240T, …)
CAD tools (Synopsys, Xilinx, Cadence, CadVision)
scientific computing language MATLAB
HF channel sounders and simulators, Keysight ADS
embedded digital processing FPGA Ram/Flash and anti-fuses, DSP, LVDS bus, Gigabit Ethernet, PCI/PXI, SERDES
Embedded real-time software Assemblers, C, C++, real-time microkernels, Matlab/Scilab, LabView, Labwindows CVI
LATMOS has developed specific expertise for the selection, supply and storage of components for use in harsh environments, particularly space.
He uses this expertise for all the projects in which he is involved.
LATMOS develops instruments for space, ground or airborne applications and to do this has strong expertise in analog electronics over a wide frequency band:
design, development and testing of the transmission/reception chains of LATMOS scientific instruments
instrumental development: ground and on-board radars (space and airborne)
definition and design of radar architecture
microwave measurement
instrumental simulation
definition and use of calibration protocols
radar signal and radiometric data processing
LATMOS participates in the creation of digital signal processing systems, for space, ground or airborne instrumentation projects, mainly in the field of earth observation (oceans and atmosphere) or the study of earth objects. solar system (planets and small bodies).
The instrumental sectors mainly developed in the laboratory, using rapid digital processing technologies, are linked to remote sensing (radars and lidars) and optical spectrometry and imaging (UV IR vis). The department has particular expertise in the field of electronics subject to the space environment.
study and creation of digital electronic systems:
– development of cards based on FPGA programmable logic, fast CAN and DAC converters, and analog (production of analog front ends, detector reading electronics)
– development of embedded platforms based on microcontrollers, and creation of on-board software
– development of instrument control/command software interfaces. Development of human/machine graphical interfaces
rapid acquisition systems for atmospheric RADAR and/or LIDAR (ADC 400Msps, signal processing on Xilinx Virtex FPGA, more than 300,000 acquisitions and FFTs per second)
research and development based on new hybrid SOC Xilinx ZYNQ systems for new radar processing chains
mastery of the development of radiation-hardened FPGAs (Rad Hardened) with anti-fuse and flash technologies from the company Microsemi (Actel) (exclusive supplier for ESA)
microcontrollers and on-chip systems (Microchip, Cypress, Freescale, ARM 9, Analog Devices, Atmel, Arduino)
signal acquisition and processing (From high-resolution 24-bit ADC to fast 1Gsps ADC, fast DACs, digital filtering, signal conditioning, PSoCs)
generation of DDS signals, PLL synthesizers, arbitrary generators, I/Q modulation, microwave architectures
FPGA prototyping cards Xilinx, Innovative Integration, Enclustra, Opal Kelly (FPGA Xilinx Zynq ZC 702, Virtex 5 XC5VLX330, ML510 Virtex5 XC5VFX130T, Virtex 6 LX240T, …)
CAD tools (Synopsys, Xilinx, Cadence, CadVision)
scientific computing language MATLAB
HF channel sounders and simulators, Keysight ADS
embedded digital processing FPGA Ram/Flash and anti-fuses, DSP, LVDS bus, Gigabit Ethernet, PCI/PXI, SERDES
Embedded real-time software Assemblers, C, C++, real-time microkernels, Matlab/Scilab, LabView, Labwindows CVI
LATMOS has developed specific expertise for the selection, supply and storage of components for use in harsh environments, particularly space.
He uses this expertise for all the projects in which he is involved.
LATMOS has equipped itself with the necessary tools to fulfill its missions both upstream of projects (design support tools, simulation) and to be able to validate and test its electronic developments, both analog and digital.
Simulation, Design:
Measure :
Spectrum analyzers
Rhode&Schwarz FSU: 26.5 GHz – 18 dBm – 40 GHz tracking generator
HP E4407B: 26.5 GHz – 3 GHz tracking generator
HP 8561B: 6.5 GHz
Network Analyzers
HP: 1.6 GHz (vector)
Rhode&Schwarz ZVL6: 6 GHz (vector)
Frequency synthesizers
Rhode&Schwarz SWM05: 18 GHz
Rhode&Schwarz SMF 100A: 22 GHz – 17 dBm
Agilent E8257D: 20 GHz
The “Instrumentation” department (MECATOP) of LATMOS brings together around twenty engineers (permanent and non-permanent) specialized in the fields of optical, mechanical, integration and testing engineering, and system engineering – project management. Our technicians and engineers are divided into operational scientific “project” teams.
The research work carried out by the laboratory involves the technical support of various development projects for scientific instruments deployed on all types of vector (laboratory instrumentation, ground station, on-board instrumentation under balloons-airplanes-drones, flight experience on board a space mission).
The mission of the MECATOP department is to provide the necessary support to the scientific departments of LATMOS for the development of scientific instruments, from their design phase to their implementation phase. The technical development of these instruments is carried out by project teams bringing together agents from the MECATOP department and the two other technical departments of the laboratory (ELECTRONIQUE and INFOPROJ), and external partners belonging to national research laboratories, public establishments industrial and commercial nature (CNES, ONERA, CEA, etc.), to the private sector, and to our international partners (research laboratories, ESA-NASA-JAXA space agencies, etc.).
The LATMOS instrumentation department (MECATOP) is thus involved in the laboratory’s technological sectors and coordinates the technical activities of two of these sectors (optical instrumentation and physicochemical analysis).
The activities of the MECATOP department are deployed around the professional skills of our agents and can thus be summarized around the 4 main areas of expertise:
Our mechanical design office is made up of 4 agents covering both the field of mechanical design (CAD using CATIA software) and that of the manufacturing of mechanical parts and assemblies within our mechanical production workshop and our scientific glassmaking workshop.
Our fleet of machine tools and equipment includes in particular conventional lathes and milling machines, CNC engravers, TIG welding stations, a plasma cutter, a boilermaking center (shearing, rolling, folding), and a 3D printer.
This area is crucial for the assembly of complex instruments from the usual sub-assemblies (mechanical, thermal, electronic, optical, fluidic systems, etc.) of scientific experiments developed at LATMOS, as well as for their functional validation (good quality tests). operation, lifespan, resistance to environments, etc.) and for measuring the performances obtained (verification of the adequacy between instrumental performances and scientific requirements). It is often called by the acronyms AIT (Assembly, Integration and Test) or AIV (Assembly, Integration and Verification) in the space sector.
The MECATOP department has agents specialized in integration and testing, and dedicated experimental resources (assembly table in mechanical workshop, bonding room, testing resources for the control and calibration of instruments, etc.).
Design, development and implementation of optical systems integrated into passive optical instruments (spectrometers, photometers, imagers) or active optics (lidars).
Light is a formidable messenger for those who know how to make it speak. All you have to do is make it interact with matter so that it manifests itself and tells us its story. Without it, it remains invisible. LATMOS has been working for several decades to exploit and decipher the secrets that light conveys to us, in order to:
– understand the physicochemical mechanisms governing planetary atmospheres;
– study the formation of planets and small bodies in the solar system;
– analyze the physics of the heliosphere.
A laboratory with a very strong instrumental component, LATMOS has made optical instrumentation one of its core businesses. In order to meet different scientific needs, the laboratory develops, designs and produces optical instruments deployed either from the ground or from balloons, planes or satellites.
Integrated into the technical department of the laboratory, the optical department now has five optical and instrumental engineers with complementary skills and has a substantial set of measurement and calibration resources dedicated to spectrometry, interferometry and lidar instrumentation. .
The Project, System, Quality department brings together agents with a generalist profile, whose expertise allows them to understand the different techniques to be implemented to develop a scientific instrument. These are the project management professions: project managers, system engineers, assembly integration and testing managers and quality managers. Systems engineering consists of an interdisciplinary and methodical approach linking all technical fields together and aiming to develop scientific instruments that meet the needs of researchers while integrating all the technical constraints applying to these instruments. .
This department has around ten engineers.
The agents of this department have the following expertise:
Technical management of the project:
Instrument design: definition and management of specifications and technical interfaces, management of development models, monitoring of technical risks, control of certifications, etc. and definition of the solution
Their realization: manufacturing and assembly, functionality and performance testing
Their implementation: installation, daily operations, monitoring of their long-term operation
Systems engineering: systems modeling, analysis of technical compromises, verification of functionality and performance, validation of specifications, etc.
Project management:
financial management of the project
calendar management of the project
management of human resources assigned to the project
contractual and legal management,
the organization and control of documentation,
Management of organizational interfaces (agencies, scientific teams, other laboratories, industrial partners, etc.)
The instrumental project management activities of the Project, System, Quality department cover all phases of development of an instrument (feasibility study, response to Call for Tender, design, production and tests, delivery, operations) and the all technical sectors of the laboratory.
The LATMOS Common IT Service (CIS) aims to provide IT resources and support research and collaboration activities within our laboratory.
Drawing on our expertise in digital systems and network technologies, the service responds in a manner adapted to the specific needs of our researchers and our staff.
Our team of qualified professionals is there to support all the IT needs of the life cycle of a scientific project, whether for data management, the development of specialized software, the establishment of IT infrastructures or for any other demand linked to information and communication technologies.
Our services include:
