BIFOCAL: A Next-Generation Electron Instrument for Solar Wind Monitoring and High Phase Space Resolution Measurements

We propose to develop the electrostatic optics, front-end electronics, and operational algorithms for a next-generation electron instrument capable of providing both routine monitoring and targeted high-resolution measurements from a single compact sensor. The Bifocal instrument will provide full 3-d synoptic "coarse" measurements of the electron distribution, and will also provide targeted "fine" 1.5x1.5 deg. measurements of *any* portion of the distribution, based on either an external trigger or an internal trigger utilizing the coarse measurements. The result of this work will be a TRL-6 instrument that provides high-quality measurements previously requiring two separate sensors, from a single integrated low-resource instrument. This instrument would be ideal for a solar wind monitoring suite, as called out for the high-priority IMAP mission concept, but would also be suitable for a wide variety of high-priority heliophysics investigations.