Evaluation of a hybrid photon counting pixel detector for X-ray polarimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Michel, T.; Durst, J.

2008-01-01

It has already been shown in literature that X-ray sensitive CCDs can be used to measure the degree of linear polarization of X-rays using the effect that photoelectrons are emitted with a non-isotropic angular distribution in respect to the orientation of the electric field vector of impinging photons. Up to now hybrid semiconductor pixel detectors like the Timepix-detector have never been used for X-ray polarimetry. The main reason for this is that the pixel pitch is large compared to CCDs which results in a much smaller analyzing power. On the other hand, the active thickness of the sensor layer can be larger than in CCDs leading to an increased efficiency. Therefore hybrid photon counting pixel detectors may be used for imaging and polarimetry at higher photon energies. For irradiation with polarized X-ray photons we were able to measure an asymmetry between vertical and horizontal double hit events in neighboring pixels of the hybrid photon counting Timepix-detector at room temperature. For the specific spectrum used in our experiment an average polarization asymmetry of (0.96±0.02)% was measured. Additionally, the Timepix-detector with its spectroscopic time-over-threshold-mode was used to measure the dependence of the polarization asymmetry on energy deposition in the detector. Polarization asymmetries between 0.2% at 29 keV and 3.4% at 78 keV energy deposition were determined. The results can be reproduced with our EGS4-based Monte-Carlo simulation

Proceeding Paper for HSTD11 Conference about Luminosity Measurement by Pixel-Cluster-Counting

CERN Document Server

Liu, Peilian; The ATLAS collaboration

2018-01-01

The Insertable B-Layer (IBL) is the innermost layer of the ATLAS tracking system. It consists of planar pixel modules in the central region and 3D pixel modules at two extremities. We use the longitudinal cluster size distributions in 3D modules of the IBL to determine the number of pixel clusters produced by primary charged particles per event and suppress backgrounds. This Pixel Cluster Counting (PCC) algorithm provides a bunch-by-bunch luminosity measurement. An accurate luminosity measurement is a key component for precision measurements at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and one of the largest uncertainties on the luminosity determination in ATLAS arises from the long-term stability of the measurement technique. The comparison of the PCC algorithm with other existing algorithms provides key insights in assessing and reducing such uncertainty.

High-speed readout of high-Z pixel detectors with the LAMBDA detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pennicard, D.; Smoljanin, S.; Sheviakov, I.; Xia, Q.; Rothkirch, A.; Yu, Y.; Struth, B.; Hirsemann, H.; Graafsma, H.

2014-01-01

High-frame-rate X-ray pixel detectors make it possible to perform time-resolved experiments at synchrotron beamlines, and to make better use of these sources by shortening experiment times. LAMBDA is a photon-counting hybrid pixel detector based on the Medipix3 chip, designed to combine a small pixel size of 55 μm, a large tileable module design, high speed, and compatibility with ''high-Z'' sensors for hard X-ray detection. This technical paper focuses on LAMBDA's high-speed-readout functionality, which allows a frame rate of 2000 frames per second with no deadtime between successive images. This takes advantage of the Medipix3 chip's ''continuous read-write'' function and highly parallelised readout. The readout electronics serialise this data and send it back to a server PC over two 10 Gigabit Ethernet links. The server PC controls the detector and receives, processes and stores the data using software designed for the Tango control system. As a demonstration of high-speed readout of a high-Z sensor, a GaAs LAMBDA detector was used to make a high-speed X-ray video of a computer fan

18k Channels single photon counting readout circuit for hybrid pixel detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maj, P.; Grybos, P.; Szczygiel, R.; Zoladz, M.; Sakumura, T.; Tsuji, Y.

2013-01-01

We have performed measurements of an integrated circuit named PXD18k designed for hybrid pixel semiconductor detectors used in X-ray imaging applications. The PXD18k integrated circuit, fabricated in CMOS 180 nm technology, has dimensions of 9.64 mm×20 mm and contains approximately 26 million transistors. The core of the IC is a matrix of 96×192 pixels with 100 μm×100 μm pixel size. Each pixel works in a single photon counting mode. A single pixel contains two charge sensitive amplifiers with Krummenacher feedback scheme, two shapers, two discriminators (with independent thresholds A and B) and two 16-bit ripple counters. The data are read out via eight low voltage differential signaling (LVDS) outputs with 100 Mbps rate. The power consumption is dominated by analog blocks and it is about 23 μW/pixel. The effective peaking time at the discriminator input is 30 ns and is mainly determined by the time constants of the charge sensitive amplifier (CSA). The gain is equal to 42.5 μV/e − and the equivalent noise charge is 168 e − rms (with bump-bonded silicon pixel detector). Thanks to the use of trim DACs in each pixel, the effective threshold spread at the discriminator input is only 1.79 mV. The dead time of the front end electronics for a standard setting is 172 ns (paralyzable model). In the standard readout mode (when the data collection time is separated from the time necessary to readout data from the chip) the PXD18k IC works with two energy thresholds per pixel. The PXD18k can also be operated in the continuous readout mode (with a zero dead time) where one can select the number of bits readout from each pixel to optimize the PXD18k frame rate. For example, for reading out 16 bits/pixel the frame rate is 2.7 kHz and for 4 bits/pixel it rises to 7.1 kHz.

18k Channels single photon counting readout circuit for hybrid pixel detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maj, P., E-mail: piotr.maj@agh.edu.pl [AGH University of Science and Technology, Department of Measurements and Electronics, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow (Poland); Grybos, P.; Szczygiel, R.; Zoladz, M. [AGH University of Science and Technology, Department of Measurements and Electronics, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow (Poland); Sakumura, T.; Tsuji, Y. [X-ray Analysis Division, Rigaku Corporation, Matsubara, Akishima, Tokyo 196-8666 (Japan)

2013-01-01

We have performed measurements of an integrated circuit named PXD18k designed for hybrid pixel semiconductor detectors used in X-ray imaging applications. The PXD18k integrated circuit, fabricated in CMOS 180 nm technology, has dimensions of 9.64 mm Multiplication-Sign 20 mm and contains approximately 26 million transistors. The core of the IC is a matrix of 96 Multiplication-Sign 192 pixels with 100 {mu}m Multiplication-Sign 100 {mu}m pixel size. Each pixel works in a single photon counting mode. A single pixel contains two charge sensitive amplifiers with Krummenacher feedback scheme, two shapers, two discriminators (with independent thresholds A and B) and two 16-bit ripple counters. The data are read out via eight low voltage differential signaling (LVDS) outputs with 100 Mbps rate. The power consumption is dominated by analog blocks and it is about 23 {mu}W/pixel. The effective peaking time at the discriminator input is 30 ns and is mainly determined by the time constants of the charge sensitive amplifier (CSA). The gain is equal to 42.5 {mu}V/e{sup -} and the equivalent noise charge is 168 e{sup -} rms (with bump-bonded silicon pixel detector). Thanks to the use of trim DACs in each pixel, the effective threshold spread at the discriminator input is only 1.79 mV. The dead time of the front end electronics for a standard setting is 172 ns (paralyzable model). In the standard readout mode (when the data collection time is separated from the time necessary to readout data from the chip) the PXD18k IC works with two energy thresholds per pixel. The PXD18k can also be operated in the continuous readout mode (with a zero dead time) where one can select the number of bits readout from each pixel to optimize the PXD18k frame rate. For example, for reading out 16 bits/pixel the frame rate is 2.7 kHz and for 4 bits/pixel it rises to 7.1 kHz.

The high dynamic range pixel array detector (HDR-PAD): Concept and design

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shanks, Katherine S.; Philipp, Hugh T.; Weiss, Joel T.; Becker, Julian; Tate, Mark W. [Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Gruner, Sol M., E-mail: smg26@cornell.edu [Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS), Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States)

2016-07-27

Experiments at storage ring light sources as well as at next-generation light sources increasingly require detectors capable of high dynamic range operation, combining low-noise detection of single photons with large pixel well depth. XFEL sources in particular provide pulse intensities sufficiently high that a purely photon-counting approach is impractical. The High Dynamic Range Pixel Array Detector (HDR-PAD) project aims to provide a dynamic range extending from single-photon sensitivity to 10{sup 6} photons/pixel in a single XFEL pulse while maintaining the ability to tolerate a sustained flux of 10{sup 11} ph/s/pixel at a storage ring source. Achieving these goals involves the development of fast pixel front-end electronics as well as, in the XFEL case, leveraging the delayed charge collection due to plasma effects in the sensor. A first prototype of essential electronic components of the HDR-PAD readout ASIC, exploring different options for the pixel front-end, has been fabricated. Here, the HDR-PAD concept and preliminary design will be described.

ChromAIX2: A large area, high count-rate energy-resolving photon counting ASIC for a Spectral CT Prototype

Science.gov (United States)

Steadman, Roger; Herrmann, Christoph; Livne, Amir

2017-08-01

Spectral CT based on energy-resolving photon counting detectors is expected to deliver additional diagnostic value at a lower dose than current state-of-the-art CT [1]. The capability of simultaneously providing a number of spectrally distinct measurements not only allows distinguishing between photo-electric and Compton interactions but also discriminating contrast agents that exhibit a K-edge discontinuity in the absorption spectrum, referred to as K-edge Imaging [2]. Such detectors are based on direct converting sensors (e.g. CdTe or CdZnTe) and high-rate photon counting electronics. To support the development of Spectral CT and show the feasibility of obtaining rates exceeding 10 Mcps/pixel (Poissonian observed count-rate), the ChromAIX ASIC has been previously reported showing 13.5 Mcps/pixel (150 Mcps/mm2 incident) [3]. The ChromAIX has been improved to offer the possibility of a large area coverage detector, and increased overall performance. The new ASIC is called ChromAIX2, and delivers count-rates exceeding 15 Mcps/pixel with an rms-noise performance of approximately 260 e-. It has an isotropic pixel pitch of 500 μm in an array of 22×32 pixels and is tile-able on three of its sides. The pixel topology consists of a two stage amplifier (CSA and Shaper) and a number of test features allowing to thoroughly characterize the ASIC without a sensor. A total of 5 independent thresholds are also available within each pixel, allowing to acquire 5 spectrally distinct measurements simultaneously. The ASIC also incorporates a baseline restorer to eliminate excess currents induced by the sensor (e.g. dark current and low frequency drifts) which would otherwise cause an energy estimation error. In this paper we report on the inherent electrical performance of the ChromAXI2 as well as measurements obtained with CZT (CdZnTe)/CdTe sensors and X-rays and radioactive sources.

Monolithic array of 32 SPAD pixels for single-photon imaging at high frame rates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tisa, Simone; Guerrieri, Fabrizio; Zappa, Franco

2009-01-01

We present a single-chip monolithic array of 32 Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPAD) and associated electronics for imaging at high frame rates and high sensitivity. Photodetectors, front-end circuitry and control electronics used to manage the array are monolithically integrated on the same chip in a standard 0.35 μm CMOS high-voltage technology. The array is composed of 32 'smart' pixels working in photon counting mode and functioning in a parallel fashion. Every cell comprises of an integrated SPAD photodetector, a novel quenching circuit named as Variable Load Quenching Circuit (VLQC), counting electronics and a buffer memory. Proper ancillary electronics that perform the arbitration of photon counts between two consecutive frames is integrated as well. Thanks to the presence of in-pixel memory registers, the inter-frame dead time between subsequent frames is limited to few nanoseconds. Since integration and download are performed simultaneously and the array can be addressed like a standard digital memory, the achievable maximum frame rate is very high in the order of hundreds of thousands of frame/s.

X-ray Imaging Using a Hybrid Photon Counting GaAs Pixel Detector

CERN Document Server

Schwarz, C; Göppert, R; Heijne, Erik H M; Ludwig, J; Meddeler, G; Mikulec, B; Pernigotti, E; Rogalla, M; Runge, K; Smith, K M; Snoeys, W; Söldner-Rembold, S; Watt, J

1999-01-01

The performance of hybrid GaAs pixel detectors as X-ray imaging sensors were investigated at room temperature. These hybrids consist of 300 mu-m thick GaAs pixel detectors, flip-chip bonded to a CMOS Single Photon Counting Chip (PCC). This chip consists of a matrix of 64 x 64 identical square pixels (170 mu-m x 170 mu-m) and covers a total area of 1.2 cm**2. The electronics in each cell comprises a preamplifier, a discriminator with a 3-bit threshold adjust and a 15-bit counter. The detector is realized by an array of Schottky diodes processed on semi-insulating LEC-GaAs bulk material. An IV-charcteristic and a detector bias voltage scan showed that the detector can be operated with voltages around 200 V. Images of various objects were taken by using a standard X-ray tube for dental diagnostics. The signal to noise ratio (SNR) was also determined. The applications of these imaging systems range from medical applications like digital mammography or dental X-ray diagnostics to non destructive material testing (...

Characterization of imaging pixel detectors of Si and CdTe read out with the counting X-ray chip MPEC 2.3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loecker, M.

2007-04-01

Single photon counting detectors with Si- and CdTe-sensors have been constructed and characterized. As readout chip the MPEC 2.3 is used which consists of 32 x 32 pixels with 200 x 200 μm 2 pixel size and which has a high count rate cabability (1 MHz per pixel) as well as a low noise performance (55 e - ). Measurements and simulations of the detector homogeneity are presented. It could be shown that the theoretical maximum of the homogeneity is reached (quantum limit). By means of the double threshold of the MPEC chip the image contrast can be enhanced which is demonstrated by measurement and simulation. Also, multi-chip-modules consisting of 4 MPEC chips and a single Si- or CdTe-sensor have been constructed and successfully operated. With these modules modulation-transfer-function measurements have been done showing a good spatial resolution of the detectors. In addition, multi-chip-modules according to the Sparse-CMOS concept have been built and tests characterizing the interconnection technologies have been performed

Photon-counting-based diffraction phase microscopy combined with single-pixel imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Shibuya, Kyuki; Araki, Hiroyuki; Iwata, Tetsuo

2018-04-01

We propose a photon-counting (PC)-based quantitative-phase imaging (QPI) method for use in diffraction phase microscopy (DPM) that is combined with a single-pixel imaging (SPI) scheme (PC-SPI-DPM). This combination of DPM with the SPI scheme overcomes a low optical throughput problem that has occasionally prevented us from obtaining quantitative-phase images in DPM through use of a high-sensitivity single-channel photodetector such as a photomultiplier tube (PMT). The introduction of a PMT allowed us to perform PC with ease and thus solved a dynamic range problem that was inherent to SPI. As a proof-of-principle experiment, we performed a comparison study of analogue-based SPI-DPM and PC-SPI-DPM for a 125-nm-thick indium tin oxide (ITO) layer coated on a silica glass substrate. We discuss the basic performance of the method and potential future modifications of the proposed system.

High-speed imaging at high x-ray energy: CdTe sensors coupled to charge-integrating pixel array detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Becker, Julian; Tate, Mark W.; Shanks, Katherine S.; Philipp, Hugh T.; Weiss, Joel T.; Purohit, Prafull [Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Chamberlain, Darol [Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS), Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Gruner, Sol M., E-mail: smg26@cornell.edu [Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS), Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States)

2016-07-27

Pixel Array Detectors (PADs) consist of an x-ray sensor layer bonded pixel-by-pixel to an underlying readout chip. This approach allows both the sensor and the custom pixel electronics to be tailored independently to best match the x-ray imaging requirements. Here we describe the hybridization of CdTe sensors to two different charge-integrating readout chips, the Keck PAD and the Mixed-Mode PAD (MM-PAD), both developed previously in our laboratory. The charge-integrating architecture of each of these PADs extends the instantaneous counting rate by many orders of magnitude beyond that obtainable with photon counting architectures. The Keck PAD chip consists of rapid, 8-frame, in-pixel storage elements with framing periods <150 ns. The second detector, the MM-PAD, has an extended dynamic range by utilizing an in-pixel overflow counter coupled with charge removal circuitry activated at each overflow. This allows the recording of signals from the single-photon level to tens of millions of x-rays/pixel/frame while framing at 1 kHz. Both detector chips consist of a 128×128 pixel array with (150 µm){sup 2} pixels.

How many pixels does it take to make a good 4"×6" print? Pixel count wars revisited

Science.gov (United States)

Kriss, Michael A.

2011-01-01

In the early 1980's the future of conventional silver-halide photographic systems was of great concern due to the potential introduction of electronic imaging systems then typified by the Sony Mavica analog electronic camera. The focus was on the quality of film-based systems as expressed in the number of equivalent number pixels and bits-per-pixel, and how many pixels would be required to create an equivalent quality image from a digital camera. It was found that 35-mm frames, for ISO 100 color negative film, contained equivalent pixels of 12 microns for a total of 18 million pixels per frame (6 million pixels per layer) with about 6 bits of information per pixel; the introduction of new emulsion technology, tabular AgX grains, increased the value to 8 bit per pixel. Higher ISO speed films had larger equivalent pixels, fewer pixels per frame, but retained the 8 bits per pixel. Further work found that a high quality 3.5" x 5.25" print could be obtained from a three layer system containing 1300 x 1950 pixels per layer or about 7.6 million pixels in all. In short, it became clear that when a digital camera contained about 6 million pixels (in a single layer using a color filter array and appropriate image processing) that digital systems would challenge and replace conventional film-based system for the consumer market. By 2005 this became the reality. Since 2005 there has been a "pixel war" raging amongst digital camera makers. The question arises about just how many pixels are required and are all pixels equal? This paper will provide a practical look at how many pixels are needed for a good print based on the form factor of the sensor (sensor size) and the effective optical modulation transfer function (optical spread function) of the camera lens. Is it better to have 16 million, 5.7-micron pixels or 6 million 7.8-micron pixels? How does intrinsic (no electronic boost) ISO speed and exposure latitude vary with pixel size? A systematic review of these issues will

Design and realisation of integrated circuits for the readout of pixel sensors in high-energy physics and biomedical imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peric, I.

2004-08-01

Radiation tolerant pixel-readout chip for the ATLAS pixel detector has been designed, implemented in a deep-submicron CMOS technology and successfully tested. The chip contains readout-channels with complex analog and digital circuits. Chip for steering of the DEPFET active-pixel matrix has been implemented in a high-voltage CMOS technology. The chip contains channels which generate fast sequences of high-voltage signals. Detector containing this chip has been successfully tested. Pixel-readout test chip for an X-ray imaging pixel sensor has been designed, implemented in a CMOS technology and tested. Pixel-readout channels are able to simultaneously count the signals generated by passage of individual photons and to sum the total charge generated during exposure time. (orig.)

Pixel readout ASIC for an APD based 2D X-ray hybrid pixel detector with sub-nanosecond resolution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thil, Ch., E-mail: christophe.thil@ziti.uni-heidelberg.d [Heidelberg University, Institute of Computer Engineering, B6, 26, 68161 Mannheim (Germany); Baron, A.Q.R. [RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5148 (Japan); Fajardo, P. [ESRF, Polygone Scientifique Louis Neel, 6, rue Jules Horowitz, 38000 Grenoble (France); Fischer, P. [Heidelberg University, Institute of Computer Engineering, B6, 26, 68161 Mannheim (Germany); Graafsma, H. [DESY, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg (Germany); Rueffer, R. [ESRF, Polygone Scientifique Louis Neel, 6, rue Jules Horowitz, 38000 Grenoble (France)

2011-02-01

The fast response and the short recovery time of avalanche photodiodes (APDs) in linear mode make those devices ideal for direct X-ray detection in applications requiring high time resolution or counting rate. In order to provide position sensitivity, the XNAP project aims at creating a hybrid pixel detector with nanosecond time resolution based on a monolithic APD sensor array with 32 x32 pixels covering about 1 cm{sup 2} active area. The readout is implemented in a pixelated front-end ASIC suited for the readout of such arrays, matched to pixels of 280{mu}mx280{mu}m size. Every single channel features a fast transimpedance amplifier, a discriminator with locally adjustable threshold and two counters with high dynamic range and counting speed able to accumulate X-ray hits with no readout dead time. Additionally, the detector can be operated in list mode by time-stamping every single event with sub-nanosecond resolution. In a first phase of the project, a 4x4 pixel test module is built to validate the conceptual design of the detector. The XNAP project is briefly presented and the performance of the readout ASIC is discussed.

Pixel readout ASIC for an APD based 2D X-ray hybrid pixel detector with sub-nanosecond resolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thil, Ch.; Baron, A.Q.R.; Fajardo, P.; Fischer, P.; Graafsma, H.; Rueffer, R.

2011-01-01

The fast response and the short recovery time of avalanche photodiodes (APDs) in linear mode make those devices ideal for direct X-ray detection in applications requiring high time resolution or counting rate. In order to provide position sensitivity, the XNAP project aims at creating a hybrid pixel detector with nanosecond time resolution based on a monolithic APD sensor array with 32 x32 pixels covering about 1 cm 2 active area. The readout is implemented in a pixelated front-end ASIC suited for the readout of such arrays, matched to pixels of 280μmx280μm size. Every single channel features a fast transimpedance amplifier, a discriminator with locally adjustable threshold and two counters with high dynamic range and counting speed able to accumulate X-ray hits with no readout dead time. Additionally, the detector can be operated in list mode by time-stamping every single event with sub-nanosecond resolution. In a first phase of the project, a 4x4 pixel test module is built to validate the conceptual design of the detector. The XNAP project is briefly presented and the performance of the readout ASIC is discussed.

Success and failure of dead-time models as applied to hybrid pixel detectors in high-flux applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sobott, B. A.; Broennimann, Ch.; Schmitt, B.; Trueb, P.; Schneebeli, M.; Lee, V.; Peake, D. J.; Elbracht-Leong, S.; Schubert, A.; Kirby, N.; Boland, M. J.; Chantler, C. T.; Barnea, Z.; Rassool, R. P.

2013-01-01

Detector response functionals are found to have useful but also limited application to synchrotron studies where bunched fills are becoming common. By matching the detector response function to the source temporal structure, substantial improvements in efficiency, count rate and linearity are possible. The performance of a single-photon-counting hybrid pixel detector has been investigated at the Australian Synchrotron. Results are compared with the body of accepted analytical models previously validated with other detectors. Detector functionals are valuable for empirical calibration. It is shown that the matching of the detector dead-time with the temporal synchrotron source structure leads to substantial improvements in count rate and linearity of response. Standard implementations are linear up to ∼0.36 MHz pixel −1 ; the optimized linearity in this configuration has an extended range up to ∼0.71 MHz pixel −1 ; these are further correctable with a transfer function to ∼1.77 MHz pixel −1 . This new approach has wide application both in high-accuracy fundamental experiments and in standard crystallographic X-ray fluorescence and other X-ray measurements. The explicit use of data variance (rather than N 1/2 noise) and direct measures of goodness-of-fit (χ r 2 ) are introduced, raising issues not encountered in previous literature for any detector, and suggesting that these inadequacies of models may apply to most detector types. Specifically, parametrization of models with non-physical values can lead to remarkable agreement for a range of count-rate, pulse-frequency and temporal structure. However, especially when the dead-time is near resonant with the temporal structure, limitations of these classical models become apparent. Further, a lack of agreement at extreme count rates was evident

Readout electronics for low dark count pixel detectors based on Geiger mode avalanche photodiodes fabricated in conventional CMOS technologies for future linear colliders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vilella, E.; Arbat, A.; Comerma, A.; Trenado, J.; Alonso, O.; Gascon, D.; Vila, A.; Garrido, L.; Dieguez, A.

2011-01-01

High sensitivity and excellent timing accuracy of the Geiger mode avalanche photodiodes make them ideal sensors as pixel detectors for particle tracking in high energy physics experiments to be performed in future linear colliders. Nevertheless, it is well known that these sensors suffer from dark counts and afterpulsing noise, which induce false hits (indistinguishable from event detection) as well as an increase in the necessary area of the readout system. In this work, we present a comparison between APDs fabricated in a high voltage 0.35 μm and a high integration 0.13 μm commercially available CMOS technologies that has been performed to determine which of them best fits the particle collider requirements. In addition, a readout circuit that allows low noise operation is introduced. Experimental characterization of the proposed pixel is also presented in this work.

Atom-counting in High Resolution Electron Microscopy:TEM or STEM - That's the question.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonnissen, J; De Backer, A; den Dekker, A J; Sijbers, J; Van Aert, S

2017-03-01

In this work, a recently developed quantitative approach based on the principles of detection theory is used in order to determine the possibilities and limitations of High Resolution Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR STEM) and HR TEM for atom-counting. So far, HR STEM has been shown to be an appropriate imaging mode to count the number of atoms in a projected atomic column. Recently, it has been demonstrated that HR TEM, when using negative spherical aberration imaging, is suitable for atom-counting as well. The capabilities of both imaging techniques are investigated and compared using the probability of error as a criterion. It is shown that for the same incoming electron dose, HR STEM outperforms HR TEM under common practice standards, i.e. when the decision is based on the probability function of the peak intensities in HR TEM and of the scattering cross-sections in HR STEM. If the atom-counting decision is based on the joint probability function of the image pixel values, the dependence of all image pixel intensities as a function of thickness should be known accurately. Under this assumption, the probability of error may decrease significantly for atom-counting in HR TEM and may, in theory, become lower as compared to HR STEM under the predicted optimal experimental settings. However, the commonly used standard for atom-counting in HR STEM leads to a high performance and has been shown to work in practice. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Investigation of the performance of alpha particle counting and alpha-gamma discrimination by pulse shape with micro-pixel avalanche photodiode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmadov, G.; Madatov, R.; Sadigov, A.; Sadygov, Z.; Jafarova, E.; Ahmadov, G.; Sadygov, Z.; Olshevski, A.; Zerrouk, F.; Mukhtarov, R.

2015-01-01

Being capable measuring small lights gives possibility to use micro-pixel avalanche photodiodes with scintillators. It is shown two prototypes to use micro-pixel avalanche photodiodes with and without scintillators as alpha and gamma counters in this paper. First prototype is to use two micro-pixel avalanche photodiodes. One for detecting alpha particles and closer to it, the second one with a thin plastic scintillator for detecting gamma rays. Second prototype is called two-layers configuration in which it is used only one micro-pixel avalanche photodiode, but two scntillators with different decay times. One can distinquish alpha particle and gamma ray events by using pulse shape discrimination techniques in the two-layer configuration. In this work an alpha particle and gamma ray counting performance of micro-pixel avalanche photodiodes without scintillators and its combination of plastic and BGO+ plastic scintillators was investigated. Obtained results showed the detection performance of the micro-pixel avalanche photodiodes in combination with plastic scintillator was about the same as conventional semiconductor detectors

Multiple-Event, Single-Photon Counting Imaging Sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Xinyu; Cunningham, Thomas J.; Sun, Chao; Wang, Kang L.

2011-01-01

The single-photon counting imaging sensor is typically an array of silicon Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes that are monolithically integrated with CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) readout, signal processing, and addressing circuits located in each pixel and the peripheral area of the chip. The major problem is its single-event method for photon count number registration. A single-event single-photon counting imaging array only allows registration of up to one photon count in each of its pixels during a frame time, i.e., the interval between two successive pixel reset operations. Since the frame time can t be too short, this will lead to very low dynamic range and make the sensor merely useful for very low flux environments. The second problem of the prior technique is a limited fill factor resulting from consumption of chip area by the monolithically integrated CMOS readout in pixels. The resulting low photon collection efficiency will substantially ruin any benefit gained from the very sensitive single-photon counting detection. The single-photon counting imaging sensor developed in this work has a novel multiple-event architecture, which allows each of its pixels to register as more than one million (or more) photon-counting events during a frame time. Because of a consequently boosted dynamic range, the imaging array of the invention is capable of performing single-photon counting under ultra-low light through high-flux environments. On the other hand, since the multiple-event architecture is implemented in a hybrid structure, back-illumination and close-to-unity fill factor can be realized, and maximized quantum efficiency can also be achieved in the detector array.

Development of a High Dynamic Range Pixel Array Detector for Synchrotrons and XFELs

Science.gov (United States)

Weiss, Joel Todd

Advances in synchrotron radiation light source technology have opened new lines of inquiry in material science, biology, and everything in between. However, x-ray detector capabilities must advance in concert with light source technology to fully realize experimental possibilities. X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs) place particularly large demands on the capabilities of detectors, and developments towards diffraction-limited storage ring sources also necessitate detectors capable of measuring very high flux [1-3]. The detector described herein builds on the Mixed Mode Pixel Array Detector (MM-PAD) framework, developed previously by our group to perform high dynamic range imaging, and the Adaptive Gain Integrating Pixel Detector (AGIPD) developed for the European XFEL by a collaboration between Deustsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), the Paul-Scherrer-Institute (PSI), the University of Hamburg, and the University of Bonn, led by Heinz Graafsma [4, 5]. The feasibility of combining adaptive gain with charge removal techniques to increase dynamic range in XFEL experiments is assessed by simulating XFEL scatter with a pulsed infrared laser. The strategy is incorporated into pixel prototypes which are evaluated with direct current injection to simulate very high incident x-ray flux. A fully functional 16x16 pixel hybrid integrating x-ray detector featuring several different pixel architectures based on the prototypes was developed. This dissertation describes its operation and characterization. To extend dynamic range, charge is removed from the integration node of the front-end amplifier without interrupting integration. The number of times this process occurs is recorded by a digital counter in the pixel. The parameter limiting full well is thereby shifted from the size of an integration capacitor to the depth of a digital counter. The result is similar to that achieved by counting pixel array detectors, but the integrators presented here are designed to tolerate a

High-voltage pixel sensors for ATLAS upgrade

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perić, I., E-mail: ivan.peric@ziti.uni-heidelberg.de [Heidelberg University, Institute of Computer Engineering, Mannheim (Germany); Kreidl, C.; Fischer, P. [Heidelberg University, Institute of Computer Engineering, Mannheim (Germany); Bompard, F.; Breugnon, P.; Clemens, J.-C.; Fougeron, D.; Liu, J.; Pangaud, P.; Rozanov, A.; Barbero, M. [CPPM, Marseille (France); Feigl, S.; Capeans, M.; Ferrere, D.; Pernegger, H.; Ristic, B. [CERN, Geneve (Switzerland); Muenstermann, D.; Gonzalez Sevilla, S.; La Rosa, A.; Miucci, A. [University of Geneve (Switzerland); and others

2014-11-21

The high-voltage (HV-) CMOS pixel sensors offer several good properties: a fast charge collection by drift, the possibility to implement relatively complex CMOS in-pixel electronics and the compatibility with commercial processes. The sensor element is a deep n-well diode in a p-type substrate. The n-well contains CMOS pixel electronics. The main charge collection mechanism is drift in a shallow, high field region, which leads to a fast charge collection and a high radiation tolerance. We are currently evaluating the use of the high-voltage detectors implemented in 180 nm HV-CMOS technology for the high-luminosity ATLAS upgrade. Our approach is replacing the existing pixel and strip sensors with the CMOS sensors while keeping the presently used readout ASICs. By intelligence we mean the ability of the sensor to recognize a particle hit and generate the address information. In this way we could benefit from the advantages of the HV sensor technology such as lower cost, lower mass, lower operating voltage, smaller pitch, smaller clusters at high incidence angles. Additionally we expect to achieve a radiation hardness necessary for ATLAS upgrade. In order to test the concept, we have designed two HV-CMOS prototypes that can be readout in two ways: using pixel and strip readout chips. In the case of the pixel readout, the connection between HV-CMOS sensor and the readout ASIC can be established capacitively.

Design and development of pixel size calibration phantom for gamma camera

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khokhar, S.B.; Manan, A.; Chaudary, M.A.; Pervaiz, T.

2005-01-01

The purpose of the study is to make pixel calibration phantom, to measure pixel size for different zoom factors and matrix sizes and to compare the pixel size with the values of provided by the vendor. For this purpose pixel size calibration phantom (rectangular in shape) made up of acrylic material having dimension 43 x 10 square cm was prepared. Seven circular holes at exact known distance with whole diameter 1.5 mm were born. High specific activity was filled in the holes of the phantom, acquired the image by fixing the number of counts at all available matrices and zoom factors. Pixel size was calculated by counting the number of pixels between focused points and divided the distance thereof by the number of pixels. Mean pixel size was calculated and compared it with reference value provided by the manufacturer of the camera. P- value was calculated which showed that most results lie in the acceptable limit. The calculated values agreed very well. However there exist some deviation at larger matrix sizes, which might be due to scattering of radiation that overlaps nearest pixels, and due to human error. (author)

EXCALIBUR: a small-pixel photon counting area detector for coherent X-ray diffraction - Front-end design, fabrication and characterisation

Science.gov (United States)

Marchal, J.; Horswell, I.; Willis, B.; Plackett, R.; Gimenez, E. N.; Spiers, J.; Ballard, D.; Booker, P.; Thompson, J. A.; Gibbons, P.; Burge, S. R.; Nicholls, T.; Lipp, J.; Tartoni, N.

2013-03-01

Coherent X-ray diffraction experiments on synchrotron X-ray beamlines require detectors with high spatial resolution and large detection area. The read-out chip developed by the MEDIPIX3 collaboration offers a small pixel size of 55 microns resulting in a very high spatial resolution when coupled to a direct X-ray conversion segmented silicon sensor. MEDIPIX3 assemblies present also the advantages of hybrid pixel detectors working in single photon counting mode: noiseless imaging, large dynamic range, extremely high frame rate. The EXCALIBUR detector is under development for the X-ray Coherence and Imaging Beamline I13 of the Diamond Light Source. This new detector consists of three modules, each with 16 MEDIPIX3 chips which can be read-out at 100 frames per second in continuous mode or 1000 frames per second in burst mode. In each module, the sensor is a large single silicon die covering 2 rows of 8 individual MEDIPIX3 read-out chips and provides a continuous active detection region within a module. Each module includes 1 million solder bumps connecting the 55 microns pixels of the silicon sensor to the 55 microns pixels of the 16 MEDIPIX3 read-out chips. The detection area of the 3-module EXCALIBUR detector is 115 mm × 100 mm with a small 6.8 mm wide inactive region between modules. Each detector module is connected to 2 FPGA read-out boards via a flexi-rigid circuit to allow a fully parallel read-out of the 16 MEDIPIX3 chips. The 6 FPGA read-out boards used in the EXCALIBUR detector are interfaced to 6 computing nodes via 10Gbit/s fibre-optic links to maintain the very high frame-rate capability. The standard suite of EPICS control software is used to operate the detector and to integrate it with the Diamond Light Source beamline software environment. This article describes the design, fabrication and characterisation of the MEDIPIX3-based modules composing the EXCALIBUR detector.

EXCALIBUR: a small-pixel photon counting area detector for coherent X-ray diffraction - Front-end design, fabrication and characterisation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marchal, J; Horswell, I; Willis, B; Plackett, R; Gimenez, E N; Spiers, J; Thompson, J A; Gibbons, P; Tartoni, N; Ballard, D; Booker, P; Burge, S R; Nicholls, T; Lipp, J

2013-01-01

Coherent X-ray diffraction experiments on synchrotron X-ray beamlines require detectors with high spatial resolution and large detection area. The read-out chip developed by the MEDIPIX3 collaboration offers a small pixel size of 55 microns resulting in a very high spatial resolution when coupled to a direct X-ray conversion segmented silicon sensor. MEDIPIX3 assemblies present also the advantages of hybrid pixel detectors working in single photon counting mode: noiseless imaging, large dynamic range, extremely high frame rate. The EXCALIBUR detector is under development for the X-ray Coherence and Imaging Beamline I13 of the Diamond Light Source. This new detector consists of three modules, each with 16 MEDIPIX3 chips which can be read-out at 100 frames per second in continuous mode or 1000 frames per second in burst mode. In each module, the sensor is a large single silicon die covering 2 rows of 8 individual MEDIPIX3 read-out chips and provides a continuous active detection region within a module. Each module includes 1 million solder bumps connecting the 55 microns pixels of the silicon sensor to the 55 microns pixels of the 16 MEDIPIX3 read-out chips. The detection area of the 3-module EXCALIBUR detector is 115 mm × 100 mm with a small 6.8 mm wide inactive region between modules. Each detector module is connected to 2 FPGA read-out boards via a flexi-rigid circuit to allow a fully parallel read-out of the 16 MEDIPIX3 chips. The 6 FPGA read-out boards used in the EXCALIBUR detector are interfaced to 6 computing nodes via 10Gbit/s fibre-optic links to maintain the very high frame-rate capability. The standard suite of EPICS control software is used to operate the detector and to integrate it with the Diamond Light Source beamline software environment. This article describes the design, fabrication and characterisation of the MEDIPIX3-based modules composing the EXCALIBUR detector.

Fabrication of X-ray Microcalorimeter Focal Planes Composed of Two Distinct Pixel Types

Science.gov (United States)

Wassell, Edward J.; Adams, Joseph S.; Bandler, Simon R.; Betancour-Martinez, Gabriele L; Chiao, Meng P.; Chang, Meng Ping; Chervenak, James A.; Datesman, Aaron M.; Eckart, Megan E.; Ewin, Audrey J.;

Modelling and simulation of pixelated photon counting X-ray detectors for imaging; Modellierung und Simulation physikalischer Eigenschaften photonenzaehlender Roentgenpixeldetektoren fuer die Bildgebung

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Durst, Juergen

2008-07-22

First of all the physics processes generating the energy deposition in the sensor volume are investigated. The spatial resolution limits of photon interactions and the range of secondary electrons are discussed. The signatures in the energy deposition spectrum in pixelated detectors with direct conversion layers are described. The energy deposition for single events can be generated by the Monte-Carlo-Simulation package ROSI. The basic interactions of photons with matter are evaluated, resulting in the ability to use ROSI as a basis for the simulation of photon counting pixel detectors with direct conversion. In the context of this thesis a detector class is developed to simulate the response of hybrid photon counting pixel detectors using high-Z sensor materials like Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) or Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) in addition to silicon. To enable the realisation of such a simulation, the relevant physics processes and properties have to be implemented: processes in the sensor layer (provided by EGS4/LSCAT in ROSI), generation of charge carriers as electron hole pairs, diffusion and repulsion of charge carriers during drift and lifetime. Furthermore, several noise contributions of the electronics can be taken into account. The result is a detector class which allows the simulation of photon counting detectors. In this thesis the multiplicity framework is developed, including a formula to calculate or measure the zero frequency detective quantum efficiency (DQE). To enable the measurement of the multiplicity of detected events a cluster analysis program was developed. Random and systematic errors introduced by the cluster analysis are discussed. It is also shown that the cluster analysis method can be used to determine the averaged multiplicity with high accuracy. The method is applied to experimental data. As an example using the implemented detector class, the discriminator threshold dependency of the DQE and modulation transfer function is investigated in

Initial steps toward the realization of large area arrays of single photon counting pixels based on polycrystalline silicon TFTs

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Albert K.; Koniczek, Martin; Antonuk, Larry E.; El-Mohri, Youcef; Zhao, Qihua; Jiang, Hao; Street, Robert A.; Lu, Jeng Ping

2014-03-01

The thin-film semiconductor processing methods that enabled creation of inexpensive liquid crystal displays based on amorphous silicon transistors for cell phones and televisions, as well as desktop, laptop and mobile computers, also facilitated the development of devices that have become ubiquitous in medical x-ray imaging environments. These devices, called active matrix flat-panel imagers (AMFPIs), measure the integrated signal generated by incident X rays and offer detection areas as large as ~43×43 cm2. In recent years, there has been growing interest in medical x-ray imagers that record information from X ray photons on an individual basis. However, such photon counting devices have generally been based on crystalline silicon, a material not inherently suited to the cost-effective manufacture of monolithic devices of a size comparable to that of AMFPIs. Motivated by these considerations, we have developed an initial set of small area prototype arrays using thin-film processing methods and polycrystalline silicon transistors. These prototypes were developed in the spirit of exploring the possibility of creating large area arrays offering single photon counting capabilities and, to our knowledge, are the first photon counting arrays fabricated using thin film techniques. In this paper, the architecture of the prototype pixels is presented and considerations that influenced the design of the pixel circuits, including amplifier noise, TFT performance variations, and minimum feature size, are discussed.

Status of the digital pixel array detector for protein crystallography

CERN Document Server

Datte, P; Beuville, E; Endres, N; Druillole, F; Luo, L; Millaud, J E; Xuong, N H

1999-01-01

A two-dimensional photon counting digital pixel array detector is being designed for static and time resolved protein crystallography. The room temperature detector will significantly enhance monochromatic and polychromatic protein crystallographic through-put data rates by more than three orders of magnitude. The detector has an almost infinite photon counting dynamic range and exhibits superior spatial resolution when compared to present crystallographic phosphor imaging plates or phosphor coupled CCD detectors. The detector is a high resistivity N-type Si with a pixel pitch of 150x150 mu m, and a thickness of 300 mu m, and is bump bonded to an application specific integrated circuit. The event driven readout of the detector is based on the column architecture and allows an independent pixel hit rate above 1 million photons/s/pixel. The device provides energy discrimination and sparse data readout which yields minimal dead-time. This type of architecture allows a continuous (frameless) data acquisition, a f...

The Design and Implementation in $0.13\\mu m$ CMOS of an Algorithm Permitting Spectroscopic Imaging with High Spatial Resolution for Hybrid Pixel Detectors

CERN Document Server

Ballabriga, Rafael; Vilasís-Cardona, Xavier

2009-01-01

Advances in pixel detector technology are opening up new possibilities in many fields of science. Modern High Energy Physics (HEP) experiments use pixel detectors in tracking systems where excellent spatial resolution, precise timing and high signal-to-noise ratio are required for accurate and clean track reconstruction. Many groups are working worldwide to adapt the hybrid pixel technology to other fields such as medical X-ray radiography, protein structure analysis or neutron imaging. The Medipix3 chip is a 256x256 channel hybrid pixel detector readout chip working in Single Photon Counting Mode. It has been developed with a new front-end architecture aimed at eliminating the spectral distortion produced by charge diffusion in highly segmented semiconductor detectors. In the new architecture neighbouring pixels communicate with one another. Charges can be summed event-by-event and the incoming quantum can be assigned as a single hit to the pixel with the biggest charge deposit. In the case where incoming X-...

Design and Characterization of 64K Pixels Chips Working in Single Photon Processing Mode

CERN Document Server

Llopart Cudie, Xavier; Campbell, M

2007-01-01

Progress in CMOS technology and in fine pitch bump bonding has made possible the development of high granularity single photon counting detectors for X-ray imaging. This thesis studies the design and characterization of three pulse processing chips with 65536 square pixels of 55 µm x 55 µm designed in a commercial 0.25 µm 6-metal CMOS technology. The 3 chips share the same architecture and dimensions and are named Medipix2, Mpix2MXR20 and Timepix. The Medipix2 chip is a pixel detector readout chip consisting of 256 x 256 identical elements, each working in single photon counting mode for positive or negative input charge signals. The preamplifier feedback provides compensation for detector leakage current on a pixel by pixel basis. Two identical pulse height discriminators are used to define an energy window. Every event falling inside the energy window is counted with a 13 bit pseudo-random counter. The counter logic, based in a shift register, also behaves as the input/output register for the pixel. Each...

Detector Motion Method to Increase Spatial Resolution in Photon-Counting Detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Daehee; Park, Kyeongjin; Lim, Kyung Taek; Cho, Gyuseong [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejon (Korea, Republic of)

2017-03-15

Medical imaging requires high spatial resolution of an image to identify fine lesions. Photoncounting detectors in medical imaging have recently been rapidly replacing energy-integrating detectors due to the former's high spatial resolution, high efficiency and low noise. Spatial resolution in a photon counting image is determined by the pixel size. Therefore, the smaller the pixel size, the higher the spatial resolution that can be obtained in an image. However, detector redesigning is required to reduce pixel size, and an expensive fine process is required to integrate a signal processing unit with reduced pixel size. Furthermore, as the pixel size decreases, charge sharing severely deteriorates spatial resolution. To increase spatial resolution, we propose a detector motion method using a large pixel detector that is less affected by charge sharing. To verify the proposed method, we utilized a UNO-XRI photon-counting detector (1-mm CdTe, Timepix chip) at the maximum X-ray tube voltage of 80 kVp. A similar spatial resolution of a 55-μm-pixel image was achieved by application of the proposed method to a 110-μm-pixel detector with a higher signal-to-noise ratio. The proposed method could be a way to increase spatial resolution without a pixel redesign when pixels severely suffer from charge sharing as pixel size is reduced.

High resolution phoswich gamma-ray imager utilizing monolithic MPPC arrays with submillimeter pixelized crystals

Science.gov (United States)

Kato, T.; Kataoka, J.; Nakamori, T.; Kishimoto, A.; Yamamoto, S.; Sato, K.; Ishikawa, Y.; Yamamura, K.; Kawabata, N.; Ikeda, H.; Kamada, K.

2013-05-01

We report the development of a high spatial resolution tweezers-type coincidence gamma-ray camera for medical imaging. This application consists of large-area monolithic Multi-Pixel Photon Counters (MPPCs) and submillimeter pixelized scintillator matrices. The MPPC array has 4 × 4 channels with a three-side buttable, very compact package. For typical operational gain of 7.5 × 105 at + 20 °C, gain fluctuation over the entire MPPC device is only ± 5.6%, and dark count rates (as measured at the 1 p.e. level) amount to acrylic light guide measuring 1 mm thick, and with summing operational amplifiers that compile the signals into four position-encoded analog outputs being used for signal readout. Spatial resolution of 1.1 mm was achieved with the coincidence imaging system using a 22Na point source. These results suggest that the gamma-ray imagers offer excellent potential for applications in high spatial medical imaging.

Novel micropixel avalanche photodiodes (MAPD) with super high pixel density

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anfimov, N.; Chirikov-Zorin, I.; Dovlatov, A.; Gavrishchuk, O.; Guskov, A.; Khovanskiy, N.; Krumshtein, Z.; Leitner, R.; Meshcheryakov, G.; Nagaytsev, A.; Olchevski, A.; Rezinko, T.; Sadovskiy, A.; Sadygov, Z.; Savin, I.; Tchalyshev, V.; Tyapkin, I.; Yarygin, G.; Zerrouk, F.

2011-01-01

In many detectors based on scintillators the photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) are used as photodetectors. At present photodiodes are finding wide application. Solid state photodetectors allow operation in strong magnetic fields that are often present in applications, e.g. some calorimeters operating near magnets, combined PET and MRT, etc. The photon detection efficiency (PDE) of photodiodes may reach values a few times higher than that of PMTs. Also, they are rigid, compact and have relatively low operating voltage. In the last few years Micropixel Avalanche PhotoDiodes (MAPD) have been developed and started to be used. The MAPD combines a lot of advantages of semiconductor photodetectors and has a high gain, which is close to that of the PMT. Yet, they have some disadvantages, and one of them is a limited dynamic range that corresponds to a total number of pixels. The novel deep microwell MAPD with high pixel density produced by the Zecotek Company partially avoids this disadvantage. In this paper characteristics of these photodetectors are presented in comparison with the PMT characteristics. The results refer to measurements of the gain, PDE, cross-talks, photon counting and applications: beam test results of two different 'Shashlyk' EM calorimeters for COMPASS (CERN) and NICA-MPD (JINR) with the MAPD readout and a possibility of using the MAPD in PET.

A new method to improve multiplication factor in micro-pixel avalanche photodiodes with high pixel density

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sadygov, Z. [National Nuclear Research Center, Baku (Azerbaijan); Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna (Russian Federation); Ahmadov, F. [National Nuclear Research Center, Baku (Azerbaijan); Khorev, S. [Zecotek Photonics Inc., Vancouver (Canada); Sadigov, A., E-mail: saazik@yandex.ru [National Nuclear Research Center, Baku (Azerbaijan); Suleymanov, S. [National Nuclear Research Center, Baku (Azerbaijan); Madatov, R.; Mehdiyeva, R. [Institute of Radiation Problems, Baku (Azerbaijan); Zerrouk, F. [Zecotek Photonics Inc., Vancouver (Canada)

2016-07-11

Presented is a new model describing development of the avalanche process in time, taking into account the dynamics of electric field within the depleted region of the diode and the effect of parasitic capacitance shunting individual quenching micro-resistors on device parameters. Simulations show that the effective capacitance of a single pixel, which defines the multiplication factor, is the sum of the pixel capacitance and a parasitic capacitance shunting its quenching micro-resistor. Conclusions obtained as a result of modeling open possibilities of improving the pixel gain in micropixel avalanche photodiodes with high pixel density (or low pixel capacitance).

Photon Counting Energy Dispersive Detector Arrays for X-ray Imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Iwanczyk, Jan S; Nygård, Einar; Meirav, Oded; Arenson, Jerry; Barber, William C; Hartsough, Neal E; Malakhov, Nail; Wessel, Jan C

2009-01-01

The development of an innovative detector technology for photon-counting in X-ray imaging is reported. This new generation of detectors, based on pixellated cadmium telluride (CdTe) and cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) detector arrays electrically connected to application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) for readout, will produce fast and highly efficient photon-counting and energy-dispersive X-ray imaging. There are a number of applications that can greatly benefit from these novel imagers including mammography, planar radiography, and computed tomography (CT). Systems based on this new detector technology can provide compositional analysis of tissue through spectroscopic X-ray imaging, significantly improve overall image quality, and may significantly reduce X-ray dose to the patient. A very high X-ray flux is utilized in many of these applications. For example, CT scanners can produce ~100 Mphotons/mm(2)/s in the unattenuated beam. High flux is required in order to collect sufficient photon statistics in the measurement of the transmitted flux (attenuated beam) during the very short time frame of a CT scan. This high count rate combined with a need for high detection efficiency requires the development of detector structures that can provide a response signal much faster than the transit time of carriers over the whole detector thickness. We have developed CdTe and CZT detector array structures which are 3 mm thick with 16×16 pixels and a 1 mm pixel pitch. These structures, in the two different implementations presented here, utilize either a small pixel effect or a drift phenomenon. An energy resolution of 4.75% at 122 keV has been obtained with a 30 ns peaking time using discrete electronics and a (57)Co source. An output rate of 6×10(6) counts per second per individual pixel has been obtained with our ASIC readout electronics and a clinical CT X-ray tube. Additionally, the first clinical CT images, taken with several of our prototype photon-counting and

TU-FG-209-03: Exploring the Maximum Count Rate Capabilities of Photon Counting Arrays Based On Polycrystalline Silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liang, A K; Koniczek, M; Antonuk, L E; El-Mohri, Y; Zhao, Q [University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: Photon counting arrays (PCAs) offer several advantages over conventional, fluence-integrating x-ray imagers, such as improved contrast by means of energy windowing. For that reason, we are exploring the feasibility and performance of PCA pixel circuitry based on polycrystalline silicon. This material, unlike the crystalline silicon commonly used in photon counting detectors, lends itself toward the economic manufacture of radiation tolerant, monolithic large area (e.g., ∼43×43 cm2) devices. In this presentation, exploration of maximum count rate, a critical performance parameter for such devices, is reported. Methods: Count rate performance for a variety of pixel circuit designs was explored through detailed circuit simulations over a wide range of parameters (including pixel pitch and operating conditions) with the additional goal of preserving good energy resolution. The count rate simulations assume input events corresponding to a 72 kVp x-ray spectrum with 20 mm Al filtration interacting with a CZT detector at various input flux rates. Output count rates are determined at various photon energy threshold levels, and the percentage of counts lost (e.g., due to deadtime or pile-up) is calculated from the ratio of output to input counts. The energy resolution simulations involve thermal and flicker noise originating from each circuit element in a design. Results: Circuit designs compatible with pixel pitches ranging from 250 to 1000 µm that allow count rates over a megacount per second per pixel appear feasible. Such rates are expected to be suitable for radiographic and fluoroscopic imaging. Results for the analog front-end circuitry of the pixels show that acceptable energy resolution can also be achieved. Conclusion: PCAs created using polycrystalline silicon have the potential to offer monolithic large-area detectors with count rate performance comparable to those of crystalline silicon detectors. Further improvement through detailed circuit

Design Considerations for Area-Constrained In-Pixel Photon Counting in Medipix3

CERN Document Server

Wong, W; Campbell, M; Heijne, E H M; Llopart, X; Tlustos, L

2008-01-01

Hybrid pixel detectors process impinging photons using front-end electronics electrically connected to a segmented sensor via solder bumps. This allows for complex in-pixel processing while maintaining 100% fill factor. Medipix3 is a single photon processing chip whose 55 μm x 55 μm pixels contain analog charge-processing circuits, inter-pixel routing, and digital blocks. While a standard digital design flow would use logic gates from a standard cell library, the integration of multiple functions and configurations within the compact area of the Medipix3 pixel requires a full-custom manual layout. This work describes the various area-saving design strategies which were employed to optimize the use of available space in the digital section of the Medipix3 pixel.

Development of a high-count-rate neutron detector with position sensitivity and high efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, R.; Sandoval, J.

1996-01-01

While the neutron scattering community is bombarded with hints of new technologies that may deliver detectors with high-count-rate capability, high efficiency, gamma-ray insensitivity, and high resolution across large areas, only the time-tested, gas-filled 3 He and scintillation detectors are in widespread use. Future spallation sources with higher fluxes simply must exploit some of the advanced detector schemes that are as yet unproved as production systems. Technologies indicating promise as neutron detectors include pixel arrays of amorphous silicon, silicon microstrips, microstrips with gas, and new scintillation materials. This project sought to study the competing neutron detector technologies and determine which or what combination will lead to a production detector system well suited for use at a high-intensity neutron scattering source

Extending the dynamic range of silicon photomultipliers without increasing pixel count

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, Kurtis F.

2010-01-01

A silicon photomultiplier, sometimes called 'multipixel photon counter', which we here refer to as a 'SiPM', is a photo-sensitive device built from an avalanche photodiode array of pixels on a common silicon substrate, such that it can detect single photon events. The dimensions of a pixel may vary from 20 to 100 μm and their density can be greater than 1000 per square millimeter. Each pixel in a SiPM operates in Geiger mode and is coupled to the output by a quenching resistor. Although each pixel operates in digital mode, the SiPM is an analog device because all the pixels are read in parallel, making it possible to generate signals within a dynamic range from a single photon to a large number of photons, ultimately limited by the number of pixels on the chip. In this note we describe a simple and general method of increasing the dynamic range of a SiPM beyond that one may naively assume from the shape of the cumulative distribution function of the SiPM response to the average number of photons per pixel. We show that by rendering the incoming flux of photons to be non-uniform in a prescribed manner, a significant increase in dynamic range is achievable. Such re-distribution of the incoming flux may be accomplished with simple, non-focusing lenses, prisms, interference films, mirrors or attenuating films. Almost any optically non-inert interceding device can increase the dynamic range of the SiPM.

High resolution phoswich gamma-ray imager utilizing monolithic MPPC arrays with submillimeter pixelized crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kato, T; Kataoka, J; Nakamori, T; Kishimoto, A; Yamamoto, S; Sato, K; Ishikawa, Y; Yamamura, K; Kawabata, N; Ikeda, H; Kamada, K

2013-01-01

We report the development of a high spatial resolution tweezers-type coincidence gamma-ray camera for medical imaging. This application consists of large-area monolithic Multi-Pixel Photon Counters (MPPCs) and submillimeter pixelized scintillator matrices. The MPPC array has 4 × 4 channels with a three-side buttable, very compact package. For typical operational gain of 7.5 × 10 5 at + 20 °C, gain fluctuation over the entire MPPC device is only ± 5.6%, and dark count rates (as measured at the 1 p.e. level) amount to ≤ 400 kcps per channel. We selected Ce-doped (Lu,Y) 2 (SiO 4 )O (Ce:LYSO) and a brand-new scintillator, Ce-doped Gd 3 Al 2 Ga 3 O 12 (Ce:GAGG) due to their high light yield and density. To improve the spatial resolution, these scintillators were fabricated into 15 × 15 matrices of 0.5 × 0.5 mm 2 pixels. The Ce:LYSO and Ce:GAGG scintillator matrices were assembled into phosphor sandwich (phoswich) detectors, and then coupled to the MPPC array along with an acrylic light guide measuring 1 mm thick, and with summing operational amplifiers that compile the signals into four position-encoded analog outputs being used for signal readout. Spatial resolution of 1.1 mm was achieved with the coincidence imaging system using a 22 Na point source. These results suggest that the gamma-ray imagers offer excellent potential for applications in high spatial medical imaging.

Si and gaas pixel detectors for medical imaging applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bisogni, M. G.

2001-01-01

As the use of digital radiographic equipment in the morphological imaging field is becoming the more and more diffuse, the research of new and more performing devices from public institutions and industrial companies is in constant progress. Most of these devices are based on solid-state detectors as X-ray sensors. Semiconductor pixel detectors, originally developed in the high energy physics environment, have been then proposed as digital detector for medical imaging applications. In this paper a digital single photon counting device, based on silicon and GaAs pixel detector, is presented. The detector is a thin slab of semiconductor crystal where an array of 64 by 64 square pixels, 170- m side, has been built on one side. The data read-out is performed by a VLSI integrated circuit named Photon Counting Chip (PCC), developed within the MEDIPIX collaboration. Each chip cell geometrically matches the sensor pixel. It contains a charge preamplifier, a threshold comparator and a 15 bits pseudo-random counter and it is coupled to the detector by means of bump bonding. Most important advantages of such system, with respect to a traditional X-rays film/screen device, are the wider linear dynamic range (3x104) and the higher performance in terms of MTF and DQE. Besides the single photon counting architecture allows to detect image contrasts lower than 3%. Electronics read-out performance as well as imaging capabilities of the digital device will be presented. Images of mammographic phantoms acquired with a standard Mammographic tube will be compared with radiographs obtained with traditional film/screen systems

The FPGA Pixel Array Detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hromalik, Marianne S.; Green, Katherine S.; Philipp, Hugh T.; Tate, Mark W.; Gruner, Sol M.

2013-01-01

A proposed design for a reconfigurable x-ray Pixel Array Detector (PAD) is described. It operates by integrating a high-end commercial field programmable gate array (FPGA) into a 3-layer device along with a high-resistivity diode detection layer and a custom, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) layer. The ASIC layer contains an energy-discriminating photon-counting front end with photon hits streamed directly to the FPGA via a massively parallel, high-speed data connection. FPGA resources can be allocated to perform user defined tasks on the pixel data streams, including the implementation of a direct time autocorrelation function (ACF) with time resolution down to 100 ns. Using the FPGA at the front end to calculate the ACF reduces the required data transfer rate by several orders of magnitude when compared to a fast framing detector. The FPGA-ASIC high-speed interface, as well as the in-FPGA implementation of a real-time ACF for x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy experiments has been designed and simulated. A 16×16 pixel prototype of the ASIC has been fabricated and is being tested. -- Highlights: ► We describe the novelty and need for the FPGA Pixel Array Detector. ► We describe the specifications and design of the Diode, ASIC and FPGA layers. ► We highlight the Autocorrelation Function (ACF) for speckle as an example application. ► Simulated FPGA output calculates the ACF for different input bitstreams to 100 ns. ► Reduced data transfer rate by 640× and sped up real-time ACF by 100× other methods.

CMOS pixel sensors on high resistive substrate for high-rate, high-radiation environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hirono, Toko, E-mail: thirono@uni-bonn.de [Physikalisches Institute der Universität Bonn, Bonn (Germany); Barbero, Marlon; Breugnon, Patrick; Godiot, Stephanie [CPPM, Aix-Marseille Universite, CNRS/IN2P3, Marseille (France); Gonella, Laura; Hemperek, Tomasz; Hügging, Fabian; Krüger, Hans [Physikalisches Institute der Universität Bonn, Bonn (Germany); Liu, Jian; Pangaud, Patrick [CPPM, Aix-Marseille Universite, CNRS/IN2P3, Marseille (France); Peric, Ivan [IPE, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Karlsruhe (Germany); Pohl, David-Leon [Physikalisches Institute der Universität Bonn, Bonn (Germany); Rozanov, Alexandre [CPPM, Aix-Marseille Universite, CNRS/IN2P3, Marseille (France); Rymaszewski, Piotr [Physikalisches Institute der Universität Bonn, Bonn (Germany); Wang, Anqing [CPPM, Aix-Marseille Universite, CNRS/IN2P3, Marseille (France); Wermes, Norbert [Physikalisches Institute der Universität Bonn, Bonn (Germany)

2016-09-21

A depleted CMOS active pixel sensor (DMAPS) has been developed on a substrate with high resistivity in a high voltage process. High radiation tolerance and high time resolution can be expected because of the charge collection by drift. A prototype of DMAPS was fabricated in a 150 nm process by LFoundry. Two variants of the pixel layout were tested, and the measured depletion depths of the variants are 166 μm and 80 μm. We report the results obtained with the prototype fabricated in this technology.

Fully integrated CMOS pixel detector for high energy particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vanstraelen, G.; Debusschere, I.; Claeys, C.; Declerck, G.

1989-01-01

A novel type of position and energy sensitive, monolithic pixel array with integrated readout electronics is proposed. Special features of the design are a reduction of the number of output channels and of the amount of output data, and the use of transistors on the high resistivity silicon. The number of output channels for the detector array is reduced by handling in parallel a number of pixels, chosen as a function of the time resolution required for the system, and by the use of an address decoder. A further reduction of data is achieved by reading out only those pixels which have been activated. The pixel detector circuit will be realized in a 3 μm p-well CMOS process, which is optimized for the full integration of readout electronics and detector diodes on high resistivity Si. A retrograde well is formed by means of a high energy implantation, followed by the appropriate temperature steps. The optimization of the well shape takes into account the high substrate bias applied during the detector operation. The design is largely based on the use of MOS transistors on the high resistivity silicon itself. These have proven to perform as well as transistors on standard doped substrate. The basic building elements as well as the design strategy of the integrated pixel detector are presented in detail. (orig.)

CMOS monolithic active pixel sensors for high energy physics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Snoeys, W., E-mail: walter.snoeys@cern.ch

2014-11-21

Monolithic pixel detectors integrating sensor matrix and readout in one piece of silicon are only now starting to make their way into high energy physics. Two major requirements are radiation tolerance and low power consumption. For the most extreme radiation levels, signal charge has to be collected by drift from a depletion layer onto a designated collection electrode without losing the signal charge elsewhere in the in-pixel circuit. Low power consumption requires an optimization of Q/C, the ratio of the collected signal charge over the input capacitance [1]. Some solutions to combine sufficient Q/C and collection by drift require exotic fabrication steps. More conventional solutions up to now require a simple in-pixel readout circuit. Both high voltage CMOS technologies and Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS) technologies with high resistivity epitaxial layers offer high voltage diodes. The choice between the two is not fundamental but more a question of how much depletion can be reached and also of availability and cost. This paper tries to give an overview.

The effect of event shape on centroiding in photon counting detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawakami, Hajime; Bone, David; Fordham, John; Michel, Raul

1994-01-01

High resolution, CCD readout, photon counting detectors employ simple centroiding algorithms for defining the spatial position of each detected event. The accuracy of centroiding is very dependent upon a number of parameters including the profile, energy and width of the intensified event. In this paper, we provide an analysis of how the characteristics of an intensified event change as the input count rate increases and the consequent effect on centroiding. The changes in these parameters are applied in particular to the MIC photon counting detector developed at UCL for ground and space based astronomical applications. This detector has a maximum format of 3072x2304 pixels permitting its use in the highest resolution applications. Individual events, at light level from 5 to 1000k events/s over the detector area, were analysed. It was found that both the asymmetry and width of event profiles were strongly dependent upon the energy of the intensified event. The variation in profile then affected the centroiding accuracy leading to loss of resolution. These inaccuracies have been quantified for two different 3 CCD pixel centroiding algorithms and one 2 pixel algorithm. The results show that a maximum error of less than 0.05 CCD pixel occurs with the 3 pixel algorithms and 0.1 CCD pixel for the 2 pixel algorithm. An improvement is proposed by utilising straight pore MCPs in the intensifier and a 70 μm air gap in front of the CCD. ((orig.))

Fully depleted CMOS pixel sensor development and potential applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baudot, J.; Kachel, M. [Universite de Strasbourg, IPHC, 23 rue du Loess 67037 Strasbourg (France); CNRS, UMR7178, 67037 Strasbourg (France)

2015-07-01

CMOS pixel sensors are often opposed to hybrid pixel sensors due to their very different sensitive layer. In standard CMOS imaging processes, a thin (about 20 μm) low resistivity epitaxial layer acts as the sensitive volume and charge collection is mostly driven by thermal agitation. In contrast, the so-called hybrid pixel technology exploits a thick (typically 300 μm) silicon sensor with high resistivity allowing for the depletion of this volume, hence charges drift toward collecting electrodes. But this difference is fading away with the recent availability of some CMOS imaging processes based on a relatively thick (about 50 μm) high resistivity epitaxial layer which allows for full depletion. This evolution extents the range of applications for CMOS pixel sensors where their known assets, high sensitivity and granularity combined with embedded signal treatment, could potentially foster breakthrough in detection performances for specific scientific instruments. One such domain is the Xray detection for soft energies, typically below 10 keV, where the thin sensitive layer was previously severely impeding CMOS sensor usage. Another application becoming realistic for CMOS sensors, is the detection in environment with a high fluence of non-ionizing radiation, such as hadron colliders. However, when considering highly demanding applications, it is still to be proven that micro-circuits required to uniformly deplete the sensor at the pixel level, do not mitigate the sensitivity and efficiency required. Prototype sensors in two different technologies with resistivity higher than 1 kΩ, sensitive layer between 40 and 50 μm and featuring pixel pitch in the range 25 to 50 μm, have been designed and fabricated. Various biasing architectures were adopted to reach full depletion with only a few volts. Laboratory investigations with three types of sources (X-rays, β-rays and infrared light) demonstrated the validity of the approach with respect to depletion, keeping a

A gas pixel detector for X-ray imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bateman, J.E.; Connolly, J.F.

1991-11-01

A simple, robust form of gas pixel detector is discussed which is based on the use of electronic connector pins as the gain elements. With a rate capability of >10 5 counts/s per pin, an X-ray imaging detector system capable of counting at global rates of the order of 10 10 counts/s is foreseen. (author)

Experimental single-chip color HDTV image acquisition system with 8M-pixel CMOS image sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Shimamoto, Hiroshi; Yamashita, Takayuki; Funatsu, Ryohei; Mitani, Kohji; Nojiri, Yuji

2006-02-01

We have developed an experimental single-chip color HDTV image acquisition system using 8M-pixel CMOS image sensor. The sensor has 3840 × 2160 effective pixels and is progressively scanned at 60 frames per second. We describe the color filter array and interpolation method to improve image quality with a high-pixel-count single-chip sensor. We also describe an experimental image acquisition system we used to measured spatial frequency characteristics in the horizontal direction. The results indicate good prospects for achieving a high quality single chip HDTV camera that reduces pseudo signals and maintains high spatial frequency characteristics within the frequency band for HDTV.

Characterization of imaging pixel detectors of Si and CdTe read out with the counting X-ray chip MPEC 2.3; Charakterisierung von bildgebenden Pixeldetektoren aus Si und CdTe ausgelesen mit dem zaehlenden Roentgenchip MPEC 2.3

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loecker, M.

2007-04-15

Single photon counting detectors with Si- and CdTe-sensors have been constructed and characterized. As readout chip the MPEC 2.3 is used which consists of 32 x 32 pixels with 200 x 200 {mu}m{sup 2} pixel size and which has a high count rate cabability (1 MHz per pixel) as well as a low noise performance (55 e{sup -}). Measurements and simulations of the detector homogeneity are presented. It could be shown that the theoretical maximum of the homogeneity is reached (quantum limit). By means of the double threshold of the MPEC chip the image contrast can be enhanced which is demonstrated by measurement and simulation. Also, multi-chip-modules consisting of 4 MPEC chips and a single Si- or CdTe-sensor have been constructed and successfully operated. With these modules modulation-transfer-function measurements have been done showing a good spatial resolution of the detectors. In addition, multi-chip-modules according to the Sparse-CMOS concept have been built and tests characterizing the interconnection technologies have been performed.

Diamond and silicon pixel detectors in high radiation environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsung, Jieh-Wen

2012-10-15

Diamond pixel detector is a promising candidate for tracking of collider experiments because of the good radiation tolerance of diamond. The diamond pixel detector must withstand the radiation damage from 10{sup 16} particles per cm{sup 2}, which is the expected total fluence in High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider. The performance of diamond and silicon pixel detectors are evaluated in this research in terms of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Single-crystal diamond pixel detectors with the most recent readout chip ATLAS FE-I4 are produced and characterized. Based on the results of the measurement, the SNR of diamond pixel detector is evaluated as a function of radiation fluence, and compared to that of planar-silicon ones. The deterioration of signal due to radiation damage is formulated using the mean free path of charge carriers in the sensor. The noise from the pixel readout circuit is simulated and calculated with leakage current and input capacitance to the amplifier as important parameters. The measured SNR shows good agreement with the calculated and simulated results, proving that the performance of diamond pixel detectors can exceed the silicon ones if the particle fluence is more than 10{sup 15} particles per cm{sup 2}.

Diamond and silicon pixel detectors in high radiation environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsung, Jieh-Wen

2012-10-01

Diamond pixel detector is a promising candidate for tracking of collider experiments because of the good radiation tolerance of diamond. The diamond pixel detector must withstand the radiation damage from 10 16 particles per cm 2 , which is the expected total fluence in High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider. The performance of diamond and silicon pixel detectors are evaluated in this research in terms of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Single-crystal diamond pixel detectors with the most recent readout chip ATLAS FE-I4 are produced and characterized. Based on the results of the measurement, the SNR of diamond pixel detector is evaluated as a function of radiation fluence, and compared to that of planar-silicon ones. The deterioration of signal due to radiation damage is formulated using the mean free path of charge carriers in the sensor. The noise from the pixel readout circuit is simulated and calculated with leakage current and input capacitance to the amplifier as important parameters. The measured SNR shows good agreement with the calculated and simulated results, proving that the performance of diamond pixel detectors can exceed the silicon ones if the particle fluence is more than 10 15 particles per cm 2 .

Measurements of Ultra-Fast single photon counting chip with energy window and 75 μm pixel pitch with Si and CdTe detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maj, P.; Grybos, P.; Kasinski, K.; Koziol, A.; Krzyzanowska, A.; Kmon, P.; Szczygiel, R.; Zoladz, M.

2017-01-01

Single photon counting pixel detectors become increasingly popular in various 2-D X-ray imaging techniques and scientific experiments mainly in solid state physics, material science and medicine. This paper presents architecture and measurement results of the UFXC32k chip designed in a CMOS 130 nm process. The chip consists of about 50 million transistors and has an area of 9.64 mm × 20.15 mm. The core of the IC is a matrix of 128 × 256 pixels of 75 μm pitch. Each pixel contains a CSA, a shaper with tunable gain, two discriminators with correction circuits and two 14-bit ripple counters operating in a normal mode (with energy window), a long counter mode (one 28-bit counter) and a zero-dead time mode. Gain and noise performance were verified with X-ray radiation and with the chip connected to Si (320 μm thick) and CdTe (750 μ m thick) sensors.

Selecting Pixels for High-Precision Photometry in the Kepler Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Bryson, Steve; Jenkins, J.; Caldwell, D.; Koch, D.; Borucki, W.

2007-12-01

The Kepler Mission is designed to discover and characterize the frequency of Earth-size planets in the habitable zone of solar-like stars by observing 100,000 main-sequence stars in a 100 square degree field of view (FOV). Kepler's transit detection method uses a long photometric time series for each target star. Each data point is created by summing several pixels.The data are co-added and stored at a 30 minute cadence that is stored for monthly downlink. Memory and bandwidth constraints prevent the storage of all 95 million pixels in the photometer, so pixels of interest are assigned to each target. We describe the automated method by which each transit target is assigned a set of pixels that are optimal for high precision photometry. This method relies on synthetic images based on the Kepler input catalog combined with a direct measurement of the Kepler systempoint spread function. We cover the PSF measurement process, the rendering of the synthetic image, and the use of the synthetic image to determine the contribution of each pixel to a target's signal-to-noise ratio. The optimal pixels for a target are defined as those pixels which maximize that target's signal-to-noise ratio. Our method includes models of the noise associated with pixel response variations and for spacecraft motion. We describe the process that is used to identify appropriate pixels for modeling the background as well as pixel management, including the specification of pixels for non-transit targets. Funding for this mission provided by NASA's Discovery Program Office, SMD.

A high efficiency readout architecture for a large matrix of pixels.

Science.gov (United States)

Gabrielli, A.; Giorgi, F.; Villa, M.

2010-07-01

In this work we present a fast readout architecture for silicon pixel matrix sensors that has been designed to sustain very high rates, above 1 MHz/mm2 for matrices greater than 80k pixels. This logic can be implemented within MAPS (Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors), a kind of high resolution sensor that integrates on the same bulk the sensor matrix and the CMOS logic for readout, but it can be exploited also with other technologies. The proposed architecture is based on three main concepts. First of all, the readout of the hits is performed by activating one column at a time; all the fired pixels on the active column are read, sparsified and reset in parallel in one clock cycle. This implies the use of global signals across the sensor matrix. The consequent reduction of metal interconnections improves the active area while maintaining a high granularity (down to a pixel pitch of 40 μm). Secondly, the activation for readout takes place only for those columns overlapping with a certain fired area, thus reducing the sweeping time of the whole matrix and reducing the pixel dead-time. Third, the sparsification (x-y address labeling of the hits) is performed with a lower granularity with respect to single pixels, by addressing vertical zones of 8 pixels each. The fine-grain Y resolution is achieved by appending the zone pattern to the zone address of a hit. We show then the benefits of this technique in presence of clusters. We describe this architecture from a schematic point of view, then presenting the efficiency results obtained by VHDL simulations.

A high efficiency readout architecture for a large matrix of pixels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gabrielli, A; Giorgi, F; Villa, M

2010-01-01

In this work we present a fast readout architecture for silicon pixel matrix sensors that has been designed to sustain very high rates, above 1 MHz/mm 2 for matrices greater than 80k pixels. This logic can be implemented within MAPS (Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors), a kind of high resolution sensor that integrates on the same bulk the sensor matrix and the CMOS logic for readout, but it can be exploited also with other technologies. The proposed architecture is based on three main concepts. First of all, the readout of the hits is performed by activating one column at a time; all the fired pixels on the active column are read, sparsified and reset in parallel in one clock cycle. This implies the use of global signals across the sensor matrix. The consequent reduction of metal interconnections improves the active area while maintaining a high granularity (down to a pixel pitch of 40 μm). Secondly, the activation for readout takes place only for those columns overlapping with a certain fired area, thus reducing the sweeping time of the whole matrix and reducing the pixel dead-time. Third, the sparsification (x-y address labeling of the hits) is performed with a lower granularity with respect to single pixels, by addressing vertical zones of 8 pixels each. The fine-grain Y resolution is achieved by appending the zone pattern to the zone address of a hit. We show then the benefits of this technique in presence of clusters. We describe this architecture from a schematic point of view, then presenting the efficiency results obtained by VHDL simulations.

A passive CMOS pixel sensor for the high luminosity LHC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Daas, Michael; Gonella, Laura; Hemperek, Tomasz; Huegging, Fabian; Janssen, Jens; Krueger, Hans; Pohl, David-Leon; Wermes, Norbert [Physikalisches Institut der Universitaet Bonn (Germany); Macchiolo, Anna [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Physik, Muenchen (Germany)

2016-07-01

The high luminosity upgrade for the Large Hadron Collider at CERN requires a new inner tracking detector for the ATLAS experiment. About 200 m{sup 2} of silicon detectors are needed demanding new, low cost hybridization- and sensor technologies. One promising approach is to use commercial CMOS technologies to produce the passive sensor for a hybrid pixel detector design. In this talk a fully functional prototype of a 300 μm thick, backside biased CMOS pixel sensor in 150 nm LFoundry technology is presented. The sensor is bump bonded to the ATLAS FE-I4 with AC and DC coupled pixels. Results like leakage current, noise performance, and charge collection efficiency are presented and compared to the actual ATLAS pixel sensor design.

Imaging properties of small-pixel spectroscopic x-ray detectors based on cadmium telluride sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koenig, Thomas; Schulze, Julia; Zuber, Marcus; Rink, Kristian; Oelfke, Uwe; Butzer, Jochen; Hamann, Elias; Cecilia, Angelica; Zwerger, Andreas; Fauler, Alex; Fiederle, Michael

2012-01-01

Spectroscopic x-ray imaging by means of photon counting detectors has received growing interest during the past years. Critical to the image quality of such devices is their pixel pitch and the sensor material employed. This paper describes the imaging properties of Medipix2 MXR multi-chip assemblies bump bonded to 1 mm thick CdTe sensors. Two systems were investigated with pixel pitches of 110 and 165 μm, which are in the order of the mean free path lengths of the characteristic x-rays produced in their sensors. Peak widths were found to be almost constant across the energy range of 10 to 60 keV, with values of 2.3 and 2.2 keV (FWHM) for the two pixel pitches. The average number of pixels responding to a single incoming photon are about 1.85 and 1.45 at 60 keV, amounting to detective quantum efficiencies of 0.77 and 0.84 at a spatial frequency of zero. Energy selective CT acquisitions are presented, and the two pixel pitches' abilities to discriminate between iodine and gadolinium contrast agents are examined. It is shown that the choice of the pixel pitch translates into a minimum contrast agent concentration for which material discrimination is still possible. We finally investigate saturation effects at high x-ray fluxes and conclude with the finding that higher maximum count rates come at the cost of a reduced energy resolution. (paper)

High count-rate study of two TES x-ray microcalorimeters with different transition temperatures

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sang-Jun; Adams, Joseph S.; Bandler, Simon R.; Betancourt-Martinez, Gabriele L.; Chervenak, James A.; Eckart, Megan E.; Finkbeiner, Fred M.; Kelley, Richard L.; Kilbourne, Caroline A.; Porter, Frederick S.; Sadleir, John E.; Smith, Stephen J.; Wassell, Edward J.

2017-10-01

We have developed transition-edge sensor (TES) microcalorimeter arrays with high count-rate capability and high energy resolution to carry out x-ray imaging spectroscopy observations of various astronomical sources and the Sun. We have studied the dependence of the energy resolution and throughput (fraction of processed pulses) on the count rate for such microcalorimeters with two different transition temperatures (T c). Devices with both transition temperatures were fabricated within a single microcalorimeter array directly on top of a solid substrate where the thermal conductance of the microcalorimeter is dependent upon the thermal boundary resistance between the TES sensor and the dielectric substrate beneath. Because the thermal boundary resistance is highly temperature dependent, the two types of device with different T cs had very different thermal decay times, approximately one order of magnitude different. In our earlier report, we achieved energy resolutions of 1.6 and 2.3 eV at 6 keV from lower and higher T c devices, respectively, using a standard analysis method based on optimal filtering in the low flux limit. We have now measured the same devices at elevated x-ray fluxes ranging from 50 Hz to 1000 Hz per pixel. In the high flux limit, however, the standard optimal filtering scheme nearly breaks down because of x-ray pile-up. To achieve the highest possible energy resolution for a fixed throughput, we have developed an analysis scheme based on the so-called event grade method. Using the new analysis scheme, we achieved 5.0 eV FWHM with 96% throughput for 6 keV x-rays of 1025 Hz per pixel with the higher T c (faster) device, and 5.8 eV FWHM with 97% throughput with the lower T c (slower) device at 722 Hz.

On the basic mechanism of Pixelized Photon Detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Otono, H. [Department of Physics, School of Science, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan)], E-mail: otono@icepp.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp; Oide, H. [Department of Physics, School of Science, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Yamashita, S. [International Center for Elementary Particle Physics, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Yoshioka, T. [Neutron Science Laboratory, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), 1-1 Oho, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0801 (Japan)

2009-10-21

A Pixelized Photon Detector (PPD) is a generic name for the semiconductor devices operated in the Geiger-mode, such as Silicon PhotoMultiplier and Multi-Pixel Photon Counter, which has high photon counting capability. While the internal mechanisms of the PPD have been intensively studied in recent years, the existing models do not include the avalanche process. We have simulated the multiplication and quenching of the avalanche process and have succeeded in reproducing the output waveform of the PPD. Furthermore our model predicts the existence of dead-time in the PPD which has never been numerically predicted. For searching the dead-time, we also have developed waveform analysis method using deconvolution which has the potential to distinguish neighboring pulses precisely. In this paper, we discuss our improved model and waveform analysis method.

Gossipo-3 A prototype of a Front-End Pixel Chip for Read-Out of Micro-Pattern Gas Detectors

CERN Document Server

Brezina, Christpoh; van der Graaf, Haryy; Gromov, Vladimir; Kluit, Ruud; Kruth, Andre; Zappon, Francesco

2009-01-01

In a joint effort of Nikhef (Amsterdam) and the University of Bonn, the Gossipo-3 integrated circuit (IC) has been developed. This circuit is a prototype of a chip dedicated for read-out of various types of position sensitive Micro-Pattern Gas detectors (MPGD). The Gossipo-3 is defined as a set of building blocks to be used in a future highly granulated (60 μm) chip. The pixel circuit can operate in two modes. In Time mode every readout pixel measures the hit arrival time and the charge deposit. For this purpose it has been equipped with a high resolution TDC (1.7 ns) covering dynamic range up to 102 μs. Charge collected by the pixel will be measured using Time-over- Threshold method in the range from 400 e- to 28000 e- with accuracy of 200 e- (standard deviation). In Counting mode every pixel operates as a 24-bit counter, counting the number of incoming hits. The circuit is also optimized to operate at low power consumption (100 mW/cm2) that is required to avoid the need for massive power transport and coo...

Characterization of active CMOS pixel sensors on high resistive substrate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hirono, Toko; Hemperek, Tomasz; Huegging, Fabian; Krueger, Hans; Rymaszewski, Piotr; Wermes, Norbert [Physikalisches Institut, Universitaet Bonn, Bonn (Germany)

2016-07-01

Active CMOS pixel sensors are very attractive as radiation imaging pixel detector because they do not need cost-intensive fine pitch bump bonding. High radiation tolerance and time resolution are required to apply those sensors to upcoming particle physics experiments. To achieve these requirements, the active CMOS pixel sensors were developed on high resistive substrates. Signal charges are collected faster by drift in high resistive substrates than in standard low resistive substrates yielding also a higher radiation tolerance. A prototype of the active CMOS pixel sensor has been fabricated in the LFoundry 150 nm CMOS process on 2 kΩcm substrate. This prototype chip was thinned down to 300 μm and the backside has been processed and can contacted by an aluminum contact. The breakdown voltage is around -115 V, and the depletion width has been measured to be as large as 180 μm at a bias voltage of -110 V. Gain and noise of the readout circuitry agree with the designed values. Performance tests in the lab and test beam have been done before and after irradiation with X-rays and neutrons. In this presentation, the measurement results of the active CMOS prototype sensors are shown.

Single software platform used for high speed data transfer implementation in a 65k pixel camera working in single photon counting mode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maj, P.; Kasiński, K.; Gryboś, P.; Szczygieł, R.; Kozioł, A.

2015-01-01

Integrated circuits designed for specific applications generally use non-standard communication methods. Hybrid pixel detector readout electronics produces a huge amount of data as a result of number of frames per seconds. The data needs to be transmitted to a higher level system without limiting the ASIC's capabilities. Nowadays, the Camera Link interface is still one of the fastest communication methods, allowing transmission speeds up to 800 MB/s. In order to communicate between a higher level system and the ASIC with a dedicated protocol, an FPGA with dedicated code is required. The configuration data is received from the PC and written to the ASIC. At the same time, the same FPGA should be able to transmit the data from the ASIC to the PC at the very high speed. The camera should be an embedded system enabling autonomous operation and self-monitoring. In the presented solution, at least three different hardware platforms are used—FPGA, microprocessor with real-time operating system and the PC with end-user software. We present the use of a single software platform for high speed data transfer from 65k pixel camera to the personal computer

Single software platform used for high speed data transfer implementation in a 65k pixel camera working in single photon counting mode

Science.gov (United States)

Maj, P.; Kasiński, K.; Gryboś, P.; Szczygieł, R.; Kozioł, A.

2015-12-01

Integrated circuits designed for specific applications generally use non-standard communication methods. Hybrid pixel detector readout electronics produces a huge amount of data as a result of number of frames per seconds. The data needs to be transmitted to a higher level system without limiting the ASIC's capabilities. Nowadays, the Camera Link interface is still one of the fastest communication methods, allowing transmission speeds up to 800 MB/s. In order to communicate between a higher level system and the ASIC with a dedicated protocol, an FPGA with dedicated code is required. The configuration data is received from the PC and written to the ASIC. At the same time, the same FPGA should be able to transmit the data from the ASIC to the PC at the very high speed. The camera should be an embedded system enabling autonomous operation and self-monitoring. In the presented solution, at least three different hardware platforms are used—FPGA, microprocessor with real-time operating system and the PC with end-user software. We present the use of a single software platform for high speed data transfer from 65k pixel camera to the personal computer.

Automatic vehicle counting system for traffic monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Crouzil, Alain; Khoudour, Louahdi; Valiere, Paul; Truong Cong, Dung Nghy

2016-09-01

The article is dedicated to the presentation of a vision-based system for road vehicle counting and classification. The system is able to achieve counting with a very good accuracy even in difficult scenarios linked to occlusions and/or presence of shadows. The principle of the system is to use already installed cameras in road networks without any additional calibration procedure. We propose a robust segmentation algorithm that detects foreground pixels corresponding to moving vehicles. First, the approach models each pixel of the background with an adaptive Gaussian distribution. This model is coupled with a motion detection procedure, which allows correctly location of moving vehicles in space and time. The nature of trials carried out, including peak periods and various vehicle types, leads to an increase of occlusions between cars and between cars and trucks. A specific method for severe occlusion detection, based on the notion of solidity, has been carried out and tested. Furthermore, the method developed in this work is capable of managing shadows with high resolution. The related algorithm has been tested and compared to a classical method. Experimental results based on four large datasets show that our method can count and classify vehicles in real time with a high level of performance (>98%) under different environmental situations, thus performing better than the conventional inductive loop detectors.

CERNDxCTA counting mode chip

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moraes, D.; Kaplon, J.; Nygard, E.

2008-01-01

This ASIC is a counting mode front-end electronic optimized for the readout of CdZnTe/CdTe and silicon sensors, for possible use in applications where the flux of ionizing radiation is high. The chip is implemented in 0.25 μm CMOS technology. The circuit comprises 128 channels equipped with a transimpedance amplifier followed by a gain shaper stage with 21 ns peaking time, two discriminators and two 18-bit counters. The channel architecture is optimized for the detector characteristics in order to achieve the best energy resolution at counting rates of up to 5 M counts/second. The amplifier shows a linear sensitivity of 118 mV/fC and an equivalent noise charge of about 711 e - , for a detector capacitance of 5 pF. Complete evaluation of the circuit is presented using electronic pulses and pixel detectors

Ultrafast photon counting applied to resonant scanning STED microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Xundong; Toro, Ligia; Stefani, Enrico; Wu, Yong

2015-01-01

To take full advantage of fast resonant scanning in super-resolution stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy, we have developed an ultrafast photon counting system based on a multigiga sample per second analogue-to-digital conversion chip that delivers an unprecedented 450 MHz pixel clock (2.2 ns pixel dwell time in each scan). The system achieves a large field of view (∼50 × 50 μm) with fast scanning that reduces photobleaching, and advances the time-gated continuous wave STED technology to the usage of resonant scanning with hardware-based time-gating. The assembled system provides superb signal-to-noise ratio and highly linear quantification of light that result in superior image quality. Also, the system design allows great flexibility in processing photon signals to further improve the dynamic range. In conclusion, we have constructed a frontier photon counting image acquisition system with ultrafast readout rate, excellent counting linearity, and with the capacity of realizing resonant-scanning continuous wave STED microscopy with online time-gated detection. © 2014 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2014 Royal Microscopical Society.

High Flux Energy-Resolved Photon-Counting X-Ray Imaging Arrays with CdTe and CdZnTe for Clinical CT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barber, William C.; Hartsough, Neal E.; Gandhi, Thulasidharan; Iwanczyk, Jan S.; Wessel, Jan C.; Nygard, Einar; Malakhov, Nail; Wawrzyniak, Gregor; Dorholt, Ole; Danielsen, Roar

2013-06-01

We have fabricated fast room-temperature energy dispersive photon counting x-ray imaging arrays using pixellated cadmium zinc (CdTe) and cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe) semiconductors. We have also fabricated fast application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) with a two dimensional (2D) array of inputs for readout from the CdZnTe sensors. The new CdTe and CdZnTe sensors have a 2D array of pixels with a 0.5 mm pitch and can be tiled in 2D. The new 2D ASICs have four energy discriminators per pixel with a linear energy response across the entire dynamic range for clinical CT. The ASICs can also be tiled in 2D and are designed to fit within the active area of the 2D sensors. We have measured several important performance parameters including; an output count rate (OCR) in excess of 20 million counts per second per square mm, an energy resolution of 7 keV full width at half maximum (FWHM) across the entire dynamic range, and a noise floor less than 20 keV. This is achieved by directly interconnecting the ASIC inputs to the pixels of the CdTE and CdZnTe sensors incurring very little additional capacitance. We present a comparison of the performance of the CdTe and CdZnTe sensors including the OCR, FWHM energy resolution, and noise floor. (authors)

A 36-pixel superconducting tunnel junction soft X-ray detector for environmental science applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Friedrich, Stephan; Drury, Owen B.; Cramer, Stephen P.; Green, Peter G.

2006-01-01

We are operating a superconducting tunnel junction detector for high-resolution soft X-ray spectroscopy at the Advanced Biological and Environmental X-ray Facility at the Advanced Light Source synchrotron. We have recently upgraded the instrument from 9 to 36 pixels for increased sensitivity. We have also acquired a new digital signal readout to increase the total count rate capabilities to ∼10 6 counts/s while maintaining a high peak-to-background ratio. We report on the performance of the spectrometer, and discuss speciation measurements of chromium in welding aerosols as a typical application of the instrument in environmental science

A 36-pixel superconducting tunnel junction soft X-ray detector for environmental science applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Friedrich, Stephan [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Advanced Detector Group, 7000 East Avenue, L-270, Livermore, CA 94550 (United States) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Advanced Biological and Environmental X-ray Facility, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)]. E-mail: friedrich1@llnl.gov; Drury, Owen B. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Advanced Detector Group, 7000 East Avenue, L-270, Livermore, CA 94550 (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Advanced Biological and Environmental X-ray Facility, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Cramer, Stephen P. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Advanced Biological and Environmental X-ray Facility, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Green, Peter G. [University of California Davis, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616 (United States)

2006-04-15

We are operating a superconducting tunnel junction detector for high-resolution soft X-ray spectroscopy at the Advanced Biological and Environmental X-ray Facility at the Advanced Light Source synchrotron. We have recently upgraded the instrument from 9 to 36 pixels for increased sensitivity. We have also acquired a new digital signal readout to increase the total count rate capabilities to {approx}10{sup 6} counts/s while maintaining a high peak-to-background ratio. We report on the performance of the spectrometer, and discuss speciation measurements of chromium in welding aerosols as a typical application of the instrument in environmental science.

Fabrication and characterization of n-on-n silicon pixel detectors compatible with the Medipix2 readout chip

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zorzi, N. [ITC-irst, Divisione Microsistemi, Via Sommarive 18, I-38050 Povo (Trento) (Italy)]. E-mail: zorzi@itc.it; Bisogni, M.G. [Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Pisa and Sezione INFN, Via Buonarroti 2, I-56127 Pisa (Italy); Boscardin, M. [ITC-irst, Divisione Microsistemi, Via Sommarive 18, I-38050 Povo (Trento) (Italy); Dalla Betta, G.-F. [Dipartimento di Informatica e Telecomunicazioni, Universita di Trento, Via Sommarive 14, I-38050 Povo (Trento) (Italy); Gregori, P. [ITC-irst, Divisione Microsistemi, Via Sommarive 18, I-38050 Povo (Trento) (Italy); Novelli, M. [Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Pisa and Sezione INFN, Via Buonarroti 2, I-56127 Pisa (Italy); Piemonte, C. [ITC-irst, Divisione Microsistemi, Via Sommarive 18, I-38050 Povo (Trento) (Italy); Quattrocchi, M. [Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Pisa and Sezione INFN, Via Buonarroti 2, I-56127 Pisa (Italy); Ronchin, S. [ITC-irst, Divisione Microsistemi, Via Sommarive 18, I-38050 Povo (Trento) (Italy); Rosso, V. [Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Pisa and Sezione INFN, Via Buonarroti 2, I-56127 Pisa (Italy)

2005-07-01

Pixel detectors for mammographic applications have been fabricated at ITC-irst on 800 {mu}m thick silicon wafers adopting a double side n{sup +}-on-n fabrication technology. The activity aims at increasing the X-ray detection efficiency in the energy range of interest minimizing the risk of electrical discharges in hybrid systems operating at high voltages. The detectors, having a layout compatible with the Medipix2 photon counting chip, feature two different design solutions for the p-isolation between neighboring n{sup +}-pixels. We report on the characterization of the fabrication process and on preliminary results of electrical measurements on full detectors and pixel test structures. In particular, we found that the detectors can be reliably operated above the full depletion voltage regardless of the isolation design, that however, impacts the performances in terms of current-voltage characteristics, single pixel currents, inter-pixel resistances and inter-pixel capacitances.

Fabrication and characterization of n-on-n silicon pixel detectors compatible with the Medipix2 readout chip

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zorzi, N.; Bisogni, M.G.; Boscardin, M.; Dalla Betta, G.-F.; Gregori, P.; Novelli, M.; Piemonte, C.; Quattrocchi, M.; Ronchin, S.; Rosso, V.

2005-01-01

Pixel detectors for mammographic applications have been fabricated at ITC-irst on 800 μm thick silicon wafers adopting a double side n + -on-n fabrication technology. The activity aims at increasing the X-ray detection efficiency in the energy range of interest minimizing the risk of electrical discharges in hybrid systems operating at high voltages. The detectors, having a layout compatible with the Medipix2 photon counting chip, feature two different design solutions for the p-isolation between neighboring n + -pixels. We report on the characterization of the fabrication process and on preliminary results of electrical measurements on full detectors and pixel test structures. In particular, we found that the detectors can be reliably operated above the full depletion voltage regardless of the isolation design, that however, impacts the performances in terms of current-voltage characteristics, single pixel currents, inter-pixel resistances and inter-pixel capacitances

First images of a digital autoradiography system based on a Medipix2 hybrid silicon pixel detector.

Science.gov (United States)

Mettivier, Giovanni; Montesi, Maria Cristina; Russo, Paolo

2003-06-21

We present the first images of beta autoradiography obtained with the high-resolution hybrid pixel detector consisting of the Medipix2 single photon counting read-out chip bump-bonded to a 300 microm thick silicon pixel detector. This room temperature system has 256 x 256 square pixels of 55 microm pitch (total sensitive area of 14 x 14 mm2), with a double threshold discriminator and a 13-bit counter in each pixel. It is read out via a dedicated electronic interface and control software, also developed in the framework of the European Medipix2 Collaboration. Digital beta autoradiograms of 14C microscale standard strips (containing separate bands of increasing specific activity in the range 0.0038-32.9 kBq g(-1)) indicate system linearity down to a total background noise of 1.8 x 10(-3) counts mm(-2) s(-1). The minimum detectable activity is estimated to be 0.012 Bq for 36,000 s exposure and 0.023 Bq for 10,800 s exposure. The measured minimum detection threshold is less than 1600 electrons (equivalent to about 6 keV Si). This real-time system for beta autoradiography offers lower pixel pitch and higher sensitive area than the previous Medipix1-based system. It has a 14C sensitivity better than that of micro channel plate based systems, which, however, shows higher spatial resolution and sensitive area.

Low mass hybrid pixel detectors for the high luminosity LHC upgrade

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gonella, Laura

2013-10-15

Reducing material in silicon trackers is of major importance for a good overall detector performance, and poses severe challenges to the design of the tracking system. To match the low mass constraints for trackers in High Energy Physics experiments at high luminosity, dedicated technological developments are required. This dissertation presents three technologies to design low mass hybrid pixel detectors for the high luminosity upgrades of the LHC. The work targets specifically the reduction of the material from the detector services and modules, with novel powering schemes, flip chip and interconnection technologies. A serial powering scheme is prototyped, featuring a new regulator concept, a control and protection element, and AC-coupled data transmission. A modified flip chip technology is developed for thin, large area Front-End chips, and a via last Through Silicon Via process is demonstrated on existing pixel modules. These technologies, their developments, and the achievable material reduction are discussed using the upgrades of the ATLAS pixel detector as a case study.

Low mass hybrid pixel detectors for the high luminosity LHC upgrade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonella, Laura

2013-10-01

Reducing material in silicon trackers is of major importance for a good overall detector performance, and poses severe challenges to the design of the tracking system. To match the low mass constraints for trackers in High Energy Physics experiments at high luminosity, dedicated technological developments are required. This dissertation presents three technologies to design low mass hybrid pixel detectors for the high luminosity upgrades of the LHC. The work targets specifically the reduction of the material from the detector services and modules, with novel powering schemes, flip chip and interconnection technologies. A serial powering scheme is prototyped, featuring a new regulator concept, a control and protection element, and AC-coupled data transmission. A modified flip chip technology is developed for thin, large area Front-End chips, and a via last Through Silicon Via process is demonstrated on existing pixel modules. These technologies, their developments, and the achievable material reduction are discussed using the upgrades of the ATLAS pixel detector as a case study.

Modeling the frequency-dependent detective quantum efficiency of photon-counting x-ray detectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Stierstorfer, Karl

2018-01-01

To find a simple model for the frequency-dependent detective quantum efficiency (DQE) of photon-counting detectors in the low flux limit. Formula for the spatial cross-talk, the noise power spectrum and the DQE of a photon-counting detector working at a given threshold are derived. Parameters are probabilities for types of events like single counts in the central pixel, double counts in the central pixel and a neighboring pixel or single count in a neighboring pixel only. These probabilities can be derived in a simple model by extensive use of Monte Carlo techniques: The Monte Carlo x-ray propagation program MOCASSIM is used to simulate the energy deposition from the x-rays in the detector material. A simple charge cloud model using Gaussian clouds of fixed width is used for the propagation of the electric charge generated by the primary interactions. Both stages are combined in a Monte Carlo simulation randomizing the location of impact which finally produces the required probabilities. The parameters of the charge cloud model are fitted to the spectral response to a polychromatic spectrum measured with our prototype detector. Based on the Monte Carlo model, the DQE of photon-counting detectors as a function of spatial frequency is calculated for various pixel sizes, photon energies, and thresholds. The frequency-dependent DQE of a photon-counting detector in the low flux limit can be described with an equation containing only a small set of probabilities as input. Estimates for the probabilities can be derived from a simple model of the detector physics. © 2017 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

CERN_DxCTA counting mode chip

CERN Document Server

Moraes, D; Nygård, E

2008-01-01

This ASIC is a counting mode front-end electronic optimized for the readout of CdZnTe/CdTe and silicon sensors, for possible use in applications where the flux of ionizing radiation is high. The chip is implemented in 0.25 μm CMOS technology. The circuit comprises 128 channels equipped with a transimpedance amplifier followed by a gain shaper stage with 21 ns peaking time, two discriminators and two 18-bit counters. The channel architecture is optimized for the detector characteristics in order to achieve the best energy resolution at counting rates of up to 5 M counts/second. The amplifier shows a linear sensitivity of 118 mV/fC and an equivalent noise charge of about 711 e−, for a detector capacitance of 5 pF. Complete evaluation of the circuit is presented using electronic pulses and pixel detectors.

Photon-counting image sensors

CERN Document Server

Teranishi, Nobukazu; Theuwissen, Albert; Stoppa, David; Charbon, Edoardo

2017-01-01

The field of photon-counting image sensors is advancing rapidly with the development of various solid-state image sensor technologies including single photon avalanche detectors (SPADs) and deep-sub-electron read noise CMOS image sensor pixels. This foundational platform technology will enable opportunities for new imaging modalities and instrumentation for science and industry, as well as new consumer applications. Papers discussing various photon-counting image sensor technologies and selected new applications are presented in this all-invited Special Issue.

Electron imaging with Medipix2 hybrid pixel detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McMullan, G.; Cattermole, D.M.; Chen, S.; Henderson, R.; Llopart, X.; Summerfield, C.; Tlustos, L.; Faruqi, A.R.

2007-01-01

The electron imaging performance of Medipix2 is described. Medipix2 is a hybrid pixel detector composed of two layers. It has a sensor layer and a layer of readout electronics, in which each 55 μmx55 μm pixel has upper and lower energy discrimination and MHz rate counting. The sensor layer consists of a 300 μm slab of pixellated monolithic silicon and this is bonded to the readout chip. Experimental measurement of the detective quantum efficiency, DQE(0) at 120 keV shows that it can reach ∼85% independent of electron exposure, since the detector has zero noise, and the DQE(Nyquist) can reach ∼35% of that expected for a perfect detector (4/π 2 ). Experimental measurement of the modulation transfer function (MTF) at Nyquist resolution for 120 keV electrons using a 60 keV lower energy threshold, yields a value that is 50% of that expected for a perfect detector (2/π). Finally, Monte Carlo simulations of electron tracks and energy deposited in adjacent pixels have been performed and used to calculate expected values for the MTF and DQE as a function of the threshold energy. The good agreement between theory and experiment allows suggestions for further improvements to be made with confidence. The present detector is already very useful for experiments that require a high DQE at very low doses

Electron imaging with Medipix2 hybrid pixel detector.

Science.gov (United States)

McMullan, G; Cattermole, D M; Chen, S; Henderson, R; Llopart, X; Summerfield, C; Tlustos, L; Faruqi, A R

2007-01-01

The electron imaging performance of Medipix2 is described. Medipix2 is a hybrid pixel detector composed of two layers. It has a sensor layer and a layer of readout electronics, in which each 55 microm x 55 microm pixel has upper and lower energy discrimination and MHz rate counting. The sensor layer consists of a 300 microm slab of pixellated monolithic silicon and this is bonded to the readout chip. Experimental measurement of the detective quantum efficiency, DQE(0) at 120 keV shows that it can reach approximately 85% independent of electron exposure, since the detector has zero noise, and the DQE(Nyquist) can reach approximately 35% of that expected for a perfect detector (4/pi(2)). Experimental measurement of the modulation transfer function (MTF) at Nyquist resolution for 120 keV electrons using a 60 keV lower energy threshold, yields a value that is 50% of that expected for a perfect detector (2/pi). Finally, Monte Carlo simulations of electron tracks and energy deposited in adjacent pixels have been performed and used to calculate expected values for the MTF and DQE as a function of the threshold energy. The good agreement between theory and experiment allows suggestions for further improvements to be made with confidence. The present detector is already very useful for experiments that require a high DQE at very low doses.

Tutorial on X-ray photon counting detector characterization.

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Liqiang; Zheng, Bin; Liu, Hong

2018-01-01

Recent advances in photon counting detection technology have led to significant research interest in X-ray imaging. As a tutorial level review, this paper covers a wide range of aspects related to X-ray photon counting detector characterization. The tutorial begins with a detailed description of the working principle and operating modes of a pixelated X-ray photon counting detector with basic architecture and detection mechanism. Currently available methods and techniques for charactering major aspects including energy response, noise floor, energy resolution, count rate performance (detector efficiency), and charge sharing effect of photon counting detectors are comprehensively reviewed. Other characterization aspects such as point spread function (PSF), line spread function (LSF), contrast transfer function (CTF), modulation transfer function (MTF), noise power spectrum (NPS), detective quantum efficiency (DQE), bias voltage, radiation damage, and polarization effect are also remarked. A cadmium telluride (CdTe) pixelated photon counting detector is employed for part of the characterization demonstration and the results are presented. This review can serve as a tutorial for X-ray imaging researchers and investigators to understand, operate, characterize, and optimize photon counting detectors for a variety of applications.

The pin pixel detector--X-ray imaging

CERN Document Server

Bateman, J E; Derbyshire, G E; Duxbury, D M; Marsh, A S; Simmons, J E; Stephenson, R

2002-01-01

The development and testing of a soft X-ray gas pixel detector, which uses connector pins for the anodes is reported. Based on a commercial 100 pin connector block, a prototype detector of aperture 25.4 mm centre dot 25.4 mm can be economically fabricated. The individual pin anodes all show the expected characteristics of small gas detectors capable of counting rates reaching 1 MHz per pin. A 2-dimensional resistive divide readout system has been developed to permit the imaging properties of the detector to be explored in advance of true pixel readout electronics.

Spectroscopic measurements with the ATLAS FE-I4 pixel readout chip

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pohl, David-Leon; Janssen, Jens; Hemperek, Tomasz; Huegging, Fabian; Wermes, Norbert [Physikalisches Institut der Univeristaet Bonn (Germany)

2015-07-01

The ATLAS FE-I4 pixel readout chip is a large (2 x 2 cm{sup 2}) state of the art ASIC used in high energy physics experiments as well as for research and development purposes. While the FE-I4 is optimized for high hit rates it provides very limited charge resolution. Therefore two methods were developed to obtain high resolution single pixel charge spectra with the ATLAS FE-I4. The first method relies on the ability to change the detection threshold in small steps while counting hits from a particle source and has a resolution limited by electronic noise only. The other method uses a FPGA based time-to-digital-converter to digitize the analog charge signal with high precision. The feasibility, performance and challenges of these methods are discussed. First results of sensor characterizations from radioactive sources and test beams with the ATLAS FE-I4 in view of the charge collection efficiency after irradiation are presented.

Optical readout and control interface for the BTeV pixel vertex detector

CERN Document Server

Vergara-Limon, S; Sheaff, M; Vargas, M A

2002-01-01

Optical links will be used for sending data back and forth from the counting room to the detector in the data acquisition systems for future high energy physics experiments, including ATLAS and CMS in the LHC at CERN (Switzerland) and BTeV at Fermilab (USA). This is because they can be ultra-high speed and are relatively immune to electro-magnetic interference (EMI). The baseline design for the BTeV Pixel Vertex Detector includes two types of optical link, one to control and monitor and the other to read out the hit data from the multi-chip modules on each half-plane of the detector. The design and performance of the first prototype of the Optical Readout and Control Interface for the BTeV Pixel Vertex Detector is described.

Evaluation of color encodings for high dynamic range pixels

Science.gov (United States)

Boitard, Ronan; Mantiuk, Rafal K.; Pouli, Tania

2015-03-01

Traditional Low Dynamic Range (LDR) color spaces encode a small fraction of the visible color gamut, which does not encompass the range of colors produced on upcoming High Dynamic Range (HDR) displays. Future imaging systems will require encoding much wider color gamut and luminance range. Such wide color gamut can be represented using floating point HDR pixel values but those are inefficient to encode. They also lack perceptual uniformity of the luminance and color distribution, which is provided (in approximation) by most LDR color spaces. Therefore, there is a need to devise an efficient, perceptually uniform and integer valued representation for high dynamic range pixel values. In this paper we evaluate several methods for encoding colour HDR pixel values, in particular for use in image and video compression. Unlike other studies we test both luminance and color difference encoding in a rigorous 4AFC threshold experiments to determine the minimum bit-depth required. Results show that the Perceptual Quantizer (PQ) encoding provides the best perceptual uniformity in the considered luminance range, however the gain in bit-depth is rather modest. More significant difference can be observed between color difference encoding schemes, from which YDuDv encoding seems to be the most efficient.

A CMOS In-Pixel CTIA High Sensitivity Fluorescence Imager.

Science.gov (United States)

Murari, Kartikeya; Etienne-Cummings, Ralph; Thakor, Nitish; Cauwenberghs, Gert

2011-10-01

Traditionally, charge coupled device (CCD) based image sensors have held sway over the field of biomedical imaging. Complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) based imagers so far lack sensitivity leading to poor low-light imaging. Certain applications including our work on animal-mountable systems for imaging in awake and unrestrained rodents require the high sensitivity and image quality of CCDs and the low power consumption, flexibility and compactness of CMOS imagers. We present a 132×124 high sensitivity imager array with a 20.1 μm pixel pitch fabricated in a standard 0.5 μ CMOS process. The chip incorporates n-well/p-sub photodiodes, capacitive transimpedance amplifier (CTIA) based in-pixel amplification, pixel scanners and delta differencing circuits. The 5-transistor all-nMOS pixel interfaces with peripheral pMOS transistors for column-parallel CTIA. At 70 fps, the array has a minimum detectable signal of 4 nW/cm(2) at a wavelength of 450 nm while consuming 718 μA from a 3.3 V supply. Peak signal to noise ratio (SNR) was 44 dB at an incident intensity of 1 μW/cm(2). Implementing 4×4 binning allowed the frame rate to be increased to 675 fps. Alternately, sensitivity could be increased to detect about 0.8 nW/cm(2) while maintaining 70 fps. The chip was used to image single cell fluorescence at 28 fps with an average SNR of 32 dB. For comparison, a cooled CCD camera imaged the same cell at 20 fps with an average SNR of 33.2 dB under the same illumination while consuming over a watt.

Photon counting arrays for AO wavefront sensors

CERN Document Server

Vallerga, J; McPhate, J; Mikulec, Bettina; Clark, Allan G; Siegmund, O; CERN. Geneva

2005-01-01

Future wavefront sensors for AO on large telescopes will require a large number of pixels and must operate at high frame rates. Unfortunately for CCDs, there is a readout noise penalty for operating faster, and this noise can add up rather quickly when considering the number of pixels required for the extended shape of a sodium laser guide star observed with a large telescope. Imaging photon counting detectors have zero readout noise and many pixels, but have suffered in the past with low QE at the longer wavelengths (>500 nm). Recent developments in GaAs photocathode technology, CMOS ASIC readouts and FPGA processing electronics have resulted in noiseless WFS detector designs that are competitive with silicon array detectors, though at ~40% the QE of CCDs. We review noiseless array detectors and compare their centroiding performance with CCDs using the best available characteristics of each. We show that for sub-aperture binning of 6x6 and greater that noiseless detectors have a smaller centroid error at flu...

High accuracy injection circuit for the calibration of a large pixel sensor matrix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quartieri, E.; Comotti, D.; Manghisoni, M.

2013-01-01

Semiconductor pixel detectors, for particle tracking and vertexing in high energy physics experiments as well as for X-ray imaging, in particular for synchrotron light sources and XFELs, require a large area sensor matrix. This work will discuss the design and the characterization of a high-linearity, low dispersion injection circuit to be used for pixel-level calibration of detector readout electronics in a large pixel sensor matrix. The circuit provides a useful tool for the characterization of the readout electronics of the pixel cell unit for both monolithic active pixel sensors and hybrid pixel detectors. In the latter case, the circuit allows for precise analogue test of the readout channel already at the chip level, when no sensor is connected. Moreover, it provides a simple means for calibration of readout electronics once the detector has been connected to the chip. Two injection techniques can be provided by the circuit: one for a charge sensitive amplification and the other for a transresistance readout channel. The aim of the paper is to describe the architecture and the design guidelines of the calibration circuit, which has been implemented in a 130 nm CMOS technology. Moreover, experimental results of the proposed injection circuit will be presented in terms of linearity and dispersion

A high-resolution and intelligent dead pixel detection scheme for an electrowetting display screen

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, ZhiJie; Luo, JianKun; Zhao, WenWen; Cao, Yang; Lin, WeiJie; Zhou, GuoFu

2018-02-01

Electrowetting display technology is realized by tuning the surface energy of a hydrophobic surface by applying a voltage based on electrowetting mechanism. With the rapid development of the electrowetting industry, how to analyze efficiently the quality of an electrowetting display screen has a very important significance. There are two kinds of dead pixels on the electrowetting display screen. One is that the oil of pixel cannot completely cover the display area. The other is that indium tin oxide semiconductor wire connecting pixel and foil was burned. In this paper, we propose a high-resolution and intelligent dead pixel detection scheme for an electrowetting display screen. First, we built an aperture ratio-capacitance model based on the electrical characteristics of electrowetting display. A field-programmable gate array is used as the integrated logic hub of the system for a highly reliable and efficient control of the circuit. Dead pixels can be detected and displayed on a PC-based 2D graphical interface in real time. The proposed dead pixel detection scheme reported in this work has promise in automating electrowetting display experiments.

Ultrahigh-speed, high-sensitivity color camera with 300,000-pixel single CCD

Science.gov (United States)

Kitamura, K.; Arai, T.; Yonai, J.; Hayashida, T.; Ohtake, H.; Kurita, T.; Tanioka, K.; Maruyama, H.; Namiki, J.; Yanagi, T.; Yoshida, T.; van Kuijk, H.; Bosiers, Jan T.; Etoh, T. G.

2007-01-01

We have developed an ultrahigh-speed, high-sensitivity portable color camera with a new 300,000-pixel single CCD. The 300,000-pixel CCD, which has four times the number of pixels of our initial model, was developed by seamlessly joining two 150,000-pixel CCDs. A green-red-green-blue (GRGB) Bayer filter is used to realize a color camera with the single-chip CCD. The camera is capable of ultrahigh-speed video recording at up to 1,000,000 frames/sec, and small enough to be handheld. We also developed a technology for dividing the CCD output signal to enable parallel, highspeed readout and recording in external memory; this makes possible long, continuous shots up to 1,000 frames/second. As a result of an experiment, video footage was imaged at an athletics meet. Because of high-speed shooting, even detailed movements of athletes' muscles were captured. This camera can capture clear slow-motion videos, so it enables previously impossible live footage to be imaged for various TV broadcasting programs.

Low-cost bump-bonding processes for high energy physics pixel detectors

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(CDS)2069357; Blank, Thomas; Colombo, Fabio; Dierlamm, Alexander Hermann; Husemann, Ulrich; Kudella, Simon; Weber, M

2016-01-01

In the next generation of collider experiments detectors will be challenged by unprecedented particle fluxes. Thus large detector arrays of highly pixelated detectors with minimal dead area will be required at reasonable costs. Bump-bonding of pixel detectors has been shown to be a major cost-driver. KIT is one of five production centers of the CMS barrel pixel detector for the Phase I Upgrade. In this contribution the SnPb bump-bonding process and the production yield is reported. In parallel to the production of the new CMS pixel detector, several alternatives to the expensive photolithography electroplating/electroless metal deposition technologies are developing. Recent progress and challenges faced in the development of bump-bonding technology based on gold-stud bonding by thin (15 μm) gold wire is presented. This technique allows producing metal bumps with diameters down to 30 μm without using photolithography processes, which are typically required to provide suitable under bump metallization. The sh...

Optimization of CMOS active pixels for high resolution digital radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Young Soo

2007-02-01

in order to choose the photodiode type having the best SNR characteristics. The size of these pixels is 100 μm x 100 μm. The test chip was fabricated using ETRI 0.8 μm (2P/2M) standard CMOS process. It was found that the epitaxial type pixels have similar noise level compared to nonepitaxial type, and the noise of diffusion type pixel is larger than for a well type pixel on the same substrate type at the output node. But, at the input node, the n_d_i_f_f_u_s_i_o_n/p_e_p_i_t_a_x_i_a_l/p_s_u_b_s_t_r_a_t_e type pixel has the maximum SNR compared to other types. Secondly, the size of the designed pixels is 20 μm for high resolution X-ray imaging. In these test structures, AMIS 0.5 μm (2P/3M) CMOS standard process are used for fabrication and different values for design parameters (including optimum design parameters extracted from the developed model) are considered. The results of the noise measurement are agreed with model calculation and the optimum values of in-pixel components can be extracted using developed noise model.

Characterization of Sphinx1 ASIC X-ray detector using photon counting and charge integration

Science.gov (United States)

Habib, A.; Arques, M.; Moro, J.-L.; Accensi, M.; Stanchina, S.; Dupont, B.; Rohr, P.; Sicard, G.; Tchagaspanian, M.; Verger, L.

2018-01-01

Sphinx1 is a novel pixel architecture adapted for X-ray imaging, it detects radiation by photon counting and charge integration. In photon counting mode, each photon is compensated by one or more counter-charges typically consisting of 100 electrons (e-) each. The number of counter-charges required gives a measure of the incoming photon energy, thus allowing spectrometric detection. Pixels can also detect radiation by integrating the charges deposited by all incoming photons during one image frame and converting this analog value into a digital response with a 100 electrons least significant bit (LSB), based on the counter-charge concept. A proof of concept test chip measuring 5 mm × 5 mm, with 200 μm × 200 μm pixels has been produced and characterized. This paper provides details on the architecture and the counter-charge design; it also describes the two modes of operation: photon counting and charge integration. The first performance measurements for this test chip are presented. Noise was found to be ~80 e-rms in photon counting mode with a power consumption of only 0.9 μW/pixel for the static analog part and 0.3 μW/pixel for the static digital part.

CMOS pixel sensor development for the ATLAS experiment at the High Luminosity-LHC

CERN Document Server

Rimoldi, Marco; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

The current ATLAS Inner Detector will be replaced with a fully silicon based detector called Inner Tracker (ITk) before the start of the High Luminosity-LHC project (HL-LHC) in 2026. To cope with the harsh environment expected at the HL-LHC, new approaches are being developed for pixel detector based on CMOS pixel techology. Such detectors provide charge collection, analog and digital amplification in the same silicon bulk. The radiation hardness is obtained with multiple nested wells that have embedded the CMOS electronics with sufficient shielding. The goal of this programme is to demonstrate that depleted CMOS pixels are suitable for high rate, fast timing and high radiation operation at the LHC. A number of alternative solutions have been explored and characterised, and are presented in this document.

From hybrid to CMOS pixels ... a possibility for LHC's pixel future?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wermes, N.

2015-01-01

Hybrid pixel detectors have been invented for the LHC to make tracking and vertexing possible at all in LHC's radiation intense environment. The LHC pixel detectors have meanwhile very successfully fulfilled their promises and R and D for the planned HL-LHC upgrade is in full swing, targeting even higher ionising doses and non-ionising fluences. In terms of rate and radiation tolerance hybrid pixels are unrivaled. But they have disadvantages as well, most notably material thickness, production complexity, and cost. Meanwhile also active pixel sensors (DEPFET, MAPS) have become real pixel detectors but they would by far not stand the rates and radiation faced from HL-LHC. New MAPS developments, so-called DMAPS (depleted MAPS) which are full CMOS-pixel structures with charge collection in a depleted region have come in the R and D focus for pixels at high rate/radiation levels. This goal can perhaps be realised exploiting HV technologies, high ohmic substrates and/or SOI based technologies. The paper covers the main ideas and some encouraging results from prototyping R and D, not hiding the difficulties

Characterization of a mammographic system based on single photon counting pixel arrays coupled to GaAs x-ray detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amendolia, S. R.; Bisogni, M. G.; Delogu, P.; Fantacci, M. E.; Paternoster, G.; Rosso, V.; Stefanini, A. [Str. Dip. di Matematica e Fisica dell' Universita di Sassari, Via Vienna 2, I-07100, Sassari (Italy) and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare INFN Sezione di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, I-56127, Pisa (Italy); Dip. di Fisica ' ' E. Fermi' ' , Universita di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, I-56127, Pisa (Italy) and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare INFN Sezione di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, I-56127, Pisa (Italy); Dip. di Fisica ' ' E. Fermi' ' , Universita di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, I-56127, Pisa (Italy); Dip. di Fisica ' ' E. Fermi' ' , Universita di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, I-56127, Pisa (Italy) and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare INFN Sezione di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, I-56127, Pisa (Italy)

2009-04-15

The authors report on the imaging capabilities of a mammographic system demonstrator based on GaAs pixel detectors operating in single photon counting (SPC) mode. The system imaging performances have been assessed by means of the transfer functions: The modulation transfer function (MTF), the normalized noise power spectrum, and the detective quantum efficiency (DQE) have been measured following the guidelines of the IEC 62220-1-2 protocol. The transfer function analysis has shown the high spatial resolution capabilities of the GaAs detectors. The MTF calculated at the Nyquist frequency (2.94 cycles/mm) is indeed 60%. The DQE, measured with a standard mammographic beam setup (Mo/Mo, 28 kVp, with 4 mm Al added filter) and calculated at zero frequency, is 46%. Aiming to further improve the system's image quality, the authors investigate the DQE limiting factors and show that they are mainly related to system engineering. For example, the authors show that optimization of the image equalization procedure increases the DQE(0) up to 74%, which is better than the DQE(0) of most clinical mammographic systems. The authors show how the high detection efficiency of GaAs detectors and the noise discrimination associated with the SPC technology allow optimizing the image quality in mammography. In conclusion, the authors propose technological solutions to exploit to the utmost the potentiality of GaAs detectors coupled to SPC electronics.

Track parameter resolution study of a pixel only detector for LHC geometry and future high rate experiments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blago, Michele Piero; Kar, Tamasi Rameshchandra; Schoening, Andre [Physikalisches Institut, Universitaet Heidelberg (Germany)

2016-07-01

Recent progress in pixel detector technology, for example using High Voltage-Monolithic Pixel Sensors (HV-MAPS), makes it feasible to construct an all-silicon pixel detector for large scale particle experiments like ATLAS and CMS or other future collider experiments. Preliminary studies have shown that nine layers of pixel sensors are sufficient to reliably reconstruct particle trajectories. The performance of such an all-pixel detector is studied based on a full GEANT simulation for high luminosity conditions at the upgraded LHC. Furthermore, the ability of an all-pixel detector to form trigger decisions using a special triplet pixel layer design is studied. Such a design could be used to reconstruct all tracks originating from the proton-proton interaction at the first hardware level at 40 MHz collision frequency.

Design and realization of a fast low noise electronics for a hybrid pixel X-ray detector dedicated to small animal imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chantepie, Benoit

2008-01-01

Since the invention of computerized tomography (CT), charge integration detector were widely employed for X-ray biomedical imaging applications. Nevertheless, other options exist. A new technology of direct detection using semiconductors has been developed for high energy physics instrumentation. This new technology, called hybrid pixel detector, works in photon counting mode and allows for selecting the minimum energy of the counted photons. The imXgam research team at CPPM develops the PIXSCAN demonstrator, a CT-scanner using the hybrid pixel detector XPAD. The aim of this project is to evaluate the improvement on image quality and on dose delivered during X-ray examinations of a small animal. After a first prototype of hybrid pixel detector XPAD1 proving the feasibility of the project, a complete imager XPAD2 was designed and integrated in the PIXSCAN demonstrator. Since then, with the evolution of microelectronic industry, important improvements are conceivable. To reducing the size of pixels and to improving the energy resolution of detectors, a third design XPAD3 was conceived and will be soon integrated in a second generation of PIXSCAN demonstrator. In this project, my thesis's work consisted in taking part to the design of the detector readout electronics, to the characterization of the chips and of the hybrid pixel detectors, and also to the definition of an auto-zeroing architecture for pixels. (author) [fr

Optimal configuration of a low-dose breast-specific gamma camera based on semiconductor CdZnTe pixelated detectors

Science.gov (United States)

Genocchi, B.; Pickford Scienti, O.; Darambara, DG

2017-05-01

Breast cancer is one of the most frequent tumours in women. During the ‘90s, the introduction of screening programmes allowed the detection of cancer before the palpable stage, reducing its mortality up to 50%. About 50% of the women aged between 30 and 50 years present dense breast parenchyma. This percentage decreases to 30% for women between 50 to 80 years. In these women, mammography has a sensitivity of around 30%, and small tumours are covered by the dense parenchyma and missed in the mammogram. Interestingly, breast-specific gamma-cameras based on semiconductor CdZnTe detectors have shown to be of great interest to early diagnosis. Infact, due to the high energy, spatial resolution, and high sensitivity of CdZnTe, molecular breast imaging has been shown to have a sensitivity of about 90% independently of the breast parenchyma. The aim of this work is to determine the optimal combination of the detector pixel size, hole shape, and collimator material in a low dose dual head breast specific gamma camera based on a CdZnTe pixelated detector at 140 keV, in order to achieve high count rate, and the best possible image spatial resolution. The optimal combination has been studied by modeling the system using the Monte Carlo code GATE. Six different pixel sizes from 0.85 mm to 1.6 mm, two hole shapes, hexagonal and square, and two different collimator materials, lead and tungsten were considered. It was demonstrated that the camera achieved higher count rates, and better signal-to-noise ratio when equipped with square hole, and large pixels (> 1.3 mm). In these configurations, the spatial resolution was worse than using small pixel sizes (< 1.3 mm), but remained under 3.6 mm in all cases.

Simulation results for PLATO: a prototype hybrid X-ray photon counting detector with a low energy threshold for fusion plasma diagnostics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Habib, A.; Menouni, M.; Pangaud, P.; Morel, C.; Fenzi, C.; Colledani, G.; Moureau, G.; Escarguel, A.

2017-01-01

PLATO is a prototype hybrid X-ray photon counting detector that has been designed to meet the specifications for plasma diagnostics for the WEST tokamak platform (Tungsten (W) Environment in Steady-state Tokamak) in southern France, with potential perspectives for ITER. PLATO represents a customized solution that fulfills high sensitivity, low dispersion and high photon counting rate. The PLATO prototype matrix is composed of 16 × 18 pixels with a 70 μm pixel pitch. New techniques have been used in analog sensitive blocks to minimize noise coupling through supply rails and substrate, and to suppress threshold dispersion across the matrix. The PLATO ASIC is designed in CMOS 0.13 μm technology and was submitted for a fabrication run in June 2016. The chip is designed to be bump-bonded to a silicon sensor. This paper presents pixel architecture as well as simulation results while highlighting novel solutions.

High-speed X-ray imaging pixel array detector for synchrotron bunch isolation.

Science.gov (United States)

Philipp, Hugh T; Tate, Mark W; Purohit, Prafull; Shanks, Katherine S; Weiss, Joel T; Gruner, Sol M

2016-03-01

A wide-dynamic-range imaging X-ray detector designed for recording successive frames at rates up to 10 MHz is described. X-ray imaging with frame rates of up to 6.5 MHz have been experimentally verified. The pixel design allows for up to 8-12 frames to be stored internally at high speed before readout, which occurs at a 1 kHz frame rate. An additional mode of operation allows the integration capacitors to be re-addressed repeatedly before readout which can enhance the signal-to-noise ratio of cyclical processes. This detector, along with modern storage ring sources which provide short (10-100 ps) and intense X-ray pulses at megahertz rates, opens new avenues for the study of rapid structural changes in materials. The detector consists of hybridized modules, each of which is comprised of a 500 µm-thick silicon X-ray sensor solder bump-bonded, pixel by pixel, to an application-specific integrated circuit. The format of each module is 128 × 128 pixels with a pixel pitch of 150 µm. In the prototype detector described here, the three-side buttable modules are tiled in a 3 × 2 array with a full format of 256 × 384 pixels. The characteristics, operation, testing and application of the detector are detailed.

Electron imaging with Medipix2 hybrid pixel detector

CERN Document Server

McMullan, G; Chen, S; Henderson, R; Llopart, X; Summerfield, C; Tlustos, L; Faruqi, A R

2007-01-01

The electron imaging performance of Medipix2 is described. Medipix2 is a hybrid pixel detector composed of two layers. It has a sensor layer and a layer of readout electronics, in which each 55 μm×55 μm pixel has upper and lower energy discrimination and MHz rate counting. The sensor layer consists of a 300 μm slab of pixellated monolithic silicon and this is bonded to the readout chip. Experimental measurement of the detective quantum efficiency, DQE(0) at 120 keV shows that it can reach 85% independent of electron exposure, since the detector has zero noise, and the DQE(Nyquist) can reach 35% of that expected for a perfect detector (4/π2). Experimental measurement of the modulation transfer function (MTF) at Nyquist resolution for 120 keV electrons using a 60 keV lower energy threshold, yields a value that is 50% of that expected for a perfect detector (2/π). Finally, Monte Carlo simulations of electron tracks and energy deposited in adjacent pixels have been performed and used to calculate expected v...

Research of high speed data readout and pre-processing system based on xTCA for silicon pixel detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Jingzhou; Lin Haichuan; Guo Fang; Liu Zhen'an; Xu Hao; Gong Wenxuan; Liu Zhao

2012-01-01

As the development of the detector, Silicon pixel detectors have been widely used in high energy physics experiments. It needs data processing system with high speed, high bandwidth and high availability to read data from silicon pixel detectors which generate more large data. The same question occurs on Belle II Pixel Detector which is a new style silicon pixel detector used in SuperKEKB accelerator with high luminance. The paper describes the research of High speed data readout and pre-processing system based on xTCA for silicon pixel detector. The system consists of High Performance Computer Node (HPCN) based on xTCA and ATCA frame. The HPCN consists of 4XFPs based on AMC, 1 AMC Carrier ATCA Board (ACAB) and 1 Rear Transmission Module. It characterized by 5 high performance FPGAs, 16 fiber links based on RocketIO, 5 Gbit Ethernet ports and DDR2 with capacity up to 18GB. In a ATCA frame, 14 HPCNs make up a system using the high speed backplane to achieve the function of data pre-processing and trigger. This system will be used on the trigger and data acquisition system of Belle II Pixel detector. (authors)

Transition-Edge Sensor Pixel Parameter Design of the Microcalorimeter Array for the X-Ray Integral Field Unit on Athena

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, S. J.; Adams, J. S.; Bandler, S. R.; Betancourt-Martinez, G. L.; Chervenak, J. A.; Chiao, M. P.; Eckart, M. E.; Finkbeiner, F. M.; Kelley, R. L.; Kilbourne, C. A.;

Direct photon-counting scintillation detector readout using an SSPM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stapels, Christopher J.; Squillante, Michael R.; Lawrence, William G.; Augustine, Frank L.; Christian, James F.

2007-01-01

Gamma-ray detector technologies, capable of providing adequate energy information, use photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) or silicon avalanche photodiodes to detect the light pulse from a scintillation crystal. A new approach to detect the light from scintillation materials is to use an array of small photon counting detectors, or a 'detector-on-a-chip' based on a novel 'Solid-state Photomultiplier' (SSPM) concept. A CMOS SSPM coupled to a scintillation crystal uses an array of CMOS Geiger photodiode (GPD) pixels to collect light and produce a signal proportional to the energy of the radiation. Each pixel acts as a binary photon detector, but the summed output is an analog representation of the total photon intensity. We have successfully fabricated arrays of GPD pixels in a CMOS environment, which makes possible the production of miniaturized arrays integrated with the detector electronics in a small silicon chip. This detector technology allows for a substantial cost reduction while preserving the energy resolution needed for radiological measurements. In this work, we compare designs for the SSPM detector. One pixel design achieves maximum detection efficiency (DE) for 632-nm photons approaching 30% with a room temperature dark count rate (DCR) of less than 1 kHz for a 30-μm-diameter pixel. We characterize after pulsing and optical cross talk and discuss their effects on the performance of the SSPM. For 30-μm diameter, passively quenched CMOS GPD pixels, modeling suggests that a pixel spacing of approximately 90 μm optimizes the SSPM performance with respect to DE and cross talk

Single Photon Detection with Semiconductor Pixel Arrays for Medical Imaging Applications

CERN Document Server

Mikulec, B

2000-01-01

This thesis explores the functioning of a single photon counting pixel detector for X-ray imaging. It considers different applications for such a device, but focuses mainly on the field of medical imaging. The new detector comprises a CMOS read-out chip called PCC containing 4096 identical channels each of which counts X-ray hits. The conversion of the X-rays to electric charge takes place in a semiconductor sensor which is segmented into 4096 matching square diodes of side length 170 um, the 'pixels'. The photon counting concept is based on setting a threshold in energy above which a hit is registered. The immediate advantages are the elimination of background and the in principle unlimited dynamic range. Moreover, this approach allows the use of an electronic shutter for arbitrary measurement periods. As the device was intended for operation in the energy range of ~10-70 keV, gallium arsenide was selected as the preferred sensor material. The development of this detector followed on from about 10 years of r...

Design and realization of a fast low noise electronics for a hybrid pixel X-ray detector dedicated to small animal imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chantepie, B.

2008-12-01

Since the invention of computerized tomography (CT), charge integration detector were widely employed for X-ray biomedical imaging applications. Nevertheless, other options exist. A new technology of direct detection using semiconductors has been developed for high energy physics instrumentation. This new technology, called hybrid pixel detector, works in photon counting mode and allows for selecting the minimum energy of the counted photons. The ImXgam research team at CPPM develops the PIXSCAN demonstrator, a CT-scanner using the hybrid pixel detector XPAD. The aim of this project is to evaluate the improvement in image quality and in dose delivered during X-ray examinations of a small animal. After a first prototype of a hybrid pixel detector XPAD1 proving the feasibility of the project, a complete imager XPAD2 was designed and integrated in the PIXSCAN demonstrator. Since then, with the evolution of microelectronic industry, important improvements are conceivable. To reducing the size of pixels and to improving the energy resolution of detectors, a third design XPAD3 was conceived and will be soon integrated in a second generation of PIXSCAN demonstrator. In this project, my thesis work consisted in taking part to the design of the detector readout electronics, to the characterization of the chips and of the hybrid pixel detectors, and also to the definition of a auto-zeroing architecture for pixels. The first and second chapters present X-ray medical imaging and particle detection with semi-conductors and its modelling. The third chapter deals with the specifications of electronic circuits for imaging applications first for analog pixels then for digital pixels and describes the general architecture of the integrated circuits. The validation tests are presented in the fourth chapter while the last chapter gives an account of expected changes in pixel electronics

Evaluation of a photon counting Medipix3RX CZT spectral x-ray detector

Science.gov (United States)

Jorgensen, Steven M.; Vercnocke, Andrew J.; Rundle, David S.; Butler, Philip H.; McCollough, Cynthia H.; Ritman, Erik L.

2016-10-01

We assessed the performance of a cadmium zinc telluride (CZT)-based Medipix3RX x-ray detector as a candidate for micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) imaging. This technology was developed at CERN for the Large Hadron Collider. It features an array of 128 by 128, 110 micrometer square pixels, each with eight simultaneous threshold counters, five of which utilize real-time charge summing, significantly reducing the charge sharing between contiguous pixels. Pixel response curves were created by imaging a range of x-ray intensities by varying x-ray tube current and by varying the exposure time with fixed x-ray current. Photon energy-related assessments were made by flooding the detector with the tin foil filtered emission of an I-125 radioisotope brachytherapy seed and sweeping the energy threshold of each of the four charge-summed counters of each pixel in 1 keV steps. Long term stability assessments were made by repeating exposures over the course of one hour. The high properly-functioning pixel yield (99%), long term stability (linear regression of whole-chip response over one hour of acquisitions: y = -0.0038x + 2284; standard deviation: 3.7 counts) and energy resolution (2.5 keV FWHM (single pixel), 3.7 keV FWHM across the full image) make this device suitable for spectral micro-CT. The charge summing performance effectively reduced the measurement corruption caused by charge sharing which, when unaccounted for, shifts the photon energy assignment to lower energies, degrading both count and energy accuracy. Effective charge summing greatly improves the potential for calibrated, energy-specific material decomposition and K edge difference imaging approaches.

The FoCal prototype—an extremely fine-grained electromagnetic calorimeter using CMOS pixel sensors

Science.gov (United States)

de Haas, A. P.; Nooren, G.; Peitzmann, T.; Reicher, M.; Rocco, E.; Röhrich, D.; Ullaland, K.; van den Brink, A.; van Leeuwen, M.; Wang, H.; Yang, S.; Zhang, C.

2018-01-01

A prototype of a Si-W EM calorimeter was built with Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors as the active elements. With a pixel size of 30 μm it allows digital calorimetry, i.e. the particle's energy is determined by counting pixels, not by measuring the energy deposited. Although of modest size, with a width of only four Moliere radii, it has 39 million pixels. In this article the construction and tuning of the prototype is described. Results from beam tests are compared with predictions of GEANT-based Monte Carlo simulations. The shape of showers caused by electrons is shown in unprecedented detail. Results for energy and position resolution are also given.

Development of the Continuous Acquisition Pixel (CAP) sensor for high luminosity lepton colliders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varner, G.; Aihara, H.; Barbero, M.; Bozek, A.; Browder, T.; Hazumi, M.; Kennedy, J.; Martin, E.; Mueller, J.; Olsen, S.; Palka, H.; Rosen, M.; Ruckman, L.; Stanic, S.; Trabelsi, K.; Tsuboyama, T.; Uchida, K.; Yang, Q.; Yarema, R.

2006-01-01

A future higher luminosity B-factory detector and concept study detectors for the proposed International Linear Collider require precision vertex reconstruction while coping with high track densities and radiation exposures. Compared with current silicon strip and hybrid pixels, a significant reduction in the overall detector material thickness is needed to achieve the desired vertex resolution. Considerable progress in the development of thin CMOS-based Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS) in recent years makes them a viable technology option and feasibility studies are being actively pursued. The most serious concerns are their radiation hardness and their readout speed. To address these, several prototypes denoted as the Continuous Acquisition Pixel (CAP) sensors have been developed and tested. The latest of the CAP sensor prototypes is CAP3, designed in the TSMC 0.25μm process with a 5-deep Correlated Double Sample (CDS) pair pipeline in each pixel. A setup with several CAP3 sensors is under evaluation to assess the performance of a full-scale pixel readout system running at realistic readout speed. Given the similarity in the occupancy numbers and hit throughput requirements, per unit area, between a Belle vertex detector upgradation and the requirements for a future ILC pixel detector, this effort can be considered a small-scale functioning prototype for such a future system. The results and plans for the next stages of R and D towards a full Belle Pixel Vertex Detector (PVD) are presented

CERN{sub D}xCTA counting mode chip

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moraes, D. [CERN, CH-1211 Geneva 23 (Switzerland)], E-mail: danielle.moraes@cern.ch; Kaplon, J. [CERN, CH-1211 Geneva 23 (Switzerland); Nygard, E. [Interon AS, Asker, Norway and DX-ray Inc., Northridge, CA (United States)

2008-06-11

This ASIC is a counting mode front-end electronic optimized for the readout of CdZnTe/CdTe and silicon sensors, for possible use in applications where the flux of ionizing radiation is high. The chip is implemented in 0.25 {mu}m CMOS technology. The circuit comprises 128 channels equipped with a transimpedance amplifier followed by a gain shaper stage with 21 ns peaking time, two discriminators and two 18-bit counters. The channel architecture is optimized for the detector characteristics in order to achieve the best energy resolution at counting rates of up to 5 M counts/second. The amplifier shows a linear sensitivity of 118 mV/fC and an equivalent noise charge of about 711 e{sup -}, for a detector capacitance of 5 pF. Complete evaluation of the circuit is presented using electronic pulses and pixel detectors.

Musculoskeletal imaging with a prototype photon-counting detector.

Science.gov (United States)

Gruber, M; Homolka, P; Chmeissani, M; Uffmann, M; Pretterklieber, M; Kainberger, F

2012-01-01

To test a digital imaging X-ray device based on the direct capture of X-ray photons with pixel detectors, which are coupled with photon-counting readout electronics. The chip consists of a matrix of 256 × 256 pixels with a pixel pitch of 55 μm. A monolithic image of 11.2 cm × 7 cm was obtained by the consecutive displacement approach. Images of embalmed anatomical specimens of eight human hands were obtained at four different dose levels (skin dose 2.4, 6, 12, 25 μGy) with the new detector, as well as with a flat-panel detector. The overall rating scores for the evaluated anatomical regions ranged from 5.23 at the lowest dose level, 6.32 at approximately 6 μGy, 6.70 at 12 μGy, to 6.99 at the highest dose level with the photon-counting system. The corresponding rating scores for the flat-panel detector were 3.84, 5.39, 6.64, and 7.34. When images obtained at the same dose were compared, the new system outperformed the conventional DR system at the two lowest dose levels. At the higher dose levels, there were no significant differences between the two systems. The photon-counting detector has great potential to obtain musculoskeletal images of excellent quality at very low dose levels.

Response of a hybrid pixel detector (MEDIPIX3) to different radiation sources for medical applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chumacero, E. Miguel; De Celis Alonso, B.; Martínez Hernández, M. I.; Vargas, G.; Moreno Barbosa, E., E-mail: emoreno.emb@gmail.com [Facultad de Ciencias Físico Matemáticas, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Av. San Claudio y Rio Verde, Puebla (Mexico); Moreno Barbosa, F. [Hospital General del Sur Hospital de la Mujer, Puebla (Mexico)

2014-11-07

The development in semiconductor CMOS technology has enabled the creation of sensitive detectors for a wide range of ionizing radiation. These devices are suitable for photon counting and can be used in imaging and tomography X-ray diagnostics. The Medipix[1] radiation detection system is a hybrid silicon pixel chip developed for particle tracking applications in High Energy Physics. Its exceptional features (high spatial and energy resolution, embedded ultra fast readout, different operation modes, etc.) make the Medipix an attractive device for applications in medical imaging. In this work the energy characterization of a third-generation Medipix chip (Medipix3) coupled to a silicon sensor is presented. We used different radiation sources (strontium 90, iron 55 and americium 241) to obtain the response curve of the hybrid detector as a function of energy. We also studied the contrast of the Medipix as a measure of pixel noise. Finally we studied the response to fluorescence X rays from different target materials (In, Pd and Cd) for the two data acquisition modes of the chip; single pixel mode and charge summing mode.

Development of N+ in P pixel sensors for a high-luminosity large hadron collider

Science.gov (United States)

Kamada, Shintaro; Yamamura, Kazuhisa; Unno, Yoshinobu; Ikegami, Yoichi

2014-11-01

Hamamatsu Photonics K. K. is developing an N+ in a p planar pixel sensor with high radiation tolerance for the high-luminosity large hadron collider (HL-LHC). The N+ in the p planar pixel sensor is a candidate for the HL-LHC and offers the advantages of high radiation tolerance at a reasonable price compared with the N+ in an n planar sensor, the three-dimensional sensor, and the diamond sensor. However, the N+ in the p planar pixel sensor still presents some problems that need to be solved, such as its slim edge and the danger of sparks between the sensor and readout integrated circuit. We are now attempting to solve these problems with wafer-level processes, which is important for mass production. To date, we have obtained a 250-μm edge with an applied bias voltage of 1000 V. To protect against high-voltage sparks from the edge, we suggest some possible designs for the N+ edge.

Low mass hybrid pixel detectors for the high luminosity LHC upgrade

CERN Document Server

Gonella, Laura; Desch, Klaus

2013-11-11

Reducing material in silicon trackers is of major importance for a good overall detector performance, and poses severe challenges to the design of the tracking system. To match the low mass constraints for trackers in High Energy Physics experiments at high luminosity, dedicated technological developments are required. This dissertation presents three technologies to design low mass hybrid pixel detectors for the high luminosity upgrades of the LHC. The work targets specifically the reduction of the material from the detector services and modules, with novel powering schemes, flip chip and interconnection technologies. A serial powering scheme is prototyped, featuring a new regulator concept, a control and protection element, and AC-coupled data transmission. A modified flip chip technology is developed for thin, large area Front-End chips, and a via last Through Silicon Via process is demonstrated on existing pixel modules. These technologies, their developments, and the achievable material reduction are dis...

Pixelated coatings and advanced IR coatings

Science.gov (United States)

Pradal, Fabien; Portier, Benjamin; Oussalah, Meihdi; Leplan, Hervé

2017-09-01

Reosc developed pixelated infrared coatings on detector. Reosc manufactured thick pixelated multilayer stacks on IR-focal plane arrays for bi-spectral imaging systems, demonstrating high filter performance, low crosstalk, and no deterioration of the device sensitivities. More recently, a 5-pixel filter matrix was designed and fabricated. Recent developments in pixelated coatings, shows that high performance infrared filters can be coated directly on detector for multispectral imaging. Next generation space instrument can benefit from this technology to reduce their weight and consumptions.

Energy Calibration of the Pixels of Spectral X-ray Detectors

CERN Document Server

Panta, Raj Kumar; Bell, Stephen T; Anderson, Nigel G; Butler, Anthony P; Butler, Philip H

2015-01-01

The energy information acquired using spectral X-ray detectors allows noninvasive identification and characterization of chemical components of a material. To achieve this, it is important that the energy response of the detector is calibrated. The established techniques for energy calibration are not practical for routine use in pre-clinical or clinical research environment. This is due to the requirements of using monochromatic radiation sources such as synchrotron, radio-isotopes, and prohibitively long time needed to set up the equipment and make measurements. To address these limitations, we have developed an automated technique for calibrating the energy response of the pixels in a spectral X-ray detector that runs with minimal user intervention. This technique uses the X-ray tube voltage (kVp) as a reference energy, which is stepped through an energy range of interest. This technique locates the energy threshold where a pixel transitions from not-counting (off) to counting (on). Similarly, we have deve...

Applications of pixellated GaAs X-ray detectors in a synchrotron radiation beam

CERN Document Server

Watt, J; Campbell, M; Mathieson, K; Mikulec, B; O'Shea, V; Passmore, M S; Schwarz, C; Smith, K M; Whitehill, C

2001-01-01

Hybrid semiconductor pixel detectors are being investigated as imaging devices for radiography and synchrotron radiation beam applications. Based on previous work in the CERN RD19 and the UK IMPACT collaborations, a photon counting GaAs pixel detector (PCD) has been used in an X-ray powder diffraction experiment. The device consists of a 200 mu m thick SI-LEC GaAs detector patterned in a 64*64 array of 170 mu m pitch square pixels, bump-bonded to readout electronics operating in single photon counting mode. Intensity peaks in the powder diffraction pattern of KNbO/sub 3/ have been resolved and compared with results using the standard scintillator, and a PCD predecessor (the Omega 3). The PCD shows improved speed, dynamic range, 2-D information and comparable spatial resolution to the standard scintillator based systems. It also overcomes the severe dead time limitations of the Omega 3 by using a shutter based acquisition mode. A brief demonstration of the possibilities of the system for dental radiography and...

THE KEPLER PIXEL RESPONSE FUNCTION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bryson, Stephen T.; Haas, Michael R.; Dotson, Jessie L.; Koch, David G.; Borucki, William J.; Tenenbaum, Peter; Jenkins, Jon M.; Chandrasekaran, Hema; Caldwell, Douglas A.; Klaus, Todd; Gilliland, Ronald L.

2010-01-01

Kepler seeks to detect sequences of transits of Earth-size exoplanets orbiting solar-like stars. Such transit signals are on the order of 100 ppm. The high photometric precision demanded by Kepler requires detailed knowledge of how the Kepler pixels respond to starlight during a nominal observation. This information is provided by the Kepler pixel response function (PRF), defined as the composite of Kepler's optical point-spread function, integrated spacecraft pointing jitter during a nominal cadence and other systematic effects. To provide sub-pixel resolution, the PRF is represented as a piecewise-continuous polynomial on a sub-pixel mesh. This continuous representation allows the prediction of a star's flux value on any pixel given the star's pixel position. The advantages and difficulties of this polynomial representation are discussed, including characterization of spatial variation in the PRF and the smoothing of discontinuities between sub-pixel polynomial patches. On-orbit super-resolution measurements of the PRF across the Kepler field of view are described. Two uses of the PRF are presented: the selection of pixels for each star that maximizes the photometric signal-to-noise ratio for that star, and PRF-fitted centroids which provide robust and accurate stellar positions on the CCD, primarily used for attitude and plate scale tracking. Good knowledge of the PRF has been a critical component for the successful collection of high-precision photometry by Kepler.

Vertically integrated pixel readout chip for high energy physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deptuch, Grzegorz; Demarteau, Marcel; Hoff, James; Khalid, Farah; Lipton, Ronald; Shenai, Alpana; Trimpl, Marcel; Yarema, Raymond; Zimmerman, Tom

2011-01-01

We report on the development of the vertex detector pixel readout chips based on multi-tier vertically integrated electronics for the International Linear Collider. Some testing results of the VIP2a prototype are presented. The chip is the second iteration of the silicon implementation of the prototype, data-pushed concept of the readout developed at Fermilab. The device was fabricated in the 3D MIT-LL 0.15 (micro)m fully depleted SOI process. The prototype is a three-tier design, featuring 30 x 30 (micro)m 2 pixels, laid out in an array of 48 x 48 pixels.

Development of a readout technique for the high data rate BTeV pixel detector at Fermilab

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, Bradley K.

2001-01-01

The pixel detector for the BTeV experiment at Fermilab provides digitized data from approximately 22 million silicon pixel channels. Portions of the detector are six millimeters from the beam providing a substantial hit rate and high radiation dose. The pixel detector data will be employed by the lowest level trigger system for track reconstruction every beam crossing. These requirements impose a considerable constraint on the readout scheme. This paper presents a readout technique that provides the bandwidth that is adequate for high hit rates, minimizes the number of radiation hard components, and satisfies all other design constraints

First results of a Double-SOI pixel chip for X-ray imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lu, Yunpeng, E-mail: yplu@ihep.ac.cn [State Key Laboratory of Particle Detection and Electronics (Institute of High Energy Physics, CAS), Beijing 100049 (China); Ouyang, Qun [State Key Laboratory of Particle Detection and Electronics (Institute of High Energy Physics, CAS), Beijing 100049 (China); Arai, Yasuo [Institute of Particle and Nuclear Studies, High Energy Accelerator Research Org., KEK, Tsukuba 305-0801 (Japan); Liu, Yi; Wu, Zhigang; Zhou, Yang [State Key Laboratory of Particle Detection and Electronics (Institute of High Energy Physics, CAS), Beijing 100049 (China)

2016-09-21

Aiming at low energy X-ray imaging, a prototype chip based on Double-SOI process was designed and tested. The sensor and pixel circuit were characterized. The long lasting crosstalk issue in SOI technology was understood. The operation of pixel was verified with a pulsed infrared laser beam. The depletion of sensor revealed by signal amplitudes is consistent with the one revealed by I–V curve. An s-curve fitting resulted in a sigma of 153 e{sup −} among which equivalent noise charge (ENC) contributed 113 e{sup −}. It's the first time that the crosstalk issue in SOI technology was solved and a counting type SOI pixel demonstrated the detection of low energy radiation quantitatively.

Development and characterization of diamond and 3D-silicon pixel detectors with ATLAS-pixel readout electronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mathes, Markus

2008-12-01

Hybrid pixel detectors are used for particle tracking in the innermost layers of current high energy experiments like ATLAS. After the proposed luminosity upgrade of the LHC, they will have to survive very high radiation fluences of up to 10 16 particles per cm 2 per life time. New sensor concepts and materials are required, which promise to be more radiation tolerant than the currently used planar silicon sensors. Most prominent candidates are so-called 3D-silicon and single crystal or poly-crystalline diamond sensors. Using the ATLAS pixel electronics different detector prototypes with a pixel geometry of 400 x 50 μm 2 have been built. In particular three devices have been studied in detail: a 3D-silicon and a single crystal diamond detector with an active area of about 1 cm 2 and a poly-crystalline diamond detector of the same size as a current ATLAS pixel detector module (2 x 6 cm 2 ). To characterize the devices regarding their particle detection efficiency and spatial resolution, the charge collection inside a pixel cell as well as the charge sharing between adjacent pixels was studied using a high energy particle beam. (orig.)

A review of advances in pixel detectors for experiments with high rate and radiation

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia-Sciveres, Maurice; Wermes, Norbert

2018-06-01

The large Hadron collider (LHC) experiments ATLAS and CMS have established hybrid pixel detectors as the instrument of choice for particle tracking and vertexing in high rate and radiation environments, as they operate close to the LHC interaction points. With the high luminosity-LHC upgrade now in sight, for which the tracking detectors will be completely replaced, new generations of pixel detectors are being devised. They have to address enormous challenges in terms of data throughput and radiation levels, ionizing and non-ionizing, that harm the sensing and readout parts of pixel detectors alike. Advances in microelectronics and microprocessing technologies now enable large scale detector designs with unprecedented performance in measurement precision (space and time), radiation hard sensors and readout chips, hybridization techniques, lightweight supports, and fully monolithic approaches to meet these challenges. This paper reviews the world-wide effort on these developments.

High-speed imaging using CMOS image sensor with quasi pixel-wise exposure

Science.gov (United States)

Sonoda, T.; Nagahara, H.; Endo, K.; Sugiyama, Y.; Taniguchi, R.

2017-02-01

Several recent studies in compressive video sensing have realized scene capture beyond the fundamental trade-off limit between spatial resolution and temporal resolution using random space-time sampling. However, most of these studies showed results for higher frame rate video that were produced by simulation experiments or using an optically simulated random sampling camera, because there are currently no commercially available image sensors with random exposure or sampling capabilities. We fabricated a prototype complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor with quasi pixel-wise exposure timing that can realize nonuniform space-time sampling. The prototype sensor can reset exposures independently by columns and fix these amount of exposure by rows for each 8x8 pixel block. This CMOS sensor is not fully controllable via the pixels, and has line-dependent controls, but it offers flexibility when compared with regular CMOS or charge-coupled device sensors with global or rolling shutters. We propose a method to realize pseudo-random sampling for high-speed video acquisition that uses the flexibility of the CMOS sensor. We reconstruct the high-speed video sequence from the images produced by pseudo-random sampling using an over-complete dictionary.

ATLAS Pixel Detector Operational Experience

CERN Document Server

Di Girolamo, B; The ATLAS collaboration

2011-01-01

The ATLAS Pixel Detector is the innermost detector of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, providing high-resolution measurements of charged particle tracks in the high radiation environment close to the collision region. This capability is vital for the identification and measurement of proper decay times of long-lived particles such as b-hadrons, and thus vital for the ATLAS physics program. The detector provides hermetic coverage with three cylindrical layers and three layers of forward and backward pixel detectors. It consists of approximately 80 million pixels that are individually read out via chips bump-bonded to 1744 n-in-n silicon substrates. In this talk, results from the successful operation of the Pixel Detector at the LHC will be presented, including monitoring, calibration procedures, timing optimization and detector performance. The detector performance is excellent: 96.9% of the pixels are operational, noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the design specification, an...

3-D Spatial Resolution of 350 μm Pitch Pixelated CdZnTe Detectors for Imaging Applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Yongzhi; Chen, Ximeng; Wu, Heyu; Komarov, Sergey; Garson, Alfred; Li, Qiang; Guo, Qingzhen; Krawczynski, Henric; Meng, Ling-Jian; Tai, Yuan-Chuan

2013-02-01

We are currently investigating the feasibility of using highly pixelated Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CdZnTe) detectors for sub-500 μ m resolution PET imaging applications. A 20 mm × 20 mm × 5 mm CdZnTe substrate was fabricated with 350 μ m pitch pixels (250 μ m anode pixels with 100 μ m gap) and coplanar cathode. Charge sharing among the pixels of a 350 μ m pitch detector was studied using collimated 122 keV and 511 keV gamma ray sources. For a 350 μ m pitch CdZnTe detector, scatter plots of the charge signal of two neighboring pixels clearly show more charge sharing when the collimated beam hits the gap between adjacent pixels. Using collimated Co-57 and Ge-68 sources, we measured the count profiles and estimated the intrinsic spatial resolution of 350 μ m pitch detector biased at -1000 V. Depth of interaction was analyzed based on two methods, i.e., cathode/anode ratio and electron drift time, in both 122 keV and 511 keV measurements. For single-pixel photopeak events, a linear correlation between cathode/anode ratio and electron drift time was shown, which would be useful for estimating the DOI information and preserving image resolution in CdZnTe PET imaging applications.

A 128 x 128 CMOS Active Pixel Image Sensor for Highly Integrated Imaging Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Mendis, Sunetra K.; Kemeny, Sabrina E.; Fossum, Eric R.

1993-01-01

A new CMOS-based image sensor that is intrinsically compatible with on-chip CMOS circuitry is reported. The new CMOS active pixel image sensor achieves low noise, high sensitivity, X-Y addressability, and has simple timing requirements. The image sensor was fabricated using a 2 micrometer p-well CMOS process, and consists of a 128 x 128 array of 40 micrometer x 40 micrometer pixels. The CMOS image sensor technology enables highly integrated smart image sensors, and makes the design, incorporation and fabrication of such sensors widely accessible to the integrated circuit community.

The propagation of stochastic pixel noise into magnitude and phase values in the Fourier analysis of digital images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holden, J.E.; Halama, J.R.; Hasegawa, B.H.

1986-01-01

The use of Fourier analysis in nuclear medicine gated blood ventriculography provides a useful example of the application of Fourier methods to digital medical imaging. In particular, the nuclear medicine experience demonstrates that there is diagnostic significance not only in the pixel averages of temporal Fourier magnitude and phase computed in various image regions, but also in the distributions of the individual pixel values about those averages. However, a region containing pixels that are perfectly synchronous on average would still yield a finite distribution of calculated Fourier coefficients due to the propagation of stochastic pixel noise into the calculated values. The authors have studied this noise component of both the magnitude and phase distributions using phantom studies and computer simulation. In both approaches, several thousand one-pixel 'ventriculograms' were generated, all identical to each other except for stochastic noise. Fourier magnitudes and phases at several frequencies were calculated and histograms generated. A theoretical prediction of the distributions was developed and shown to fit the experimental results well. The authors' formalism can be used to estimate study count requirements or, for fixed study counts, to assess the stochastic noise contribution in the interpretation of measured phase and magnitude distributions. (author)

Advances in Small Pixel TES-Based X-Ray Microcalorimeter Arrays for Solar Physics and Astrophysics

Science.gov (United States)

Bandler, S. R.; Adams, J. S.; Bailey, C. N.; Busch, S. E.; Chervenak, J. A.; Eckart, M. E.; Ewin, A. E.; Finkbeiner, F. M.; Kelley, R. L.; Kelly, D. P.;

Development and characterization of diamond and 3D-silicon pixel detectors with ATLAS-pixel readout electronics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mathes, Markus

2008-12-15

Hybrid pixel detectors are used for particle tracking in the innermost layers of current high energy experiments like ATLAS. After the proposed luminosity upgrade of the LHC, they will have to survive very high radiation fluences of up to 10{sup 16} particles per cm{sup 2} per life time. New sensor concepts and materials are required, which promise to be more radiation tolerant than the currently used planar silicon sensors. Most prominent candidates are so-called 3D-silicon and single crystal or poly-crystalline diamond sensors. Using the ATLAS pixel electronics different detector prototypes with a pixel geometry of 400 x 50 {mu}m{sup 2} have been built. In particular three devices have been studied in detail: a 3D-silicon and a single crystal diamond detector with an active area of about 1 cm{sup 2} and a poly-crystalline diamond detector of the same size as a current ATLAS pixel detector module (2 x 6 cm{sup 2}). To characterize the devices regarding their particle detection efficiency and spatial resolution, the charge collection inside a pixel cell as well as the charge sharing between adjacent pixels was studied using a high energy particle beam. (orig.)

Développement d'un capteur à pixels CMOS pour un dosimètre spatial embarqué de faible poids et avec une dissipation de puissance minimale

OpenAIRE

Zhou , Yang

2014-01-01

This thesis focuses on the development of a CMOS monolithic pixel sensor used for space ionizingparticles identification and counting in high flux. A new concept for single particle identification isproposed in this study, which is based on the analysis of particle triggered clusters. To validate thisnew concept, a full size sensor including the sensitive pixel matrix, an analogue signal processingchain, a 3-bit analogue to digital converter, and a digital processing stage was designed in a 0...

Low complexity pixel-based halftone detection

Science.gov (United States)

Ok, Jiheon; Han, Seong Wook; Jarno, Mielikainen; Lee, Chulhee

2011-10-01

With the rapid advances of the internet and other multimedia technologies, the digital document market has been growing steadily. Since most digital images use halftone technologies, quality degradation occurs when one tries to scan and reprint them. Therefore, it is necessary to extract the halftone areas to produce high quality printing. In this paper, we propose a low complexity pixel-based halftone detection algorithm. For each pixel, we considered a surrounding block. If the block contained any flat background regions, text, thin lines, or continuous or non-homogeneous regions, the pixel was classified as a non-halftone pixel. After excluding those non-halftone pixels, the remaining pixels were considered to be halftone pixels. Finally, documents were classified as pictures or photo documents by calculating the halftone pixel ratio. The proposed algorithm proved to be memory-efficient and required low computation costs. The proposed algorithm was easily implemented using GPU.

Real-time computational photon-counting LiDAR

Science.gov (United States)

Edgar, Matthew; Johnson, Steven; Phillips, David; Padgett, Miles

2018-03-01

The availability of compact, low-cost, and high-speed MEMS-based spatial light modulators has generated widespread interest in alternative sampling strategies for imaging systems utilizing single-pixel detectors. The development of compressed sensing schemes for real-time computational imaging may have promising commercial applications for high-performance detectors, where the availability of focal plane arrays is expensive or otherwise limited. We discuss the research and development of a prototype light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system via direct time of flight, which utilizes a single high-sensitivity photon-counting detector and fast-timing electronics to recover millimeter accuracy three-dimensional images in real time. The development of low-cost real time computational LiDAR systems could have importance for applications in security, defense, and autonomous vehicles.

[High-Performance Active Pixel X-Ray Sensors for X-Ray Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Bautz, Mark; Suntharalingam, Vyshnavi

2005-01-01

The subject grants support development of High-Performance Active Pixel Sensors for X-ray Astronomy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Space Research and at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory. This memo reports our progress in the second year of the project, from April, 2004 through the present.

High resolution micro-CT of low attenuating organic materials using large area photon-counting detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumpová, I.; Jandejsek, I.; Jakůbek, J.; Vopálenský, M.; Vavřík, D.; Fíla, T.; Koudelka, P.; Kytýř, D.; Zlámal, P.; Gantar, A.

2016-01-01

To overcome certain limitations of contemporary materials used for bone tissue engineering, such as inflammatory response after implantation, a whole new class of materials based on polysaccharide compounds is being developed. Here, nanoparticulate bioactive glass reinforced gelan-gum (GG-BAG) has recently been proposed for the production of bone scaffolds. This material offers promising biocompatibility properties, including bioactivity and biodegradability, with the possibility of producing scaffolds with directly controlled microgeometry. However, to utilize such a scaffold with application-optimized properties, large sets of complex numerical simulations using the real microgeometry of the material have to be carried out during the development process. Because the GG-BAG is a material with intrinsically very low attenuation to X-rays, its radiographical imaging, including tomographical scanning and reconstructions, with resolution required by numerical simulations might be a very challenging task. In this paper, we present a study on X-ray imaging of GG-BAG samples. High-resolution volumetric images of investigated specimens were generated on the basis of micro-CT measurements using a large area flat-panel detector and a large area photon-counting detector. The photon-counting detector was composed of a 010× 1 matrix of Timepix edgeless silicon pixelated detectors with tiling based on overlaying rows (i.e. assembled so that no gap is present between individual rows of detectors). We compare the results from both detectors with the scanning electron microscopy on selected slices in transversal plane. It has been shown that the photon counting detector can provide approx. 3× better resolution of the details in low-attenuating materials than the integrating flat panel detectors. We demonstrate that employment of a large area photon counting detector is a good choice for imaging of low attenuating materials with the resolution sufficient for numerical

High resolution micro-CT of low attenuating organic materials using large area photon-counting detector

Science.gov (United States)

Kumpová, I.; Vavřík, D.; Fíla, T.; Koudelka, P.; Jandejsek, I.; Jakůbek, J.; Kytýř, D.; Zlámal, P.; Vopálenský, M.; Gantar, A.

2016-02-01

To overcome certain limitations of contemporary materials used for bone tissue engineering, such as inflammatory response after implantation, a whole new class of materials based on polysaccharide compounds is being developed. Here, nanoparticulate bioactive glass reinforced gelan-gum (GG-BAG) has recently been proposed for the production of bone scaffolds. This material offers promising biocompatibility properties, including bioactivity and biodegradability, with the possibility of producing scaffolds with directly controlled microgeometry. However, to utilize such a scaffold with application-optimized properties, large sets of complex numerical simulations using the real microgeometry of the material have to be carried out during the development process. Because the GG-BAG is a material with intrinsically very low attenuation to X-rays, its radiographical imaging, including tomographical scanning and reconstructions, with resolution required by numerical simulations might be a very challenging task. In this paper, we present a study on X-ray imaging of GG-BAG samples. High-resolution volumetric images of investigated specimens were generated on the basis of micro-CT measurements using a large area flat-panel detector and a large area photon-counting detector. The photon-counting detector was composed of a 010× 1 matrix of Timepix edgeless silicon pixelated detectors with tiling based on overlaying rows (i.e. assembled so that no gap is present between individual rows of detectors). We compare the results from both detectors with the scanning electron microscopy on selected slices in transversal plane. It has been shown that the photon counting detector can provide approx. 3× better resolution of the details in low-attenuating materials than the integrating flat panel detectors. We demonstrate that employment of a large area photon counting detector is a good choice for imaging of low attenuating materials with the resolution sufficient for numerical simulations.

Preliminary test of an imaging probe for nuclear medicine using hybrid pixel detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertolucci, E.; Maiorino, M.; Mettivier, G.; Montesi, M.C.; Russo, P.

2002-01-01

We are investigating the feasibility of an intraoperative imaging probe for lymphoscintigraphy with Tc-99m tracer, for sentinel node radioguided surgery, using the Medipix series of hybrid detectors coupled to a collimator. These detectors are pixelated semiconductor detectors bump-bonded to the Medipix1 photon counting read-out chip (64x64 pixel, 170 μm pitch) or to the Medipix2 chip (256x256 pixel, 55 μm pitch), developed by the European Medipix collaboration. The pixel detector we plan to use in the final version of the probe is a semi-insulating GaAs detector or a 1-2 mm thick CdZnTe detector. For the preliminary tests presented here, we used 300-μm thick silicon detectors, hybridized via bump-bonding to the Medipix1 chip. We used a tungsten parallel-hole collimator (7 mm thick, matrix array of 64x64 100 μm circular holes with 170 μm pitch), and a 22, 60 and 122 keV point-like (1 mm diameter) radioactive sources, placed at various distances from the detector. These tests were conducted in order to investigate the general feasibility of this imaging probe and its resolving power. Measurements show the high resolution but low efficiency performance of the detector-collimator set, which is able to image the 122 keV source with <1 mm FWHM resolution

Probing Defects in a Small Pixellated CdTe Sensor Using an Inclined Mono Energetic X-Ray Micro Beam

Science.gov (United States)

Fröjdh, Erik; Fröjdh, C.; Gimenez, E. N.; Krapohl, D.; Maneuski, D.; Norlin, B.; O'Shea, V.; Wilhelm, H.; Tartoni, N.; Thungström, G.; Zain, R. M.

2013-08-01

High quantum efficiency is important in X-ray imaging applications. This means using high-Z sensor materials. Unfortunately many of these materials suffer from defects that cause non-ideal charge transport. In order to increase the understanding of these defects, we have mapped the 3D response of a number of defects in two 1 mm thick CdTe sensors with different pixel sizes (55 μm and 110 μm) using a monoenergetic microbeam at 79 keV. The sensors were bump bonded to Timepix read out chips. Data was collected in photon counting as well as time-over-threshold mode. The time-over-threshold mode is a very powerful tool to investigate charge transport properties and fluorescence in pixellated detectors since the signal from the charge that each photon deposits in each pixel can be analyzed. Results show distorted electrical field around the defects, indications of excess leakage current and large differences in behavior between electron collection and hole collection mode. The experiments were carried out on the Extreme Conditions Beamline I15 at Diamond Light Source.

Simulation of single-event energy-deposition spreading in a hybrid pixellated detector for gamma imaging

CERN Document Server

Manach, E

2002-01-01

In the framework of the Medipix2 Collaboration, a new photon-counting chip is being developed made of a 256x256 array of 55 mu m-side square pixels. Although the chip was primarily developed for semiconductor X-ray imagers, we think that this type of device could be used in applications such as decommissioning of nuclear facilities where typical sources have gamma-ray energies in the range of a few hundred keV. In order to enhance the detection efficiency in this energy range, we envisage connecting the Medipix2 chip to a CdTe or CdZnTe substrate (at least 1 mm thick). The small pixel size, the thickness of the Cd(Zn)Te substrate and the high photon energy motivate us to estimate first the spatial energy spreading following a photon interaction inside the detector. Estimations were made using the MCNP Monte Carlo package by simulating the individual energy distribution for each primary photon interaction. As an illustration of our results, simulating a 660 keV gamma source, we found that there are two pixels ...

DAWN GRAND MAP CERES TPE NEUTRON COUNTS V1.0

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — A global map thermal+epithermal neutron counting rates binned on twenty-degree quasi-equal-area pixels is provided. The map was determined from a time series of the...

CMOS pixel sensor development for the ATLAS experiment at the High Luminosity-LHC

Science.gov (United States)

Rimoldi, M.

2017-12-01

The current ATLAS Inner Detector will be replaced with a fully silicon based detector called Inner Tracker (ITk) before the start of the High Luminosity-LHC project (HL-LHC) in 2026. To cope with the harsh environment expected at the HL-LHC, new approaches are being developed for pixel detectors based on CMOS technology. Such detectors can provide charge collection, analog amplification and digital processing in the same silicon wafer. The radiation hardness is improved thanks to multiple nested wells which give the embedded CMOS electronics sufficient shielding. The goal of this programme is to demonstrate that depleted CMOS pixels are suitable for high rate, fast timing and high radiation operation at the LHC . A number of alternative solutions have been explored and characterised. In this document, test results of the sensors fabricated in different CMOS processes are reported.

Development of N+ in P pixel sensors for a high-luminosity large hadron collider

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamada, Shintaro; Yamamura, Kazuhisa; Unno, Yoshinobu; Ikegami, Yoichi

2014-01-01

Hamamatsu Photonics K. K. is developing an N+ in a p planar pixel sensor with high radiation tolerance for the high-luminosity large hadron collider (HL-LHC). The N+ in the p planar pixel sensor is a candidate for the HL-LHC and offers the advantages of high radiation tolerance at a reasonable price compared with the N+ in an n planar sensor, the three-dimensional sensor, and the diamond sensor. However, the N+ in the p planar pixel sensor still presents some problems that need to be solved, such as its slim edge and the danger of sparks between the sensor and readout integrated circuit. We are now attempting to solve these problems with wafer-level processes, which is important for mass production. To date, we have obtained a 250-μm edge with an applied bias voltage of 1000 V. To protect against high-voltage sparks from the edge, we suggest some possible designs for the N+ edge. - Highlights: • We achieved a tolerance of 1000 V with a 250-μm edge by Al2O3 side wall passivation. • Above is a wafer process and suitable for mass production. • For edge-spark protection, we suggest N+ edge with an isolation

High-resolution photon spectroscopy with a microwave-multiplexed 4-pixel transition edge sensor array

Science.gov (United States)

Guss, Paul; Rabin, Michael; Croce, Mark; Hoteling, Nathan; Schwellenbach, David; Kruschwitz, Craig; Mocko, Veronika; Mukhopadhyay, Sanjoy

2017-09-01

We demonstrate very high-resolution photon spectroscopy with a microwave-multiplexed 4-pixel transition edge sensor (TES) array. The readout circuit consists of superconducting microwave resonators coupled to radio frequency superconducting-quantum-interference devices (RF-SQUIDs) and transduces changes in input current to changes in phase of a microwave signal. We used a flux-ramp modulation to linearize the response and avoid low-frequency noise. The result is a very high-resolution photon spectroscopy with a microwave-multiplexed 4-pixel transition edge sensor array. We performed and validated a small-scale demonstration and test of all the components of our concept system, which encompassed microcalorimetry, microwave multiplexing, RF-SQUIDs, and software-defined radio (SDR). We shall display data we acquired in the first simultaneous combination of all key innovations in a 4-pixel demonstration, including microcalorimetry, microwave multiplexing, RF-SQUIDs, and SDR. We present the energy spectrum of a gadolinium-153 (153Gd) source we measured using our 4-pixel TES array and the RF-SQUID multiplexer. For each pixel, one can observe the two 97.4 and 103.2 keV photopeaks. We measured the 153Gd photon source with an achieved energy resolution of 70 eV, full width half maximum (FWHM) at 100 keV, and an equivalent readout system noise of 90 pA/pHz at the TES. This demonstration establishes a path for the readout of cryogenic x-ray and gamma ray sensor arrays with more elements and spectral resolving powers. We believe this project has improved capabilities and substantively advanced the science useful for missions such as nuclear forensics, emergency response, and treaty verification through the explored TES developments.

Spectral response characterization of CdTe sensors of different pixel size with the IBEX ASIC

Science.gov (United States)

Zambon, P.; Radicci, V.; Trueb, P.; Disch, C.; Rissi, M.; Sakhelashvili, T.; Schneebeli, M.; Broennimann, C.

2018-06-01

We characterized the spectral response of CdTe sensors with different pixel sizes - namely 75, 150 and 300 μm - bonded to the latest generation IBEX single photon counting ASIC developed at DECTRIS, to detect monochromatic X-ray energy in the range 10-60 keV. We present a comparison of pulse height spectra recorded for several energies, showing the dependence on the pixel size of the non-trivial atomic fluorescence and charge sharing effects that affect the detector response. The extracted energy resolution, in terms of full width at half maximum or FWHM, ranges from 1.5 to 4 keV according to the pixel size and chip configuration. We devoted a careful analysis to the Quantum Efficiency and to the Spectral Efficiency - a newly-introduced measure that quantifies the impact of fluorescence and escape phenomena on the spectrum integrity in high- Z material based detectors. We then investigated the influence of the photon flux on the aforementioned quantities up to 180 ṡ 106 cts/s/mm2 and 50 ṡ 106 cts/s/mm2 for the 150 μm and 300 μm pixel case, respectively. Finally, we complemented the experimental data with analytical and with Monte Carlo simulations - taking into account the stochastic nature of atomic fluorescence - with an excellent agreement.

256-pixel microcalorimeter array for high-resolution γ-ray spectroscopy of mixed-actinide materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Winkler, R., E-mail: rwinkler@lanl.gov [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Hoover, A.S.; Rabin, M.W. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Bennett, D.A.; Doriese, W.B.; Fowler, J.W.; Hays-Wehle, J.; Horansky, R.D.; Reintsema, C.D.; Schmidt, D.R.; Vale, L.R.; Ullom, J.N. [National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO (United States)

2015-01-11

The application of cryogenic microcalorimeter detectors to γ-ray spectroscopy allows for measurements with unprecedented energy resolution. These detectors are ideally suited for γ-ray spectroscopy applications for which the measurement quality is limited by the spectral overlap of many closely spaced transitions using conventional detector technologies. The non-destructive analysis of mixed-isotope Pu materials is one such application where the precision can be potentially improved utilizing microcalorimeter detectors compared to current state-of-the-art high-purity Ge detectors (HPGe). The LANL-NIST γ-ray spectrometer, a 256-pixel microcalorimeter array based on transition-edge sensors (TESs), was recently commissioned and used to collect data on a variety of Pu isotopic standards to characterize the instrument performance. These measurements represent the first time the simultaneous readout of all 256 pixels for measurements of mixed-isotope Pu materials has been achieved. The LANL-NIST γ-ray spectrometer has demonstrated an average pixel resolution of 55 eV full-width-at-half-maximum at 100 keV, nearly an order of magnitude better than HPGe detectors. Some challenges of the analysis of many-channel ultra-high resolution data and the techniques used to produce quality spectra for isotopic analysis will be presented. The LANL-NIST γ-ray spectrometer has also demonstrated stable operation and obtained high resolution measurements at total array event rates beyond 1 kHz. For a total event rate of 1.25 kHz, approximately 5.6 cps/pixel, a 72.2 eV average FWHM for the 103 keV photopeak of {sup 153}Gd was achieved.

High bandwidth pixel detector modules for the ATLAS Insertable B-Layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Backhaus, Malte

2014-01-01

The investigation of the nature of the recently discovered electro-weak symmetry breaking mechanism of the standard model of particle physics as well as the search for physics beyond the standard model with the LHC require to collect even more data. To achieve this goal, the luminosity of the LHC will be increased in two steps. The increased luminosity results in serious challenges for the inner tracking systems of the experiments at the LHC. The ATLAS pixel detector will also be upgraded in a two stage program. During the shutdown in 2013 and 2014 a fourth hybrid pixel detector layer, the socalled Insertable B-Layer (IBL) is inserted inside the existing pixel detector. This thesis focuses on the characterization, performance measurement, and production quality assurance of the central sensitive elements of the IBL, the modules. This includes a full characterization of the readout chip (FE-I4) and of the assembled modules. A completely new inner tracking system is mandatory in ATLAS after the second luminosity increase in the shutdown of 2022 and 2023. The final chapter of this thesis introduces a new module concept that uses an industrial high voltage CMOS technology as sensor layer, which is capacitively coupled to the FE-I4 readout chip.

Novel micropixel avalanche photodiodes (MAPD) with superhigh pixel density

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anfimov, N.; Chirikov-Zorin, I.; Dovlatov, A.

2010-01-01

In many detectors based on scintillators the photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) are used as photodetectors. At present photodiodes are finding wide application. Solid state photodetectors allow operation in strong magnetic fields that are often present in applications, e.g., some calorimeters operating near magnets, combined PET and MRT, etc. The photon detection efficiency (PDE) of photodiodes may reach values a few times higher than that of PMTs. Also, they are rigid, compact and have relatively low operating voltage. In the last few years Micropixel Avalanche PhotoDiodes (MAPDs) have been developed and started to be used. The MAPD combines a lot of advantages of semiconductor photodetectors and has a high gain, which is close to that of the PMT. Yet, they have some disadvantages, and one of them is a limited dynamic range that corresponds to a total number of pixels. The novel deep microwell MAPD with high pixel density produced by Zecotek Company partially avoids this disadvantage. In this paper characteristics of these photodetectors are presented in comparison with the PMT characteristics. The results refer to measurements of the gain, PDE, cross-talks, photon counting and applications: beam test results of two different 'Shashlyk' EM calorimeters for COMPASS (CERN) and NICA-MPD (JINR) with the MAPD readout and a possibility of using the MAPD in PET

Power distribution and substrate noise coupling investigations on the behavioral level for photon counting imaging readout circuits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lundgren, Jan; Abdalla, Suliman; O'Nils, Mattias; Oelmann, Bengt

2007-01-01

In modern mixed-signal system design, there are increasing problems associated with noise coupling caused by switching digital parts to sensitive analog parts. As a consequence, there is a growing necessity to understand these problems. In order to avoid costly design iterations, noise coupling simulations should be initiated as early as possible in the design chain. The problems associated with on-chip noise coupling have been discovered in photon counting pixel detector readout systems, where the level of integration of analog and digital circuits is very high on a very small area, and it would appear that these problems will continue to increase for future system designs in this field. This paper deals with the functionality of utilizing behavioral level models for simulating noise coupling in these readout systems. The methods and models are described and simulation results are shown for a photon counting pixel detector readout system

Small Pixel Hybrid CMOS X-ray Detectors

Science.gov (United States)

Hull, Samuel; Bray, Evan; Burrows, David N.; Chattopadhyay, Tanmoy; Falcone, Abraham; Kern, Matthew; McQuaide, Maria; Wages, Mitchell

2018-01-01

Concepts for future space-based X-ray observatories call for a large effective area and high angular resolution instrument to enable precision X-ray astronomy at high redshift and low luminosity. Hybrid CMOS detectors are well suited for such high throughput instruments, and the Penn State X-ray detector lab, in collaboration with Teledyne Imaging Sensors, has recently developed new small pixel hybrid CMOS X-ray detectors. These prototype 128x128 pixel devices have 12.5 micron pixel pitch, 200 micron fully depleted depth, and include crosstalk eliminating CTIA amplifiers and in-pixel correlated double sampling (CDS) capability. We report on characteristics of these new detectors, including the best read noise ever measured for an X-ray hybrid CMOS detector, 5.67 e- (RMS).

A comparative analysis of pixel- and object-based detection of landslides from very high-resolution images

Science.gov (United States)

Keyport, Ren N.; Oommen, Thomas; Martha, Tapas R.; Sajinkumar, K. S.; Gierke, John S.

2018-02-01

A comparative analysis of landslides detected by pixel-based and object-oriented analysis (OOA) methods was performed using very high-resolution (VHR) remotely sensed aerial images for the San Juan La Laguna, Guatemala, which witnessed widespread devastation during the 2005 Hurricane Stan. A 3-band orthophoto of 0.5 m spatial resolution together with a 115 field-based landslide inventory were used for the analysis. A binary reference was assigned with a zero value for landslide and unity for non-landslide pixels. The pixel-based analysis was performed using unsupervised classification, which resulted in 11 different trial classes. Detection of landslides using OOA includes 2-step K-means clustering to eliminate regions based on brightness; elimination of false positives using object properties such as rectangular fit, compactness, length/width ratio, mean difference of objects, and slope angle. Both overall accuracy and F-score for OOA methods outperformed pixel-based unsupervised classification methods in both landslide and non-landslide classes. The overall accuracy for OOA and pixel-based unsupervised classification was 96.5% and 94.3%, respectively, whereas the best F-score for landslide identification for OOA and pixel-based unsupervised methods: were 84.3% and 77.9%, respectively.Results indicate that the OOA is able to identify the majority of landslides with a few false positive when compared to pixel-based unsupervised classification.

Measuring a narrow Bessel beam spot by scanning a charge-coupled device (CCD) pixel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tiwari, S K; Ram, S P; Jayabalan, J; Mishra, S R

2010-01-01

By scanning a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera transverse to the beam axis and observing the variation in counts on a marked pixel, we demonstrate that we can measure a laser beam spot size smaller than the size of the CCD-pixel. We find this method particularly attractive for measuring the size of central spot of a Bessel beam, for which the established scanning knife-edge method does not work appropriately because of the large contribution of the rings surrounding the central spot to the signal

CMS Pixel Detector Upgrade

CERN Document Server

INSPIRE-00038772

2011-01-01

The present Compact Muon Solenoid silicon pixel tracking system has been designed for a peak luminosity of 1034cm-2s-1 and total dose corresponding to two years of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) operation. With the steady increase of the luminosity expected at the LHC, a new pixel detector with four barrel layers and three endcap disks is being designed. We will present the key points of the design: the new geometry, which minimizes the material budget and increases the tracking points, and the development of a fast digital readout architecture, which ensures readout efficiency even at high rate. The expected performances for tracking and vertexing of the new pixel detector are also addressed.

Advanced pixel architectures for scientific image sensors

CERN Document Server

Coath, R; Godbeer, A; Wilson, M; Turchetta, R

2009-01-01

We present recent developments from two projects targeting advanced pixel architectures for scientific applications. Results are reported from FORTIS, a sensor demonstrating variants on a 4T pixel architecture. The variants include differences in pixel and diode size, the in-pixel source follower transistor size and the capacitance of the readout node to optimise for low noise and sensitivity to small amounts of charge. Results are also reported from TPAC, a complex pixel architecture with ~160 transistors per pixel. Both sensors were manufactured in the 0.18μm INMAPS process, which includes a special deep p-well layer and fabrication on a high resistivity epitaxial layer for improved charge collection efficiency.

Analysis of pixel systematics and space point reconstruction with DEPFET PXD5 matrices using high energy beam test data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reuen, Lars

2011-02-15

To answer the current questions in particle physics vertex-detectors, the innermost sub-detector system of a multipurpose particle detector, with brilliant spatial resolution and at the same time with as little sensor material as possible are mandatory. These requirements are the driving force behind the newest generation of silicon pixel sensors like the DEPFET pixel, which incorporates the first amplification stage in form of a transistor in the fully depleted sensor bulk, allowing for a high spatial resolution even with thinned down sensors. A DEPFET pixel prototype system, build for the future TeV-scale liner collider ILC, was characterized in a high energy beam test at CERN with a spatial resolution and statistics that allowed for the first time in-pixel homogeneity measurements of DEPFET pixels. Yet, in the quest for higher precision the sensor development must be accompanied by progress in position reconstruction algorithms. A study with three novel approaches in position reconstruction was undertaken. The results of the in-pixel beam test and the performance of the new methods with an emphasis on {delta}-electrons will be presented here. (orig.)

Analysis of pixel systematics and space point reconstruction with DEPFET PXD5 matrices using high energy beam test data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reuen, Lars

2011-02-01

To answer the current questions in particle physics vertex-detectors, the innermost sub-detector system of a multipurpose particle detector, with brilliant spatial resolution and at the same time with as little sensor material as possible are mandatory. These requirements are the driving force behind the newest generation of silicon pixel sensors like the DEPFET pixel, which incorporates the first amplification stage in form of a transistor in the fully depleted sensor bulk, allowing for a high spatial resolution even with thinned down sensors. A DEPFET pixel prototype system, build for the future TeV-scale liner collider ILC, was characterized in a high energy beam test at CERN with a spatial resolution and statistics that allowed for the first time in-pixel homogeneity measurements of DEPFET pixels. Yet, in the quest for higher precision the sensor development must be accompanied by progress in position reconstruction algorithms. A study with three novel approaches in position reconstruction was undertaken. The results of the in-pixel beam test and the performance of the new methods with an emphasis on δ-electrons will be presented here. (orig.)

ATLAS ITk Pixel detector

CERN Document Server

Gemme, Claudia; The ATLAS collaboration

2016-01-01

The high luminosity upgrade of the LHC (HL-LHC) in 2026 will provide new challenge to the ATLAS tracker. The current inner detector will be replaced with a whole silicon tracker which will consist of a five barrel layer Pixel detector surrounded by a four barrel layer Strip detector. The expected high radiation level are requiring the development of upgraded silicon sensors as well as new a front-end chip. The dense tracking environment will require finer granularity detectors. The data rates will require new technologies for high bandwidth data transmission and handling. The current status of the HL-LHC ATLA Pixel detector developments as well as the various layout options will be reviewed.

Development of Small-Pixel CZT Detectors for Future High-Resolution Hard X-ray Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Beilicke, Matthias

Owing to recent breakthroughs in grazing incidence mirror technology, next-generation hard X-ray telescopes will achieve angular resolutions of between 5 and 10 arc seconds - about an order of magnitude better than that of the NuSTAR hard X-ray telescope. As a consequence, the next generation of hard X-ray telescopes will require pixelated hard X- ray detectors with pixels on a grid with a lattice constant of between 120 and 240 um. Additional detector requirements include a low energy threshold of less than 5 keV and an energy resolution of less than 1 keV. The science drivers for a high angular-resolution hard X-ray mission include studies and measurements of black hole spins, the cosmic evolution of super-massive black holes, AGN feedback, and the behavior of matter at very high densities. We propose a R&D research program to develop, optimize and study the performance of 100-200 um pixel pitch CdTe and Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) detectors of 1-2 mm thickness. Our program aims at a comparison of the performance achieved with CdTe and CZT detectors, and the optimization of the pixel, steering grid, and guard ring anode patterns. Although these studies will use existing ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), our program also includes modest funds for the development of an ultra-low noise ASIC with a 2-D grid of readout pads that can be directly bonded to the 100-200 um pixel pitch CdTe and CZT detectors. The team includes the Washington University group (Prof. M. Beilicke and Co-I Prof. H.S.W. Krawczynski et al.), and co-investigator G. De Geronimo at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). The Washington University group has a 10 year track record of innovative CZT detector R&D sponsored by the NASA Astronomy and Physics Research and Analysis (APRA) program. The accomplishments to date include the development of CZT detectors with pixel pitches between 350 um and 2.5 mm for the ProtoExist, EXIST, and X-Calibur hard X-ray missions with some of the best

Application of Inkjet Printing in High-Density Pixelated RGB Quantum Dot-Hybrid LEDs

KAUST Repository

Haverinen, Hanna; Jabbour, Ghassan E.

2012-01-01

to fabricate high-density, pixelated (quarter video graphics array (QVGA) format), monochromatic and RGB quantum dots light-emitting diodes (QDLEDs), where inkjet printing is used to deposit the light-emitting layer of QDs. It shows some of the factors

3D silicon pixel detectors for the High-Luminosity LHC

CERN Document Server

Lange, J.

2016-01-01

3D silicon pixel detectors have been investigated as radiation-hard candidates for the innermost layers of the HL-LHC upgrade of the ATLAS pixel detector. 3D detectors are already in use today in the ATLAS IBL and AFP experiments. These are based on 50x250 um2 large pixels connected to the FE-I4 readout chip. Detectors of this generation were irradiated to HL-LHC fluences and demonstrated excellent radiation hardness with operational voltages as low as 180 V and power dissipation of 12--15 mW/cm2 at a fluence of about 1e16 neq/cm2, measured at -25 degree C. Moreover, to cope with the higher occupancies expected at the HL-LHC, a first run of a new generation of 3D detectors designed for the HL-LHC was produced at CNM with small pixel sizes of 50x50 and 25x100 um2, matched to the FE-I4 chip. They demonstrated a good performance in the laboratory and in beam tests with hit efficiencies of about 97% at already 1--2V before irradiation.

High resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy at high count rates with a prototype High Purity Germanium detector

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, R. J.; Amman, M.; Vetter, K.

2018-04-01

High-resolution gamma-ray spectrometers are required for applications in nuclear safeguards, emergency response, and fundamental nuclear physics. To overcome one of the shortcomings of conventional High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detectors, we have developed a prototype device capable of achieving high event throughput and high energy resolution at very high count rates. This device, the design of which we have previously reported on, features a planar HPGe crystal with a reduced-capacitance strip electrode geometry. This design is intended to provide good energy resolution at the short shaping or digital filter times that are required for high rate operation and which are enabled by the fast charge collection afforded by the planar geometry crystal. In this work, we report on the initial performance of the system at count rates up to and including two million counts per second.

Wafer-scale pixelated detector system

Science.gov (United States)

Fahim, Farah; Deptuch, Grzegorz; Zimmerman, Tom

2017-10-17

A large area, gapless, detection system comprises at least one sensor; an interposer operably connected to the at least one sensor; and at least one application specific integrated circuit operably connected to the sensor via the interposer wherein the detection system provides high dynamic range while maintaining small pixel area and low power dissipation. Thereby the invention provides methods and systems for a wafer-scale gapless and seamless detector systems with small pixels, which have both high dynamic range and low power dissipation.

The CMS Pixel Detector Upgrade and R\\&D for the High Luminosity LHC

CERN Document Server

Viliani, Lorenzo

2017-01-01

The High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) at CERN is expected to collide protons at a centre-of-mass energy of 14\\,TeV and to reach an unprecedented peak instantaneous luminosity of $5 \\times 10^{34}\\,{\\rm cm}^{-2} {\\rm s}^{-1}$ with an average number of pileup events of 140. This will allow the ATLAS and CMS experiments to collect integrated luminosities of up to $3000\\,{\\rm fb}^{-1}$ during the project lifetime. To cope with this extreme scenario the CMS detector will be substantially upgraded before starting the HL-LHC, a plan known as CMS Phase-2 Upgrade. In the upgrade the entire CMS silicon pixel detector will be replaced and the new detector will feature increased radiation hardness, higher granularity and capability to handle higher data rate and longer trigger latency. In this report the Phase-2 Upgrade of the CMS silicon pixel detector will be reviewed, focusing on the features of the detector layout and on the development of new pixel devices.

14C autoradiography with an energy-sensitive silicon pixel detector.

Science.gov (United States)

Esposito, M; Mettivier, G; Russo, P

2011-04-07

The first performance tests are presented of a carbon-14 ((14)C) beta-particle digital autoradiography system with an energy-sensitive hybrid silicon pixel detector based on the Timepix readout circuit. Timepix was developed by the Medipix2 Collaboration and it is similar to the photon-counting Medipix2 circuit, except for an added time-based synchronization logic which allows derivation of energy information from the time-over-threshold signal. This feature permits direct energy measurements in each pixel of the detector array. Timepix is bump-bonded to a 300 µm thick silicon detector with 256 × 256 pixels of 55 µm pitch. Since an energetic beta-particle could release its kinetic energy in more than one detector pixel as it slows down in the semiconductor detector, an off-line image analysis procedure was adopted in which the single-particle cluster of hit pixels is recognized; its total energy is calculated and the position of interaction on the detector surface is attributed to the centre of the charge cluster. Measurements reported are detector sensitivity, (4.11 ± 0.03) × 10(-3) cps mm(-2) kBq(-1) g, background level, (3.59 ± 0.01) × 10(-5) cps mm(-2), and minimum detectable activity, 0.0077 Bq. The spatial resolution is 76.9 µm full-width at half-maximum. These figures are compared with several digital imaging detectors for (14)C beta-particle digital autoradiography.

Pixel Detector Developments for Tracker Upgrades of the High Luminosity LHC

CERN Document Server

Meschini, Marco; Dalla Betta, G. F; Dinardo, Mauro; Giacomini, G; Menasce, Dario; Mendicino, R; Messineo, Alberto; Moroni, Luigi; Ronchin, S; Sultan, D.M.S; Uplegger, Lorenzo; Viliani, Lorenzo; Zoi, Irene; Zuolo, Davide

2017-01-01

and 3D devices. The results on the 3D pixel sensors before irradiation are very satisfactory and % make us confident support the conclusion that columnar devices are % 3D devices very good candidates for the inner layers of the upgrade pixel detectors.

Instantaneous phase-shifting Fizeau interferometry with high-speed pixelated phase-mask camera

Science.gov (United States)

Yatagai, Toyohiko; Jackin, Boaz Jessie; Ono, Akira; Kiyohara, Kosuke; Noguchi, Masato; Yoshii, Minoru; Kiyohara, Motosuke; Niwa, Hayato; Ikuo, Kazuyuki; Onuma, Takashi

2015-08-01

A Fizeou interferometer with instantaneous phase-shifting ability using a Wollaston prism is designed. to measure dynamic phase change of objects, a high-speed video camera of 10-5s of shutter speed is used with a pixelated phase-mask of 1024 × 1024 elements. The light source used is a laser of wavelength 532 nm which is split into orthogonal polarization states by passing through a Wollaston prism. By adjusting the tilt of the reference surface it is possible to make the reference and object beam with orthogonal polarizations states to coincide and interfere. Then the pixelated phase-mask camera calculate the phase changes and hence the optical path length difference. Vibration of speakers and turbulence of air flow were successfully measured in 7,000 frames/sec.

Development of an ultra-fast X-ray camera using hybrid pixel detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dawiec, A.

2011-05-01

The aim of the project whose work described in this thesis is part, was to design a high-speed X-ray camera using hybrid pixels applied to biomedical imaging and for material science. As a matter of fact the hybrid pixel technology meets the requirements of these two research fields, particularly by providing energy selection and low dose imaging capabilities. In this thesis, high frame rate X-ray imaging based on the XPAD3-S photons counting chip is presented. Within a collaboration between CPPM, ESRF and SOLEIL, three XPAD3 cameras were built. Two of them are being operated at the beamline of the ESRF and SOLEIL synchrotron facilities and the third one is embedded in the PIXSCAN II irradiation setup of CPPM. The XPAD3 camera is a large surface X-ray detector composed of eight detection modules of seven XPAD3-S chips each with a high-speed data acquisition system. The readout architecture of the camera is based on the PCI Express interface and on programmable FPGA chips. The camera achieves a readout speed of 240 images/s, with maximum number of images limited by the RAM memory of the acquisition PC. The performance of the device was characterized by carrying out several high speed imaging experiments using the PIXSCAN II irradiation setup described in the last chapter of this thesis. (author)

Radiation hard pixel sensors using high-resistive wafers in a 150 nm CMOS processing line

Science.gov (United States)

Pohl, D.-L.; Hemperek, T.; Caicedo, I.; Gonella, L.; Hügging, F.; Janssen, J.; Krüger, H.; Macchiolo, A.; Owtscharenko, N.; Vigani, L.; Wermes, N.

2017-06-01

Pixel sensors using 8'' CMOS processing technology have been designed and characterized offering the benefits of industrial sensor fabrication, including large wafers, high throughput and yield, as well as low cost. The pixel sensors are produced using a 150 nm CMOS technology offered by LFoundry in Avezzano. The technology provides multiple metal and polysilicon layers, as well as metal-insulator-metal capacitors that can be employed for AC-coupling and redistribution layers. Several prototypes were fabricated and are characterized with minimum ionizing particles before and after irradiation to fluences up to 1.1 × 1015 neq cm-2. The CMOS-fabricated sensors perform equally well as standard pixel sensors in terms of noise and hit detection efficiency. AC-coupled sensors even reach 100% hit efficiency in a 3.2 GeV electron beam before irradiation.

A high dynamic range pulse counting detection system for mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Collings, Bruce A; Dima, Martian D; Ivosev, Gordana; Zhong, Feng

2014-01-30

A high dynamic range pulse counting system has been developed that demonstrates an ability to operate at up to 2e8 counts per second (cps) on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. Previous pulse counting detection systems have typically been limited to about 1e7 cps at the upper end of the systems dynamic range. Modifications to the detection electronics and dead time correction algorithm are described in this paper. A high gain transimpedance amplifier is employed that allows a multi-channel electron multiplier to be operated at a significantly lower bias potential than in previous pulse counting systems. The system utilises a high-energy conversion dynode, a multi-channel electron multiplier, a high gain transimpedance amplifier, non-paralysing detection electronics and a modified dead time correction algorithm. Modification of the dead time correction algorithm is necessary due to a characteristic of the pulse counting electronics. A pulse counting detection system with the capability to count at ion arrival rates of up to 2e8 cps is described. This is shown to provide a linear dynamic range of nearly five orders of magnitude for a sample of aprazolam with concentrations ranging from 0.0006970 ng/mL to 3333 ng/mL while monitoring the m/z 309.1 → m/z 205.2 transition. This represents an upward extension of the detector's linear dynamic range of about two orders of magnitude. A new high dynamic range pulse counting system has been developed demonstrating the ability to operate at up to 2e8 cps on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. This provides an upward extension of the detector's linear dynamic range by about two orders of magnitude over previous pulse counting systems. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

PET image reconstruction with rotationally symmetric polygonal pixel grid based highly compressible system matrix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Yunhan; Xia Yan; Liu Yaqiang; Wang Shi; Ma Tianyu; Chen Jing; Hong Baoyu

2013-01-01

To achieve a maximum compression of system matrix in positron emission tomography (PET) image reconstruction, we proposed a polygonal image pixel division strategy in accordance with rotationally symmetric PET geometry. Geometrical definition and indexing rule for polygonal pixels were established. Image conversion from polygonal pixel structure to conventional rectangular pixel structure was implemented using a conversion matrix. A set of test images were analytically defined in polygonal pixel structure, converted to conventional rectangular pixel based images, and correctly displayed which verified the correctness of the image definition, conversion description and conversion of polygonal pixel structure. A compressed system matrix for PET image recon was generated by tap model and tested by forward-projecting three different distributions of radioactive sources to the sinogram domain and comparing them with theoretical predictions. On a practical small animal PET scanner, a compress ratio of 12.6:1 of the system matrix size was achieved with the polygonal pixel structure, comparing with the conventional rectangular pixel based tap-mode one. OS-EM iterative image reconstruction algorithms with the polygonal and conventional Cartesian pixel grid were developed. A hot rod phantom was detected and reconstructed based on these two grids with reasonable time cost. Image resolution of reconstructed images was both 1.35 mm. We conclude that it is feasible to reconstruct and display images in a polygonal image pixel structure based on a compressed system matrix in PET image reconstruction. (authors)

Operational experience with the ATLAS Pixel Detector

CERN Document Server

Ince, T; The ATLAS collaboration

2012-01-01

The ATLAS Pixel Detector is the innermost element of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, providing high-resolution measurements of charged particle tracks in the high radiation environment close to the collision region. This capability is vital for the identification and measurement of proper decay times of long-lived particles such as b-hadrons, and thus vital for the ATLAS physics program. The detector provides hermetic coverage with three cylindrical layers and three layers of forward and backward pixel detectors. It consists of approximately 80 million pixels that are individually read out via chips bump-bonded to 1744 n-in-n silicon substrates. In this paper, results from the successful operation of the Pixel Detector at the LHC will be presented, including monitoring, calibration procedures, timing optimization and detector performance. The detector performance is excellent: 96.2% of the pixels are operational, noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the design specification, an...

Operational experience of the ATLAS Pixel detector

CERN Document Server

Hirschbuehl, D; The ATLAS collaboration

2011-01-01

The ATLAS Pixel Detector is the innermost detector of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, providing high-resolution measurements of charged particle tracks in the high radiation environment close to the collision region. This capability is vital for the identification and measurement of proper decay times of long-lived particles such as b-hadrons, and thus vital for the ATLAS physics program. The detector provides hermetic coverage with three cylindrical layers and three layers of forward and backward pixel detectors. It consists of approximately 80 million pixels that are individually read out via chips bump-bonded to 1744 n-in-n silicon substrates. In this talk, results from the successful operation of the Pixel Detector at the LHC will be presented, including monitoring, calibration procedures, timing optimization and detector performance. The detector performance is excellent: 97,5% of the pixels are operational, noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the design specification, an...

Operational experience of the ATLAS Pixel Detector

CERN Document Server

Marcisovsky, M; The ATLAS collaboration

2011-01-01

The ATLAS Pixel Detector is the innermost detector of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, providing high-resolution measurements of charged particle tracks in the high radiation environment close to the collision region. This capability is vital for the identification and measurement of proper decay times of long-lived particles such as b-hadrons, and thus vital for the ATLAS physics program. The detector provides hermetic coverage with three cylindrical layers and three layers of forward and backward pixel detectors. It consists of approximately 80 million pixels that are individually read out via chips bump-bonded to 1744 n-in-n silicon substrates. In this talk, results from the successful operation of the Pixel Detector at the LHC will be presented, including monitoring, calibration procedures, timing optimization and detector performance. The detector performance is excellent: 97,5% of the pixels are operational, noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the design specification, an...

Cerenkov counting and Cerenkov-scintillation counting with high refractive index organic liquids using a liquid scintillation counter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiebe, L.I.; Helus, F.; Maier-Borst, W.

1978-01-01

18 F and 14 C radioactivity was measured in methyl salicylate (MS), a high refractive index hybrid Cherenkov-scintillation generating medium, using a liquid scintillation counter. At concentrations of up to 21.4%, in MS, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) quenched 14 C fluorescence, and with a 10-fold excess of DMSO over MS, 18 F count rates were reduced below that for DMSO alone, probably as a result of concentration-independent self-quenching due to 'dark-complex' formation. DMSO in lower concentrations did not reduce the counting efficiency of 18 F in MS. Nitrobenzene was a concentration-dependent quencher for both 14 C and 18 F in MS. Chlorobenzene (CB) and DMSO were both found to be weak Cherenkov generators with 18 F. Counting efficiencies for 18 F in MS, CB, and DMSO were 50.3, 7.8 and 4.3% respectively in the coincidence counting mode, and 58.1, 13.0 and 6.8% in the singles mode. 14 C efficiencies were 14.4 and 22.3% for coincidence and singles respectively, and 15.3 and 42.0% using a modern counter designed for coincidence and single photon counting. The high 14 C and 18 F counting efficiency in MS are discussed with respect to excitation mechanism, on the basis of quench and channels ratios changes observed. It is proposed that MS functions as an efficient Cherenkov-scintillation generator for high-energy beta emitters such as 18 F, and as a low-efficiency scintillator for weak beta emitting radionuclides such as 14 C. (author)

An area efficient readout architecture for photon counting color imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lundgren, Jan; O'Nils, Mattias; Oelmann, Bengt; Norlin, Boerje; Abdalla, Suliman

2007-01-01

The introduction of several energy levels, namely color imaging, in photon counting X-ray image sensors is a trade-off between circuit complexity and spatial resolution. In this paper, we propose a pixel architecture that has full resolution for the intensity and uses sub-sampling for the energy spectrum. The results show that this sub-sampling pixel architecture produces images with an image quality which is, on average, 2.4 dB (PSNR) higher than those for a single energy range architecture and with half the circuit complexity of that for a full sampling architecture

The INFN R\\&D: new pixel detector for the High Luminosity Upgrade of the LHC

CERN Document Server

Dinardo, Mauro

2017-01-01

The High Luminosity upgrade of the CERN-LHC (HL-LHC) demands for a new high-radiation tolerant solid-state pixel sensor capable of surviving fluencies up to a few $10^{16}$~ particles/cm$^2$ at $\\sim$3~cm from the interaction point. To this extent the INFN ATLAS-CMS joint research activity, in collaboration with Fondazione Bruno Kessler-FBK, is aiming at the development of thin n-in-p type pixel sensors for the HL-LHC. The R\\&D covers both planar and single-sided 3D columnar pixel devices made with the Si-Si Direct Wafer Bonding technique, which allows for the production of sensors with 100~$\\mu {\\rm m}$ and 130~$\\mu {\\rm m}$ active thickness for planar sensors, and 130~$\\mu {\\rm m}$ for 3D sensors, the thinnest ones ever produced so far. First prototypes of hybrid modules bump-bonded to the present CMS and ATLAS readout chips have been tested in beam tests. Preliminary results on their performance before and after irradiation are presented.

Radiation Damage Observations in the ATLAS Pixel Detector Using the High Voltage Delivery System

CERN Document Server

Toms, K

2011-01-01

We describe the implementation of radiation damage monitoring using leakage current measurement of the silicon pixel sensors provided by the circuits of the ATLAS Pixel Detector high voltage delivery (HVPP4) system. The dependence of the leakage current upon the integrated luminosity for several temperature scenarios is presented. Based on the analysis we have determined the sensitivity specifications for a Current Measurement System. The status of the system and the first measurement of the radiation damage corresponding to 2--4 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity are presented, as well as the comparison with the theoretical model.

Spatio-energetic cross talk in photon counting detectors: Detector model and correlated Poisson data generator.

Science.gov (United States)

Taguchi, Katsuyuki; Polster, Christoph; Lee, Okkyun; Stierstorfer, Karl; Kappler, Steffen

2016-12-01

An x-ray photon interacts with photon counting detectors (PCDs) and generates an electron charge cloud or multiple clouds. The clouds (thus, the photon energy) may be split between two adjacent PCD pixels when the interaction occurs near pixel boundaries, producing a count at both of the pixels. This is called double-counting with charge sharing. (A photoelectric effect with K-shell fluorescence x-ray emission would result in double-counting as well). As a result, PCD data are spatially and energetically correlated, although the output of individual PCD pixels is Poisson distributed. Major problems include the lack of a detector noise model for the spatio-energetic cross talk and lack of a computationally efficient simulation tool for generating correlated Poisson data. A Monte Carlo (MC) simulation can accurately simulate these phenomena and produce noisy data; however, it is not computationally efficient. In this study, the authors developed a new detector model and implemented it in an efficient software simulator that uses a Poisson random number generator to produce correlated noisy integer counts. The detector model takes the following effects into account: (1) detection efficiency; (2) incomplete charge collection and ballistic effect; (3) interaction with PCDs via photoelectric effect (with or without K-shell fluorescence x-ray emission, which may escape from the PCDs or be reabsorbed); and (4) electronic noise. The correlation was modeled by using these two simplifying assumptions: energy conservation and mutual exclusiveness. The mutual exclusiveness is that no more than two pixels measure energy from one photon. The effect of model parameters has been studied and results were compared with MC simulations. The agreement, with respect to the spectrum, was evaluated using the reduced χ 2 statistics or a weighted sum of squared errors, χ red 2 (≥1), where χ red 2 =1 indicates a perfect fit. The model produced spectra with flat field irradiation that

Characterization of a 512x512-pixel 8-output full-frame CCD for high-speed imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Graeve, Thorsten; Dereniak, Eustace L.

1993-01-01

The characterization of a 512 by 512 pixel, eight-output full frame CCD manufactured by English Electric Valve under part number CCD13 is discussed. This device is a high- resolution Silicon-based array designed for visible imaging applications at readout periods as low as two milliseconds. The characterization of the device includes mean-variance analysis to determine read noise and dynamic range, as well as charge transfer efficiency, MTF, and quantum efficiency measurements. Dark current and non-uniformity issues on a pixel-to-pixel basis and between individual outputs are also examined. The characterization of the device is restricted by hardware limitations to a one MHz pixel rate, corresponding to a 40 ms readout time. However, subsections of the device have been operated at up to an equivalent 100 frames per second. To maximize the frame rate, the CCD is illuminated by a synchronized strobe flash in between frame readouts. The effects of the strobe illumination on the imagery obtained from the device is discussed.

A novel method for detecting and counting overlapping tracks in SSNTD by image processing techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ab Azar, N.; Babakhani, A.; Broumandnia, A.; Sepanloo, K.

2016-01-01

Overlapping object detection and counting is a challenge in image processing. A new method for detecting and counting overlapping circles is presented in this paper. This method is based on pattern recognition and feature extraction using “neighborhood values“ in an object image by implementation of image processing techniques. The junction points are detected by assignment of a value for each pixel in an image. As is shown, the neighborhood values for junction points are larger than the values for other points. This distinction of neighborhood values is the main feature which can be utilized to identify the junction points and to count the overlapping tracks. This method can be used for recognizing and counting charged particle tracks, blood cells and also cancer cells. The method is called “Track Counting based on Neighborhood Values” and is symbolized by “TCNV”. - Highlights: • A new method is introduced to recognize nuclear tracks by image processing. • The method is used to specify neighborhood pixels in junction points in overlapping tracks. • Enhanced method of counting overlapping tracks. • New counting system has linear behavior in counting tracks with density less than 300,000 tracks per cm"2. • In the new method, the overlap tracks can be recognized even to 10× tracks and more.

Transition-edge sensor pixel parameter design of the microcalorimeter array for the x-ray integral field unit on Athena

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, S. J.; Adams, J. S.; Bandler, S. R.; Betancourt-Martinez, G. L.; Chervenak, J. A.; Chiao, M. P.; Eckart, M. E.; Finkbeiner, F. M.; Kelley, R. L.; Kilbourne, C. A.; Miniussi, A. R.; Porter, F. S.; Sadleir, J. E.; Sakai, K.; Wakeham, N. A.; Wassell, E. J.; Yoon, W.; Bennett, D. A.; Doriese, W. B.; Fowler, J. W.; Hilton, G. C.; Morgan, K. M.; Pappas, C. G.; Reintsema, C. N.; Swetz, D. S.; Ullom, J. N.; Irwin, K. D.; Akamatsu, H.; Gottardi, L.; den Hartog, R.; Jackson, B. D.; van der Kuur, J.; Barret, D.; Peille, P.

2016-07-01

The focal plane of the X-ray integral field unit (X-IFU) for ESA's Athena X-ray observatory will consist of 4000 transition edge sensor (TES) x-ray microcalorimeters optimized for the energy range of 0.2 to 12 keV. The instrument will provide unprecedented spectral resolution of 2.5 eV at energies of up to 7 keV and will accommodate photon fluxes of 1 mCrab (90 cps) for point source observations. The baseline configuration is a uniform large pixel array (LPA) of 4.28" pixels that is read out using frequency domain multiplexing (FDM). However, an alternative configuration under study incorporates an 18 × 18 small pixel array (SPA) of 2" pixels in the central 36" region. This hybrid array configuration could be designed to accommodate higher fluxes of up to 10 mCrab (900 cps) or alternately for improved spectral performance (< 1.5 eV) at low count-rates. In this paper we report on the TES pixel designs that are being optimized to meet these proposed LPA and SPA configurations. In particular we describe details of how important TES parameters are chosen to meet the specific mission criteria such as energy resolution, count-rate and quantum efficiency, and highlight performance trade-offs between designs. The basis of the pixel parameter selection is discussed in the context of existing TES arrays that are being developed for solar and x-ray astronomy applications. We describe the latest results on DC biased diagnostic arrays as well as large format kilo-pixel arrays and discuss the technical challenges associated with integrating different array types on to a single detector die.

Combining the Pixel-based and Object-based Methods for Building Change Detection Using High-resolution Remote Sensing Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ZHANG Zhiqiang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Timely and accurate change detection of buildings provides important information for urban planning and management.Accompanying with the rapid development of satellite remote sensing technology,detecting building changes from high-resolution remote sensing images have received wide attention.Given that pixel-based methods of change detection often lead to low accuracy while object-based methods are complicated for uses,this research proposes a method that combines pixel-based and object-based methods for detecting building changes from high-resolution remote sensing images.First,based on the multiple features extracted from the high-resolution images,a random forest classifier is applied to detect changed building at the pixel level.Then,a segmentation method is applied to segement the post-phase remote sensing image and to get post-phase image objects.Finally,both changed building at the pixel level and post-phase image objects are fused to recognize the changed building objects.Multi-temporal QuickBird images are used as experiment data for building change detection with high-resolution remote sensing images,the results indicate that the proposed method could reduce the influence of environmental difference,such as light intensity and view angle,on building change detection,and effectively improve the accuracies of building change detection.

Thermal Characterization and Optimization of the Pixel Module Support Structure for the Phase-1 Upgrade of the CMS Pixel Detector

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(CDS)2094386; Feld, Lutz Werner

2015-01-01

The CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) pixel detector is used in CMS for the vertex reconstruction of events in high-energy proton-proton collisions produced by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). It is planned for the future years that the LHC will deliver significantly higher instantaneous and integrated luminosities. Therefore, also the demands and requirements for the participating detectors rise. Thus the current CMS pixel detector will be replaced by the CMS Phase-1 Upgrade Pixel Detector in the extended year-end technical stop in winter 2016/2017. As a vertex detector, the pixel detector is the innermost detector component and it is located at a short distance to the proton-proton interaction point. Therefore it has to cope with high particle hit rates and high irradiation. The heat produced due to power consumption has to be removed while using a low-mass detector design. The low-mass design of the Phase-1 Upgrade Pixel Detector will be implemented by utilizing a new two-phase CO2 cooling concept and an ultra l...

The DELPHI pixels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Becks, K.H.; Brunet, J.M.

1997-01-01

To improve tracking in the very forward direction for running at LEP200, the angular acceptance of the DELPHI Vertex detector has been extended from 45 to 11 with respect to the beam axis. Pixel detector crowns cover the region between 25 and 13 . Due to very tight space and material thickness constraints it was necessary to develop new techniques (integrated busses in the detector substrate, high density layout on Kapton, etc.). About 1000 cm 2 of pixels are already installed and working in DELPHI. Techniques, tests and production of these detectors will be described, as well as the main problems encountered during this work. (orig.)

Development and Characterization of Diamond and 3D-Silicon Pixel Detectors with ATLAS-Pixel Readout Electronics

CERN Document Server

Mathes, Markus

2008-01-01

Hybrid pixel detectors are used for particle tracking in the innermost layers of current high energy experiments like ATLAS. After the proposed luminosity upgrade of the LHC, they will have to survive very high radiation fluences of up to 10^16 particles per cm^2 per life time. New sensor concepts and materials are required, which promise to be more radiation tolerant than the currently used planar silicon sensors. Most prominent candidates are so-called 3D-silicon and single crystal or poly-crystalline diamond sensors. Using the ATLAS pixel electronics different detector prototypes with a pixel geometry of 400 × 50 um^2 have been built. In particular three devices have been studied in detail: a 3D-silicon and a single crystal diamond detector with an active area of about 1 cm^2 and a poly-crystalline diamond detector of the same size as a current ATLAS pixel detector module (2 × 6 cm^2). To characterize the devices regarding their particle detection efficiency and spatial resolution, the charge collection ...

Cerenkov counting and Cerenkov-scintillation counting with high refractive index organic liquids using a liquid scintillation counter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiebe, L I; Helus, F; Maier-Borst, W [Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg (Germany, F.R.). Inst. fuer Nuklearmedizin

1978-06-01

/sup 18/F and /sup 14/C radioactivity was measured in methyl salicylate (MS), a high refractive index hybrid Cherenkov-scintillation generating medium, using a liquid scintillation counter. At concentrations of up to 21.4%, in MS, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) quenched /sup 14/C fluorescence, and with a 10-fold excess of DMSO over MS, /sup 18/F count rates were reduced below that for DMSO alone, probably as a result of concentration-independent self-quenching due to 'dark-complex' formation. DMSO in lower concentrations did not reduce the counting efficiency of /sup 18/F in MS. Nitrobenzene was a concentration-dependent quencher for both /sup 14/C and /sup 18/F in MS. Chlorobenzene (CB) and DMSO were both found to be weak Cherenkov generators with /sup 18/F. Counting efficiencies for /sup 18/F in MS, CB, and DMSO were 50.3, 7.8 and 4.3% respectively in the coincidence counting mode, and 58.1, 13.0 and 6.8% in the singles mode. /sup 14/C efficiencies were 14.4 and 22.3% for coincidence and singles respectively, and 15.3 and 42.0% using a modern counter designed for coincidence and single photon counting. The high /sup 14/C and /sup 18/F counting efficiency in MS are discussed with respect to excitation mechanism, on the basis of quench and channels ratios changes observed. It is proposed that MS functions as an efficient Cherenkov-scintillation generator for high-energy beta emitters such as /sup 18/F, and as a low-efficiency scintillator for weak beta emitting radionuclides such as /sup 14/C.

Gas pixel detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bellazzini, R.; Baldini, L.; Brez, A.; Cavalca, F.; Latronico, L.; Massai, M.M.; Minuti, M.; Omodei, N.; Pesce-Rollins, M.; Sgro, C.; Spandre, G.; Costa, E.; Soffitta, P.

2007-01-01

With the Gas Pixel Detector (GPD), the class of micro-pattern gas detectors has reached a complete integration between the gas amplification structure and the read-out electronics. To obtain this goal, three generations of application-specific integrated circuit of increased complexity and improved functionality has been designed and fabricated in deep sub-micron CMOS technology. This implementation has allowed manufacturing a monolithic device, which realizes, at the same time, the pixelized charge-collecting electrode and the amplifying, shaping and charge measuring front-end electronics of a GPD. A big step forward in terms of size and performances has been obtained in the last version of the 0.18 μm CMOS analog chip, where over a large active area of 15x15 mm 2 a very high channel density (470 pixels/mm 2 ) has been reached. On the top metal layer of the chip, 105,600 hexagonal pixels at 50 μm pitch have been patterned. The chip has customable self-trigger capability and includes a signal pre-processing function for the automatic localization of the event coordinates. In this way, by limiting the output signal to only those pixels belonging to the region of interest, it is possible to reduce significantly the read-out time and data volume. In-depth tests performed on a GPD built up by coupling this device to a fine pitch (50 μm) gas electron multiplier are reported. Matching of the gas amplification and read-out pitch has let to obtain optimal results. A possible application of this detector for X-ray polarimetry of astronomical sources is discussed

First tests of a Medipix-1 pixel detector for X-ray dynamic defectoscopy

CERN Document Server

Vavrik, D; Visschers, J; Pospísil, S; Ponchut, C; Zemankova, J

2002-01-01

Recent theoretical damage material models describe the dynamic development of voids and microcracks in materials under plastic deformation. For these models, experimental verification is needed. We propose direct and non-destructive observation of the propagation of material damage by measuring changes in transmission of X-rays penetrating a stressed material, using a photon-counting X-ray imager. The present contribution aims to demonstrate the applicability of silicon and gallium-arsenide devices for X-ray transmission measurements with a specimen of high-ductile aluminium alloy under study. The first experiments to determine the resolution and the sensitivity of the proposed method with the Medipix-1 pixel detector are presented.

Improving the resolution in soft X-ray emission spectrometers through photon-counting using an Electron Multiplying CCD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, D J; Soman, M; Tutt, J; Murray, N; Holland, A; Schmitt, T; Raabe, J; Strocov, V N; Schmitt, B

2012-01-01

In 2007, a study of back-illuminated Charge-Coupled Devices (CCDs) for soft X-ray photon detection demonstrated the improvements that could be brought over more traditional micro-channel plate detectors for X-ray spectrometers based on diffraction gratings and position sensitive detectors. Whilst the spatial resolution was reported to be improved dramatically, an intrinsic limit of approximately 25 micrometers was found due to the spreading of the charge cloud generated in the CCD across several pixels. To overcome this resolution limit, it is necessary to move away from the current integrated imaging methods and consider a photon-counting approach, recording the photon interaction locations to the sub-pixel level. To make use of photon-counting techniques it is important that the individual events are separable. To maintain the throughput of the spectrometer for high intensity lines, higher frame rates and therefore higher readout speeds are required. With CCD based systems, the increased noise at high readout speeds can limit the photon-counting performance. The Electron-Multiplying CCD shares a similar architecture with the standard CCD but incorporates a g ain register . This novel addition allows controllable gain to be applied to the signal before the read noise is introduced, therefore allowing individual events to be resolved above the noise even at much higher readout rates. In the past, the EM-CCD has only been available with imaging areas too small to be practical in soft X-ray emission spectrometers. The current drive for large area Electron-Multiplying CCDs is opening this technology to new photon-counting applications, requiring in-depth analysis of the processes and techniques involved. Early results indicate that through the introduction of photon-counting techniques the resolution in such systems can be dramatically improved.

Random On-Board Pixel Sampling (ROPS) X-Ray Camera

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Zhehui [Los Alamos; Iaroshenko, O. [Los Alamos; Li, S. [Los Alamos; Liu, T. [Fermilab; Parab, N. [Argonne (main); Chen, W. W. [Purdue U.; Chu, P. [Los Alamos; Kenyon, G. [Los Alamos; Lipton, R. [Fermilab; Sun, K.-X. [Nevada U., Las Vegas

2017-09-25

Recent advances in compressed sensing theory and algorithms offer new possibilities for high-speed X-ray camera design. In many CMOS cameras, each pixel has an independent on-board circuit that includes an amplifier, noise rejection, signal shaper, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and optional in-pixel storage. When X-ray images are sparse, i.e., when one of the following cases is true: (a.) The number of pixels with true X-ray hits is much smaller than the total number of pixels; (b.) The X-ray information is redundant; or (c.) Some prior knowledge about the X-ray images exists, sparse sampling may be allowed. Here we first illustrate the feasibility of random on-board pixel sampling (ROPS) using an existing set of X-ray images, followed by a discussion about signal to noise as a function of pixel size. Next, we describe a possible circuit architecture to achieve random pixel access and in-pixel storage. The combination of a multilayer architecture, sparse on-chip sampling, and computational image techniques, is expected to facilitate the development and applications of high-speed X-ray camera technology.

A 20 Mfps high frame-depth CMOS burst-mode imager with low power in-pixel NMOS-only passive amplifier

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, L.; San Segundo Bello, D.; Coppejans, P.; Craninckx, J.; Wambacq, P.; Borremans, J.

2017-02-01

This paper presents a 20 Mfps 32 × 84 pixels CMOS burst-mode imager featuring high frame depth with a passive in-pixel amplifier. Compared to the CCD alternatives, CMOS burst-mode imagers are attractive for their low power consumption and integration of circuitry such as ADCs. Due to storage capacitor size and its noise limitations, CMOS burst-mode imagers usually suffer from a lower frame depth than CCD implementations. In order to capture fast transitions over a longer time span, an in-pixel CDS technique has been adopted to reduce the required memory cells for each frame by half. Moreover, integrated with in-pixel CDS, an in-pixel NMOS-only passive amplifier alleviates the kTC noise requirements of the memory bank allowing the usage of smaller capacitors. Specifically, a dense 108-cell MOS memory bank (10fF/cell) has been implemented inside a 30μm pitch pixel, with an area of 25 × 30μm2 occupied by the memory bank. There is an improvement of about 4x in terms of frame depth per pixel area by applying in-pixel CDS and amplification. With the amplifier's gain of 3.3, an FD input-referred RMS noise of 1mV is achieved at 20 Mfps operation. While the amplification is done without burning DC current, including the pixel source follower biasing, the full pixel consumes 10μA at 3.3V supply voltage at full speed. The chip has been fabricated in imec's 130nm CMOS CIS technology.

Conception and characterization of a virtual coplanar grid for a 11×11 pixelated CZT detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Espagnet, Romain; Frezza, Andrea [Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Optics and Cancer Research Center, Université Laval, Quebec city, QC, Canada G1R 0A6 (Canada); Martin, Jean-Pierre; Hamel, Louis-André [Department of Physics, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128 Montréal QC, Canada H3C 3J7 (Canada); Després, Philippe, E-mail: philippe.despres@phy.ulaval.ca [Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Optics and Cancer Research Center, Université Laval, Quebec city, QC, Canada G1R 0A6 (Canada); Department of Radiation Oncology and Research Center of CHU de Québec - Université Laval, Quebec city, QC Canada G1R 2J6 (Canada)

2017-07-11

Due to the low mobility of holes in CZT, commercially available detectors with a relatively large volume typically use a pixelated anode structure. They are mostly used in imaging applications and often require a dense electronic readout scheme. These large volume detectors are also interesting for high-sensitivity applications and a CZT-based blood gamma counter was developed from a 20×20×15 mm{sup 3} crystal available commercially and having a 11×11 pixelated readout scheme. A method is proposed here to reduce the number of channels required to use the crystal in a high-sensitivity counting application, dedicated to pharmacokinetic modelling in PET and SPECT. Inspired by a classic coplanar anode, an implementation of a virtual coplanar grid was done by connecting the 121 pixels of the detector to form intercalated bands. The layout, the front-end electronics and the characterization of the detector in this 2-channel anode geometry is presented. The coefficients required to compensate for electron trapping in CZT were determined experimentally to improve the performance. The resulting virtual coplanar detector has an intrinsic efficiency of 34% and an energy resolution of 8% at 662 keV. The detector's response was linear between 80 keV and 1372 keV. This suggests that large CZT crystals offer an excellent alternative to scintillation detectors for some applications, especially those where high-sensitivity and compactness are required.

Investigation of CMOS pixel sensor with 0.18 μm CMOS technology for high-precision tracking detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, L.; Wang, M.; Fu, M.; Zhang, Y.; Yan, W.

2017-01-01

The Circular Electron Positron Collider (CEPC) proposed by the Chinese high energy physics community is aiming to measure Higgs particles and their interactions precisely. The tracking detector including Silicon Inner Tracker (SIT) and Forward Tracking Disks (FTD) has driven stringent requirements on sensor technologies in term of spatial resolution, power consumption and readout speed. CMOS Pixel Sensor (CPS) is a promising candidate to approach these requirements. This paper presents the preliminary studies on the sensor optimization for tracking detector to achieve high collection efficiency while keeping necessary spatial resolution. Detailed studies have been performed on the charge collection using a 0.18 μm CMOS image sensor process. This process allows high resistivity epitaxial layer, leading to a significant improvement on the charge collection and therefore improving the radiation tolerance. Together with the simulation results, the first exploratory prototype has bee designed and fabricated. The prototype includes 9 different pixel arrays, which vary in terms of pixel pitch, diode size and geometry. The total area of the prototype amounts to 2 × 7.88 mm 2 .

EIGER: Next generation single photon counting detector for X-ray applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dinapoli, Roberto, E-mail: roberto.dinapoli@psi.ch [Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Bergamaschi, Anna; Henrich, Beat; Horisberger, Roland; Johnson, Ian; Mozzanica, Aldo; Schmid, Elmar; Schmitt, Bernd; Schreiber, Akos; Shi, Xintian; Theidel, Gerd [Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland)

2011-09-11

EIGER is an advanced family of single photon counting hybrid pixel detectors, primarily aimed at diffraction experiments at synchrotrons. Optimization of maximal functionality and minimal pixel size (using a 0.25{mu}m process and conserving the radiation tolerant design) has resulted in 75x75{mu}m{sup 2} pixels. Every pixel comprises a preamplifier, shaper, discriminator (with a 6 bit DAC for threshold trimming), a configurable 4/8/12 bit counter with double buffering, as well as readout, control and test circuitry. A novel feature of this chip is its double buffered counter, meaning a next frame can be acquired while the previous one is being readout. An array of 256x256 pixels fits on a {approx}2x2cm{sup 2} chip and a sensor of {approx}8x4cm{sup 2} will be equipped with eight readout chips to form a module containing 0.5 Mpixel. Several modules can then be tiled to form larger area detectors. Detectors up to 4x8 modules (16 Mpixel) are planned. To achieve frame rates of up to 24 kHz the readout architecture is highly parallel, and the chip readout happens in parallel on 32 readout lines with a 100 MHz Double Data Rate clock. Several chips and singles (i.e. a single chip bump-bonded to a single chip silicon sensor) were tested both with a lab X-ray source and at Swiss Light Source (SLS) beamlines. These tests demonstrate the full functionality of the chip and provide a first assessment of its performance. High resolution X-ray images and 'high speed movies' were produced, even without threshold trimming, at the target system frame rates (up to {approx}24kHz in 4 bit mode). In parallel, dedicated hardware, firmware and software had to be developed to comply with the enormous data rate the chip is capable of delivering. Details of the chip design and tests will be given, as well as highlights of both test and final readout systems.

Diamond Pixel Detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adam, W.; Berdermann, E.; Bergonzo, P.; Bertuccio, G.; Bogani, F.; Borchi, E.; Brambilla, A.; Bruzzi, M.; Colledani, C.; Conway, J.; D'Angelo, P.; Dabrowski, W.; Delpierre, P.; Deneuville, A.; Doroshenko, J.; Dulinski, W.; Eijk, B. van; Fallou, A.; Fizzotti, F.; Foster, J.; Foulon, F.; Friedl, M.; Gan, K.K.; Gheeraert, E.; Gobbi, B.; Grim, G.P.; Hallewell, G.; Han, S.; Hartjes, F.; Hrubec, J.; Husson, D.; Kagan, H.; Kania, D.; Kaplon, J.; Kass, R.; Koeth, T.; Krammer, M.; Lander, R.; Logiudice, A.; Lu, R.; Lynne, L.M.; Manfredotti, C.; Meier, D.; Mishina, M.; Moroni, L.; Oh, A.; Pan, L.S.; Pernicka, M.; Perera, L.; Pirollo, S.; Plano, R.; Procario, M.; Riester, J.L.; Roe, S.; Rott, C.; Rousseau, L.; Rudge, A.; Russ, J.; Sala, S.; Sampietro, M.; Schnetzer, S.; Sciortino, S.; Stelzer, H.; Stone, R.; Suter, B.; Tapper, R.J.; Tesarek, R.; Trischuk, W.; Tromson, D.; Vittone, E.; Wedenig, R.; Weilhammer, P.; White, C.; Zeuner, W.; Zoeller, M.

2001-01-01

Diamond based pixel detectors are a promising radiation-hard technology for use at the LHC. We present first results on a CMS diamond pixel sensor. With a threshold setting of 2000 electrons, an average pixel efficiency of 78% was obtained for normally incident minimum ionizing particles

Diamond Pixel Detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adam, W.; Berdermann, E.; Bergonzo, P.; Bertuccio, G.; Bogani, F.; Borchi, E.; Brambilla, A.; Bruzzi, M.; Colledani, C.; Conway, J.; D' Angelo, P.; Dabrowski, W.; Delpierre, P.; Deneuville, A.; Doroshenko, J.; Dulinski, W.; Eijk, B. van; Fallou, A.; Fizzotti, F.; Foster, J.; Foulon, F.; Friedl, M.; Gan, K.K.; Gheeraert, E.; Gobbi, B.; Grim, G.P.; Hallewell, G.; Han, S.; Hartjes, F.; Hrubec, J.; Husson, D.; Kagan, H.; Kania, D.; Kaplon, J.; Kass, R.; Koeth, T.; Krammer, M.; Lander, R.; Logiudice, A.; Lu, R.; Lynne, L.M.; Manfredotti, C.; Meier, D.; Mishina, M.; Moroni, L.; Oh, A.; Pan, L.S.; Pernicka, M.; Perera, L. E-mail: perera@physics.rutgers.edu; Pirollo, S.; Plano, R.; Procario, M.; Riester, J.L.; Roe, S.; Rott, C.; Rousseau, L.; Rudge, A.; Russ, J.; Sala, S.; Sampietro, M.; Schnetzer, S.; Sciortino, S.; Stelzer, H.; Stone, R.; Suter, B.; Tapper, R.J.; Tesarek, R.; Trischuk, W.; Tromson, D.; Vittone, E.; Wedenig, R.; Weilhammer, P.; White, C.; Zeuner, W.; Zoeller, M

2001-06-01

Diamond based pixel detectors are a promising radiation-hard technology for use at the LHC. We present first results on a CMS diamond pixel sensor. With a threshold setting of 2000 electrons, an average pixel efficiency of 78% was obtained for normally incident minimum ionizing particles.

TCAD simulations of High-Voltage-CMOS Pixel structures for the CLIC vertex detector

CERN Document Server

Buckland, Matthew Daniel

2016-01-01

The requirements for precision physics and the experimental conditions at CLIC result in stringent constraints for the vertex detector. Capacitively coupled active pixel sensors with 25 μm pitch implemented in a commercial 180 nm High-Voltage CMOS (HV-CMOS) process are currently under study as a candidate technology for the CLIC vertex detector. Laboratory calibration measurements and beam tests with prototypes are complemented by detailed TCAD and electronic circuit simulations, aiming for a comprehensive understanding of the signal formation in the HV-CMOS sensors and subsequent readout stages. In this note 2D and 3D TCAD simulation results of the prototype sensor, the Capacitively Coupled Pixel Detector version three (CCPDv3), will be presented. These include the electric field distribution, leakage current, well capacitance, transient response to minimum ionising particles and charge-collection.

On temporal correlations in high-resolution frequency counting

OpenAIRE

Dunker, Tim; Hauglin, Harald; Rønningen, Ole Petter

2016-01-01

We analyze noise properties of time series of frequency data from different counting modes of a Keysight 53230A frequency counter. We use a 10 MHz reference signal from a passive hydrogen maser connected via phase-stable Huber+Suhner Sucoflex 104 cables to the reference and input connectors of the counter. We find that the high resolution gap-free (CONT) frequency counting process imposes long-term correlations in the output data, resulting in a modified Allan deviation that is characteristic...

Quality control on planar n-in-n pixel sensors — Recent progress of ATLAS planar pixel sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klingenberg, R.

2013-01-01

To extend the physics reach of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), upgrades to the accelerator are planned which will increase the peak luminosity by a factor 5–10. To cope with the increased occupancy and radiation damage, the ATLAS experiment plans to introduce an all-silicon inner tracker with the high luminosity upgrade (HL-LHC). To investigate the suitability of pixel sensors using the proven planar technology for the upgraded tracker, the ATLAS Upgrade Planar Pixel Sensor (PPS) R and D Project was established. Main areas of research are the performance of planar pixel sensors at highest fluences, the exploration of possibilities for cost reduction to enable the instrumentation of large areas, the achievement of slim or active edges to provide low geometric inefficiencies without the need for shingling of modules and the investigation of the operation of highly irradiated sensors at low thresholds to increase the efficiency. The Insertable b-layer (IBL) is the first upgrade project within the ATLAS experiment and will employ a new detector layer consisting of silicon pixel sensors, which were improved and prototyped in the framework of the planar pixel sensor R and D project. A special focus of this paper is the status of the development and testing of planar n-in-n pixel sensors including the quality control of the on-going series production and postprocessing of sensor wafers. A high yield of produced planar sensor wafers and FE-I4 double chip sensors after first steps of post-processing including under bump metallization and dicing is observed. -- Highlights: ► Prototypes of irradiated planar n-in-n sensors have been successfully tested under laboratory conditions. ► A quality assurance programme on the series production of planar sensors for the IBL has started. ► A high yield of double chip sensors during the series production is observed which are compatible to the specifications to this detector component.

Simulation study of pixel detector charge digitization

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Fuyue; Nachman, Benjamin; Sciveres, Maurice; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Team

2017-01-01

Reconstruction of tracks from nearly overlapping particles, called Tracking in Dense Environments (TIDE), is an increasingly important component of many physics analyses at the Large Hadron Collider as signatures involving highly boosted jets are investigated. TIDE makes use of the charge distribution inside a pixel cluster to resolve tracks that share one of more of their pixel detector hits. In practice, the pixel charge is discretized using the Time-over-Threshold (ToT) technique. More charge information is better for discrimination, but more challenging for designing and operating the detector. A model of the silicon pixels has been developed in order to study the impact of the precision of the digitized charge distribution on distinguishing multi-particle clusters. The output of the GEANT4-based simulation is used to train neutral networks that predict the multiplicity and location of particles depositing energy inside one cluster of pixels. By studying the multi-particle cluster identification efficiency and position resolution, we quantify the trade-off between the number of ToT bits and low-level tracking inputs. As both ATLAS and CMS are designing upgraded detectors, this work provides guidance for the pixel module designs to meet TIDE needs. Work funded by the China Scholarship Council and the Office of High Energy Physics of the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC02-05CH11231.

Evaluation of a single-pixel one-transistor active pixel sensor for fingerprint imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Man; Ou, Hai; Chen, Jun; Wang, Kai

2015-08-01

Since it first appeared in iPhone 5S in 2013, fingerprint identification (ID) has rapidly gained popularity among consumers. Current fingerprint-enabled smartphones unanimously consists of a discrete sensor to perform fingerprint ID. This architecture not only incurs higher material and manufacturing cost, but also provides only static identification and limited authentication. Hence as the demand for a thinner, lighter, and more secure handset grows, we propose a novel pixel architecture that is a photosensitive device embedded in a display pixel and detects the reflected light from the finger touch for high resolution, high fidelity and dynamic biometrics. To this purpose, an amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) dual-gate photo TFT working in both fingerprint-imaging mode and display-driving mode will be developed.

CASTOR a VLSI CMOS mixed analog-digital circuit for low noise multichannel counting applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Comes, G.; Loddo, F.; Hu, Y.; Kaplon, J.; Ly, F.; Turchetta, R.; Bonvicini, V.; Vacchi, A.

1996-01-01

In this paper we present the design and first experimental results of a VLSI mixed analog-digital 1.2 microns CMOS circuit (CASTOR) for multichannel radiation detectors applications demanding low noise amplification and counting of radiation pulses. This circuit is meant to be connected to pixel-like detectors. Imaging can be obtained by counting the number of hits in each pixel during a user-controlled exposure time. Each channel of the circuit features an analog and a digital part. In the former one, a charge preamplifier is followed by a CR-RC shaper with an output buffer and a threshold discriminator. In the digital part, a 16-bit counter is present together with some control logic. The readout of the counters is done serially on a common tri-state output. Daisy-chaining is possible. A 4-channel prototype has been built. This prototype has been optimised for use in the digital radiography Syrmep experiment at the Elettra synchrotron machine in Trieste (Italy): its main design parameters are: shaping time of about 850 ns, gain of 190 mV/fC and ENC (e - rms)=60+17 C (pF). The counting rate per channel, limited by the analog part, can be as high as about 200 kHz. Characterisation of the circuit and first tests with silicon microstrip detectors are presented. They show the circuit works according to design specification and can be used for imaging applications. (orig.)

Pixel Experiments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Kjell Yngve; Søndergaard, Karin; Augustesen, Christina

2015-01-01

Pixel Experiments The term pixel is traditionally defined as any of the minute elements that together constitute a larger context or image. A pixel has its own form and is the smallest unit seen within a larger structure. In working with the potentials of LED technology in architectural lighting...... for using LED lighting in lighting design practice. The speculative experiments that have been set-up have aimed to clarify the variables that can be used as parameters in the design of lighting applications; including, for example, the structuring and software control of light. The experiments also...... elucidate and exemplify already well-known problems in relation to the experience of vertical and horizontal lighting. Pixel Experiments exist as a synergy between speculative test setups and lighting design in practice. This book is one of four books that is published in connection with the research...

Characterization of the CMS Pixel Detectors

CERN Document Server

Gu, Weihua

2002-01-01

In 2005 the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will start the pp collisions at a high luminosity and at a center of mass energy of 14 TeV. The primary goal of the experimental programme is the search of the Higgs boson(s) and the supersymmetric particles. The programme is also proposed to detect a range of diverse signatures in order to provide guidance for future physics. The pixel detector system makes up the innermost part of the CMS experiment, which is one of the two general purpose detectors at the LHC. The main tasks of the system are vertex detection and flavor tagging. The high luminosity and the high particle multiplicity as well as the small bunch spacing at the LHC impose great challenges on the pixel detectors: radiation hardness of sensors and electronics, fast signal processing and a high granularity are the essential requirements. This thesis concentrates on the study of the suitability of two test stands, which are implemented to characterize the CMS pixel detectors: one is con-cerned with test puls...

Adaptive pixel-to-pixel projection intensity adjustment for measuring a shiny surface using orthogonal color fringe pattern projection

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chao; Gao, Nan; Wang, Xiangjun; Zhang, Zonghua

2018-05-01

Three-dimensional (3D) shape measurement based on fringe pattern projection techniques has been commonly used in various fields. One of the remaining challenges in fringe pattern projection is that camera sensor saturation may occur if there is a large range of reflectivity variation across the surface that causes measurement errors. To overcome this problem, a novel fringe pattern projection method is proposed to avoid image saturation and maintain high-intensity modulation for measuring shiny surfaces by adaptively adjusting the pixel-to-pixel projection intensity according to the surface reflectivity. First, three sets of orthogonal color fringe patterns and a sequence of uniform gray-level patterns with different gray levels are projected onto a measured surface by a projector. The patterns are deformed with respect to the object surface and captured by a camera from a different viewpoint. Subsequently, the optimal projection intensity at each pixel is determined by fusing different gray levels and transforming the camera pixel coordinate system into the projector pixel coordinate system. Finally, the adapted fringe patterns are created and used for 3D shape measurement. Experimental results on a flat checkerboard and shiny objects demonstrate that the proposed method can measure shiny surfaces with high accuracy.

Real-time generation of images with pixel-by-pixel spectra for a coded aperture imager with high spectral resolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ziock, K.P.; Burks, M.T.; Craig, W.; Fabris, L.; Hull, E.L.; Madden, N.W.

2003-01-01

The capabilities of a coded aperture imager are significantly enhanced when a detector with excellent energy resolution is used. We are constructing such an imager with a 1.1 cm thick, crossed-strip, planar detector which has 38 strips of 2 mm pitch in each dimension followed by a large coaxial detector. Full value from this system is obtained only when the images are 'fully deconvolved' meaning that the energy spectrum is available from each pixel in the image. The large number of energy bins associated with the spectral resolution of the detector, and the fixed pixel size, present significant computational challenges in generating an image in a timely manner at the conclusion of a data acquisition. The long computation times currently preclude the generation of intermediate images during the acquisition itself. We have solved this problem by building the images on-line as each event comes in using pre-imaged arrays of the system response. The generation of these arrays and the use of fractional mask-to-detector pixel sampling is discussed

Depleted CMOS pixels for LHC proton–proton experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wermes, N.

2016-01-01

While so far monolithic pixel detectors have remained in the realm of comparatively low rate and radiation applications outside LHC, new developments exploiting high resistivity substrates with three or four well CMOS process options allow reasonably large depletion depths and full CMOS circuitry in a monolithic structure. This opens up the possibility to target CMOS pixel detectors also for high radiation pp-experiments at the LHC upgrade, either in a hybrid-type fashion or even fully monolithic. Several pixel matrices have been prototyped with high ohmic substrates, high voltage options, and full CMOS electronics. They were characterized in the lab and in test beams. An overview of the necessary development steps and different approaches as well as prototype results are presented in this paper.

Evaluation of high-energy electron detectors for probing the inner magnetosphere under high-counting condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tamada, Yukihiro; Takashima, Takeshi; Mitani, Takefumi; Miyake, Wataru

2013-01-01

An ERG (Energization and Radiation in Geospace) satellite will be launched to study the acceleration processes of energetic particles in the radiation belt surrounding the earth. It is very important to reveal the acceleration process of high-energy particles for both science and the application to space weather forecast. Drastic increases of high-energy electrons in the radiation belt is sometimes observed during a geomagnetic storm. When a large magnetic storm occurs, energetic electron count rates may exceed flux limits expected in the nominal design and large number of incident electrons leading to detection loss. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that the count rate range of a single detection on board ERG satellite can be expanded by means of reading circuit operations to decrease an area of detection. In our ground experiment, we also found an unexpected result that count peaks shift to the higher energy side under high counting conditions. (author)

PIXEL 2010 - A Resume

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wermes, N.

2011-01-01

The Pixel 2010 conference focused on semiconductor pixel detectors for particle tracking/vertexing as well as for imaging, in particular for synchrotron light sources and XFELs. The big LHC hybrid pixel detectors have impressively started showing their capabilities. X-ray imaging detectors, also using the hybrid pixel technology, have greatly advanced the experimental possibilities for diffraction experiments. Monolithic or semi-monolithic devices like CMOS active pixels and DEPFET pixels have now reached a state such that complete vertex detectors for RHIC and superKEKB are being built with these technologies. Finally, new advances towards fully monolithic active pixel detectors, featuring full CMOS electronics merged with efficient signal charge collection, exploiting standard CMOS technologies, SOI and/or 3D integration, show the path for the future. This resume attempts to extract the main statements of the results and developments presented at this conference.

Plasmonic nanospherical dimers for color pixels

KAUST Repository

Alrasheed, Salma

2018-04-20

Display technologies are evolving more toward higher resolution and miniaturization. Plasmonic color pixels can offer solutions to realize such technologies due to their sharp resonances and selective scattering and absorption at particular wavelengths. Metal nanosphere dimers are capable of supporting plasmon resonances that can be tuned to span the entire visible spectrum. In this article, we demonstrate numerically bright color pixels that are highly polarized and broadly tuned using periodic arrays of metal nanosphere dimers on a glass substrate. We show that it is possible to obtain RGB pixels in the reflection mode. The longitudinal plasmon resonance of nanosphere dimers along the axis of the dimer is the main contributor to the color of the pixel, while far-field diffractive coupling further enhances and tunes the plasmon resonance. The computational method used is the finite-difference time-domain method. The advantages of this approach include simplicity of the design, bright coloration, and highly polarized function. In addition, we show that it is possible to obtain different colors by varying the angle of incidence, the periodicity, the size of the dimer, the gap, and the substrate thickness.

High Channel Count, High Density Microphone Arrays for Wind Tunnel Environments, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Interdisciplinary Consulting Corporation (IC2) proposes the development of high channel count, high density, reduced cost per channel, directional microphone...

LISe pixel detector for neutron imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Herrera, Elan; Hamm, Daniel [Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Wiggins, Brenden [Technology Development, Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN (United States); Milburn, Rob [Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Burger, Arnold [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN (United States); Department of Life and Physical Sciences, Fisk University, Nashville, TN (United States); Bilheux, Hassina [Chemical and Engineering Materials Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Santodonato, Louis [Instrument and Source Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Chvala, Ondrej [Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Stowe, Ashley [Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Technology Development, Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN (United States); Lukosi, Eric, E-mail: elukosi@utk.edu [Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)

2016-10-11

Semiconducting lithium indium diselenide, {sup 6}LiInSe{sub 2} or LISe, has promising characteristics for neutron detection applications. The 95% isotopic enrichment of {sup 6}Li results in a highly efficient thermal neutron-sensitive material. In this study, we report on a proof-of-principle investigation of a semiconducting LISe pixel detector to demonstrate its potential as an efficient neutron imager. The LISe pixel detector had a 4×4 of pixels with a 550 µm pitch on a 5×5×0.56 mm{sup 3} LISe substrate. An experimentally verified spatial resolution of 300 µm was observed utilizing a super-sampling technique.

All-passive pixel super-resolution of time-stretch imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Antony C. S.; Ng, Ho-Cheung; Bogaraju, Sharat C. V.; So, Hayden K. H.; Lam, Edmund Y.; Tsia, Kevin K.

2017-03-01

Based on image encoding in a serial-temporal format, optical time-stretch imaging entails a stringent requirement of state-of-the-art fast data acquisition unit in order to preserve high image resolution at an ultrahigh frame rate — hampering the widespread utilities of such technology. Here, we propose a pixel super-resolution (pixel-SR) technique tailored for time-stretch imaging that preserves pixel resolution at a relaxed sampling rate. It harnesses the subpixel shifts between image frames inherently introduced by asynchronous digital sampling of the continuous time-stretch imaging process. Precise pixel registration is thus accomplished without any active opto-mechanical subpixel-shift control or other additional hardware. Here, we present the experimental pixel-SR image reconstruction pipeline that restores high-resolution time-stretch images of microparticles and biological cells (phytoplankton) at a relaxed sampling rate (≈2-5 GSa/s)—more than four times lower than the originally required readout rate (20 GSa/s) — is thus effective for high-throughput label-free, morphology-based cellular classification down to single-cell precision. Upon integration with the high-throughput image processing technology, this pixel-SR time-stretch imaging technique represents a cost-effective and practical solution for large scale cell-based phenotypic screening in biomedical diagnosis and machine vision for quality control in manufacturing.

Development of CMOS pixel sensors for tracking and vertexing in high energy physics experiments

CERN Document Server

Senyukov, Serhiy; Besson, Auguste; Claus, Giles; Cousin, Loic; Dulinski, Wojciech; Goffe, Mathieu; Hippolyte, Boris; Maria, Robert; Molnar, Levente; Sanchez Castro, Xitzel; Winter, Marc

2014-01-01

CMOS pixel sensors (CPS) represent a novel technological approach to building charged particle detectors. CMOS processes allow to integrate a sensing volume and readout electronics in a single silicon die allowing to build sensors with a small pixel pitch ($\\sim 20 \\mu m$) and low material budget ($\\sim 0.2-0.3\\% X_0$) per layer. These characteristics make CPS an attractive option for vertexing and tracking systems of high energy physics experiments. Moreover, thanks to the mass production industrial CMOS processes used for the manufacturing of CPS the fabrication construction cost can be significantly reduced in comparison to more standard semiconductor technologies. However, the attainable performance level of the CPS in terms of radiation hardness and readout speed is mostly determined by the fabrication parameters of the CMOS processes available on the market rather than by the CPS intrinsic potential. The permanent evolution of commercial CMOS processes towards smaller feature sizes and high resistivity ...

The FE-I4 pixel readout integrated circuit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia-Sciveres, M., E-mail: mgarcia-sciveres@bl.gov [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (United States); Arutinov, D.; Barbero, M. [University of Bonn, Bonn (Germany); Beccherle, R. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare Sezione di Genova, Genova (Italy); Dube, S.; Elledge, D. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (United States); Fleury, J. [Laboratoire de l' Accelerateur Lineaire, Orsay (France); Fougeron, D.; Gensolen, F. [Centre de Physique des Particules de Marseille, Marseille (France); Gnani, D. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (United States); Gromov, V. [Nationaal Instituut voor Subatomaire Fysica, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Hemperek, T.; Karagounis, M. [University of Bonn, Bonn (Germany); Kluit, R. [Nationaal Instituut voor Subatomaire Fysica, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Kruth, A. [University of Bonn, Bonn (Germany); Mekkaoui, A. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (United States); Menouni, M. [Centre de Physique des Particules de Marseille, Marseille (France); Schipper, J.-D. [Nationaal Instituut voor Subatomaire Fysica, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

2011-04-21

A new pixel readout integrated circuit denominated FE-I4 is being designed to meet the requirements of ATLAS experiment upgrades. It will be the largest readout IC produced to date for particle physics applications, filling the maximum allowed reticle area. This will significantly reduce the cost of future hybrid pixel detectors. In addition, FE-I4 will have smaller pixels and higher rate capability than the present generation of LHC pixel detectors. Design features are described along with simulation and test results, including low power and high rate readout architecture, mixed signal design strategy, and yield hardening.

A pulse shape discriminator with high precision of neutron and gamma ray selection at high counting rate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bialkowski, J.; Moszynski, M.; Wolski, D.

1989-01-01

A pulse shape discriminator based on the zero-crossing principle is described. Due to dc negative feedback loops stabilizing the shaping amplifier and the zero-crossing discriminator, the working of the circuit is not affected by the high counting rate and the temperature variations. The pileup rejection circuit built into the discriminator improves the quality of the n-γ separation at high counting rates. A full γ-ray rejection is obtained for a recoil energy of electrons down to 25 keV. At high counting rates the remaining γ-ray contribution is evidently due to the pileup effect which is equal to about 2% at 4x10 5 counts/s. (orig.)

Development of pixel detectors for SSC vertex tracking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kramer, G.; Shapiro, S.L.; Arens, J.F.; Jernigan, J.G.; Skubic, P.

1991-04-01

A description of hybrid PIN diode arrays and a readout architecture for their use as a vertex detector in the SSC environment is presented. Test results obtained with arrays having 256 x 256 pixels, each 30 μm square, are also presented. The development of a custom readout for the SSC will be discussed, which supports a mechanism for time stamping hit pixels, storing their xy coordinates, and storing the analog information within the pixel. The peripheral logic located on the array, permits the selection of those pixels containing interesting data and their coordinates to be selectively read out. This same logic also resolves ambiguous pixel ghost locations and controls the pixel neighbor read out necessary to achieve high spatial resolution. The thermal design of the vertex tracker and the proposed signal processing architecture will also be discussed. 5 refs., 13 figs., 3 tabs

Macro Pixel ASIC (MPA): The readout ASIC for the pixel-strip (PS) module of the CMS outer tracker at HL-LHC

CERN Document Server

Ceresa, Davide; Kloukinas, Konstantinos; Jan Kaplon; Bialas, Wojciech; Re, Valerio; Traversi, Gianluca; Gaioni, Luigi; Ratti, Lodovico

2014-01-01

The CMS tracker at HL-LHC is required to provide prompt information on particles with high transverse momentum to the central Level\\,1 trigger. For this purpose, the innermost part of the outer tracker is based on a combination of a pixelated sensor with a short strip sensor, the so-called Pixel-Strip module (PS). The readout of these sensors is carried out by distinct ASICs, the Strip Sensor ASIC (SSA), for the strip layer, and the Macro Pixel ASIC (MPA) for the pixel layer. The processing of the data directly on the front-end module represents a design challenge due to the large data volume (30720\\,pixels and 1920\\,strips per module) and the limited power budget. This is the reason why several studies have been carried out to find the best compromise between ASICs performance and power consumption. This paper describes the current status of the MPA ASIC development where the logic for generating prompt information on particles with high transverse momentum is implemented. An overview of the readout method i...

Hot pixel generation in active pixel sensors: dosimetric and micro-dosimetric response

Science.gov (United States)

Scheick, Leif; Novak, Frank

2003-01-01

The dosimetric response of an active pixel sensor is analyzed. heavy ions are seen to damage the pixel in much the same way as gamma radiation. The probability of a hot pixel is seen to exhibit behavior that is not typical with other microdose effects.

Poster - 01: LabPET II Pixelated APD-Based PET Scanner for High-Resolution Preclinical Imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lecomte, Roger; Arpin, Louis; Beaudoin, Jean-François; Bergeron, Mélanie; Bouchard, Jonathan; Bouziri, Haithem; Cadorette, Jules; Gaudin, Émilie; Jürgensen, Nadia; Koua, Konin Calliste; Trépanier, Pierre-Yves Lauzier; Leroux, Jean-Daniel; Loignon-Houle, Francis; Njejimana, Larissa; Paillé, Maxime; Paulin, Caroline; Pepin, Catherine; Pratte, Jean-François; Samson, Arnaud; Thibaudeau, Christian [Université de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, CIMS/CRCHUS, Université de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, CIMS/CRCHUS, Université de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, 3IT, Université de Sherbrooke, Novalgo Inc., Université de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, CIMS/CRCHUS, 3IT, Université de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, 3IT, Université de Sherbrooke (Canada); and others

2016-08-15

Purpose: LabPET II is a new generation APD-based PET scanner designed to achieve sub-mm spatial resolution using truly pixelated detectors and highly integrated parallel front-end processing electronics. Methods: The basic element uses a 4×8 array of 1.12×1.12 mm{sup 2} Lu{sub 1.9}Y{sub 0.1}SiO{sub 5}:Ce (LYSO) scintillator pixels with one-to-one coupling to a 4×8 pixelated monolithic APD array mounted on a ceramic carrier. Four detector arrays are mounted on a daughter board carrying two flip-chip, 64-channel, mixed-signal, application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) on the backside interfacing to two detector arrays each. Fully parallel signal processing was implemented in silico by encoding time and energy information using a dual-threshold Time-over-Threshold (ToT) scheme. The self-contained 128-channel detector module was designed as a generic component for ultra-high resolution PET imaging of small to medium-size animals. Results: Energy and timing performance were optimized by carefully setting ToT thresholds to minimize the noise/slope ratio. ToT spectra clearly show resolved 511 keV photopeak and Compton edge with ToT resolution well below 10%. After correction for nonlinear ToT response, energy resolution is typically 24±2% FWHM. Coincidence time resolution between opposing 128-channel modules is below 4 ns FWHM. Initial imaging results demonstrate that 0.8 mm hot spots of a Derenzo phantom can be resolved. Conclusion: A new generation PET scanner featuring truly pixelated detectors was developed and shown to achieve a spatial resolution approaching the physical limit of PET. Future plans are to integrate a small-bore dedicated mouse version of the scanner within a PET/CT platform.

Fast pulse discriminator for photon counting at high photon densities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benoit, R.; Pedrini, A.

1977-03-01

A fast tunnel diode discriminator for photon counting up to 200MHz count frequency is described. The tunnel diode is operated on its apparent I.V. characteristics displayed when the diode is driven into its oscillating region. The pulse shaper-discriminator is completely D.C. coupled in order to avoid base-line shift at high pulse rates

Development of radiation hardened pixel sensors for charged particle detection

CERN Document Server

Koziel, Michal

2014-01-01

CMOS Pixel Sensors are being developed since a few years to equip vertex detectors for future high-energy physics experiments with the crucial advantages of a low material budget and low production costs. The features simultaneously required are a short readout time, high granularity and high tolerance to radiation. This thesis mainly focuses on the radiation tolerance studies. To achieve the targeted readout time (tens of microseconds), the sensor pixel readout was organized in parallel columns restricting in addition the readout to pixels that had collected the signal charge. The pixels became then more complex, and consequently more sensitive to radiation. Different in-pixel architectures were studied and it was concluded that the tolerance to ionizing radiation was limited to 300 krad with the 0.35- m fabrication process currently used, while the targeted value was several Mrad. Improving this situation calls for implementation of the sensors in processes with a smaller feature size which naturally imp...

Operational Experience with the ATLAS Pixel Detector at LHC

CERN Document Server

Keil, M

2013-01-01

The ATLAS Pixel Detector is the innermost detector of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, providing high-resolution measurements of charged particle tracks in the high radiation environment close to the collision region. This capability is vital for the identification and measurement of proper decay times of long-lived particles such as b-hadrons, and thus crucial for the ATLAS physics program. The detector provides hermetic coverage with three cylindrical layers and three layers of forward and backward pixel detectors. It consists of approximately 80 million pixels that are individually read out via front-end chips bump-bonded to 1744 n-on-n silicon substrates. In this paper results from the successful operation of the Pixel Detector at the LHC will be presented, including calibration procedures, detector performance and measurements of radiation damage. The detector performance is excellent: more than 95% of the pixels are operational, noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the des...

Rework of flip chip bonded radiation pixel detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vaehaenen, S.; Heikkinen, H.; Pohjonen, H.; Salonen, J.; Savolainen-Pulli, S.

2008-01-01

In this paper, some practical aspects of reworking flip chip hybridized pixel detectors are discussed. As flip chip technology has been advancing in terms of placement accuracy and reliability, large-area hybrid pixel detectors have been developed. The area requirements are usually fulfilled by placing several readout chips (ROCs) on single sensor chip. However, as the number of ROCs increases, the probability of failure in the hybridization process and the ROC operation also increases. Because high accuracy flip chip bonding takes time, a significant part of the price of a pixel detector comes from the flip chip assembly process itself. As large-area detector substrates are expensive, and many flip chip placements are required, the price of an assembled detector can become very high. In a typical case, there is just one bad ROC (out of several) on a faulty detector to be replaced. Considering the high price of pixel detectors and the fact that reworking faulty ROCs does not take much longer than the original placement, it is worthwhile to investigate the feasibility of a rework process

Rework of flip chip bonded radiation pixel detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vaehaenen, S. [VTT MEMS and Micropackaging, Espoo 02150 (Finland)], E-mail: sami.vahanen@vtt.fi; Heikkinen, H.; Pohjonen, H.; Salonen, J.; Savolainen-Pulli, S. [VTT MEMS and Micropackaging, Espoo 02150 (Finland)

2008-06-11

In this paper, some practical aspects of reworking flip chip hybridized pixel detectors are discussed. As flip chip technology has been advancing in terms of placement accuracy and reliability, large-area hybrid pixel detectors have been developed. The area requirements are usually fulfilled by placing several readout chips (ROCs) on single sensor chip. However, as the number of ROCs increases, the probability of failure in the hybridization process and the ROC operation also increases. Because high accuracy flip chip bonding takes time, a significant part of the price of a pixel detector comes from the flip chip assembly process itself. As large-area detector substrates are expensive, and many flip chip placements are required, the price of an assembled detector can become very high. In a typical case, there is just one bad ROC (out of several) on a faulty detector to be replaced. Considering the high price of pixel detectors and the fact that reworking faulty ROCs does not take much longer than the original placement, it is worthwhile to investigate the feasibility of a rework process.

Preliminary evaluation of a novel energy-resolved photon-counting gamma ray detector.

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, L-J; Tan, J W; Spartiotis, K; Schulman, T

2009-06-11

In this paper, we present the design and preliminary performance evaluation of a novel energy-resolved photon-counting (ERPC) detector for gamma ray imaging applications. The prototype ERPC detector has an active area of 4.4 cm × 4.4 cm, which is pixelated into 128 × 128 square pixels with a pitch size of 350 µm × 350µm. The current detector consists of multiple detector hybrids, each with a CdTe crystal of 1.1 cm × 2.2 cm × 1 mm, bump-bonded onto a custom-designed application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The ERPC ASIC has 2048 readout channels arranged in a 32 × 64 array. Each channel is equipped with pre- and shaping-amplifiers, a discriminator, peak/hold circuitry and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) for digitizing the signal amplitude. In order to compensate for the pixel-to-pixel variation, two 8-bit digital-to-analog converters (DACs) are implemented into each channel for tuning the gain and offset. The ERPC detector is designed to offer a high spatial resolution, a wide dynamic range of 12-200 keV and a good energy resolution of 3-4 keV. The hybrid detector configuration provides a flexible detection area that can be easily tailored for different imaging applications. The intrinsic performance of a prototype ERPC detector was evaluated with various gamma ray sources, and the results are presented.

Performance of active edge pixel sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Bomben, M.; Ducourthial, A.; Bagolini, A.; Boscardin, M.; Bosisio, L.; Calderini, G.; D'Eramo, L.; Giacomini, G.; Marchiori, G.; Zorzi, N.; Rummler, A.; Weingarten, J.

2017-05-01

To cope with the High Luminosity LHC harsh conditions, the ATLAS inner tracker has to be upgraded to meet requirements in terms of radiation hardness, pile up and geometrical acceptance. The active edge technology allows to reduce the insensitive area at the border of the sensor thanks to an ion etched trench which avoids the crystal damage produced by the standard mechanical dicing process. Thin planar n-on-p pixel sensors with active edge have been designed and produced by LPNHE and FBK foundry. Two detector module prototypes, consisting of pixel sensors connected to FE-I4B readout chips, have been tested with beams at CERN and DESY. In this paper the performance of these modules are reported. In particular the lateral extension of the detection volume, beyond the pixel region, is investigated and the results show high hit efficiency also at the detector edge, even in presence of guard rings.

Feasibility of using single photon counting X-ray for lung tumor position estimation based on 4D-CT.

Science.gov (United States)

Aschenbrenner, Katharina P; Guthier, Christian V; Lyatskaya, Yulia; Boda-Heggemann, Judit; Wenz, Frederik; Hesser, Jürgen W

2017-09-01

In stereotactic body radiation therapy of lung tumors, reliable position estimation of the tumor is necessary in order to minimize normal tissue complication rate. While kV X-ray imaging is frequently used, continuous application during radiotherapy sessions is often not possible due to concerns about the additional dose. Thus, ultra low-dose (ULD) kV X-ray imaging based on a single photon counting detector is suggested. This paper addresses the lower limit of photons to locate the tumor reliably with an accuracy in the range of state-of-the-art methods, i.e. a few millimeters. 18 patient cases with four dimensional CT (4D-CT), which serves as a-priori information, are included in the study. ULD cone beam projections are simulated from the 4D-CTs including Poisson noise. The projections from the breathing phases which correspond to different tumor positions are compared to the ULD projection by means of Poisson log-likelihood (PML) and correlation coefficient (CC), and template matching under these metrics. The results indicate that in full thorax imaging five photons per pixel suffice for a standard deviation in tumor positions of less than half a breathing phase. Around 50 photons per pixel are needed to achieve this accuracy with the field of view restricted to the tumor region. Compared to CC, PML tends to perform better for low photon counts and shifts in patient setup. Template matching only improves the position estimation in high photon counts. The quality of the reconstruction is independent of the projection angle. The accuracy of the proposed ULD single photon counting system is in the range of a few millimeters and therefore comparable to state-of-the-art tumor tracking methods. At the same time, a reduction in photons per pixel by three to four orders of magnitude relative to commercial systems with flatpanel detectors can be achieved. This enables continuous kV image-based position estimation during all fractions since the additional dose to the

Feasibility of using single photon counting X-ray for lung tumor position estimation based on 4D-CT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aschenbrenner, Katharina P.; Hesser, Juergen W. [Heidelberg Univ., Mannheim (Germany). Dept. of Experimental Radiation Oncology; Heidelberg Univ. (Germany). IWR; Guthier, Christian V. [Heidelberg Univ., Mannheim (Germany). Dept. of Experimental Radiation Oncology; Lyatskaya, Yulia [Brigham and Women' s Center, Boston, MA (United States); Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (United States); Boda-Heggemann, Judit; Wenz, Frederik [Heidelberg Univ., Mannheim (Germany). Dept. of Radiation Oncology

2017-10-01

In stereotactic body radiation therapy of lung tumors, reliable position estimation of the tumor is necessary in order to minimize normal tissue complication rate. While kV X-ray imaging is frequently used, continuous application during radiotherapy sessions is often not possible due to concerns about the additional dose. Thus, ultra low-dose (ULD) kV X-ray imaging based on a single photon counting detector is suggested. This paper addresses the lower limit of photons to locate the tumor reliably with an accuracy in the range of state-of-the-art methods, i.e. a few millimeters. 18 patient cases with four dimensional CT (4D-CT), which serves as a-priori information, are included in the study. ULD cone beam projections are simulated from the 4D-CTs including Poisson noise. The projections from the breathing phases which correspond to different tumor positions are compared to the ULD projection by means of Poisson log-likelihood (PML) and correlation coefficient (CC), and template matching under these metrics. The results indicate that in full thorax imaging five photons per pixel suffice for a standard deviation in tumor positions of less than half a breathing phase. Around 50 photons per pixel are needed to achieve this accuracy with the field of view restricted to the tumor region. Compared to CC, PML tends to perform better for low photon counts and shifts in patient setup. Template matching only improves the position estimation in high photon counts. The quality of the reconstruction is independent of the projection angle. The accuracy of the proposed ULD single photon counting system is in the range of a few millimeters and therefore comparable to state-of-the-art tumor tracking methods. At the same time, a reduction in photons per pixel by three to four orders of magnitude relative to commercial systems with flatpanel detectors can be achieved. This enables continuous kV image-based position estimation during all fractions since the additional dose to the

Feasibility of using single photon counting X-ray for lung tumor position estimation based on 4D-CT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aschenbrenner, Katharina P.; Hesser, Juergen W.; Boda-Heggemann, Judit; Wenz, Frederik

2017-01-01

In stereotactic body radiation therapy of lung tumors, reliable position estimation of the tumor is necessary in order to minimize normal tissue complication rate. While kV X-ray imaging is frequently used, continuous application during radiotherapy sessions is often not possible due to concerns about the additional dose. Thus, ultra low-dose (ULD) kV X-ray imaging based on a single photon counting detector is suggested. This paper addresses the lower limit of photons to locate the tumor reliably with an accuracy in the range of state-of-the-art methods, i.e. a few millimeters. 18 patient cases with four dimensional CT (4D-CT), which serves as a-priori information, are included in the study. ULD cone beam projections are simulated from the 4D-CTs including Poisson noise. The projections from the breathing phases which correspond to different tumor positions are compared to the ULD projection by means of Poisson log-likelihood (PML) and correlation coefficient (CC), and template matching under these metrics. The results indicate that in full thorax imaging five photons per pixel suffice for a standard deviation in tumor positions of less than half a breathing phase. Around 50 photons per pixel are needed to achieve this accuracy with the field of view restricted to the tumor region. Compared to CC, PML tends to perform better for low photon counts and shifts in patient setup. Template matching only improves the position estimation in high photon counts. The quality of the reconstruction is independent of the projection angle. The accuracy of the proposed ULD single photon counting system is in the range of a few millimeters and therefore comparable to state-of-the-art tumor tracking methods. At the same time, a reduction in photons per pixel by three to four orders of magnitude relative to commercial systems with flatpanel detectors can be achieved. This enables continuous kV image-based position estimation during all fractions since the additional dose to the

High-speed x-ray imaging with the Keck pixel array detector (Keck PAD) for time-resolved experiments at synchrotron sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Philipp, Hugh T., E-mail: htp2@cornell.edu; Tate, Mark W.; Purohit, Prafull; Shanks, Katherine S.; Weiss, Joel T. [Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (United States); Chamberlain, Darol; Gruner, Sol M. [Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (United States); Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS), Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (United States)

2016-07-27

Modern storage rings are readily capable of providing intense x-ray pulses, tens of picoseconds in duration, millions of times per second. Exploiting the temporal structure of these x-ray sources opens avenues for studying rapid structural changes in materials. Many processes (e.g. crack propagation, deformation on impact, turbulence, etc.) differ in detail from one sample trial to the next and would benefit from the ability to record successive x-ray images with single x-ray sensitivity while framing at 5 to 10 MHz rates. To this end, we have pursued the development of fast x-ray imaging detectors capable of collecting bursts of images that enable the isolation of single synchrotron bunches and/or bunch trains. The detector technology used is the hybrid pixel array detector (PAD) with a charge integrating front-end, and high-speed, in-pixel signal storage elements. A 384×256 pixel version, the Keck-PAD, with 150 µm × 150 µm pixels and 8 dedicated in-pixel storage elements is operational, has been tested at CHESS, and has collected data for compression wave studies. An updated version with 27 dedicated storage capacitors and identical pixel size has been fabricated.

Développement de la tomographie intra-vitale au K-edge avec la caméra à pixels hybrides XPAD3

OpenAIRE

Kronland-Martinet, C.

2015-01-01

The hybrid pixel camera XPAD3 integrated in the micro-CT PIXSCAN IIis a new devicedeveloped by the imXgam team at CPPM for which photon counting replaces charge integrationused in standard X-ray CT. This novel approach involves advantages, in particularthe absence of dark noise and the ability to set an energy threshold on each pixel of thedetected photons. This features has been exploited during this thesis work for standardsmall animal preclinical imaging and permitted to establish the fais...

The Phase-2 ATLAS ITk Pixel Upgrade

CERN Document Server

Rossi, Leonardo Paolo; The ATLAS collaboration

2018-01-01

The upgrade of the ATLAS experiment for the operation at the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider requires a new and more performant inner tracker, the ITk. The innermost part of this tracker will be built using silicon pixel detectors. This paper describes the ITk pixel project, which, after few years of design and test e ort, is now defined in detail.

Urban Image Classification: Per-Pixel Classifiers, Sub-Pixel Analysis, Object-Based Image Analysis, and Geospatial Methods. 10; Chapter

Science.gov (United States)

Myint, Soe W.; Mesev, Victor; Quattrochi, Dale; Wentz, Elizabeth A.

2013-01-01

Remote sensing methods used to generate base maps to analyze the urban environment rely predominantly on digital sensor data from space-borne platforms. This is due in part from new sources of high spatial resolution data covering the globe, a variety of multispectral and multitemporal sources, sophisticated statistical and geospatial methods, and compatibility with GIS data sources and methods. The goal of this chapter is to review the four groups of classification methods for digital sensor data from space-borne platforms; per-pixel, sub-pixel, object-based (spatial-based), and geospatial methods. Per-pixel methods are widely used methods that classify pixels into distinct categories based solely on the spectral and ancillary information within that pixel. They are used for simple calculations of environmental indices (e.g., NDVI) to sophisticated expert systems to assign urban land covers. Researchers recognize however, that even with the smallest pixel size the spectral information within a pixel is really a combination of multiple urban surfaces. Sub-pixel classification methods therefore aim to statistically quantify the mixture of surfaces to improve overall classification accuracy. While within pixel variations exist, there is also significant evidence that groups of nearby pixels have similar spectral information and therefore belong to the same classification category. Object-oriented methods have emerged that group pixels prior to classification based on spectral similarity and spatial proximity. Classification accuracy using object-based methods show significant success and promise for numerous urban 3 applications. Like the object-oriented methods that recognize the importance of spatial proximity, geospatial methods for urban mapping also utilize neighboring pixels in the classification process. The primary difference though is that geostatistical methods (e.g., spatial autocorrelation methods) are utilized during both the pre- and post

LHC-rate beam test of CMS pixel barrel modules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erdmann, W.; Hoermann, Ch.; Kotlinski, D.; Horisberger, R.; Kaestli, H. Chr.; Gabathuler, K.; Bertl, W.; Meier, B.; Langenegger, U.; Trueeb, P.; Rohe, T.

2007-01-01

Modules for the CMS pixel barrel detector have been operated in a high rate pion beam at PSI in order to verify under LHC-like conditions the final module design for the production. The test beam provided charged particle rates up to 10 8 cm -2 s -1 over the full module area. Bunch structure and randomized high trigger rates simulated realistic operation. A four layer telescope made of single pixel readout chip assemblies provided tracking needed for the determination of the modules hit reconstruction efficiency. The performance of the modules has been shown to be adequate for the CMS pixel barrel

Performance of Edgeless Silicon Pixel Sensors on p-type substrate for the ATLAS High-Luminosity Upgrade

CERN Document Server

INSPIRE-00052711; Boscardin, Maurizio; Bosisio, Luciano; Calderini, Giovanni; Chauveau, Jacques; Ducourthial, Audrey; Giacomini, Gabriele; Marchiori, Giovanni; Zorzi, Nicola

2016-01-01

In view of the LHC upgrade phases towards the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), the ATLAS experiment plans to upgrade the Inner Detector with an all-silicon system. The n-on-p silicon technology is a promising candidate to achieve a large area instrumented with pixel sensors, since it is radiation hard and cost effective. The paper reports on the performance of novel n-on-p edgeless planar pixel sensors produced by FBK-CMM, making use of the active trench for the reduction of the dead area at the periphery of the device. After discussing the sensor technology an overview of the first beam test results will be given.

Development of Edgeless Silicon Pixel Sensors on p-type substrate for the ATLAS High-Luminosity Upgrade

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calderini, G. [Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et des Hautes Energies (LPNHE), Paris (France); Dipartimento di Fisica E. Fermi, Universitá di Pisa, Pisa (Italy); Bagolini, A. [Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Centro per i Materiali e i Microsistemi (FBK-CMM), Povo di Trento (Italy); Beccherle, R. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sez. di Pisa (Italy); Bomben, M. [Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et des Hautes Energies (LPNHE), Paris (France); Boscardin, M. [Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Centro per i Materiali e i Microsistemi (FBK-CMM), Povo di Trento (Italy); Bosisio, L. [Università degli studi di Trieste (Italy); INFN-Trieste (Italy); Chauveau, J. [Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et des Hautes Energies (LPNHE), Paris (France); Giacomini, G. [Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Centro per i Materiali e i Microsistemi (FBK-CMM), Povo di Trento (Italy); La Rosa, A. [Section de Physique (DPNC), Universitè de Geneve, Geneve (Switzerland); Marchiori, G. [Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et des Hautes Energies (LPNHE), Paris (France); Zorzi, N. [Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Centro per i Materiali e i Microsistemi (FBK-CMM), Povo di Trento (Italy)

2016-09-21

In view of the LHC upgrade phases towards the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), the ATLAS experiment plans to upgrade the Inner Detector with an all-silicon system. The n-on-p silicon technology is a promising candidate to achieve a large area instrumented with pixel sensors, since it is radiation hard and cost effective. The presentation describes the performance of novel n-in-p edgeless planar pixel sensors produced by FBK-CMM, making use of the active trench for the reduction of the dead area at the periphery of the device. After discussing the sensor technology, some feedback from preliminary results of the first beam test will be discussed.

Imaging performance comparison between a LaBr3: Ce scintillator based and a CdTe semiconductor based photon counting compact gamma camera.

Science.gov (United States)

Russo, P; Mettivier, G; Pani, R; Pellegrini, R; Cinti, M N; Bennati, P

2009-04-01

The authors report on the performance of two small field of view, compact gamma cameras working in single photon counting in planar imaging tests at 122 and 140 keV. The first camera is based on a LaBr3: Ce scintillator continuous crystal (49 x 49 x 5 mm3) assembled with a flat panel multianode photomultiplier tube with parallel readout. The second one belongs to the class of semiconductor hybrid pixel detectors, specifically, a CdTe pixel detector (14 x 14 x 1 mm3) with 256 x 256 square pixels and a pitch of 55 microm, read out by a CMOS single photon counting integrated circuit of the Medipix2 series. The scintillation camera was operated with selectable energy window while the CdTe camera was operated with a single low-energy detection threshold of about 20 keV, i.e., without energy discrimination. The detectors were coupled to pinhole or parallel-hole high-resolution collimators. The evaluation of their overall performance in basic imaging tasks is presented through measurements of their detection efficiency, intrinsic spatial resolution, noise, image SNR, and contrast recovery. The scintillation and CdTe cameras showed, respectively, detection efficiencies at 122 keV of 83% and 45%, intrinsic spatial resolutions of 0.9 mm and 75 microm, and total background noises of 40.5 and 1.6 cps. Imaging tests with high-resolution parallel-hole and pinhole collimators are also reported.

High-voltage pixel detectors in commercial CMOS technologies for ATLAS, CLIC and Mu3e experiments

CERN Document Server

Peric,I et al.

2013-01-01

High-voltage particle detectors in commercial CMOS technologies are a detector family that allows implementation of low-cost, thin and radiation-tolerant detectors with a high time resolution. In the R/D phase of the development, a radiation tolerance of 1015 neq=cm2 , nearly 100% detection efficiency and a spatial resolution of about 3 μm were demonstrated. Since 2011 the HV detectors have first applications: the technology is presently the main option for the pixel detector of the planned Mu3e experiment at PSI (Switzerland). Several prototype sensors have been designed in a standard 180 nm HV CMOS process and successfully tested. Thanks to its high radiation tolerance, the HV detectors are also seen at CERN as a promising alternative to the standard options for ATLAS upgrade and CLIC. In order to test the concept, within ATLAS upgrade R/D, we are currently exploring an active pixel detector demonstrator HV2FEI4; also implemented in the 180 nm HV process.

A Medipix2-based imaging system for digital mammography with silicon pixel detectors

CERN Document Server

Bisogni, M G; Fantacci, M E; Mettivier, G; Montesi, M C; Novelli, M; Quattrocchi, M; Rosso, V; Russo, P; Stefanini, A

2004-01-01

In this paper we present the first tests of a digital imaging system based on a silicon pixel detector bump-bonded to an integrated circuit operating in single photon counting mode. The X-rays sensor is a 300 mu m thick silicon, 14 by 14 mm/sup 2/, upon which a matrix of 256 * 256 pixels has been built. The read-out chip, named MEDIPIX2, has been developed at CERN within the MEDIPIX2 Collaboration and it is composed by a matrix of 256 * 256 cells, 55 * 55 mu m/sup 2/. The spatial resolution properties of the system have been assessed by measuring the square wave resolution function (SWRF) and first images of a standard mammographic phantom were acquired using a radiographic tube in the clinical irradiation condition. (5 refs).

Polarization effect of CdZnTe imaging detector based on high energy γ source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Miao; Xiao Shali; Wang Xi; Shen Min; Zhang Liuqiang; Cao Yulin; Chen Yuxiao

2011-01-01

The inner electric potential distribution of CdZnTe detector was derived by applying poisson equation with the first type boundary condition, and the polarization effect of CdZnTe pixellated detector for imaging 137 Cs γ source was investigated. The results of numerical calculation and experiment indicate that electric potential distribution is mainly influenced by applied bias for low charge density in CdZnTe crystal and, in turn, there is linear relationship between electric potential distribution and applied bias that induces uniform electric field under low irradiated flux. However, the electric potential appears polarization phenomenon, and the electric field in CdZnTe crystal is distorted when CdZnTe detector is under high irradiated flux. Consequently, charge carriers in CdZnTe crystal drift towards the edge pixels of irradiated region, and hence, the shut-off central pixels are surrounded by a ring of low counting pixels. The polarization effect indeed deteriorates the performance of CdZnTe detector severely and the event counts of edge pixels for irradiated region reduce about 70%. (authors)

SU-C-206-01: Impact of Charge Sharing Effect On Sub-Pitch Resolution for CZT-Based Photon Counting CT Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zheng, X; Cheng, Z; Deen, J; Peng, H [McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario (Canada); Xing, L [Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA (United States)

2016-06-15

Purposes: Photon counting CT is a new imaging technology that can provide tissue composition information such as calcium/iodine content quantification. Cadmium zinc telluride CZT is considered a good candidate the photon counting CT due to its relatively high atomic number and band gap. One potential challenge is the degradation of both spatial and energy resolution as the fine electrode pitch is deployed (<50 µm). We investigated the extent of charge sharing effect as functions of gap width, bias voltage and depth-of-interaction (DOI). Methods: The initial electron cloud size and diffusion process were modeled analytically. The valid range of charge sharing effect refers to the range over which both signals of adjacent electrodes are above the triggering threshold (10% of the amplitude of 60keV X-ray photons). The intensity ratios of output in three regions (I1/I2/I3: left pixel, gap area and right pixel) were calculated. With Gaussian white noises modeled (a SNR of 5 based upon the preliminary experiments), the sub-pitch resolution as a function of the spatial position in-between two pixels was studied. Results: The valid range of charge sharing increases linearly with depth-of-interaction (DOI) but decreases with gap width and bias voltage. For a 1.5mm thickness CZT detector (pitch: 50µm, bias: 400 V), the range increase from ∼90µm up to ∼110µm. Such an increase can be attributed to a longer travel distance and the associated electron cloud broadening. The achievable sub-pitch resolution is in the range of ∼10–30µm. Conclusion: The preliminary results demonstrate that sub-pixel spatial resolution can be achieved using the ratio of amplitudes of two neighboring pixels. Such ratio may also be used to correct charge loss and help improve energy resolution of a CZT detector. The impact of characteristic X-rays hitting adjacent pixels (i.e., multiple interaction) on charge sharing is currently being investigated.

Status of the CMS Phase I pixel detector upgrade

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spannagel, S., E-mail: simon.spannagel@desy.de

2016-09-21

A new pixel detector for the CMS experiment is being built, owing to the instantaneous luminosities anticipated for the Phase I Upgrade of the LHC. The new CMS pixel detector provides four-hit tracking while featuring a significantly reduced material budget as well as new cooling and powering schemes. A new front-end readout chip mitigates buffering and bandwidth limitations, and comprises a low-threshold comparator. These improvements allow the new pixel detector to sustain and improve the efficiency of the current pixel tracker at the increased requirements imposed by high luminosities and pile-up. This contribution gives an overview of the design of the upgraded pixel detector and the status of the upgrade project, and presents test beam performance measurements of the production read-out chip.

Status of the CMS Phase I Pixel Detector Upgrade

CERN Document Server

Spannagel, Simon

2016-09-21

A new pixel detector for the CMS experiment is being built, owing to the instantaneous luminosities anticipated for the Phase~I Upgrade of the LHC. The new CMS pixel detector provides four-hit tracking while featuring a significantly reduced material budget as well as new cooling and powering schemes. A new front-end readout chip mitigates buffering and bandwidth limitations, and comprises a low-threshold comparator. These improvements allow the new pixel detector to sustain and improve the efficiency of the current pixel tracker at the increased requirements imposed by high luminosities and pile-up. This contribution gives an overview of the design of the upgraded pixel detector and the status of the upgrade project, and presents test beam performance measurements of the production read-out chip.

Comparison Effectiveness of Pixel Based Classification and Object Based Classification Using High Resolution Image In Floristic Composition Mapping (Study Case: Gunung Tidar Magelang City)

Science.gov (United States)

Ardha Aryaguna, Prama; Danoedoro, Projo

2016-11-01

Developments of analysis remote sensing have same way with development of technology especially in sensor and plane. Now, a lot of image have high spatial and radiometric resolution, that's why a lot information. Vegetation object analysis such floristic composition got a lot advantage of that development. Floristic composition can be interpreted using a lot of method such pixel based classification and object based classification. The problems for pixel based method on high spatial resolution image are salt and paper who appear in result of classification. The purpose of this research are compare effectiveness between pixel based classification and object based classification for composition vegetation mapping on high resolution image Worldview-2. The results show that pixel based classification using majority 5×5 kernel windows give the highest accuracy between another classifications. The highest accuracy is 73.32% from image Worldview-2 are being radiometric corrected level surface reflectance, but for overall accuracy in every class, object based are the best between another methods. Reviewed from effectiveness aspect, pixel based are more effective then object based for vegetation composition mapping in Tidar forest.

Development of ultra-light pixelated systems based on CMOS sensors for future high precision vertex detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Winter, Marc [Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien - IPHC, 23 rue du loess - BP28, 67037 Strasbourg cedex 2 (France)

2010-07-01

CMOS pixel sensors have demonstrated attractive performances in terms of spatial resolution and material budget. The recent emergence of high resistivity substrates in mass production CMOS processes has originated particularly high signal-to-noise ratios and improved the non-ionising radiation tolerance to fluences close to 10{sup 14} Neq/cm{sup 2}. These achievements, obtained with MIMOSA sensors developed at IPHC (Strasbourg) and IRFU (Saclay) will be overviewed and put in perspective of the numerous applications of the sensors. These include collider experiments at RHIC, LHC, ILC and CLIC. The development of ultra-light ladders composed of these sensors and featuring 0.1% to 0.3% of radiation length, will be summarised. The contribution to the conference will also address the evolution of these pixelated systems, including on-going R on multi-tier sensors exploiting vertical integration technologies. (author)

Upgrade of ATLAS ITk Pixel Detector

CERN Document Server

Huegging, Fabian; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

The high luminosity upgrade of the LHC (HL-LHC) in 2026 will provide new challenges to the ATLAS tracker. The current inner detector will be replaced with an entirely-silicon inner tracker (ITk) which will consist of a five barrel layer Pixel detector surrounded by a four barrel layer Strip detector. The expected high radiation levels are requiring the development of upgraded silicon sensors as well as new a front-end chip. The dense tracking environment will require finer granularity detectors and low mass global and local support structures. The data rates will require new technologies for high bandwidth data transmission and handling. The current status of the ITk ATLAS Pixel detector developments as well as different layout options will be reviewed.

Planar pixel sensors in commercial CMOS technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gonella, Laura; Hemperek, Tomasz; Huegging, Fabian; Krueger, Hans; Wermes, Norbert [Physikalisches Institut der Universitaet Bonn, Nussallee 12, 53115 Bonn (Germany); Macchiolo, Anna [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Physik, Foehringer Ring 6, 80805 Muenchen (Germany)

2015-07-01

For the upgrade of the ATLAS experiment at the high luminosity LHC, an all-silicon tracker is foreseen to cope with the increased rate and radiation levels. Pixel and strip detectors will have to cover an area of up to 200m2. To produce modules in high number at reduced costs, new sensor and bonding technologies have to be investigated. Commercial CMOS technologies on high resistive substrates can provide significant advantages in this direction. They offer cost effective, large volume sensor production. In addition to this, production is done on 8'' wafers allowing wafer-to-wafer bonding to the electronics, an interconnection technology substantially cheaper than the bump bonding process used for hybrid pixel detectors at the LHC. Both active and passive n-in-p pixel sensor prototypes have been submitted in a 150 nm CMOS technology on a 2kΩ cm substrate. The passive sensor design will be used to characterize sensor properties and to investigate wafer-to-wafer bonding technologies. This first prototype is made of a matrix of 36 x 16 pixels of size compatible with the FE-I4 readout chip (i.e. 50 μm x 250 μm). Results from lab characterization of this first submission are shown together with TCAD simulations. Work towards a full size FE-I4 sensor for wafer-to-wafer bonding is discussed.

Si-strip photon counting detectors for contrast-enhanced spectral mammography

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Buxin; Reiser, Ingrid; Wessel, Jan C.; Malakhov, Nail; Wawrzyniak, Gregor; Hartsough, Neal E.; Gandhi, Thulasi; Chen, Chin-Tu; Iwanczyk, Jan S.; Barber, William C.

2015-08-01

We report on the development of silicon strip detectors for energy-resolved clinical mammography. Typically, X-ray integrating detectors based on scintillating cesium iodide CsI(Tl) or amorphous selenium (a-Se) are used in most commercial systems. Recently, mammography instrumentation has been introduced based on photon counting Si strip detectors. The required performance for mammography in terms of the output count rate, spatial resolution, and dynamic range must be obtained with sufficient field of view for the application, thus requiring the tiling of pixel arrays and particular scanning techniques. Room temperature Si strip detector, operating as direct conversion x-ray sensors, can provide the required speed when connected to application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) operating at fast peaking times with multiple fixed thresholds per pixel, provided that the sensors are designed for rapid signal formation across the X-ray energy ranges of the application. We present our methods and results from the optimization of Si-strip detectors for contrast enhanced spectral mammography. We describe the method being developed for quantifying iodine contrast using the energy-resolved detector with fixed thresholds. We demonstrate the feasibility of the method by scanning an iodine phantom with clinically relevant contrast levels.

CMOS pixel development for the ATLAS experiment at HL-LHC

CERN Document Server

Rimoldi, Marco; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

To cope with the rate and radiation environment expected at the HL-LHC new approaches are being developed on CMOS pixel detectors, providing charge collection in a depleted layer. They are based on: HV enabling technologies that allow to use high depletion voltages, high resistivity wafers for large depletion depths; radiation hard processed with multiple nested wells to allow CMOS electronics embedded with sufficient shielding into the sensor substrate and backside processing and thinning for material minimization and backside voltage application. Since 2014, members of more than 20 groups in the ATLAS experiment are actively pursuing CMOS pixel R$\\&$D in an ATLAS Demonstrator program pursuing sensor design and characterizations. The goal of this program is to demonstrate that depleted CMOS pixels are suited for high rate, fast timing and high radiation operation at LHC. For this a number of technologies have been explored and characterized. In this presentation the challenges for the usage of CMOS pixel...

Investigating the effect of pixel size of high spatial resolution FTIR imaging for detection of colorectal cancer

Science.gov (United States)

Lloyd, G. R.; Nallala, J.; Stone, N.

2016-03-01

FTIR is a well-established technique and there is significant interest in applying this technique to medical diagnostics e.g. to detect cancer. The introduction of focal plane array (FPA) detectors means that FTIR is particularly suited to rapid imaging of biopsy sections as an adjunct to digital pathology. Until recently however each pixel in the image has been limited to a minimum of 5.5 µm which results in a comparatively low magnification image or histology applications and potentially the loss of important diagnostic information. The recent introduction of higher magnification optics gives image pixels that cover approx. 1.1 µm. This reduction in image pixel size gives images of higher magnification and improved spatial detail can be observed. However, the effect of increasing the magnification on spectral quality and the ability to discriminate between disease states is not well studied. In this work we test the discriminatory performance of FTIR imaging using both standard (5.5 µm) and high (1.1 µm) magnification for the detection of colorectal cancer and explore the effect of binning to degrade high resolution images to determine whether similar diagnostic information and performance can be obtained using both magnifications. Results indicate that diagnostic performance using high magnification may be reduced as compared to standard magnification when using existing multivariate approaches. Reduction of the high magnification data to standard magnification via binning can potentially recover some of the lost performance.

Monolithic pixels on moderate resistivity substrate and sparsifying readout architecture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giubilato, P.; Battaglia, M.; Bisello, D.; Caselle, M.; Chalmet, P.; Demaria, L.; Ikemoto, Y.; Kloukinas, K.; Mansuy, S.C.; Mattiazzo, S.; Marchioro, A.; Mugnier, H.; Pantano, D.; Potenza, A.; Rivetti, A.; Rousset, J.; Silvestrin, L.; Snoeys, W.

2013-01-01

The LePix projects aim realizing a new generation monolithic pixel detectors with improved performances at lesser cost with respect to both current state of the art monolithic and hybrid pixel sensors. The detector is built in a 90 nm CMOS process on a substrate of moderate resistivity. This allows charge collection by drift while maintaining the other advantages usually offered by MAPS, like having a single piece detector and using a standard CMOS production line. The collection by drift mechanism, coupled to the low capacitance design of the collecting node made possible by the monolithic approach, provides an excellent signal to noise ratio straight at the pixel cell together with a radiation tolerance far superior to conventional un-depleted MAPS. The excellent signal-to-noise performance is demonstrated by the device ability to separate the 6 keV 55 Fe double peak at room temperature. To achieve high granularity (10–20 µm pitch pixels) over large detector areas maintaining high readout speed, a completely new compressing architecture has been devised. This architecture departs from the mainstream hybrid pixel sparsification approach, which uses in-pixel logic to reduce data, by using topological compression to minimize pixel area and power consumption

E-Beam Effects on CMOS Active Pixel Sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Dong Ook; Jo, Gyu Seong; Kim, Hyeon Daek; Kim, Hyunk Taek; Kim, Jong Yeol; Kim, Chan Kyu

2011-01-01

Three different CMOS active pixel structures manufactured in a deep submicron process have been evaluated with electron beam. The devices were exposed to 1 MeV electron beam up to 5kGy. Dark current increased after E-beam irradiation differently at each pixel structure. Dark current change is dependent on CMOS pixel structures. CMOS image sensors are now good candidates in demanding applications such as medical image sensor, particle detection and space remote sensing. In these situations, CISs are exposed to high doses of radiation. In fact radiation is known to generate trapped charge in CMOS oxides. It can lead to threshold voltage shifts and current leakages in MOSFETs and dark current increase in photodiodes. We studied ionizing effects in three types of CMOS APSs fabricated by 0.25 CMOS process. The devices were irradiated by a Co 60 source up to 50kGy. All irradiation took place at room temperature. The dark current in the three different pixels exhibits increase with electron beam exposure. From the above figure, the change of dark current is dependent on the pixel structure. Double junction structure has shown relatively small increase of dark current after electron beam irradiation. The dark current in the three different pixels exhibits increase with electron beam exposure. The contribution of the total ionizing dose to the dark current increase is small here, since the devices were left unbiased during the electron beam irradiation. Radiation hardness in dependent on the pixel structures. Pixel2 is relatively vulnerable to radiation exposure. Pixel3 has radiation hardened structure

Next generation HgCdTe FPAs for high frame rate characterization of thermal protective systems, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Typical existing infrared (IR) focal plane arrays (FPAs) have high spatial resolution over large areas due to their high pixel counts, however they can only...

Operational Experience with the ATLAS Pixel Detector at the LHC

CERN Document Server

Keil, M; The ATLAS collaboration

2012-01-01

The ATLAS Pixel Detector is the innermost detector of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, providing high-resolution measurements of charged particle tracks in the high radiation environment close to the collision region. This capability is vital for the identification and measurement of proper decay times of long-lived particles such as b-hadrons, and thus vital for the ATLAS physics program. The detector provides hermetic coverage with three cylindrical layers and three layers of forward and backward pixel detectors. It consists of approximately 80 million pixels that are individually read out via chips bump-bonded to 1744 n-in-n silicon substrates. In this talk, results from the successful operation of the Pixel Detector at the LHC and its status after three years of operation will be presented, including calibration procedures, timing optimization and detector performance. The detector performance is excellent: ~96 % of the pixels are operational, noise occupancy and hit efficiency e...

Operational Experience with the ATLAS Pixel Detector at the LHC

CERN Document Server

Keil, M; The ATLAS collaboration

2011-01-01

The ATLAS Pixel Detector is the innermost detector of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, providing high-resolution measurements of charged particle tracks in the high radiation environment close to the collision region. This capability is vital for the identification and measurement of proper decay times of long-lived particles such as b-hadrons, and thus vital for the ATLAS physics program. The detector provides hermetic coverage with three cylindrical layers and three layers of forward and backward pixel detectors. It consists of approximately 80 million pixels that are individually read out via chips bump-bonded to 1744 n-in-n silicon substrates. In this talk, results from the successful operation of the Pixel Detector at the LHC will be presented, including monitoring, calibration procedures, timing optimization and detector performance. The detector performance is excellent: 97,5% of the pixels are operational, noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the design specification, an...

Operational experience with the ATLAS Pixel Detector at the LHC

CERN Document Server

Hirschbuehl, D; The ATLAS collaboration

2011-01-01

The ATLAS Pixel Detector is the innermost detector of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, providing high-resolution measurements of charged particle tracks in the high radiation environment close to the collision region. This capability is vital for the identification and measurement of proper decay times of long-lived particles such as b-hadrons, and thus vital for the ATLAS physics program. The detector provides hermetic coverage with three cylindrical layers and three layers of forward and backward pixel detectors. It consists of approximately 80 million pixels that are individually read out via chips bump-bonded to 1744 n-in-n silicon substrates. In this paper results from the successful operation of the Pixel Detector at the LHC will be presented, including monitoring, calibration procedures, timing optimization and detector performance. The detector performance is excellent: 96.7% of the pixels are operational, noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the design specification, an...

Operational experience with the ATLAS Pixel Detector at the LHC

CERN Document Server

Lapoire, C; The ATLAS collaboration

2011-01-01

The ATLAS Pixel Detector is the innermost detector of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, providing high-resolution measurements of charged particle tracks in the high radiation environment close to the collision region. This capability is vital for the identification and measurement of proper decay times of long-lived particles such as b-hadrons, and thus vital for the ATLAS physics program. The detector provides hermetic coverage with three cylindrical layers and three layers of forward and backward pixel detectors. It consists of approximately 80 million pixels that are individually read out via chips bump-bonded to 1744 n-in-n silicon substrates. In this talk, results from the successful operation of the Pixel Detector at the LHC will be presented, including monitoring, calibration procedures, timing optimization and detector performance. The detector performance is excellent: 97,5% of the pixels are operational, noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the design specification, an...

Operational Experience with the ATLAS Pixel Detector at the LHC

CERN Document Server

Lapoire, C; The ATLAS collaboration

2012-01-01

The ATLAS Pixel Detector is the innermost detector of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, providing high-resolution measurements of charged particle tracks in the high radiation environment close to the collision region. This capability is vital for the identification and measurement of proper decay times of long-lived particles such as B-hadrons, and thus vital for the ATLAS physics program. The detector provides hermetic coverage with three cylindrical layers and three layers of forward and backward pixel detectors. It consists of approximately 80 million pixels that are individually read out via chips bump-bonded to 1744 n-in-n silicon substrates. In this paper, results from the successful operation of the Pixel Detector at the LHC will be presented, including monitoring, calibration procedures and detector performance. The detector performance is excellent: 96.2% of the pixels are operational, noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the design specification.

Operational Experience with the ATLAS Pixel Detector at the LHC

CERN Document Server

Keil, M

2012-01-01

The ATLAS Pixel Detector is the innermost detector of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, providing high-resolution measurements of charged particle tracks in the high radiation environment close to the collision region. This capability is vital for the identification and measurement of proper decay times of long-lived particles such as b-hadrons, and thus vital for the ATLAS physics program. The detector provides hermetic coverage with three cylindrical layers and three layers of forward and backward pixel detectors. It consists of approximately 80 million pixels that are individually read out via chips bump-bonded to 1744 n-in-n silicon substrates. In this paper results from the successful operation of the Pixel Detector at the LHC will be presented, including calibration procedures, timing optimization and detector performance. The detector performance is excellent: approximately 97% of the pixels are operational, noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the design specification, an...

Operational experience with the ATLAS Pixel Detector at the LHC

CERN Document Server

Ince, T; The ATLAS collaboration

2011-01-01

The ATLAS Pixel Detector is the innermost detector of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, providing high-resolution measurements of charged particle tracks in the high radiation environment close to the collision region. This capability is vital for the identification and measurement of proper decay times of long-lived particles such as b-hadrons, and thus vital for the ATLAS physics program. The detector provides hermetic coverage with three cylindrical layers and three layers of forward and backward pixel detectors. It consists of approximately 80 million pixels that are individually read out via chips bump-bonded to 1744 n-in-n silicon substrates. In this talk, results from the successful operation of the Pixel Detector at the LHC will be presented, including monitoring, calibration procedures, timing optimization and detector performance. The detector performance is excellent: 96.8% of the pixels are operational, noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the design specification, an...

Operational experience with the ATLAS Pixel detector at the LHC

CERN Document Server

Deluca, C; The ATLAS collaboration

2011-01-01

The ATLAS Pixel Detector is the innermost detector of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, providing high-resolution measurements of charged particle tracks in the high radiation environment close to the collision region. This capability is vital for the identification and measurement of proper decay times of long-lived particles such as b-hadrons, and thus vital for the ATLAS physics program. The detector provides hermetic coverage with three cylindrical layers and three layers of forward and backward pixel detectors. It consists of approximately 80 million pixels that are individually read out via chips bump-bonded to 1744 n-in-n silicon substrates. In this paper, results from the successful operation of the Pixel Detector at the LHC will be presented, including monitoring, calibration procedures, timing optimization and detector performance. The detector performance is excellent: 97,5\\% of the pixels are operational, noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the design specification, ...

Operational Experience with the ATLAS Pixel Detector at the LHC

CERN Document Server

Lange, C; The ATLAS collaboration

2011-01-01

The ATLAS Pixel Detector is the innermost detector of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, providing high-resolution measurements of charged particle tracks in the high radiation environment close to the collision region. This capability is vital for the identification and measurement of proper decay times of long-lived particles such as b-hadrons, and thus vital for the ATLAS physics program. The detector provides hermetic coverage with three cylindrical layers and three layers of forward and backward pixel detectors. It consists of approximately 80 million pixels that are individually read out via chips bump- bonded to 1744 n-in-n silicon substrates. In this talk, results from the successful operation of the Pixel Detector at the LHC will be presented, including monitoring, calibration procedures, timing optimization and detector performance. The detector performance is excellent: 97,5% of the pixels are operational, noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the design specification, a...

Operational experience with the ATLAS Pixel detector at the LHC

CERN Document Server

Deluca, C; The ATLAS collaboration

2011-01-01

The ATLAS Pixel Detector is the innermost detector of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, providing high-resolution measurements of charged particle tracks in the high radiation environment close to the collision region. This capability is vital for the identification and measurement of proper decay times of long-lived particles such as b-hadrons, and thus vital for the ATLAS physics program. The detector provides hermetic coverage with three cylindrical layers and three layers of forward and backward pixel detectors. It consists of approximately 80 million pixels that are individually read out via chips bump-bonded to 1744 n-in-n silicon substrates. In this talk, results from the successful operation of the Pixel Detector at the LHC will be presented, including monitoring, calibration procedures, timing optimization and detector performance. The detector performance is excellent: 97,5% of the pixels are operational, noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the design specification, an...

Characterization of active CMOS sensors for capacitively coupled pixel detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hirono, Toko; Gonella, Laura; Janssen, Jens; Hemperek, Tomasz; Huegging, Fabian; Krueger, Hans; Wermes, Norbert [Institute of Physics, University of Bonn (Germany); Peric, Ivan [Institut fuer Prozessdatenverarbeitung und Elektronik, Karlsruher Institut fuer Technologie, Karlsruhe (Germany)

2015-07-01

Active CMOS pixel sensor is one of the most attractive candidates for detectors of upcoming particle physics experiments. In contrast to conventional sensors of hybrid detectors, signal processing circuit can be integrated in the active CMOS sensor. The characterization and optimization of the pixel circuit are indispensable to obtain a good performance from the sensors. The prototype chips of the active CMOS sensor were fabricated in the AMS 180nm and L-Foundry 150 nm CMOS processes, respectively a high voltage and high resistivity technology. Both chips have a charge sensitive amplifier and a comparator in each pixel. The chips are designed to be glued to the FEI4 pixel readout chip. The signals from 3 pixels of the prototype chips are capacitively coupled to the FEI4 input pads. We have performed lab tests and test beams to characterize the prototypes. In this presentation, the measurement results of the active CMOS prototype sensors are shown.

First large DEPFET pixel modules for the Belle II Pixel Detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mueller, Felix; Avella, Paola; Kiesling, Christian; Koffmane, Christian; Moser, Hans-Guenther; Valentan, Manfred [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Physik, Muenchen (Germany); Andricek, Ladislav; Richter, Rainer [Halbleiterlabor der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Muenchen (Germany); Collaboration: Belle II-Collaboration

2016-07-01

DEPFET pixel detectors offer excellent signal to noise ratio, resolution and low power consumption with a low material budget. They will be used at Belle II and are a candidate for an ILC vertex detector. The pixels are integrated in a monolithic piece of silicon which also acts as PCB providing the signal and control routings for the ASICs on top. The first prototype DEPFET sensor modules for Belle II have been produced. The modules have 192000 pixels and are equipped with SMD components and three different kinds of ASICs to control and readout the pixels. The entire readout chain has to be studied; the metal layer interconnectivity and routings need to be verified. The modules are fully characterized, and the operation voltages and control sequences of the ASICs are investigated. An overview of the DEPFET concept and first characterization results is presented.

Fabrication of a high-density MCM-D for a pixel detector system using a BCB/Cu technology

CERN Document Server

Topper, M; Engelmann, G; Fehlberg, S; Gerlach, P; Wolf, J; Ehrmann, O; Becks, K H; Reichl, H

1999-01-01

The MCM-D which is described here is a prototype for a pixel detector system for the planned Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, Geneva. The project is within the ATLAS experiment. The module consists of a sensor tile with an active area of 16.4 mm*60.4 mm, 16 readout chips, each serving 24*160 pixel unit cells, a module controller chip, an optical transceiver and the local signal interconnection and power distribution buses. The extremely high wiring density which is necessary to interconnect the readout chips was achieved using a thin film copper/photo-BCB process above the pixel array. The bumping of the readout chips was done by PbSn electroplating. All dice are then attached by flip-chip assembly to the sensor diodes and the local buses. The focus of this paper is a detailed description of the technologies for the fabrication of this advanced MCM-D. (10 refs).

Smart pile-up consideration for evaluation of high count rate EDS spectra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eggert, F; Anderhalt, R; Nicolosi, J; Elam, T

2012-01-01

This work describes a new pile-up consideration for the very high count rate spectra which are possible to acquire with silicon drift detector (SDD) technology. Pile-up effects are the major and still remaining challenge with the use of SDD for EDS in scanning electron microscopes (SEM) with ultra thin windows for soft X-ray detection. The ability to increase the count rates up to a factor of 100 compared with conventional Si(Li) detectors, comes with the problem that the pile-up recognition (pile-up rejection) in pulse processors is not able to improve by the same order of magnitude, just only with a factor of about 3. Therefore, it is common that spectra will show significant pile-up effects if count rates of more than 10000 counts per second (10 kcps) are used. These false counts affect both automatic qualitative analysis and quantitative evaluation of the spectra. The new idea is to use additional inputs for pile-up calculation to shift the applicability towards very high count rates of up to 200 kcps and more, which can be easily acquired with the SDD. The additional input is the 'known' (estimated) background distribution, calculated iteratively during all automated qualitative or quantitative evaluations. This additional knowledge gives the opportunity for self adjustment of the pile-up calculation parameters and avoids over-corrections which challenge the evaluation as well as the pile-up artefacts themselves. With the proposed method the pile-up correction is no longer a 'correction' but an integral part of all spectra evaluation steps. Examples for the application are given with evaluation of very high count rate spectra.

ATLAS Pixel Detector Design For HL-LHC

CERN Document Server

Smart, Ben; The ATLAS collaboration

2016-01-01

The ATLAS Inner Detector will be replaced for the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) running in 2026. The new Inner Detector will be called the Inner Tracker (ITk). The ITk will cover an extended eta-range: at least to |eta|<3.2, and likely up to |eta|<4.0. The ITk will be an all-Silicon based detector, consisting of a Silicon strip detector outside of a radius of 362mm, and a Silicon pixel detector inside of this radius. Several novel designs are being considered for the ITk pixel detector, to cope with high-eta charged particle tracks. These designs are grouped into 'extended' and 'inclined' design-types. Extended designs have long pixel staves with sensors parallel to the beamline. High-eta particles will therefore hit these sensors at shallow angles, leaving elongated charge clusters. The length of such a charge cluster can be used to estimate the angle of the passing particle. This information can then be used in track reconstruction to improve tracking efficiency and reduce fake rates. Inclined designs ...

Spectral resolution and high-flux capability tradeoffs in CdTe detectors for clinical CT.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsieh, Scott S; Rajbhandary, Paurakh L; Pelc, Norbert J

2018-04-01

Photon-counting detectors using CdTe or CZT substrates are promising candidates for future CT systems but suffer from a number of nonidealities, including charge sharing and pulse pileup. By increasing the pixel size of the detector, the system can improve charge sharing characteristics at the expense of increasing pileup. The purpose of this work is to describe these considerations in the optimization of the detector pixel pitch. The transport of x rays through the CdTe substrate was simulated in a Monte Carlo fashion using GEANT4. Deposited energy was converted into charges distributed as a Gaussian function with size dependent on interaction depth to capture spreading from diffusion and Coulomb repulsion. The charges were then collected in a pixelated fashion. Pulse pileup was incorporated separately with Monte Carlo simulation. The Cramér-Rao lower bound (CRLB) of the measurement variance was numerically estimated for the basis material projections. Noise in these estimates was propagated into CT images. We simulated pixel pitches of 250, 350, and 450 microns and compared the results to a photon counting detector with pileup but otherwise ideal energy response and an ideal dual-energy system (80/140 kVp with tin filtration). The modeled CdTe thickness was 2 mm, the incident spectrum was 140 kVp and 500 mA, and the effective dead time was 67 ns. Charge summing circuitry was not modeled. We restricted our simulations to objects of uniform thickness and did not consider the potential advantage of smaller pixels at high spatial frequencies. At very high x-ray flux, pulse pileup dominates and small pixel sizes perform best. At low flux or for thick objects, charge sharing dominates and large pixel sizes perform best. At low flux and depending on the beam hardness, the CRLB of variance in basis material projections tasks can be 32%-55% higher with a 250 micron pixel pitch compared to a 450 micron pixel pitch. However, both are about four times worse in variance

Challenges of small-pixel infrared detectors: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Rogalski, A; Martyniuk, P; Kopytko, M

2016-04-01

In the last two decades, several new concepts for improving the performance of infrared detectors have been proposed. These new concepts particularly address the drive towards the so-called high operating temperature focal plane arrays (FPAs), aiming to increase detector operating temperatures, and as a consequence reduce the cost of infrared systems. In imaging systems with the above megapixel formats, pixel dimension plays a crucial role in determining critical system attributes such as system size, weight and power consumption (SWaP). The advent of smaller pixels has also resulted in the superior spatial and temperature resolution of these systems. Optimum pixel dimensions are limited by diffraction effects from the aperture, and are in turn wavelength-dependent. In this paper, the key challenges in realizing optimum pixel dimensions in FPA design including dark current, pixel hybridization, pixel delineation, and unit cell readout capacity are outlined to achieve a sufficiently adequate modulation transfer function for the ultra-small pitches involved. Both photon and thermal detectors have been considered. Concerning infrared photon detectors, the trade-offs between two types of competing technology-HgCdTe material systems and III-V materials (mainly barrier detectors)-have been investigated.

Fusion of Pixel-based and Object-based Features for Road Centerline Extraction from High-resolution Satellite Imagery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CAO Yungang

2016-10-01

Full Text Available A novel approach for road centerline extraction from high spatial resolution satellite imagery is proposed by fusing both pixel-based and object-based features. Firstly, texture and shape features are extracted at the pixel level, and spectral features are extracted at the object level based on multi-scale image segmentation maps. Then, extracted multiple features are utilized in the fusion framework of Dempster-Shafer evidence theory to roughly identify the road network regions. Finally, an automatic noise removing algorithm combined with the tensor voting strategy is presented to accurately extract the road centerline. Experimental results using high-resolution satellite imageries with different scenes and spatial resolutions showed that the proposed approach compared favorably with the traditional methods, particularly in the aspect of eliminating the salt noise and conglutination phenomenon.

Pixel Experiments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Kjell Yngve; Søndergaard, Karin; Augustesen, Christina

2015-01-01

Pixel Experiments The term pixel is traditionally defined as any of the minute elements that together constitute a larger context or image. A pixel has its own form and is the smallest unit seen within a larger structure. In working with the potentials of LED technology in architectural lighting...... lighting design in practice, one quickly experiences and realises that there are untapped potentials in the attributes of LED technology. In this research, speculative studies have been made working with the attributes of LEDs in architectural contexts, with the ambition to ascertain new strategies...... for using LED lighting in lighting design practice. The speculative experiments that have been set-up have aimed to clarify the variables that can be used as parameters in the design of lighting applications; including, for example, the structuring and software control of light. The experiments also...

Status and future of the ATLAS Pixel Detector at the LHC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rozanov, Alexandre

2013-01-01

The ATLAS Pixel Detector is the innermost detector of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The detector provides hermetic coverage with three cylindrical layers and three layers of disks in each forward end-cap. It consists of approximately 80 million pixels that are individually read out via chips bump-bonded to 1744 n-on-n silicon substrates. Intensive calibration, tuning, timing optimization and monitoring resulted in the successful five years of operation with good detector performance. The record breaking instantaneous luminosities of 7.7×10 33 cm −2 s −1 recently surpassed at the LHC generated a rapidly increasing particle fluence in the ATLAS Pixel Detector. As the radiation dose accumulated, the first effects of radiation damage became observable in the silicon sensors as an increase in the silicon leakage current and the change of the voltage required to fully deplete the sensor. A fourth pixel layer at a radius of 3.3 cm will be added during the long shutdown (2013–2014) together with the replacement of pixel services. A letter of intent was submitted for a completely new Pixel Detector after 2023, capable to take data with extremely high leveled luminosities of 5×10 34 cm −2 s −1 at the high luminosity LHC. -- Highlights: •The ATLAS Pixel Detector provides hermetic coverage with three layers with 80 million pixels. •Calibration, tuning, timing optimization and monitoring resulted in the successful five years of operation with good detector performance. •First effects of radiation damage became observable in the silicon sensors. •A fourth pixel layer at a radius of 3.3 cm will be added during the long shutdown (2013–2014). •Replacement of pixel services in 2013–2014. •A letter of intent was submitted for new Pixel Detector after 2023 for high luminosity LHC

ATLAS Pixel IBL: Stave Quality Assurance

CERN Document Server

The ATLAS collaboration

2014-01-01

For Run 2 of the LHC a fourth innermost Pixel Detector layer on a smaller radius beam pipe has been installed in the ATLAS Detector to add redundancy against radiation damage of the current Pixel Detector and to ensure a high quality tracking and b-tagging performance of the Inner Detector over the coming years until the High Luminosity Upgrade. State of the art components have been produced and assembled onto support structures known as staves over the last two years. In total, 20 staves have been built and qualified in a designated Quality Assurance setup at CERN of which 14 have been integrated onto the beam pipe. Results from the testing are presented.

Evaluating performance of a pixel array semiconductor SPECT system for small animal imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kubo, Naoki; Zhao, Songji; Fujiki, Yutaka

2005-01-01

Small animal imaging has recently been focused on basic nuclear medicine. We have designed and built a small animal SPECT imaging system using a semiconductor camera and a newly designed collimator. We assess the performance of this system for small object imaging. We employed an MGC 1500 (Acrorad Co.) camera including a CdTe semiconductor. The pixel size was 1.4 mm/pixel. We designed and produced a parallel-hole collimator with 20-mm hole length. Our SPECT system consisted of a semiconductor camera with the subject holder set on an electric rotating stage controlled by a computer. We compared this system with a conventional small animal SPECT system comprising a SPECT-2000H scanner with four Anger type cameras and pinhole collimators. The count rate linearity for estimation of the scatter was evaluated for a pie-chart phantom containing different concentrations of 99m Tc. We measured the full width half maximum (FWHM) of the 99m Tc SPECT line source along with scatter. The system volume sensitivity was examined using a flood source phantom which was 35 mm long with a 32-mm inside diameter. Additionally, an in vivo myocardial perfusion SPECT study was performed with a rat. With regards to energy resolution, the semiconductor camera (5.6%) was superior to the conventional Anger type camera (9.8%). In the count rate linearity evaluation, the regression lines of the SPECT values were y=0.019x+0.031 (r 2 =0.999) for our system and y=0.018x+0.060 (r 2 =0.997) for the conventional system. Thus, the scatter count using the semiconductor camera was less than that using the conventional camera. FWHMs of our system and the conventional system were 2.9±0.1 and 2.0±0.1 mm, respectively. Moreover, the system volume sensitivity of our system [0.51 kcps/(MBq/ml)/cm] was superior to that of the conventional system [0.44 kcps/(MBq/ml)/cm]. Our system provided clear images of the rat myocardium, sufficient for practical use in small animal imaging. Our SPECT system, utilizing a

A silicon pixel detector with routing for external VLSI read-out

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, S.L.; Seller, P.

1988-07-01

A silicon pixel detector with an array of 32 by 16 hexagonal pixels has been designed and is being built on high resistivity silicon. The detector elements are reverse biased diodes consisting of p-implants in an n-type substrate and are fully depleted from the front to the back of the wafer. They are intended to measure high energy ionising particles traversing the detector. The detailed design of the pixels, their layout and method of read-out are discussed. A number of test structures have been incorporated onto the wafer to enable measurements to be made on individual pixels together with a variety of active devices. The results will give a better understanding of the operation of the pixel array, and will allow testing of computer simulations of more elaborate structures for the future. (author)

Development of pixellated Ir-TESs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zen, Nobuyuki; Takahashi, Hiroyuki; Kunieda, Yuichi; Dayanthi, Rathnayaka M.T.; Mori, Fumiakira; Fujita, Kaoru; Nakazawa, Masaharu; Fukuda, Daiji; Ohkubo, Masataka

2006-01-01

We have been developing Ir-based pixellated superconducting transition edge sensors (TESs). In the area of material or astronomical applications, the sensor with few eV energy resolution and over 1000 pixels imaging property is desired. In order to achieve this goal, we have been analyzing signals from pixellated TESs. In the case of a 20 pixel array of Ir-TESs, with 45 μmx45 μm pixel sizes, the incident X-ray signals have been classified into 16 groups. We have applied numerical signal analysis. On the one hand, the energy resolution of our pixellated TES is strongly degraded. However, using pulse shape analysis, we can dramatically improve the resolution. Thus, we consider that the pulse signal analysis will lead this device to be used as a practical photon incident position identifying TES

A Cherenkov camera with integrated electronics based on the 'Smart Pixel' concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bulian, Norbert; Hirsch, Thomas; Hofmann, Werner; Kihm, Thomas; Kohnle, Antje; Panter, Michael; Stein, Michael

2000-01-01

An option for the cameras of the HESS telescopes, the concept of a modular camera based on 'Smart Pixels' was developed. A Smart Pixel contains the photomultiplier, the high voltage supply for the photomultiplier, a dual-gain sample-and-hold circuit with a 14 bit dynamic range, a time-to-voltage converter, a trigger discriminator, trigger logic to detect a coincidence of X=1...7 neighboring pixels, and an analog ratemeter. The Smart Pixels plug into a common backplane which provides power, communicates trigger signals between neighboring pixels, and holds a digital control bus as well as an analog bus for multiplexed readout of pixel signals. The performance of the Smart Pixels has been studied using a 19-pixel test camera

Charge Gain, Voltage Gain, and Node Capacitance of the SAPHIRA Detector Pixel by Pixel

Science.gov (United States)

Pastrana, Izabella M.; Hall, Donald N. B.; Baker, Ian M.; Jacobson, Shane M.; Goebel, Sean B.

2018-01-01

The University of Hawai`i Institute for Astronomy has partnered with Leonardo (formerly Selex) in the development of HgCdTe linear mode avalanche photodiode (L-APD) SAPHIRA detectors. The SAPHIRA (Selex Avalanche Photodiode High-speed Infra-Red Array) is ideally suited for photon-starved astronomical observations, particularly near infrared (NIR) adaptive optics (AO) wave-front sensing. I have measured the stability, and linearity with current, of a 1.7-um (10% spectral bandpass) infrared light emitting diode (IR LED) used to illuminate the SAPHIRA and have then utilized this source to determine the charge gain (in e-/ADU), voltage gain (in uV/ADU), and node capacitance (in fF) for each pixel of the 320x256@24um SAPHIRA. These have previously only been averages over some sub-array. Determined from the ratio of the temporal averaged signal level to variance under constant 1.7-um LED illumination, I present the charge gain pixel-by-pixel in a 64x64 sub-array at the center of the active area of the SAPHIRA (analyzed separately as four 32x32 sub-arrays) to be about 1.6 e-/ADU (σ=0.5 e-/ADU). Additionally, the standard technique of varying the pixel reset voltage (PRV) in 10 mV increments and recording output frames for the same 64x64 subarray found the voltage gain per pixel to be about 11.7 uV/ADU (σ=0.2 uV/ADU). Finally, node capacitance was found to be approximately 23 fF (σ=6 fF) utilizing the aforementioned charge and voltage gain measurements. I further discuss the linearity measurements of the 1.7-um LED used in the charge gain characterization procedure.

Development of a high-speed single-photon pixellated detector for visible wavelengths

CERN Document Server

Mac Raighne, Aaron; Mathot, Serge; McPhate, Jason; Vallerga, John; Jarron, Pierre; Brownlee, Colin; O’Shea, Val

2009-01-01

We present the development of a high-speed, single-photon counting, Hybrid Photo Detector (HPD). The HPD consists of a vacuum tube, containing the detector assembly, sealed with a transparent optical input window. Photons incident on the photocathode eject a photoelectron into a large electric field, which accelerates the incident electron onto a silicon detector. The silicon detector is bump bonded to a Medipix readout chip. This set-up allows for the detection and readout of low incident photon intensities at rates that are otherwise unattainable with current camera technology. Reported is the fabrication of the camera that brings together a range of sophisticated design and fabrication techniques and the expected theoretical imaging performance. Applications to cellular and molecular microscopy are also described in which single-photon-counting abilities at high frame rates are crucial

Novel Photon-Counting Detectors for Free-Space Communication

Science.gov (United States)

Krainak, Michael A.; Yang, Guan; Sun, Xiaoli; Lu, Wei; Merritt, Scott; Beck, Jeff

2016-01-01

We present performance data for novel photon counting detectors for free space optical communication. NASA GSFC is testing the performance of three novel photon counting detectors 1) a 2x8 mercury cadmium telluride avalanche array made by DRS Inc. 2) a commercial 2880 silicon avalanche photodiode array and 3) a prototype resonant cavity silicon avalanche photodiode array. We will present and compare dark count, photon detection efficiency, wavelength response and communication performance data for these detectors. We discuss system wavelength trades and architectures for optimizing overall communication link sensitivity, data rate and cost performance. The HgCdTe APD array has photon detection efficiencies of greater than 50 were routinely demonstrated across 5 arrays, with one array reaching a maximum PDE of 70. High resolution pixel-surface spot scans were performed and the junction diameters of the diodes were measured. The junction diameter was decreased from 31 m to 25 m resulting in a 2x increase in e-APD gain from 470 on the 2010 array to 1100 on the array delivered to NASA GSFC. Mean single photon SNRs of over 12 were demonstrated at excess noise factors of 1.2-1.3.The commercial silicon APD array has a fast output with rise times of 300ps and pulse widths of 600ps. Received and filtered signals from the entire array are multiplexed onto this single fast output. The prototype resonant cavity silicon APD array is being developed for use at 1 micron wavelength.

Readout Architecture for Hybrid Pixel Readout Chips

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(SzGeCERN)694170; Westerlund, Tomi; Wyllie, Ken

The original contribution of this thesis to knowledge are novel digital readout architectures for hybrid pixel readout chips. The thesis presents asynchronous bus-based architecture, a data-node based column architecture and a network-based pixel matrix architecture for data transportation. It is shown that the data-node architecture achieves readout efficiency 99 % with half the output rate as a bus-based system. The network-based solution avoids ``broken'' columns due to some manufacturing errors, and it distributes internal data traffic more evenly across the pixel matrix than column-based architectures. An improvement of $>$ 10 % to the efficiency is achieved with uniform and non-uniform hit occupancies. Architectural design has been done using transaction level modeling ($TLM$) and sequential high-level design techniques for reducing the design and simulation time. It has been possible to simulate tens of column and full chip architectures using the high-level techniques. A decrease of $>$ 10 in run-time...

Absolute dose calibration of an X-ray system and dead time investigations of photon-counting techniques

CERN Document Server

Carpentieri, C; Ludwig, J; Ashfaq, A; Fiederle, M

2002-01-01

High precision concerning the dose calibration of X-ray sources is required when counting and integrating methods are compared. The dose calibration for a dental X-ray tube was executed with special dose calibration equipment (dosimeter) as function of exposure time and rate. Results were compared with a benchmark spectrum and agree within +-1.5%. Dead time investigations with the Medipix1 photon-counting chip (PCC) have been performed by rate variations. Two different types of dead time, paralysable and non-paralysable will be discussed. The dead time depends on settings of the front-end electronics and is a function of signal height, which might lead to systematic defects of systems. Dead time losses in excess of 30% have been found for the PCC at 200 kHz absorbed photons per pixel.

High-voltage pixel detectors in commercial CMOS technologies for ATLAS, CLIC and Mu3e experiments

CERN Document Server

Peric, Ivan; Backhaus, Malte; Barbero, Marlon; Benoit, Mathieu; Berger, Niklaus; Bompard, Frederic; Breugnon, Patrick; Clemens, Jean-Claude; Dannheim, Dominik; Dierlamm, Alexander; Feigl, Simon; Fischer, Peter; Fougeron, Denis; Garcia-Sciveres, Maurice; Heim, Timon; Hügging, Fabian; Kiehn, Moritz; Kreidl, Christian; Krüger, Hans; La Rosa, Alessandro; Liu, Jian; Lütticke, Florian; Mariñas, Carlos; Meng, Lingxin; Miucci, Antonio; Münstermann, Daniel; Nguyen, Hong Hanh; Obermann, Theresa; Pangaud, Patrick; Perrevoort, Ann-Kathrin; Rozanov, Alexandre; Schöning, André; Schwenker, Benjamin; Wiedner, Dirk

2013-01-01

High-voltage particle detectors in commercial CMOS technologies are a detector family that allows implementation of low-cost, thin and radiation-tolerant detectors with a high time resolution. In the R/D phase of the development, a radiation tolerance of 10 15 n eq = cm 2 , nearly 100% detection ef fi ciency and a spatial resolution of about 3 μ m were demonstrated. Since 2011 the HV detectors have fi rst applications: the technology is presently the main option for the pixel detector of the planned Mu3e experiment at PSI (Switzerland). Several prototype sensors have been designed in a standard 180 nm HV CMOS process and successfully tested. Thanks to its high radiation tolerance, the HV detectors are also seen at CERN as a promising alternative to the standard options for ATLAS upgrade and CLIC. In order to test the concept, within ATLAS upgrade R/D, we are currently exploring an active pixel detector demonstrator HV2FEI4; also implemented in the 180 nm HV process

Pixel front-end development in 65 nm CMOS technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Havránek, M; Hemperek, T; Kishishita, T; Krüger, H; Wermes, N

2014-01-01

Luminosity upgrade of the LHC (HL-LHC) imposes severe constraints on the detector tracking systems in terms of radiation hardness and capability to cope with higher hit rates. One possible way of keeping track with increasing luminosity is the usage of more advanced technologies. Ultra deep sub-micron CMOS technologies allow a design of complex and high speed electronics with high integration density. In addition, these technologies are inherently radiation hard. We present a prototype of analog pixel front-end integrated circuit designed in 65 nm CMOS technology with applications oriented towards the ATLAS Pixel Detector upgrade. The aspects of ultra deep sub-micron design and performance of the analog pixel front-end circuits will be discussed

Status of the CMS Phase 1 Pixel Upgrade

CERN Document Server

Mattig, Stefan

2014-01-01

The silicon pixel detector is the innermost component of the CMS tracking system, providing high precision space point measurements of charged particle trajectories. Before 2018 the instantaneous luminosity of the LHC is expected to reach 2\\,$\\times 10^{34}\\,{\\rm cm^{-2}s^{-1}}$, which will significantly increase the number of interactions per bunch crossing. The current pixel detector of CMS was not designed to work efficiently in such a high occupancy environment and will be degraded by substantial data-loss introduced by buffer filling in the analog Read-Out Chip (ROC) and effects of radiation damage in the sensors, built up over the operational period. To maintain a high tracking efficiency, CMS has planned to replace the current pixel system during ``Phase 1'' (2016/17) by a new lightweight detector, equipped with an additional 4th layer in the barrel, and one additional forward/backward disk. A new digital ROC has been designed, with increased buffers to minimize data-loss, and a digital read-out protoc...

Semiconductor Pixel detectors and their applications in life sciences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jakubek, J

2009-01-01

Recent advances in semiconductor technology allow construction of highly efficient and low noise pixel detectors of ionizing radiation. Steadily improving quality of front end electronics enables fast digital signal processing in each pixel which offers recording of more complete information about each detected quantum (energy, time, number of particles). All these features improve an extend applicability of pixel technology in different fields. Some applications of this technology especially for imaging in life sciences will be shown (energy and phase sensitive X-ray radiography and tomography, radiography with heavy charged particles, neutron radiography, etc). On the other hand a number of obstacles can limit the detector performance if not handled. The pixel detector is in fact an array of individual detectors (pixels), each of them has its own efficiency, energy calibration and also noise. The common effort is to make all these parameters uniform for all pixels. However an ideal uniformity can be never reached. Moreover, it is often seen that the signal in one pixel can affect the neighbouring pixels due to various reasons (e.g. charge sharing). All such effects have to be taken into account during data processing to avoid false data interpretation. A brief view into the future of pixel detectors and their applications including also spectroscopy, tracking and dosimetry is given too. Special attention is paid to the problem of detector segmentation in context of the charge sharing effect.

Development of pixellated Ir-TESs

Science.gov (United States)

Zen, Nobuyuki; Takahashi, Hiroyuki; Kunieda, Yuichi; Damayanthi, Rathnayaka M. T.; Mori, Fumiakira; Fujita, Kaoru; Nakazawa, Masaharu; Fukuda, Daiji; Ohkubo, Masataka

2006-04-01

We have been developing Ir-based pixellated superconducting transition edge sensors (TESs). In the area of material or astronomical applications, the sensor with few eV energy resolution and over 1000 pixels imaging property is desired. In order to achieve this goal, we have been analyzing signals from pixellated TESs. In the case of a 20 pixel array of Ir-TESs, with 45 μm×45 μm pixel sizes, the incident X-ray signals have been classified into 16 groups. We have applied numerical signal analysis. On the one hand, the energy resolution of our pixellated TES is strongly degraded. However, using pulse shape analysis, we can dramatically improve the resolution. Thus, we consider that the pulse signal analysis will lead this device to be used as a practical photon incident position identifying TES.

Chip development in 65 nm CMOS technology for the high luminosity upgrade of the ATLAS pixel detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Germic, Leonard; Hemperek, Tomasz; Kishishita, Testsuichi; Krueger, Hans; Rymaszewski, Piotr; Wermes, Norbert [University of Bonn, Bonn (Germany); Havranek, Miroslav [University of Bonn, Bonn (Germany); Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences, Prague (Czech Republic)

2015-07-01

The LHC High Luminosity upgrade will result in a significant change of environment in which particle detectors are going to operate, especially for devices very close to the interaction point like pixel detector electronics. Challenges coming from the higher hit rate will have to be solved by designing faster and more complex circuits, while at the same time keeping in mind very high radiation hardness requirements. Therefore matching the specification set by the high luminosity upgrade requires a large R and D effort. Our group is participating in such a joint development * namely the RD53 collaboration * which goal is to design a new pixel chip using an advanced 65 nm CMOS technology. During this presentation motivations and benefits of using this very deep-submicron technology will be shown together with a comparison with older technologies (130 nm, 250 nm). Most of the talk is allocated to presenting some of the circuits designed by our group, along with their performance measurement results.

Photodiode area effect on performance of X-ray CMOS active pixel sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, M. S.; Kim, Y.; Kim, G.; Lim, K. T.; Cho, G.; Kim, D.

2018-02-01

Compared to conventional TFT-based X-ray imaging devices, CMOS-based X-ray imaging sensors are considered next generation because they can be manufactured in very small pixel pitches and can acquire high-speed images. In addition, CMOS-based sensors have the advantage of integration of various functional circuits within the sensor. The image quality can also be improved by the high fill-factor in large pixels. If the size of the subject is small, the size of the pixel must be reduced as a consequence. In addition, the fill factor must be reduced to aggregate various functional circuits within the pixel. In this study, 3T-APS (active pixel sensor) with photodiodes of four different sizes were fabricated and evaluated. It is well known that a larger photodiode leads to improved overall performance. Nonetheless, if the size of the photodiode is > 1000 μm2, the degree to which the sensor performance increases as the photodiode size increases, is reduced. As a result, considering the fill factor, pixel-pitch > 32 μm is not necessary to achieve high-efficiency image quality. In addition, poor image quality is to be expected unless special sensor-design techniques are included for sensors with a pixel pitch of 25 μm or less.

A design of optical modulation system with pixel-level modulation accuracy

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Shiwei; Qu, Xinghua; Feng, Wei; Liang, Baoqiu

2018-01-01

Vision measurement has been widely used in the field of dimensional measurement and surface metrology. However, traditional methods of vision measurement have many limits such as low dynamic range and poor reconfigurability. The optical modulation system before image formation has the advantage of high dynamic range, high accuracy and more flexibility, and the modulation accuracy is the key parameter which determines the accuracy and effectiveness of optical modulation system. In this paper, an optical modulation system with pixel level accuracy is designed and built based on multi-points reflective imaging theory and digital micromirror device (DMD). The system consisted of digital micromirror device, CCD camera and lens. Firstly we achieved accurate pixel-to-pixel correspondence between the DMD mirrors and the CCD pixels by moire fringe and an image processing of sampling and interpolation. Then we built three coordinate systems and calculated the mathematic relationship between the coordinate of digital micro-mirror and CCD pixels using a checkerboard pattern. A verification experiment proves that the correspondence error is less than 0.5 pixel. The results show that the modulation accuracy of system meets the requirements of modulation. Furthermore, the high reflecting edge of a metal circular piece can be detected using the system, which proves the effectiveness of the optical modulation system.

Dense Iterative Contextual Pixel Classification using Kriging

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ganz, Melanie; Loog, Marco; Brandt, Sami

2009-01-01

have been proposed to this end, e.g., iterative contextual pixel classification, iterated conditional modes, and other approaches related to Markov random fields. A problem of these methods, however, is their computational complexity, especially when dealing with high-resolution images in which......In medical applications, segmentation has become an ever more important task. One of the competitive schemes to perform such segmentation is by means of pixel classification. Simple pixel-based classification schemes can be improved by incorporating contextual label information. Various methods...... relatively long range interactions may play a role. We propose a new method based on Kriging that makes it possible to include such long range interactions, while keeping the computations manageable when dealing with large medical images....

CMOS Pixel Sensors for High Precision Beam Telescopes and Vertex Detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masi, R. de; Baudot, J.; Fontaine, J.-Ch.

2009-01-01

CMOS sensors of the MIMOSA (standing for Minimum Ionising particle MOS Active pixel sensor) series are developed at IPHC since a decade and have ended up with full scale devices used in beam telescopes and in demonstrators of future vertex detectors. The sensors deliver analogue, unfiltered, signals and are therefore limited to read-out frequencies of ∼ 1 kframe/s. Since a few years, a fast architecture is being developed in collaboration with IRFU, which aims to speed up the read-out by 1-2 orders of magnitude. The first full scale sensor based on this architecture was fabricated recently and is being tested. Made of 660,000 pixels (18 μm pitch) covering an active area of ∼ 2 cm 2 , it delivers zero-suppressed binary signals, which allow running at ∼ 10 kframes/s. It will equip the beam telescope of the E.U. project EUDET and serve as a forerunner of the sensor equipping the 2 layers of the PIXEL detector of the STAR experiment at RHIC. The contribution to the conference will overview the main features and test results of this pioneering sensor. It will next describe its evolution towards read-out frequencies approaching 100 kframes/s, as required for the vertex detectors of the CBM experiment at FAIR and at the ILC. Finally, the issue of radiation tolerance will be addressed, in the context of a newly available CMOS process using a depleted substrate. A prototype sensor was fabricated in a such CMOS process. The talk will summarise beam test results showing, for the first time, that fluences of 10 14 n eq /cm 2 may be tolerable for CMOS sensors. Overall, the talk provides an overview of the status and plans of CMOS pixel sensors at the frontier of their achievements and outreach. (author)

Developing fine-pixel CdTe detectors for the next generation of high-resolution hard x-ray telescopes

Science.gov (United States)

Christe, Steven

Over the past decade, the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has been improving the angular resolution of hard X-ray (HXR; 20 "70 keV) optics to the point that we now routinely manufacture optics modules with an angular resolution of 20 arcsec Half Power Diameter (HDP), almost three times the performance of NuSTAR optics (Ramsey et al. 2013; Gubarev et al. 2013a; Atkins et al. 2013). New techniques are currently being developed to provide even higher angular resolution. High angular resolution HXR optics require detectors with a large number of fine pixels in order to adequately sample the telescope point spread function (PSF) over the entire field of view. Excessively over-sampling the PSF will increase readout noise and require more processing with no appreciable increase in image quality. An appropriate level of over-sampling is to have 3 pixels within the HPD. For the HERO mirrors, where the HPD is 26 arcsec over a 6-m focal length converts to 750 μm, the optimum pixel size is around 250 μm. At a 10-m focal length these detectors can support a 16 arcsec HPD. Of course, the detectors must also have high efficiency in the HXR region, good energy resolution, low background, low power requirements, and low sensitivity to radiation damage (Ramsey 2001). The ability to handle high counting rates is also desirable for efficient calibration. A collaboration between Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), MSFC, and Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in the UK is developing precisely such detectors under an ongoing, funded APRA program (FY2015 to FY2017). The detectors use the RALdeveloped Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) dubbed HEXITEC, for High Energy X-Ray Imaging Technology. These HEXITEC ASICs can be bonded to 1- or 2- mm-thick Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) or Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride (CZT) to create a fine (250 μm pitch) HXR detector (Jones et al. 2009; Seller et al. 2011). The objectives of this funded effort are to develop and test a HEXITEC

Development of a customized SSC pixel detector readout for vertex tracking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barkan, O.; Atlas, E.L.; Marking, W.L.; Worley, S.; Yacoub, G.Y.; Kramer, G.; Arens, J.F.; Jernigan, J.G.; Shapiro, S.L.; Nygren, D.; Spieler, H.; Wright, M.

1990-01-01

The authors describe the readout architecture and progress to date in the development of hybrid PIN diode arrays for use as vertex detectors in the SSC environment. The architecture supports a self-timed mechanism for time stamping hit pixels, storing their xy coordinates and later selectively reading out only those pixels containing interesting data along with their coordinates. The peripheral logic resolves ambiguous pixel ghost locations and controls pixel neighbor readout to achieve high spatial resolution. A test lot containing 64 x 32 pixel arrays has been processed and is currently being tested. Each pixel contains 23 transistors and six capacitors consuming an area of 50μm by 150μm and dissipating about 20μW of power

A High Performance Multi-Core FPGA Implementation for 2D Pixel Clustering for the ATLAS Fast TracKer (FTK) Processor

CERN Document Server

Sotiropoulou, C-L; The ATLAS collaboration; Beretta, M; Gkaitatzis, S; Kordas, K; Nikolaidis, S; Petridou, C; Volpi, G

2014-01-01

The high performance multi-core 2D pixel clustering FPGA implementation used for the input system of the ATLAS Fast TracKer (FTK) processor is presented. The input system for the FTK processor will receive data from the Pixel and micro-strip detectors read out drivers (RODs) at 760Gbps, the full rate of level 1 triggers. Clustering is required as a method to reduce the high rate of the received data before further processing, as well as to determine the cluster centroid for obtaining obtain the best spatial measurement. Our implementation targets the pixel detectors and uses a 2D-clustering algorithm that takes advantage of a moving window technique to minimize the logic required for cluster identification. The design is fully generic and the cluster detection window size can be adjusted for optimizing the cluster identification process. Τhe implementation can be parallelized by instantiating multiple cores to identify different clusters independently thus exploiting more FPGA resources. This flexibility mak...

Performance of new radiation tolerant thin n-in-p Silicon pixel sensors for the CMS experiment at High Luminosity LHC

CERN Document Server

Dalla Betta, G.F; Darbo, G; Dinardo, Mauro; Giacomini, G; Menasce, Dario; Meschini, Marco; Messineo, Alberto; Moroni, Luigi; Rivera, Ryan Allen; Ronchin, S; Uplegger, Lorenzo; Viliani, Lorenzo; Zoi, Irene; Zuolo, Davide

2017-01-01

The High Luminosity upgrade of the CERN-LHC (HL-LHC) demands for a new high-radiation tolerant solid-state pixel sensor capable of surviving fluencies up to a few 10$^{16}$ particles/cm$^2$ at $\\sim$3 cm from the interaction point. To this extent the INFN ATLAS-CMS joint research activity in collaboration with Fondazione Bruno Kessler-FBK, is aiming at the development of thin n-in-p type pixel sensors for the HL-LHC. The R and D covers both planar and single-sided 3D columnar pixel devices made with the Si-Si Direct Wafer Bonding technique, which allows for the production of sensors with 100~$\\mu {\\rm m}$ and 130~$\\mu {\\rm m}$ active thickness for planars, and 130~$\\mu {\\rm m}$ for 3D sensors, the thinnest ones ever produced so far. First prototypes of hybrid modules bump-bonded to the present CMS readout chip have been tested in beam tests. Preliminary results on their performance before and after irradiation are presented.

A hybrid 3D LIDAR imager based on pixel-by-pixel scanning and DS-OCDMA

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Gunzung; Eom, Jeongsook; Park, Yongwan

2016-03-01

We propose a new hybrid 3D light detection and ranging (LIDAR) system, which measures a scene with 1280 x 600 pixels at a refresh rate of 60fps. The emitted pulses of each pixel are modulated by direct sequence optical code division multiple access (DS-OCDMA) techniques. The modulated pulses include a unique device identification number, the pixel position in the line, and a checksum. The LIDAR emits the modulated pulses periodically without waiting to receive returning light at the detector. When all the pixels are completely through the process, the travel time, amplitude, width, and speed are used by the pixel-by-pixel scanning LIDAR imager to generate point cloud data as the measured results. We programmed the entire hybrid 3D LIDAR operation in a simulator to observe the functionality accomplished by our proposed model.

Digital Architecture of the New ATLAS Pixel Chip FE-I4

CERN Document Server

"Barbero, M; The ATLAS collaboration

2009-01-01

With the high hit rate foreseen for the innermost layers at an upgraded LHC, the current ATLAS Front-End pixel chip FE-I3 would start being inefficient. The main source of inefficiency comes from the copying mechanism of the pixel hits from the pixel array to the end of column buffers. A new ATLAS pixel chip FE-I4 is being developed in a 130 nm technology for use both in the framework of the Insertable B-Layer (IBL) project and for the outer layers of Super-LHC. FE-I4 is 80×336 pixels wide and features a reduced pixel size of 50×250 μm2. In the current design, a new digital architecture is introduced in which hit memories are distributed across the entire chip and the pixels organized in regions. Additional features include neighbor hit checking which allows a timewalk-less hit recording.

Pixel detector readout chip

CERN Multimedia

1991-01-01

Close-up of a pixel detector readout chip. The photograph shows an aera of 1 mm x 2 mm containing 12 separate readout channels. The entire chip contains 1000 readout channels (around 80 000 transistors) covering a sensitive area of 8 mm x 5 mm. The chip has been mounted on a silicon detector to detect high energy particles.

SLHC upgrade plans for the ATLAS pixel detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sicho, Petr

2009-01-01

The ATLAS pixel detector is an 80 million channels silicon tracking system designed to detect charged tracks and secondary vertices with very high precision. An upgrade of the ATLAS pixel detector is presently being considered, enabling to cope with higher luminosity at Super Large Hadron Collider (SLHC). The increased luminosity leads to extremely high radiation doses in the innermost region of the ATLAS tracker. Options considered for a new detector are discussed, as well as some important R and D activities, such as investigations towards novel detector geometries and novel processes.

Thin n-in-p planar pixel modules for the ATLAS upgrade at HL-LHC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Savic, N.; Bergbreiter, L.; Breuer, J.; La Rosa, A.; Macchiolo, A.; Nisius, R.; Terzo, S.

2017-01-01

The ATLAS experiment will undergo a major upgrade of the tracker system in view of the high luminosity phase of the LHC (HL-LHC) foreseen to start around 2025. Thin planar pixel modules are promising candidates to instrument the new pixel system, thanks to the reduced contribution to the material budget and their high charge collection efficiency after irradiation. New designs of the pixel cells, with an optimized biasing structure, have been implemented in n-in-p planar pixel productions with sensor thicknesses of 270 μm. Using beam tests, the gain in hit efficiency is investigated as a function of the received irradiation fluence. The outlook for future thin planar pixel sensor productions will be discussed, with a focus on thin sensors with a thickness of 100 and 150 μm and a novel design with the optimized biasing structure and small pixel cells (50×50 and 25×100 μm"2). These dimensions are foreseen for the new ATLAS read-out chip in 65 nm CMOS technology and the fine segmentation will represent a challenge for the tracking in the forward region of the pixel system at HL-LHC. To predict the performance of 50×50 μm"2 pixels at high η, FE-I4 compatible planar pixel sensors have been studied before and after irradiation in beam tests at high incidence angle with respect to the short pixel direction. Results on cluster shapes, charge collection- and hit efficiency will be shown.

Thin n-in-p planar pixel modules for the ATLAS upgrade at HL-LHC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Savic, N., E-mail: natascha.savic@mpp.mpg.de; Bergbreiter, L.; Breuer, J.; La Rosa, A.; Macchiolo, A.; Nisius, R.; Terzo, S.

2017-02-11

The ATLAS experiment will undergo a major upgrade of the tracker system in view of the high luminosity phase of the LHC (HL-LHC) foreseen to start around 2025. Thin planar pixel modules are promising candidates to instrument the new pixel system, thanks to the reduced contribution to the material budget and their high charge collection efficiency after irradiation. New designs of the pixel cells, with an optimized biasing structure, have been implemented in n-in-p planar pixel productions with sensor thicknesses of 270 μm. Using beam tests, the gain in hit efficiency is investigated as a function of the received irradiation fluence. The outlook for future thin planar pixel sensor productions will be discussed, with a focus on thin sensors with a thickness of 100 and 150 μm and a novel design with the optimized biasing structure and small pixel cells (50×50 and 25×100 μm{sup 2}). These dimensions are foreseen for the new ATLAS read-out chip in 65 nm CMOS technology and the fine segmentation will represent a challenge for the tracking in the forward region of the pixel system at HL-LHC. To predict the performance of 50×50 μm{sup 2} pixels at high η, FE-I4 compatible planar pixel sensors have been studied before and after irradiation in beam tests at high incidence angle with respect to the short pixel direction. Results on cluster shapes, charge collection- and hit efficiency will be shown.

TH-CD-207B-01: BEST IN PHYSICS (IMAGING): Development of High Brightness Multiple-Pixel X-Ray Source Using Oxide Coated Cathodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kandlakunta, P; Pham, R; Zhang, T [Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: To develop and characterize a high brightness multiple-pixel thermionic emission x-ray (MPTEX) source. Methods: Multiple-pixel x-ray sources allow for designs of novel x-ray imaging techniques, such as fixed gantry CT, digital tomosynthesis, tetrahedron beam computed tomography, etc. We are developing a high-brightness multiple-pixel thermionic emission x-ray (MPTEX) source based on oxide coated cathodes. Oxide cathode is chosen as the electron source due to its high emission current density and low operating temperature. A MPTEX prototype has been developed which may contain up to 41 micro-rectangular oxide cathodes in 4 mm pixel spacing. Electronics hardware was developed for source control and switching. The cathode emission current was evaluated and x-ray measurements were performed to estimate the focal spot size. Results: The oxide cathodes were able to produce ∼110 mA cathode current in pulse mode which corresponds to an emission current density of 0.55 A/cm{sup 2}. The maximum kVp of the MPTEX prototype currently is limited to 100 kV due to the rating of high voltage feedthrough. Preliminary x-ray measurements estimated the focal spot size as 1.5 × 1.3 mm{sup 2}. Conclusion: A MPTEX source was developed with thermionic oxide coated cathodes and preliminary source characterization was successfully performed. The MPTEX source is able to produce an array of high brightness x-ray beams with a fast switching speed.

TH-CD-207B-01: BEST IN PHYSICS (IMAGING): Development of High Brightness Multiple-Pixel X-Ray Source Using Oxide Coated Cathodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kandlakunta, P; Pham, R; Zhang, T

2016-01-01

Purpose: To develop and characterize a high brightness multiple-pixel thermionic emission x-ray (MPTEX) source. Methods: Multiple-pixel x-ray sources allow for designs of novel x-ray imaging techniques, such as fixed gantry CT, digital tomosynthesis, tetrahedron beam computed tomography, etc. We are developing a high-brightness multiple-pixel thermionic emission x-ray (MPTEX) source based on oxide coated cathodes. Oxide cathode is chosen as the electron source due to its high emission current density and low operating temperature. A MPTEX prototype has been developed which may contain up to 41 micro-rectangular oxide cathodes in 4 mm pixel spacing. Electronics hardware was developed for source control and switching. The cathode emission current was evaluated and x-ray measurements were performed to estimate the focal spot size. Results: The oxide cathodes were able to produce ∼110 mA cathode current in pulse mode which corresponds to an emission current density of 0.55 A/cm 2 . The maximum kVp of the MPTEX prototype currently is limited to 100 kV due to the rating of high voltage feedthrough. Preliminary x-ray measurements estimated the focal spot size as 1.5 × 1.3 mm 2 . Conclusion: A MPTEX source was developed with thermionic oxide coated cathodes and preliminary source characterization was successfully performed. The MPTEX source is able to produce an array of high brightness x-ray beams with a fast switching speed.

Active Pixel Sensors: Are CCD's Dinosaurs?

Science.gov (United States)

Fossum, Eric R.

1993-01-01

Charge-coupled devices (CCD's) are presently the technology of choice for most imaging applications. In the 23 years since their invention in 1970, they have evolved to a sophisticated level of performance. However, as with all technologies, we can be certain that they will be supplanted someday. In this paper, the Active Pixel Sensor (APS) technology is explored as a possible successor to the CCD. An active pixel is defined as a detector array technology that has at least one active transistor within the pixel unit cell. The APS eliminates the need for nearly perfect charge transfer -- the Achilles' heel of CCDs. This perfect charge transfer makes CCD's radiation 'soft,' difficult to use under low light conditions, difficult to manufacture in large array sizes, difficult to integrate with on-chip electronics, difficult to use at low temperatures, difficult to use at high frame rates, and difficult to manufacture in non-silicon materials that extend wavelength response.

New Technique for Luminosity Measurement Using 3D Pixel Modules in the ATLAS IBL Detector

CERN Document Server

Liu, Peilian; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

The Insertable b-Layer ( IBL ) is the innermost layer of the ATLAS tracking system. It consists of planar pixel modules in the central region and 3D modules at two extremities. We use the cluster length distributions in 3D sensor modules of the IBL to determine the number of primary charged particles per event and suppress backgrounds. This Pixel Cluster Counting ( PCC ) algorithm provides a bunch-by-bunch luminosity measurement. An accurate luminosity measurement is a key component for precision measurements at the Large Hadron Collider and one of the largest uncertainties on the luminosity determination in ATLAS arises from the long-term stability of the measurement technique. The comparison of the PCC algorithm with other existing algorithms provides key insights in assessing and reducing such uncertainty.

Serial powering of pixel modules

CERN Document Server

Stockmanns, Tobias; Hügging, Fabian Georg; Peric, I; Runólfsson, O; Wermes, Norbert

2003-01-01

Modern pixel detectors for the next generation of high-energy collider experiments like LHC use readout electronics in deep sub- micron technology. Chips in this technology need a low supply voltage of 2-2.5 V alongside high current consumption to achieve the desired performance. The high supply current leads to significant voltage drops in the long and low mass supply cables so that voltage fluctuations at the chips are induced, when the supply current changes. This problem scales with the number of modules when connected in parallel to the power supplies. An alternative powering scheme connects several modules in series resulting in a higher supply voltage but a lower current consumption of the chain and therefore a much lower voltage drop in the cables. In addition the amount of cables needed to supply the detector is vastly reduced. The concept and features of serial powering are presented and studies of the implementation of this technology as an alternative for the ATLAS pixel detector are shown. In par...

LePix-A high resistivity, fully depleted monolithic pixel detector

CERN Document Server

Giubilato, P; Mugnier, H; Bisello, D; Marchioro, A; Snoeys, W; Denes, P; Pantano, D; Rousset, J; Mattiazzo, S; Kloukinas, K; Potenza, A; Rivetti, A; Chalmet, P

2013-01-01

The LePix project explores monolithic pixel sensors fabricated in a 90 nm CMOS technology built over a lightly doped substrate. This approach keeps the advantages usually offered by Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS), like a low input capacitance, having a single piece detector and using a standard CMOS production line, and adds the benefit of charge collection by drift from a depleted region several tens of microns deep into the substrate, therefore providing an excellent signal to noise ratio and a radiation tolerance superior to conventional un-depleted MAPS. Such sensors are expected to offer significant cost savings and reduction of power consumption for the same performance, leading to the use of much less material in the detector (less cooling and less copper), addressing one of the main limitations of present day particle tracking systems. The latest evolution of the project uses detectors thinned down to 50 mu m to obtain back illuminated sensors operated in full depletion mode. By back processin...

Development of pixel readout integrated circuits for extreme rate and radiation

CERN Document Server

Garcia-Sciveres, M; CERN. Geneva. The LHC experiments Committee; LHCC

2013-01-01

Letter of Intent for RD Collaboration Proposal focused on development of a next generation pixel readout integrated circuits needed for high luminosity LHC detector upgrades. Brings together ATLAS and CMS pixel chip design communities.

CMOS Active-Pixel Image Sensor With Simple Floating Gates

Science.gov (United States)

Fossum, Eric R.; Nakamura, Junichi; Kemeny, Sabrina E.

1996-01-01

Experimental complementary metal-oxide/semiconductor (CMOS) active-pixel image sensor integrated circuit features simple floating-gate structure, with metal-oxide/semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) as active circuit element in each pixel. Provides flexibility of readout modes, no kTC noise, and relatively simple structure suitable for high-density arrays. Features desirable for "smart sensor" applications.

Pixel array detector for X-ray free electron laser experiments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Philipp, Hugh T., E-mail: htp2@cornell.edu [Department of Physics, Laboratory of Solid State Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Hromalik, Marianne [Electrical and Computer Engineering, SUNY Oswego, Oswego, NY 13126 (United States); Tate, Mark; Koerner, Lucas [Department of Physics, Laboratory of Solid State Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Gruner, Sol M. [Department of Physics, Laboratory of Solid State Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Wilson Laboratory, Cornell University, CHESS, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States)

2011-09-01

X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs) promise to revolutionize X-ray science with extremely high peak brilliances and femtosecond X-ray pulses. This will require novel detectors to fully realize the potential of these new sources. There are many current detector development projects aimed at the many challenges of meeting the XFEL requirements . This paper describes a pixel array detector (PAD) that has been developed for the Coherent X-ray Imaging experiment at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at the SLAC National Laboratory . The detector features 14-bit in-pixel digitization; a 2-level in-pixel gain setting that can be used to make an arbitrary 2-D gain pattern that is adaptable to a particular experiment; the ability to handle instantaneous X-ray flux rates of 10{sup 17} photons per second; and continuous frames rates in excess of 120 Hz. The detector uses direct detection of X-rays in a silicon diode. The charge produced by the diode is integrated in a pixilated application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) which digitizes collected holes with single X-ray photon capability. Each ASIC is 194x185 pixels, each pixel is 110{mu}mx110{mu}m on a side. Each pixel can detect up to 2500 X-rays per frame in low-gain mode, yet easily detects single photons at high-gain. Cooled, single-chip detectors have been built and meet all the required specifications. SLAC National Laboratory is engaged in constructing a tiled, multi-chip 1516x1516 pixel detector.

Quantifying the Uncertainty in High Spatial and Temporal Resolution Synthetic Land Surface Reflectance at Pixel Level Using Ground-Based Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, J.; Ryu, Y.

2017-12-01

Algorithms for fusing high temporal frequency and high spatial resolution satellite images are widely used to develop dense time-series land surface observations. While many studies have revealed that the synthesized frequent high spatial resolution images could be successfully applied in vegetation mapping and monitoring, validation and correction of fused images have not been focused than its importance. To evaluate the precision of fused image in pixel level, in-situ reflectance measurements which could account for the pixel-level heterogeneity are necessary. In this study, the synthetic images of land surface reflectance were predicted by the coarse high-frequency images acquired from MODIS and high spatial resolution images from Landsat-8 OLI using the Flexible Spatiotemporal Data Fusion (FSDAF). Ground-based reflectance was measured by JAZ Spectrometer (Ocean Optics, Dunedin, FL, USA) on rice paddy during five main growth stages in Cheorwon-gun, Republic of Korea, where the landscape heterogeneity changes through the growing season. After analyzing the spatial heterogeneity and seasonal variation of land surface reflectance based on the ground measurements, the uncertainties of the fused images were quantified at pixel level. Finally, this relationship was applied to correct the fused reflectance images and build the seasonal time series of rice paddy surface reflectance. This dataset could be significant for rice planting area extraction, phenological stages detection, and variables estimation.

Human vision-based algorithm to hide defective pixels in LCDs

Science.gov (United States)

Kimpe, Tom; Coulier, Stefaan; Van Hoey, Gert

2006-02-01

Producing displays without pixel defects or repairing defective pixels is technically not possible at this moment. This paper presents a new approach to solve this problem: defects are made invisible for the user by using image processing algorithms based on characteristics of the human eye. The performance of this new algorithm has been evaluated using two different methods. First of all the theoretical response of the human eye was analyzed on a series of images and this before and after applying the defective pixel compensation algorithm. These results show that indeed it is possible to mask a defective pixel. A second method was to perform a psycho-visual test where users were asked whether or not a defective pixel could be perceived. The results of these user tests also confirm the value of the new algorithm. Our "defective pixel correction" algorithm can be implemented very efficiently and cost-effectively as pixel-dataprocessing algorithms inside the display in for instance an FPGA, a DSP or a microprocessor. The described techniques are also valid for both monochrome and color displays ranging from high-quality medical displays to consumer LCDTV applications.

Development of Fast and High Precision CMOS Pixel Sensors for an ILC Vertex Detector

CERN Document Server

Hu-Guo, Christine

2010-01-01

The development of CMOS pixel sensors with column parallel read-out and integrated zero-suppression has resulted in a full size, nearly 1 Megapixel, prototype with ~100 \\mu s read-out time. Its performances are quite close to the ILD vertex detector specifications, showing that the sensor architecture can presumably be evolved to meet these specifications exactly. Starting from the existing architecture and achieved performances, the paper will expose the details of how the sensor will be evolved in the coming 2-3 years in perspective of the ILD Detector Baseline Document, to be delivered in 2012. Two different devices are foreseen for this objective, one being optimized for the inner layers and their fast read-out requirement, while the other exploits the dimmed background in the outer layers to reduce the power consumption. The sensor evolution relies on a high resistivity epitaxial layer, on the use of an advanced CMOS process and on the combination of column-level ADCs with a pixel array. The paper will p...

High Channel Count Time-to-Digital Converter and Lasercom Processor, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — High-channel-count, high-precision, and high-throughput time-to-digital converters (TDC) are needed to support detector arrays used in deep-space optical...

Counting and integrating microelectronics development for direct conversion X-ray imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kraft, E.

2008-02-15

A novel signal processing concept for X-ray imaging with directly converting pixelated semiconductor sensors is presented. The novelty of this approach compared to existing concepts is the combination of charge integration and photon counting in every single pixel. Simultaneous operation of both signal processing chains extends the dynamic range beyond the limits of the individual schemes and allows determination of the mean photon energy. Medical applications such as X-ray computed tomography can benefit from this additional spectral information through improved contrast and the ability to determine the hardening of the tube spectrum due to attenuation by the scanned object. A prototype chip in 0.35-micrometer technology has been successfully tested. The pixel electronics are designed using a low-swing differential current mode logic. Key element is a configurable feedback circuit for the charge sensitive amplifier which provides continuous reset, leakage current compensation and replicates the input signal for the integrator. The thesis focusses on the electronic characterization of a second generation prototype chip and gives a detailed discussion of the circuit design. (orig.)

Counting and integrating microelectronics development for direct conversion X-ray imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kraft, E.

2008-02-01

A novel signal processing concept for X-ray imaging with directly converting pixelated semiconductor sensors is presented. The novelty of this approach compared to existing concepts is the combination of charge integration and photon counting in every single pixel. Simultaneous operation of both signal processing chains extends the dynamic range beyond the limits of the individual schemes and allows determination of the mean photon energy. Medical applications such as X-ray computed tomography can benefit from this additional spectral information through improved contrast and the ability to determine the hardening of the tube spectrum due to attenuation by the scanned object. A prototype chip in 0.35-micrometer technology has been successfully tested. The pixel electronics are designed using a low-swing differential current mode logic. Key element is a configurable feedback circuit for the charge sensitive amplifier which provides continuous reset, leakage current compensation and replicates the input signal for the integrator. The thesis focusses on the electronic characterization of a second generation prototype chip and gives a detailed discussion of the circuit design. (orig.)

The Belle II DEPFET pixel detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moser, Hans-Günther, E-mail: moser@mpp.mpg.de

2016-09-21

The Belle II experiment at KEK (Tsukuba, Japan) will explore heavy flavour physics (B, charm and tau) at the starting of 2018 with unprecedented precision. Charged particles are tracked by a two-layer DEPFET pixel device (PXD), a four-layer silicon strip detector (SVD) and the central drift chamber (CDC). The PXD will consist of two layers at radii of 14 mm and 22 mm with 8 and 12 ladders, respectively. The pixel sizes will vary, between 50 μm×(55–60) μm in the first layer and between 50 μm×(70–85) μm in the second layer, to optimize the charge sharing efficiency. These innermost layers have to cope with high background occupancy, high radiation and must have minimal material to reduce multiple scattering. These challenges are met using the DEPFET technology. Each pixel is a FET integrated on a fully depleted silicon bulk. The signal charge collected in the ‘internal gate’ modulates the FET current resulting in a first stage amplification and therefore very low noise. This allows very thin sensors (75 μm) reducing the overall material budget of the detector (0.21% X{sub 0}). Four fold multiplexing of the column parallel readout allows read out a full frame of the pixel matrix in only 20 μs while keeping the power consumption low enough for air cooling. Only the active electronics outside the detector acceptance has to be cooled actively with a two phase CO{sub 2} system. Furthermore the DEPFET technology offers the unique feature of an electronic shutter which allows the detector to operate efficiently in the continuous injection mode of superKEKB.

Monolithic pixels on moderate resistivity substrate and sparsifying readout architecture

CERN Document Server

Giubilato, P; Snoeys, W; Bisello, D; Marchioro, A; Battaglia, M; Demaria, L; Mansuy, S C; Pantano, D; Rousset, J; Mattiazzo, S; Kloukinas, K; Potenza, A; Ikemoto, Y; Rivetti, A; Chalmet, P; Mugnier, H; Silvestrin, L

2013-01-01

The LePix projects aim realizing a new generation monolithic pixel detectors with improved performances at lesser cost with respect to both current state of the art monolithic and hybrid pixel sensors. The detector is built in a 90 nm CMOS process on a substrate of moderate resistivity. This allows charge collection by drift while maintaining the other advantages usually offered by MAPS, like having a single piece detector and using a standard CMOS production line. The collection by drift mechanism, coupled to the low capacitance design of the collecting node made possible by the monolithic approach, provides an excellent signal to noise ratio straight at the pixel cell together with a radiation tolerance far superior to conventional un-depleted MAPS. The excellent signal-to-noise performance is demonstrated by the device ability to separate the 6 keV Fe-55 double peak at room temperature. To achieve high granularity (10-20 mu m pitch pixels) over large detector areas maintaining high readout speed, a complet...

A level-1 pixel based track trigger for the CMS HL-LHC upgrade

CERN Document Server

Moon, Chang-Seong

2016-01-01

We present feasibility studies to investigate the performance and interest of a Level-1 trigger based on pixels. The Level-1 (real-time) pixel based tracking trigger is a novel trigger system that is based on real-time track reconstruction algorithms able to cope with very high rates and high flux of data in a very harsh environment. The pixel detector has an especially crucial role in precisely identifying the primary vertex of rare physics events from the large pile-up of events. The goal of adding the pixel information already at the real-time level of the selection is to help reducing the total Level-1 trigger rate while keeping a high selection capability. This is quite an innovative and challenging objective for the upgrade of the experiments for the High Luminosity LHC.

Study of micro pixel photon counters for a high granularity scintillator-based hadron calorimeter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Ascenzo, N.; Eggemann, A.; Garutti, E.

2007-11-01

A new Geiger mode avalanche photodiode, the Micro Pixel Photon Counter (MPPC), was recently released by Hamamatsu. It has a high photo-detection efficiency in the 420 nm spectral region. This product can represent an elegant candidate for the design of a high granularity scintillator based hadron calorimeter for the International Linear Collider. In fact, the direct readout of the blue scintillation photons with a MPPC is a feasible techological solution. The readout of a plastic scintillator by a MPPC, both mediated by the traditional wavelength shifting fiber, and directly coupled, has been systematically studied. (orig.)

A high speed, low power consumption LVDS interface for CMOS pixel sensors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shi, Zhan, E-mail: sz1134@163.com [Dalian University of Technology, No. 2 Linggong Road, 116024 Dalian (China); Tang, Zhenan, E-mail: tangza@dlut.edu.cn [Dalian University of Technology, No. 2 Linggong Road, 116024 Dalian (China); Tian, Yong [Dalian University of Technology, No. 2 Linggong Road, 116024 Dalian (China); Pham, Hung; Valin, Isabelle; Jaaskelainen, Kimmo [IPHC, 23 rue du Loess 67037 Strasbourg (France); CNRS, UMR7178, 67037 Strasbourg (France)

2015-01-01

The use of CMOS Pixel Sensors (CPSs) offers a promising approach to the design of vertex detectors in High Energy Physics (HEP) experiments. As the CPS equipping the upgraded Solenoidal Tracker at RHIC (STAR) pixel detector, ULTIMATE perfectly illustrates the potential of CPSs for HEP applications. However, further development of CPSs with respect to readout speed is required to fulfill the readout time requirement of the next generation HEP detectors, such as the upgrade of A Large Ion Collider Experiment (ALICE) Inner Tracking System (ITS), the International Linear Collider (ILC), and the Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) vertex detectors. One actual limitation of CPSs is related to the speed of the Low-Voltage Differential Signaling (LVDS) circuitry implementing the interface between the sensor and the Data Acquisition (DAQ) system. To improve the transmission rate while keeping the power consumption at a low level, a source termination technique and a special current comparator were adopted for the LVDS driver and receiver, respectively. Moreover, hardening techniques are used. The circuitry was designed and submitted for fabrication in a 0.18-µm CMOS Image Sensor (CIS) process at the end of 2011. The test results indicated that the LVDS driver and receiver can operate properly at the data rate of 1.2 Gb/s with power consumption of 19.6 mW.

Small-Scale Readout System Prototype for the STAR PIXEL Detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szelezniak, Michal; Anderssen, Eric; Greiner, Leo; Matis, Howard; Ritter, Hans Georg; Stezelberger, Thorsten; Sun, Xiangming; Thomas, James; Vu, Chinh; Wieman, Howard

2008-01-01

Development and prototyping efforts directed towards construction of a new vertex detector for the STAR experiment at the RHIC accelerator at BNL are presented. This new detector will extend the physics range of STAR by allowing for precision measurements of yields and spectra of particles containing heavy quarks. The innermost central part of the new detector is a high resolution pixel-type detector (PIXEL). PIXEL requirements are discussed as well as a conceptual mechanical design, a sensor development path, and a detector readout architecture. Selected progress with sensor prototypes dedicated to the PIXEL detector is summarized and the approach chosen for the readout system architecture validated in tests of hardware prototypes is discussed

Development of a versatile readout and test system and characterization of a capacitively coupled active pixel sensor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Janssen, Jens; Gonella, Laura; Hemperek, Tomasz; Hirono, Toko; Huegging, Fabian; Krueger, Hans; Wermes, Norbert [Institute of Physics, University of Bonn, Bonn (Germany); Peric, Ivan [Karlsruher Institut fuer Technologie, Karlsruhe (Germany); Collaboration: ATLAS-Collaboration

2015-07-01

With the availability of high voltage and high resistivity CMOS processes, active pixel sensors are becoming increasingly interesting for radiation detection in high energy physics experiments. Although the pixel signal-to-noise ratio and the sensor radiation tolerance were improved, active pixel sensors cannot yet compete with state-of-the-art hybrid pixel detector in a high radiation environment. Hence, active pixel sensors are possible candidates for the outer tracking detector in HEP experiments where production cost plays a role. The investigation of numerous prototyping steps and different technologies is still ongoing and requires a versatile test and readout system, which will be presented in this talk. A capacitively coupled active pixel sensor fabricated in AMS 180 nm high voltage CMOS process is investigated. The sensor is designed to be glued to existing front-end pixel readout chips. Results from the characterization are presented in this talk.

Study and realization of pixelated APD Geiger photodetectors of very high sensitivity for Very High Energy gamma astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jradi, K.

2010-07-01

Very High Energy gamma ray astronomy uses till now exclusively as detector the Photomultiplier Tube (PMT) to collect weak light flux of atmospheric showers. But an alternative is now emerging: Avalanche Photodiodes polarized in Geiger mode called 'Geiger-APD'. The PMT is a detector designed in the 70's which presents many advantages but also suffers from several drawbacks: size, weight, cost, sensitivity to magnetic field but especially difficulty to realize its pixelation in matrix. Geiger-APDs are semi-conductor devices made of PN junction integrated in a special technology to detect very low light flux, thanks to the polarization beyond the avalanche voltage. Geiger-APD presents very high photoelectron gain (∼106) strongly dependant on the polarization voltage beyond avalanche. These photodiodes present many advantages with respect to PMT, mainly as concerns miniaturization for applications based on imaging, such as the detection of Cerenkov flashes in gamma ray astronomy. In this thesis, we present the study, the design and the realization of a technological structure, based on Silicon. This structure has shown reliability to detect weak luminous flux with breakdown voltage at 12 V and dark current below 10 pA at breakdown. We also developed several models, physical and electrical, necessary to the technological optimization, as well to the development of control and readout circuits, i.e. the basis of any imaging technology. The work presented here consists in the study, the design and the realization of a matrix of high sensitivity pixels. A project of a Cerenkov telescope based on this innovative technology is also presented. (author)

Dual-gate photo thin-film transistor: a “smart” pixel for high- resolution and low-dose X-ray imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Kai; Ou, Hai; Chen, Jun

2015-06-01

Since its emergence a decade ago, amorphous silicon flat panel X-ray detector has established itself as a ubiquitous platform for an array of digital radiography modalities. The fundamental building block of a flat panel detector is called a pixel. In all current pixel architectures, sensing, storage, and readout are unanimously kept separate, inevitably compromising resolution by increasing pixel size. To address this issue, we hereby propose a “smart” pixel architecture where the aforementioned three components are combined in a single dual-gate photo thin-film transistor (TFT). In other words, the dual-gate photo TFT itself functions as a sensor, a storage capacitor, and a switch concurrently. Additionally, by harnessing the amplification effect of such a thin-film transistor, we for the first time created a single-transistor active pixel sensor. The proof-of-concept device had a W/L ratio of 250μm/20μm and was fabricated using a simple five-mask photolithography process, where a 130nm transparent ITO was used as the top photo gate, and a 200nm amorphous silicon as the absorbing channel layer. The preliminary results demonstrated that the photocurrent had been increased by four orders of magnitude due to light-induced threshold voltage shift in the sub-threshold region. The device sensitivity could be simply tuned by photo gate bias to specifically target low-level light detection. The dependence of threshold voltage on light illumination indicated that a dynamic range of at least 80dB could be achieved. The "smart" pixel technology holds tremendous promise for developing high-resolution and low-dose X-ray imaging and may potentially lower the cancer risk imposed by radiation, especially among paediatric patients.

Dual-gate photo thin-film transistor: a “smart” pixel for high- resolution and low-dose X-ray imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Kai; Ou, Hai; Chen, Jun

2015-01-01

Since its emergence a decade ago, amorphous silicon flat panel X-ray detector has established itself as a ubiquitous platform for an array of digital radiography modalities. The fundamental building block of a flat panel detector is called a pixel. In all current pixel architectures, sensing, storage, and readout are unanimously kept separate, inevitably compromising resolution by increasing pixel size. To address this issue, we hereby propose a “smart” pixel architecture where the aforementioned three components are combined in a single dual-gate photo thin-film transistor (TFT). In other words, the dual-gate photo TFT itself functions as a sensor, a storage capacitor, and a switch concurrently. Additionally, by harnessing the amplification effect of such a thin-film transistor, we for the first time created a single-transistor active pixel sensor. The proof-of-concept device had a W/L ratio of 250μm/20μm and was fabricated using a simple five-mask photolithography process, where a 130nm transparent ITO was used as the top photo gate, and a 200nm amorphous silicon as the absorbing channel layer. The preliminary results demonstrated that the photocurrent had been increased by four orders of magnitude due to light-induced threshold voltage shift in the sub-threshold region. The device sensitivity could be simply tuned by photo gate bias to specifically target low-level light detection. The dependence of threshold voltage on light illumination indicated that a dynamic range of at least 80dB could be achieved. The 'smart' pixel technology holds tremendous promise for developing high-resolution and low-dose X-ray imaging and may potentially lower the cancer risk imposed by radiation, especially among paediatric patients. (paper)

Muon counting using silicon photomultipliers in the AMIGA detector of the Pierre Auger observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Aab, A.; Abreu, P.; Aglietta, M.; Ahn, E. J.; Samarai, I. Al; Albuquerque, I. F. M.; Allekotte, I.; Allison, P.; Almela, A.; Alvarez Castillo, J.; Alvarez-Muñiz, J.; Ambrosio, M.; Anastasi, G. A.; Anchordoqui, L.; Andrada, B.; Andringa, S.; Aramo, C.; Arqueros, F.; Arsene, N.; Asorey, H.; Assis, P.; Aublin, J.; Avila, G.; Badescu, A. M.; Balaceanu, A.; Baus, C.; Beatty, J. J.; Becker, K. H.; Bellido, J. A.; Berat, C.; Bertaina, M. E.; Bertou, X.; Biermann, P. L.; Billoir, P.; Biteau, J.; Blaess, S. G.; Blanco, A.; Blazek, J.; Bleve, C.; Boháčová, M.; Boncioli, D.; Bonifazi, C.; Borodai, N.; Botti, A. M.; Brack, J.; Brancus, I.; Bretz, T.; Bridgeman, A.; Briechle, F. L.; Buchholz, P.; Bueno, A.; Buitink, S.; Buscemi, M.; Caballero-Mora, K. S.; Caccianiga, B.; Caccianiga, L.; Cancio, A.; Canfora, F.; Caramete, L.; Caruso, R.; Castellina, A.; Cataldi, G.; Cazon, L.; Cester, R.; Chavez, A. G.; Chiavassa, A.; Chinellato, J. A.; Chudoba, J.; Clay, R. W.; Colalillo, R.; Coleman, A.; Collica, L.; Coluccia, M. R.; Conceição, R.; Contreras, F.; Cooper, M. J.; Coutu, S.; Covault, C. E.; Cronin, J.; Dallier, R.; D'Amico, S.; Daniel, B.; Dasso, S.; Daumiller, K.; Dawson, B. R.; de Almeida, R. M.; de Jong, S. J.; De Mauro, G.; de Mello Neto, J. R. T.; De Mitri, I.; de Oliveira, J.; de Souza, V.; Debatin, J.; del Peral, L.; Deligny, O.; Di Giulio, C.; Di Matteo, A.; Díaz Castro, M. L.; Diogo, F.; Dobrigkeit, C.; D'Olivo, J. C.; Dorofeev, A.; dos Anjos, R. C.; Dova, M. T.; Dundovic, A.; Ebr, J.; Engel, R.; Erdmann, M.; Erfani, M.; Escobar, C. O.; Espadanal, J.; Etchegoyen, A.; Falcke, H.; Fang, K.; Farrar, G.; Fauth, A. C.; Fazzini, N.; Fick, B.; Figueira, J. M.; Filevich, A.; Filipčič, A.; Fratu, O.; Freire, M. M.; Fujii, T.; Fuster, A.; García, B.; Garcia-Pinto, D.; Gaté, F.; Gemmeke, H.; Gherghel-Lascu, A.; Ghia, P. L.; Giaccari, U.; Giammarchi, M.; Giller, M.; Głas, D.; Glaser, C.; Glass, H.; Golup, G.; Gómez Berisso, M.; Gómez Vitale, P. F.; González, N.; Gookin, B.; Gordon, J.; Gorgi, A.; Gorham, P.; Gouffon, P.; Grillo, A. F.; Grubb, T. D.; Guarino, F.; Guedes, G. P.; Hampel, M. R.; Hansen, P.; Harari, D.; Harrison, T. A.; Harton, J. L.; Hasankiadeh, Q.; Haungs, A.; Hebbeker, T.; Heck, D.; Heimann, P.; Herve, A. E.; Hill, G. C.; Hojvat, C.; Holt, E.; Homola, P.; Hörandel, J. R.; Horvath, P.; Hrabovský, M.; Huege, T.; Hulsman, J.; Insolia, A.; Isar, P. G.; Jandt, I.; Jansen, S.; Johnsen, J. A.; Josebachuili, M.; Kääpä, A.; Kambeitz, O.; Kampert, K. H.; Kasper, P.; Katkov, I.; Keilhauer, B.; Kemp, E.; Kieckhafer, R. M.; Klages, H. O.; Kleifges, M.; Kleinfeller, J.; Krause, R.; Krohm, N.; Kuempel, D.; Kukec Mezek, G.; Kunka, N.; Kuotb Awad, A.; LaHurd, D.; Latronico, L.; Lauscher, M.; Lebrun, P.; Legumina, R.; Leigui de Oliveira, M. A.; Letessier-Selvon, A.; Lhenry-Yvon, I.; Link, K.; Lopes, L.; López, R.; López Casado, A.; Luce, Q.; Lucero, A.; Malacari, M.; Mallamaci, M.; Mandat, D.; Mantsch, P.; Mariazzi, A. G.; Mariş, I. C.; Marsella, G.; Martello, D.; Martinez, H.; Martínez Bravo, O.; Masías Meza, J. J.; Mathes, H. J.; Mathys, S.; Matthews, J.; Matthews, J. A. J.; Matthiae, G.; Mayotte, E.; Mazur, P. O.; Medina, C.; Medina-Tanco, G.; Melo, D.; Menshikov, A.; Messina, S.; Micheletti, M. I.; Middendorf, L.; Minaya, I. A.; Miramonti, L.; Mitrica, B.; Mockler, D.; Molina-Bueno, L.; Mollerach, S.; Montanet, F.; Morello, C.; Mostafá, M.; Müller, G.; Muller, M. A.; Müller, S.; Naranjo, I.; Navas, S.; Nellen, L.; Neuser, J.; Nguyen, P. H.; Niculescu-Oglinzanu, M.; Niechciol, M.; Niemietz, L.; Niggemann, T.; Nitz, D.; Nosek, D.; Novotny, V.; Nožka, H.; Núñez, L. A.; Ochilo, L.; Oikonomou, F.; Olinto, A.; Pakk Selmi-Dei, D.; Palatka, M.; Pallotta, J.; Papenbreer, P.; Parente, G.; Parra, A.; Paul, T.; Pech, M.; Pedreira, F.; Pȩkala, J.; Pelayo, R.; Peña-Rodriguez, J.; Pereira, L. A. S.; Perrone, L.; Peters, C.; Petrera, S.; Phuntsok, J.; Piegaia, R.; Pierog, T.; Pieroni, P.; Pimenta, M.; Pirronello, V.; Platino, M.; Plum, M.; Porowski, C.; Prado, R. R.; Privitera, P.; Prouza, M.; Quel, E. J.; Querchfeld, S.; Quinn, S.; Ramos-Pollant, R.; Rautenberg, J.; Ravignani, D.; Reinert, D.; Revenu, B.; Ridky, J.; Risse, M.; Ristori, P.; Rizi, V.; Rodrigues de Carvalho, W.; Rodriguez Fernandez, G.; Rodriguez Rojo, J.; Rodríguez-Frías, M. D.; Rogozin, D.; Rosado, J.; Roth, M.; Roulet, E.; Rovero, A. C.; Saffi, S. J.; Saftoiu, A.; Salazar, H.; Saleh, A.; Salesa Greus, F.; Salina, G.; Sanabria Gomez, J. D.; Sánchez, F.; Sanchez-Lucas, P.; Santos, E. M.; Santos, E.; Sarazin, F.; Sarkar, B.; Sarmento, R.; Sarmiento-Cano, C.; Sato, R.; Scarso, C.; Schauer, M.; Scherini, V.; Schieler, H.; Schmidt, D.; Scholten, O.; Schovánek, P.; Schröder, F. G.; Schulz, A.; Schulz, J.; Schumacher, J.; Sciutto, S. J.; Segreto, A.; Settimo, M.; Shadkam, A.; Shellard, R. C.; Sigl, G.; Silli, G.; Sima, O.; Śmiałkowski, A.; Šmída, R.; Snow, G. R.; Sommers, P.; Sonntag, S.; Sorokin, J.; Squartini, R.; Stanca, D.; Stanič, S.; Stasielak, J.; Strafella, F.; Suarez, F.; Suarez Durán, M.; Sudholz, T.; Suomijärvi, T.; Supanitsky, A. D.; Sutherland, M. S.; Swain, J.; Szadkowski, Z.; Taborda, O. A.; Tapia, A.; Tepe, A.; Theodoro, V. M.; Timmermans, C.; Todero Peixoto, C. J.; Tomankova, L.; Tomé, B.; Tonachini, A.; Torralba Elipe, G.; Torres Machado, D.; Torri, M.; Travnicek, P.; Trini, M.; Ulrich, R.; Unger, M.; Urban, M.; Valbuena-Delgado, A.; Valdés Galicia, J. F.; Valiño, I.; Valore, L.; van Aar, G.; van Bodegom, P.; van den Berg, A. M.; van Vliet, A.; Varela, E.; Vargas Cárdenas, B.; Varner, G.; Vázquez, J. R.; Vázquez, R. A.; Veberič, D.; Verzi, V.; Vicha, J.; Villaseñor, L.; Vorobiov, S.; Wahlberg, H.; Wainberg, O.; Walz, D.; Watson, A. A.; Weber, M.; Weindl, A.; Wiencke, L.; Wilczyński, H.; Winchen, T.; Wittkowski, D.; Wundheiler, B.; Wykes, S.; Yang, L.; Yelos, D.; Yushkov, A.; Zas, E.; Zavrtanik, D.; Zavrtanik, M.; Zepeda, A.; Zimmermann, B.; Ziolkowski, M.; Zong, Z.; Zuccarello, F.

2017-03-01

AMIGA (Auger Muons and Infill for the Ground Array) is an upgrade of the Pierre Auger Observatory designed to extend its energy range of detection and to directly measure the muon content of the cosmic ray primary particle showers. The array will be formed by an infill of surface water-Cherenkov detectors associated with buried scintillation counters employed for muon counting. Each counter is composed of three scintillation modules, with a 10 m2 detection area per module. In this paper, a new generation of detectors, replacing the current multi-pixel photomultiplier tube (PMT) with silicon photo sensors (aka. SiPMs), is proposed. The selection of the new device and its front-end electronics is explained. A method to calibrate the counting system that ensures the performance of the detector is detailed. This method has the advantage of being able to be carried out in a remote place such as the one where the detectors are deployed. High efficiency results, i.e. 98% efficiency for the highest tested overvoltage, combined with a low probability of accidental counting (~2%), show a promising performance for this new system.

Commissioning of the ATLAS pixel detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Golling, Tobias

2008-01-01

The ATLAS pixel detector is a high precision silicon tracking device located closest to the LHC interaction point. It belongs to the first generation of its kind in a hadron collider experiment. It will provide crucial pattern recognition information and will largely determine the ability of ATLAS to precisely track particle trajectories and find secondary vertices. It was the last detector to be installed in ATLAS in June 2007, has been fully connected and tested in-situ during spring and summer 2008, and is ready for the imminent LHC turn-on. The highlights of the past and future commissioning activities of the ATLAS pixel system are presented

Monolithic Active Pixel Matrix with Binary Counters (MAMBO) ASIC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khalid, Farah F.; Deptuch, Grzegorz; Shenai, Alpana; Yarema, Raymond J.

2010-01-01

Monolithic Active Matrix with Binary Counters (MAMBO) is a counting ASIC designed for detecting and measuring low energy X-rays from 6-12 keV. Each pixel contains analogue functionality implemented with a charge preamplifier, CR-RC 2 shaper and a baseline restorer. It also contains a window comparator which can be trimmed by 4 bit DACs to remove systematic offsets. The hits are registered by a 12 bit ripple counter which is reconfigured as a shift register to serially output the data from the entire ASIC. Each pixel can be tested individually. Two diverse approaches have been used to prevent coupling between the detector and electronics in MAMBO III and MAMBO IV. MAMBO III is a 3D ASIC, the bottom ASIC consists of diodes which are connected to the top ASIC using μ-bump bonds. The detector is decoupled from the electronics by physically separating them on two tiers and using several metal layers as a shield. MAMBO IV is a monolithic structure which uses a nested well approach to isolate the detector from the electronics. The ASICs are being fabricated using the SOI 0.2 (micro)m OKI process, MAMBO III is 3D bonded at T-Micro and MAMBO IV nested well structure was developed in collaboration between OKI and Fermilab.

Technology development for SOI monolithic pixel detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marczewski, J.; Domanski, K.; Grabiec, P.; Grodner, M.; Jaroszewicz, B.; Kociubinski, A.; Kucharski, K.; Tomaszewski, D.; Caccia, M.; Kucewicz, W.; Niemiec, H.

2006-01-01

A monolithic detector of ionizing radiation has been manufactured using silicon on insulator (SOI) wafers with a high-resistivity substrate. In our paper the integration of a standard 3 μm CMOS technology, originally designed for bulk devices, with fabrication of pixels in the bottom wafer of a SOI substrate is described. Both technological sequences have been merged minimizing thermal budget and providing suitable properties of all the technological layers. The achieved performance proves that fully depleted monolithic active pixel matrix might be a viable option for a wide spectrum of future applications

A high-throughput, multi-channel photon-counting detector with picosecond timing

CERN Document Server

Lapington, J S; Miller, G M; Ashton, T J R; Jarron, P; Despeisse, M; Powolny, F; Howorth, J; Milnes, J

2009-01-01

High-throughput photon counting with high time resolution is a niche application area where vacuum tubes can still outperform solid-state devices. Applications in the life sciences utilizing time-resolved spectroscopies, particularly in the growing field of proteomics, will benefit greatly from performance enhancements in event timing and detector throughput. The HiContent project is a collaboration between the University of Leicester Space Research Centre, the Microelectronics Group at CERN, Photek Ltd., and end-users at the Gray Cancer Institute and the University of Manchester. The goal is to develop a detector system specifically designed for optical proteomics, capable of high content (multi-parametric) analysis at high throughput. The HiContent detector system is being developed to exploit this niche market. It combines multi-channel, high time resolution photon counting in a single miniaturized detector system with integrated electronics. The combination of enabling technologies; small pore microchanne...

Status and perspectives of pixel sensors based on 3D vertical integration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Re, Valerio [Università di Bergamo, Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Viale Marconi, 5, 24044 Dalmine (Italy); INFN, Sezione di Pavia, Via Bassi, 6, 27100 Pavia (Italy)

2014-11-21

This paper reviews the most recent developments of 3D integration in the field of silicon pixel sensors and readout integrated circuits. This technology may address the needs of future high energy physics and photon science experiments by increasing the electronic functional density in small pixel readout cells and by stacking various device layers based on different technologies, each optimized for a different function. Current efforts are aimed at improving the performance of both hybrid pixel detectors and of CMOS sensors. The status of these activities is discussed here, taking into account experimental results on 3D devices developed in the frame of the 3D-IC consortium. The paper also provides an overview of the ideas that are being currently devised for novel 3D vertically integrated pixel sensors. - Highlights: • 3D integration is a promising technology for pixel sensors in high energy physics. • Experimental results on two-layer 3D CMOS pixel sensors are presented. • The outcome of the first run from the 3D-IC consortium is discussed. • The AIDA network is studying via-last 3D integration of heterogeneous layers. • New ideas based on 3D vertically integrated pixels are being developed for HEP.

Status and perspectives of pixel sensors based on 3D vertical integration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Re, Valerio

2014-01-01

This paper reviews the most recent developments of 3D integration in the field of silicon pixel sensors and readout integrated circuits. This technology may address the needs of future high energy physics and photon science experiments by increasing the electronic functional density in small pixel readout cells and by stacking various device layers based on different technologies, each optimized for a different function. Current efforts are aimed at improving the performance of both hybrid pixel detectors and of CMOS sensors. The status of these activities is discussed here, taking into account experimental results on 3D devices developed in the frame of the 3D-IC consortium. The paper also provides an overview of the ideas that are being currently devised for novel 3D vertically integrated pixel sensors. - Highlights: • 3D integration is a promising technology for pixel sensors in high energy physics. • Experimental results on two-layer 3D CMOS pixel sensors are presented. • The outcome of the first run from the 3D-IC consortium is discussed. • The AIDA network is studying via-last 3D integration of heterogeneous layers. • New ideas based on 3D vertically integrated pixels are being developed for HEP

Spatial clustering of pixels of a multispectral image

Science.gov (United States)

Conger, James Lynn

2014-08-19

A method and system for clustering the pixels of a multispectral image is provided. A clustering system computes a maximum spectral similarity score for each pixel that indicates the similarity between that pixel and the most similar neighboring. To determine the maximum similarity score for a pixel, the clustering system generates a similarity score between that pixel and each of its neighboring pixels and then selects the similarity score that represents the highest similarity as the maximum similarity score. The clustering system may apply a filtering criterion based on the maximum similarity score so that pixels with similarity scores below a minimum threshold are not clustered. The clustering system changes the current pixel values of the pixels in a cluster based on an averaging of the original pixel values of the pixels in the cluster.

Data acquisition at the front-end of the Mu3e pixel detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perrevoort, Ann-Kathrin [Physikalisches Institut, Universitaet Heidelberg (Germany); Collaboration: Mu3e-Collaboration

2016-07-01

The Mu3e experiment - searching for the lepton-flavour violating decay of the muon into three electrons at an unprecedented sensitivity of one in 10{sup 16} decays - is based on a pixel tracking detector. The sensors are High-Voltage Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors, a technology which allows for very fast and thin detectors, and thus is an ideal fit for Mu3e where the trajectories of low-momentum electrons at high rates are to be measured. The detector will consist of about 275 million pixels and will be operated at up to 10{sup 9} muon stops per second. Therefore, a fast and trigger-less data readout is required. The pixel sensors feature zero-suppressed data output via high-speed serial links. The data is then buffered and sorted by time on a FPGA on the front-end before being processed to the following readout stage. In this talk, the readout of the Mu3e pixel detector at the front-end is introduced. Furthermore, a first firmware implementation of this concept in a beam telescope consisting of the current pixel sensor prototype MuPix7 is presented.

Mutacins and bacteriocins like genes in Streptococcus mutans isolated from participants with high, moderate, and low salivary count.

Science.gov (United States)

Soto, Carolina; Padilla, Carlos; Lobos, Olga

2017-02-01

To detect S. mutans producers of mutacins and bacteriocins like substances (BLIS) from saliva of participants with low, moderate, and high salivary counts. 123 strains of S. mutans were obtained from participants with low, moderate, and high salivary counts (age 18 and 20 years old) and their antibacterial capacity analyzed. By using PCR amplification, the expression levels of mutacins and BLIS genes were studied (expressed in arbitrary units/ml) in all three levels. S. mutans strains from participants with low salivary counts show high production of mutacins (63%). In contrast, participants with moderate and high salivary counts depict relatively low levels of mutacins (22 and 15%, respectively). Moreover, participants with low salivary counts showed high expression levels of genes encoding mutacins, a result that correlates with the strong antimicrobial activity of the group. Participants with moderate and high salivary counts however depict low expression levels of mutacin related genes, and little antimicrobial activity. No BLIS were detected in any of the groups studied. S. mutans isolated from the saliva of participants with low bacterial counts have significant antibacterial capacity compared to that of participants with moderate and high salivary counts. The superior lethality of S. mutans in participants with low salivary counts is likely due to the augmented expression of mutacin- related genes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Atlas pixel opto-board production and analysis and optolink simulation studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nderitu, Simon Kirichu

2007-01-01

At CERN, a Large collider will collide protons at high energies. There are four experiments being built to study the particle properties from the collision. The ATLAS experiment is the largest. It has many sub detectors among which is the Pixel detector which is the innermost part. The Pixel detector has eighty million channels that have to be read out. An optical link is utilized for the read out. It has optical to electronic interfaces both on the detector and off the detector at the counting room. The component on the detector in called the opto-board. This work discusses the production testing of the opto-boards to be installed on the detector. A total of 300 opto-boards including spares have been produced. The production was done in three laboratories among which is the laboratory at the University of Wuppertal which had the responsibility of Post production testing of all the one third of the total opto-boards. The results are discussed in this work. The analysis of the results from the total production process has been done in the scope of this work as well. In addition to the production, a study by simulation of the communication links optical signal has been done. This has enabled an assessment of the sufficiency of the optical signal against the transmission attenuation and irradiation degradation. A System Test set up has been put up at Wuppertal to enhance general studies for better understanding of the Pixel read out system. Among other studies is the study of the timing parameters behavior of the System which has been done in this work and enhanced by a simulation. These parameters are namely the mark to space ratio and the fine delay and their relatedness during the optolink tuning. A bit error rate test based on the System has also been done which enabled assessment of the transmission quality utilizing the tools inbuilt in the System Test. These results have been presented in this work. (orig.)

A level-1 pixel based track trigger for the CMS HL-LHC upgrade

CERN Document Server

CMS Collaboration

2016-01-01

We present feasibility studies to investigate the performances and interest of a Level-1 trigger based on pixels. The Level-1 (real-time) pixel based tracking trigger is a novel trigger system that is based on the real-time track reconstruction algorithms able to cope with very high rates and high flux of data in a very harsh environment. The pixel detector has an especially crucial role in precisely identifying the primary vertex of the rare physics events from the large pile-up (PU) of events. The goal of adding the pixel information already at the real-time level of the selection is to help reducing the total level-1 trigger rate while keeping an high selection capability. This is quite an innovative and challenging objective for the experiments upgrade for the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC).

A high-throughput, multi-channel photon-counting detector with picosecond timing

Science.gov (United States)

Lapington, J. S.; Fraser, G. W.; Miller, G. M.; Ashton, T. J. R.; Jarron, P.; Despeisse, M.; Powolny, F.; Howorth, J.; Milnes, J.

2009-06-01

High-throughput photon counting with high time resolution is a niche application area where vacuum tubes can still outperform solid-state devices. Applications in the life sciences utilizing time-resolved spectroscopies, particularly in the growing field of proteomics, will benefit greatly from performance enhancements in event timing and detector throughput. The HiContent project is a collaboration between the University of Leicester Space Research Centre, the Microelectronics Group at CERN, Photek Ltd., and end-users at the Gray Cancer Institute and the University of Manchester. The goal is to develop a detector system specifically designed for optical proteomics, capable of high content (multi-parametric) analysis at high throughput. The HiContent detector system is being developed to exploit this niche market. It combines multi-channel, high time resolution photon counting in a single miniaturized detector system with integrated electronics. The combination of enabling technologies; small pore microchannel plate devices with very high time resolution, and high-speed multi-channel ASIC electronics developed for the LHC at CERN, provides the necessary building blocks for a high-throughput detector system with up to 1024 parallel counting channels and 20 ps time resolution. We describe the detector and electronic design, discuss the current status of the HiContent project and present the results from a 64-channel prototype system. In the absence of an operational detector, we present measurements of the electronics performance using a pulse generator to simulate detector events. Event timing results from the NINO high-speed front-end ASIC captured using a fast digital oscilloscope are compared with data taken with the proposed electronic configuration which uses the multi-channel HPTDC timing ASIC.

A high-throughput, multi-channel photon-counting detector with picosecond timing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lapington, J.S.; Fraser, G.W.; Miller, G.M.; Ashton, T.J.R.; Jarron, P.; Despeisse, M.; Powolny, F.; Howorth, J.; Milnes, J.

2009-01-01

High-throughput photon counting with high time resolution is a niche application area where vacuum tubes can still outperform solid-state devices. Applications in the life sciences utilizing time-resolved spectroscopies, particularly in the growing field of proteomics, will benefit greatly from performance enhancements in event timing and detector throughput. The HiContent project is a collaboration between the University of Leicester Space Research Centre, the Microelectronics Group at CERN, Photek Ltd., and end-users at the Gray Cancer Institute and the University of Manchester. The goal is to develop a detector system specifically designed for optical proteomics, capable of high content (multi-parametric) analysis at high throughput. The HiContent detector system is being developed to exploit this niche market. It combines multi-channel, high time resolution photon counting in a single miniaturized detector system with integrated electronics. The combination of enabling technologies; small pore microchannel plate devices with very high time resolution, and high-speed multi-channel ASIC electronics developed for the LHC at CERN, provides the necessary building blocks for a high-throughput detector system with up to 1024 parallel counting channels and 20 ps time resolution. We describe the detector and electronic design, discuss the current status of the HiContent project and present the results from a 64-channel prototype system. In the absence of an operational detector, we present measurements of the electronics performance using a pulse generator to simulate detector events. Event timing results from the NINO high-speed front-end ASIC captured using a fast digital oscilloscope are compared with data taken with the proposed electronic configuration which uses the multi-channel HPTDC timing ASIC.

Characterization of the PILATUS photon-counting pixel detector for X-ray energies from 1.75 keV to 60 keV

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Donath, T; Brandstetter, S; Commichau, S; Hofer, P; Lüthi, B; Schneebeli, M; Schulze-Briese, C; Cibik, L; Krumrey, M; Marggraf, S; Müller, P; Wernecke, J

2013-01-01

The PILATUS detector module was characterized in the PTB laboratory at BESSY II comparing modules with 320 μm thick and newly developed 450 μm and 1000 μm thick silicon sensors. Measurements were carried out over a wide energy range, in-vacuum from 1.75 keV to 8.8 keV and in air from 8 keV to 60 keV. The quantum efficiency (QE) was measured as a function of energy and the spatial resolution was measured at several photon energies both in terms of the modulation transfer function (MTF) from edge profile measurements and by directly measuring the point spread function (PSF) of a single pixel in a raster scan with a pinhole beam. Independent of the sensor thickness, the measured MTF and PSF come close to those for an ideal pixel detector with the pixel size of the PILATUS detector (172 × 172 μm 2 ). The measured QE follows the values predicted by calculation. Thicker sensors significantly enhance the QE of the PILATUS detectors for energies above 10 keV without impairing the spatial resolution and noise-free detection. In-vacuum operation of the PILATUS detector is possible at energies as low as 1.75 keV.

Characterization of the PILATUS photon-counting pixel detector for X-ray energies from 1.75 keV to 60 keV

Science.gov (United States)

Donath, T.; Brandstetter, S.; Cibik, L.; Commichau, S.; Hofer, P.; Krumrey, M.; Lüthi, B.; Marggraf, S.; Müller, P.; Schneebeli, M.; Schulze-Briese, C.; Wernecke, J.

2013-03-01

The PILATUS detector module was characterized in the PTB laboratory at BESSY II comparing modules with 320 μm thick and newly developed 450 μm and 1000 μm thick silicon sensors. Measurements were carried out over a wide energy range, in-vacuum from 1.75 keV to 8.8 keV and in air from 8 keV to 60 keV. The quantum efficiency (QE) was measured as a function of energy and the spatial resolution was measured at several photon energies both in terms of the modulation transfer function (MTF) from edge profile measurements and by directly measuring the point spread function (PSF) of a single pixel in a raster scan with a pinhole beam. Independent of the sensor thickness, the measured MTF and PSF come close to those for an ideal pixel detector with the pixel size of the PILATUS detector (172 × 172 μm2). The measured QE follows the values predicted by calculation. Thicker sensors significantly enhance the QE of the PILATUS detectors for energies above 10 keV without impairing the spatial resolution and noise-free detection. In-vacuum operation of the PILATUS detector is possible at energies as low as 1.75 keV.

Population-based CD4 counts in a rural area in South Africa with high HIV prevalence and high antiretroviral treatment coverage.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abraham Malaza

Full Text Available Little is known about the variability of CD4 counts in the general population of sub-Saharan Africa countries affected by the HIV epidemic. We investigated factors associated with CD4 counts in a rural area in South Africa with high HIV prevalence and high antiretroviral treatment (ART coverage.CD4 counts, health status, body mass index (BMI, demographic characteristics and HIV status were assessed in 4990 adult resident participants of a demographic surveillance in rural KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa; antiretroviral treatment duration was obtained from a linked clinical database. Multivariable regression analysis, overall and stratified by HIV status, was performed with CD4 count levels as outcome.Median CD4 counts were significantly higher in women than in men overall (714 vs. 630 cells/µl, p<0.0001, both in HIV-uninfected (833 vs. 683 cells/µl, p<0.0001 and HIV-infected adults (384.5 vs. 333 cells/µl, p<0.0001. In multivariable regression analysis, women had 19.4% (95% confidence interval (CI 16.1-22.9 higher CD4 counts than men, controlling for age, HIV status, urban/rural residence, household wealth, education, BMI, self-reported tuberculosis, high blood pressure, other chronic illnesses and sample processing delay. At ART initiation, HIV-infected adults had 21.7% (95% CI 14.6-28.2 lower CD4 counts than treatment-naive individuals; CD4 counts were estimated to increase by 9.2% (95% CI 6.2-12.4 per year of treatment.CD4 counts are primarily determined by sex in HIV-uninfected adults, and by sex, age and duration of antiretroviral treatment in HIV-infected adults. Lower CD4 counts at ART initiation in men could be a consequence of lower CD4 cell counts before HIV acquisition.

Serial powering of pixel modules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stockmanns, Tobias; Fischer, Peter; Huegging, Fabian; Peric, Ivan; Runolfsson, O.; Wermes, Norbert

2003-01-01

Modern pixel detectors for the next generation of high-energy collider experiments like LHC use readout electronics in deep sub-micron technology. Chips in this technology need a low supply voltage of 2-2.5 V alongside high current consumption to achieve the desired performance. The high supply current leads to significant voltage drops in the long and low mass supply cables so that voltage fluctuations at the chips are induced, when the supply current changes. This problem scales with the number of modules when connected in parallel to the power supplies. An alternative powering scheme connects several modules in series resulting in a higher supply voltage but a lower current consumption of the chain and therefore a much lower voltage drop in the cables. In addition the amount of cables needed to supply the detector is vastly reduced. The concept and features of serial powering are presented and studies of the implementation of this technology as an alternative for the ATLAS pixel detector are shown. In particular, it is shown that the potential risk of powering in series can be addressed and eliminated

CMOS pixel development for the ATLAS experiment at HL-LHC

CERN Document Server

Risti{c}, Branislav; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

To cope with the rate and radiation environment expected at the HL-LHC new approaches are being developed on CMOS pixel detectors, providing charge collection in a depleted layer. They are based on: HV enabling technologies that allow to use high depletion voltages (HV-MAPS), high resistivity wafers for large depletion depths (HR-MAPS); radiation hard processed with multiple nested wells to allow CMOS electronics embedded with sufficient shielding into the sensor substrate and backside processing and thinning for material minimization and backside voltage application. Since 2014, members of more than 20 groups in the ATLAS experiment are actively pursuing CMOS pixel R&D in an ATLAS Demonstrator program pursuing sensor design and characterizations. The goal of this program is to demonstrate that depleted CMOS pixels, with monolithic or hybrid designs, are suited for high rate, fast timing and high radiation operation at LHC. For this a number of technologies have been explored and characterized. In this pr...

CMOS Pixel Development for the ATLAS Experiment at HL-LHC

CERN Document Server

Gaudiello, Andrea; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

To cope with the rate and radiation environment expected at the HL-LHC new approaches are being developed on CMOS pixel detectors, providing charge collection in a depleted layer. They are based on: HV enabling technologies that allow to use high depletion voltages (HV-MAPS), high resistivity wafers for large depletion depths (HR-MAPS); radiation hard processed with multiple nested wells to allow CMOS electronics embedded with sufficient shielding into the sensor substrate and backside processing and thinning for material minimization and backside voltage application. Since 2014, members of more than 20 groups in the ATLAS experiment are actively pursuing CMOS pixel R&D in an ATLAS Demonstrator program pursuing sensor design and characterizations. The goal of this program is to demonstrate that depleted CMOS pixels, with monolithic or hybrid designs, are suited for high rate, fast timing and high radiation operation at LHC. For this a number of technologies have been explored and characterized. In this pr...

Performance Studies of Pixel Hybrid Photon Detectors for the LHCb RICH Counters

CERN Document Server

Aglieri Rinella, G; Piedigrossi, D; Van Lysebetten, A

2004-01-01

The Pixel Hybrid Photon Detector is a vacuum tube with a multi-alkali photo cathode, high voltage cross-focused electron optics and an anode consisting of a silicon pixel detector bump-bonded to a readout CMOS electronic chip fully encapsulated in the device. The Pixel HPD fulfils the requirements of the Ring Imaging Cherenkov counters of the LHCb experiment at LHC. The performances of the Pixel HPD will be discussed with reference to laboratory measurements, Cherenkov light imaging in recent beam tests, image distortions due to a magnetic field.

High-dynamic-range coherent diffractive imaging: ptychography using the mixed-mode pixel array detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Giewekemeyer, Klaus, E-mail: klaus.giewekemeyer@xfel.eu [European XFEL GmbH, Hamburg (Germany); Philipp, Hugh T. [Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (United States); Wilke, Robin N. [Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Göttingen (Germany); Aquila, Andrew [European XFEL GmbH, Hamburg (Germany); Osterhoff, Markus [Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Göttingen (Germany); Tate, Mark W.; Shanks, Katherine S. [Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (United States); Zozulya, Alexey V. [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Hamburg (Germany); Salditt, Tim [Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Göttingen (Germany); Gruner, Sol M. [Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (United States); Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (United States); Kavli Institute of Cornell for Nanoscience, Ithaca, NY (United States); Mancuso, Adrian P. [European XFEL GmbH, Hamburg (Germany)

2014-08-07

The advantages of a novel wide dynamic range hard X-ray detector are demonstrated for (ptychographic) coherent X-ray diffractive imaging. Coherent (X-ray) diffractive imaging (CDI) is an increasingly popular form of X-ray microscopy, mainly due to its potential to produce high-resolution images and the lack of an objective lens between the sample and its corresponding imaging detector. One challenge, however, is that very high dynamic range diffraction data must be collected to produce both quantitative and high-resolution images. In this work, hard X-ray ptychographic coherent diffractive imaging has been performed at the P10 beamline of the PETRA III synchrotron to demonstrate the potential of a very wide dynamic range imaging X-ray detector (the Mixed-Mode Pixel Array Detector, or MM-PAD). The detector is capable of single photon detection, detecting fluxes exceeding 1 × 10{sup 8} 8-keV photons pixel{sup −1} s{sup −1}, and framing at 1 kHz. A ptychographic reconstruction was performed using a peak focal intensity on the order of 1 × 10{sup 10} photons µm{sup −2} s{sup −1} within an area of approximately 325 nm × 603 nm. This was done without need of a beam stop and with a very modest attenuation, while ‘still’ images of the empty beam far-field intensity were recorded without any attenuation. The treatment of the detector frames and CDI methodology for reconstruction of non-sensitive detector regions, partially also extending the active detector area, are described.

A novel CMOS sensor with in-pixel auto-zeroed discrimination for charged particle tracking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Degerli, Y; Guilloux, F; Orsini, F

2014-01-01

With the aim of developing fast and granular Monolithic Active Pixels Sensors (MAPS) as new charged particle tracking detectors for high energy physics experiments, a new rolling shutter binary pixel architecture concept (RSBPix) with in-pixel correlated double sampling, amplification and discrimination is presented. The discriminator features auto-zeroing in order to compensate process-related transistor mismatches. In order to validate the pixel, a first monolithic CMOS sensor prototype, including a pixel array of 96 × 64 pixels, has been designed and fabricated in the Tower-Jazz 0.18 μm CMOS Image Sensor (CIS) process. Results of laboratory tests are presented

High Triglycerides Are Associated with Low Thrombocyte Counts and High VEGF in Nephropathia Epidemica.

Science.gov (United States)

Martynova, Ekaterina V; Valiullina, Aygul H; Gusev, Oleg A; Davidyuk, Yuriy N; Garanina, Ekaterina E; Shakirova, Venera G; Khaertynova, Ilsiyar; Anokhin, Vladimir A; Rizvanov, Albert A; Khaiboullina, Svetlana F

2016-01-01

Nephropathia epidemica (NE) is a mild form of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. Several reports have demonstrated a severe alteration in lipoprotein metabolism. However, little is known about changes in circulating lipids in NE. The objectives of this study were to evaluate changes in serum total cholesterol, high density cholesterol (HDCL), and triglycerides. In addition to evaluation of serum cytokine activation associations, changes in lipid profile and cytokine activation were determined for gender, thrombocyte counts, and VEGF. Elevated levels of triglycerides and decreased HDCL were observed in NE, while total cholesterol did not differ from controls. High triglycerides were associated with both the lowest thrombocyte counts and high serum VEGF, as well as a high severity score. Additionally, there were higher levels of triglycerides in male than female NE patients. Low triglycerides were associated with upregulation of IFN- γ and IL-12, suggesting activation of Th1 helper cells. Furthermore, levels of IFN- γ and IL-12 were increased in patients with lower severity scores, suggesting that a Th1 type immune response is playing protective role in NE. These combined data advance the understanding of NE pathogenesis and indicate a role for high triglycerides in disease severity.

Single Photon Counting Performance and Noise Analysis of CMOS SPAD-Based Image Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Dutton, Neale A. W.; Gyongy, Istvan; Parmesan, Luca; Henderson, Robert K.

2016-01-01

SPAD-based solid state CMOS image sensors utilising analogue integrators have attained deep sub-electron read noise (DSERN) permitting single photon counting (SPC) imaging. A new method is proposed to determine the read noise in DSERN image sensors by evaluating the peak separation and width (PSW) of single photon peaks in a photon counting histogram (PCH). The technique is used to identify and analyse cumulative noise in analogue integrating SPC SPAD-based pixels. The DSERN of our SPAD image sensor is exploited to confirm recent multi-photon threshold quanta image sensor (QIS) theory. Finally, various single and multiple photon spatio-temporal oversampling techniques are reviewed. PMID:27447643

Level-1 pixel based tracking trigger algorithm for LHC upgrade

CERN Document Server

Moon, Chang-Seong

2015-01-01

The Pixel Detector is the innermost detector of the tracking system of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). It precisely determines the interaction point (primary vertex) of the events and the possible secondary vertexes due to heavy flavours ($b$ and $c$ quarks); it is part of the overall tracking system that allows reconstructing the tracks of the charged particles in the events and combined with the magnetic field to measure their impulsion. The pixel detector allows measuring the tracks in the region closest to the interaction point. The Level-1 (real-time) pixel based tracking trigger is a novel trigger system that is currently being studied for the LHC upgrade. An important goal is developing real-time track reconstruction algorithms able to cope with very high rates and high flux of data in a very harsh environment. The pixel detector has an especially crucial role in precisely identifying the primary vertex of the rare physics events from the large pile-up (P...

LePIX: First results from a novel monolithic pixel sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mattiazzo, S.; Battaglia, M.; Bisello, D.; Caselle, M.; Chalmet, P.; Demaria, N.; Giubilato, P.; Ikemoto, Y.; Kloukinas, K.; Mansuy, C.; Marchioro, A.; Mugnier, H.; Pantano, D.; Potenza, A.; Rivetti, A.; Rousset, J.; Silvestrin, L.; Snoeys, W.; Wyss, J.

2013-01-01

We present a monolithic pixel sensor developed in the framework of the LePIX project aimed at tracking/triggering tasks where high granularity, low power consumption, material budget, radiation hardness and production costs are a concern. The detector is built in a 90 nm CMOS process on a substrate of moderate resistivity. This maintains the advantages usually offered by Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS), like a low input capacitance, having a single piece detector and using a standard CMOS production line, but offers charge collection by drift from a depleted region and therefore an excellent signal to noise ratio and a radiation tolerance superior to conventional undepleted MAPS. Measurement results obtained with the first prototypes from laser, radioactive source and beam test experiments are described. The excellent signal-to-noise performance is demonstrated by the capability of the device to separate the peaks in the spectrum of a 55 Fe source. We will also highlight the interaction between pixel cell design and architecture which points toward a very precise direction in the development of such depleted monolithic pixel devices for high energy physics

High rate 4π β-γ coincidence counting system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, L.O.; Gehrke, R.J.

1978-01-01

A high count rate 4π β-γ coincidence counting system for the determination of absolute disintegration rates of short half-life radionuclides is described. With this system the dead time per pulse is minimized by not stretching any pulses beyond the width necessary to satisfy overlap coincidence requirements. The equations used to correct for the β, γ, and coincidence channel dead times and for accidental coincidences are presented but not rigorously developed. Experimental results are presented for a decaying source of 56 Mn initially at 2 x 10 6 d/s and a set of 60 Co sources of accurately known source strengths varying from 10 3 to 2 x 10 6 d/s. A check of the accidental coincidence equation for the case of two independent sources with varying source strengths is presented

High speed systems for time-resolved experiments with synchrotron radiation

Science.gov (United States)

Koziol, Anna; Maj, Piotr

2018-02-01

The UFXC32k is a single photon counting hybrid pixel detector with 75 μm pixel pitch. It was designed to cope with high X-ray intensities and therefore it is a very good candiate for synchrotron applications. In order to use this detector in an application, a dedicated setup must be designed and built allowing proper operation of the detector within the experiment. The paper presents two setups built for the purpose of Pump-Probe-Probe experiments at the Synchrotron SOLEIL and XPCS experiments at the APS.

Development of n-in-p pixel modules for the ATLAS upgrade at HL-LHC

Science.gov (United States)

Macchiolo, A.; Nisius, R.; Savic, N.; Terzo, S.

2016-09-01

Thin planar pixel modules are promising candidates to instrument the inner layers of the new ATLAS pixel detector for HL-LHC, thanks to the reduced contribution to the material budget and their high charge collection efficiency after irradiation. 100-200 μm thick sensors, interconnected to FE-I4 read-out chips, have been characterized with radioactive sources and beam tests at the CERN-SPS and DESY. The results of these measurements are reported for devices before and after irradiation up to a fluence of 14 ×1015 neq /cm2 . The charge collection and tracking efficiency of the different sensor thicknesses are compared. The outlook for future planar pixel sensor production is discussed, with a focus on sensor design with the pixel pitches (50×50 and 25×100 μm2) foreseen for the RD53 Collaboration read-out chip in 65 nm CMOS technology. An optimization of the biasing structures in the pixel cells is required to avoid the hit efficiency loss presently observed in the punch-through region after irradiation. For this purpose the performance of different layouts have been compared in FE-I4 compatible sensors at various fluence levels by using beam test data. Highly segmented sensors will represent a challenge for the tracking in the forward region of the pixel system at HL-LHC. In order to reproduce the performance of 50×50 μm2 pixels at high pseudo-rapidity values, FE-I4 compatible planar pixel sensors have been studied before and after irradiation in beam tests at high incidence angle (80°) with respect to the short pixel direction. Results on cluster shapes, charge collection and hit efficiency will be shown.

Modelling of the small pixel effect in gallium arsenide X-ray imaging detectors

CERN Document Server

Sellin, P J

1999-01-01

A Monte Carlo simulation has been carried out to investigate the small pixel effect in highly pixellated X-ray imaging detectors fabricated from semi-insulating gallium arsenide. The presence of highly non-uniform weighting fields in detectors with a small pixel geometry causes the majority of the induced signal to be generated when the moving charges are close to the pixellated contacts. The response of GaAs X-ray imaging detectors is further complicated by the presence of charge trapping, particularly of electrons. In this work detectors are modelled with a pixel pitch of 40 and 150 mu m, and with thicknesses of 300 and 500 mu m. Pulses induced in devices with 40 mu m pixels are due almost totally to the movement of the lightly-trapped holes and can exhibit significantly higher charge collection efficiencies than detectors with large electrodes, in which electron trapping is significant. Details of the charge collection efficiencies as a function of interaction depth in the detector and of the incident phot...

Empirical electro-optical and x-ray performance evaluation of CMOS active pixels sensor for low dose, high resolution x-ray medical imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arvanitis, C. D.; Bohndiek, S. E.; Royle, G.; Blue, A.; Liang, H. X.; Clark, A.; Prydderch, M.; Turchetta, R.; Speller, R.

2007-01-01

Monolithic complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) active pixel sensors with high performance have gained attention in the last few years in many scientific and space applications. In order to evaluate the increasing capabilities of this technology, in particular where low dose high resolution x-ray medical imaging is required, critical electro-optical and physical x-ray performance evaluation was determined. The electro-optical performance includes read noise, full well capacity, interacting quantum efficiency, and pixels cross talk. The x-ray performance, including x-ray sensitivity, modulation transfer function, noise power spectrum, and detection quantum efficiency, has been evaluated in the mammographic energy range. The sensor is a 525x525 standard three transistor CMOS active pixel sensor array with more than 75% fill factor and 25x25 μm pixel pitch. Reading at 10 f/s, it is found that the sensor has 114 electrons total additive noise, 10 5 electrons full well capacity with shot noise limited operation, and 34% interacting quantum efficiency at 530 nm. Two different structured CsI:Tl phosphors with thickness 95 and 115 μm, respectively, have been optically coupled via a fiber optic plate to the array resulting in two different system configurations. The sensitivity of the two different system configurations was 43 and 47 electrons per x-ray incident on the sensor. The MTF at 10% of the two different system configurations was 9.5 and 9 cycles/mm with detective quantum efficiency of 0.45 and 0.48, respectively, close to zero frequency at ∼0.44 μC/kg (1.72 mR) detector entrance exposure. The detector was quantum limited at low spatial frequencies and its performance was comparable with high resolution a:Si and charge coupled device based x-ray imagers. The detector also demonstrates almost an order of magnitude lower noise than active matrix flat panel imagers. The results suggest that CMOS active pixel sensors when coupled to structured CsI:Tl can

Planar sensors for the upgrade of the CMS pixel detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rohe, T.; Bean, A.; Radicci, V.; Sibille, J.

2011-01-01

A replacement of the present CMS pixel detector with a better performing light weight four-layer system is foreseen in 2016. In the lifetime of this new system the LHC will reach and exceed its nominal luminosity of 10 34 cm -2 s -1 . Therefore the radiation hardness of all parts of the pixel system has to be reviewed. For the construction of the much larger four-layer pixel system, the replacement of the present double sided sensors by much cheaper single sided ones is considered. However, the construction of pixel modules with such sensors is challenging due to the small geometrical distance of the sensor high voltage and the ground of the readout electronics. This small distance limits the sensor bias to about 500 V in the tested samples.

PIXEL ANALYSIS OF PHOTOSPHERIC SPECTRAL DATA. I. PLASMA DYNAMICS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rasca, Anthony P.; Chen, James [Plasma Physics Division, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375 (United States); Pevtsov, Alexei A., E-mail: anthony.rasca.ctr@nrl.navy.mil [National Solar Observatory, Sunspot, NM 88349 (United States)

2016-11-20

Recent observations of the photosphere using high spatial and temporal resolution show small dynamic features at or below the current resolving limits. A new pixel dynamics method has been developed to analyze spectral profiles and quantify changes in line displacement, width, asymmetry, and peakedness of photospheric absorption lines. The algorithm evaluates variations of line profile properties in each pixel and determines the statistics of such fluctuations averaged over all pixels in a given region. The method has been used to derive statistical characteristics of pixel fluctuations in observed quiet-Sun regions, an active region with no eruption, and an active region with an ongoing eruption. Using Stokes I images from the Vector Spectromagnetograph (VSM) of the Synoptic Optical Long-term Investigations of the Sun (SOLIS) telescope on 2012 March 13, variations in line width and peakedness of Fe i 6301.5 Å are shown to have a distinct spatial and temporal relationship with an M7.9 X-ray flare in NOAA 11429. This relationship is observed as stationary and contiguous patches of pixels adjacent to a sunspot exhibiting intense flattening in the line profile and line-center displacement as the X-ray flare approaches peak intensity, which is not present in area scans of the non-eruptive active region. The analysis of pixel dynamics allows one to extract quantitative information on differences in plasma dynamics on sub-pixel scales in these photospheric regions. The analysis can be extended to include the Stokes parameters and study signatures of vector components of magnetic fields and coupled plasma properties.

32 x 16 CMOS smart pixel array for optical interconnects

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jongwoo; Guilfoyle, Peter S.; Stone, Richard V.; Hessenbruch, John M.; Choquette, Kent D.; Kiamilev, Fouad E.

2000-05-01

Free space optical interconnects can increase throughput capacities and eliminate much of the energy consumption required for `all electronic' systems. High speed optical interconnects can be achieved by integrating optoelectronic devices with conventional electronics. Smart pixel arrays have been developed which use optical interconnects. An individual smart pixel cell is composed of a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL), a photodetector, an optical receiver, a laser driver, and digital logic circuitry. Oxide-confined VCSELs are being developed to operate at 850 nm with a threshold current of approximately 1 mA. Multiple quantum well photodetectors are being fabricated from AlGaAs for use with the 850 nm VCSELs. The VCSELs and photodetectors are being integrated with complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) circuitry using flip-chip bonding. CMOS circuitry is being integrated with a 32 X 16 smart pixel array. The 512 smart pixels are serially linked. Thus, an entire data stream may be clocked through the chip and output electrically by the last pixel. Electrical testing is being performed on the CMOS smart pixel array. Using an on-chip pseudo random number generator, a digital data sequence was cycled through the chip verifying operation of the digital circuitry. Although, the prototype chip was fabricated in 1.2 micrometers technology, simulations have demonstrated that the array can operate at 1 Gb/s per pixel using 0.5 micrometers technology.

Pixels, Blocks of Pixels, and Polygons: Choosing a Spatial Unit for Thematic Accuracy Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Pixels, polygons, and blocks of pixels are all potentially viable spatial assessment units for conducting an accuracy assessment. We develop a statistical population-based framework to examine how the spatial unit chosen affects the outcome of an accuracy assessment. The populati...

SPIDR, a general-purpose readout system for pixel ASICs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heijden, B. van der; Visser, J.; Beuzekom, M. van; Boterenbrood, H.; Munneke, B.; Schreuder, F.; Kulis, S.

2017-01-01

The SPIDR (Speedy PIxel Detector Readout) system is a flexible general-purpose readout platform that can be easily adapted to test and characterize new and existing detector readout ASICs. It is originally designed for the readout of pixel ASICs from the Medipix/Timepix family, but other types of ASICs or front-end circuits can be read out as well. The SPIDR system consists of an FPGA board with memory and various communication interfaces, FPGA firmware, CPU subsystem and an API library on the PC . The FPGA firmware can be adapted to read out other ASICs by re-using IP blocks. The available IP blocks include a UDP packet builder, 1 and 10 Gigabit Ethernet MAC's and a 'soft core' CPU . Currently the firmware is targeted at the Xilinx VC707 development board and at a custom board called Compact-SPIDR . The firmware can easily be ported to other Xilinx 7 series and ultra scale FPGAs. The gap between an ASIC and the data acquisition back-end is bridged by the SPIDR system. Using the high pin count VITA 57 FPGA Mezzanine Card (FMC) connector only a simple chip carrier PCB is required. A 1 and a 10 Gigabit Ethernet interface handle the connection to the back-end. These can be used simultaneously for high-speed data and configuration over separate channels. In addition to the FMC connector, configurable inputs and outputs are available for synchronization with other detectors. A high resolution (≈ 27 ps bin size) Time to Digital converter is provided for time stamping events in the detector. The SPIDR system is frequently used as readout for the Medipix3 and Timepix3 ASICs. Using the 10 Gigabit Ethernet interface it is possible to read out a single chip at full bandwidth or up to 12 chips at a reduced rate. Another recent application is the test-bed for the VeloPix ASIC, which is developed for the Vertex Detector of the LHCb experiment. In this case the SPIDR system processes the 20 Gbps scrambled data stream from the VeloPix and distributes it over four

An EUDET/AIDA Pixel Beam Telescope for Detector Development

CERN Document Server

Perrey, Hanno

2013-01-01

A high resolution ($\\sigma 2 \\sim \\mu$) beam telescope based on monolithic active pixel sensors (MAPS) was developed within the EUDET collaboration. The telescope consists of six sensor planes using Mimosa26 MAPS with a pixel pitch of $18.4 \\mu$ and thinned down to $50 \\mu$. The excellent resolution, readout rate and DAQ integration capabilities made the telescope a primary test beam tool for many groups including several CERN based experiments. Within the new European detector infrastructure project AIDA the test beam telescope will be further extended in terms of cooling infrastructure, readout speed and precision. In order to provide a system optimized for the different requirements by the user community, a combination of various pixel technologies is foreseen. In this report the design of this even more flexible telescope with three different pixel technologies (TimePix, Mimosa, ATLAS FE-I4) will be presented. First test beam results with the HitOR signal provided by the FE-I4 integrated into the trigger...

CMOS VLSI Active-Pixel Sensor for Tracking

Science.gov (United States)

Pain, Bedabrata; Sun, Chao; Yang, Guang; Heynssens, Julie

2004-01-01

An architecture for a proposed active-pixel sensor (APS) and a design to implement the architecture in a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) very-large-scale integrated (VLSI) circuit provide for some advanced features that are expected to be especially desirable for tracking pointlike features of stars. The architecture would also make this APS suitable for robotic- vision and general pointing and tracking applications. CMOS imagers in general are well suited for pointing and tracking because they can be configured for random access to selected pixels and to provide readout from windows of interest within their fields of view. However, until now, the architectures of CMOS imagers have not supported multiwindow operation or low-noise data collection. Moreover, smearing and motion artifacts in collected images have made prior CMOS imagers unsuitable for tracking applications. The proposed CMOS imager (see figure) would include an array of 1,024 by 1,024 pixels containing high-performance photodiode-based APS circuitry. The pixel pitch would be 9 m. The operations of the pixel circuits would be sequenced and otherwise controlled by an on-chip timing and control block, which would enable the collection of image data, during a single frame period, from either the full frame (that is, all 1,024 1,024 pixels) or from within as many as 8 different arbitrarily placed windows as large as 8 by 8 pixels each. A typical prior CMOS APS operates in a row-at-a-time ( grolling-shutter h) readout mode, which gives rise to exposure skew. In contrast, the proposed APS would operate in a sample-first/readlater mode, suppressing rolling-shutter effects. In this mode, the analog readout signals from the pixels corresponding to the windows of the interest (which windows, in the star-tracking application, would presumably contain guide stars) would be sampled rapidly by routing them through a programmable diagonal switch array to an on-chip parallel analog memory array. The

Gossip: Gaseous pixels

Science.gov (United States)

Koffeman, E. N.

2007-12-01

Several years ago a revolutionary miniature TPC was developed using a pixel chip with a Micromegas foil spanned over it. To overcome the mechanical stability problems and improve the positioning accuracy while spanning a foil on top of a small readout chip a process has been developed in which a Micromegas-like grid is applied on a CMOS wafer in a post-processing step. This aluminum grid is supported on insulating pillars that are created by etching after the grid has been made. The energy resolution (measured on the absorption of the X-rays from a 55Fe source) was remarkably good. Several geometries have since been tested and we now believe that a Gas On Slimmed Silicon Pixel chip' (Gossip) may be realized. The drift region of such a gaseous pixel detector would be reduced to a millimeter. Such a detector is potentially very radiation hard (SLHC vertexing) but aging and sparking must be eliminated.

Gossip: Gaseous pixels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koffeman, E.N. [Nikhef, Kruislaan 409, 1098 SJ Amsterdam (Netherlands)], E-mail: d77@nikhef.nl

2007-12-01

Several years ago a revolutionary miniature TPC was developed using a pixel chip with a Micromegas foil spanned over it. To overcome the mechanical stability problems and improve the positioning accuracy while spanning a foil on top of a small readout chip a process has been developed in which a Micromegas-like grid is applied on a CMOS wafer in a post-processing step. This aluminum grid is supported on insulating pillars that are created by etching after the grid has been made. The energy resolution (measured on the absorption of the X-rays from a {sup 55}Fe source) was remarkably good. Several geometries have since been tested and we now believe that a Gas On Slimmed Silicon Pixel chip' (Gossip) may be realized. The drift region of such a gaseous pixel detector would be reduced to a millimeter. Such a detector is potentially very radiation hard (SLHC vertexing) but aging and sparking must be eliminated.

Gossip: Gaseous pixels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koffeman, E.N.

2007-01-01

Several years ago a revolutionary miniature TPC was developed using a pixel chip with a Micromegas foil spanned over it. To overcome the mechanical stability problems and improve the positioning accuracy while spanning a foil on top of a small readout chip a process has been developed in which a Micromegas-like grid is applied on a CMOS wafer in a post-processing step. This aluminum grid is supported on insulating pillars that are created by etching after the grid has been made. The energy resolution (measured on the absorption of the X-rays from a 55 Fe source) was remarkably good. Several geometries have since been tested and we now believe that a Gas On Slimmed Silicon Pixel chip' (Gossip) may be realized. The drift region of such a gaseous pixel detector would be reduced to a millimeter. Such a detector is potentially very radiation hard (SLHC vertexing) but aging and sparking must be eliminated

CMOS Active Pixel Sensors for Low Power, Highly Miniaturized Imaging Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Fossum, Eric R.

1996-01-01

The complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) active pixel sensor (APS) technology has been developed over the past three years by NASA at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and has reached a level of performance comparable to CCDs with greatly increased functionality but at a very reduced power level.

Pixel 2010: A résumé

CERN Document Server

Wermes, Norbert

2011-01-01

The Pixel 2010 conference focused on semiconductor pixel detectors for particle tracking/vertexing as well as for imaging, in particular for synchrotron light sources and XFELs. The big LHC hybrid pixel detectors have impressively started showing their capabilities. X-ray imaging detectors, also using the hybrid pixel technology, have greatly advanced the experimental possibilities for diffraction experiments. Monolithic or semi-monolithic devices like CMOS active pixels and DEPFET pixels have now reached a state such that complete vertex detectors for RHIC and superKEKB are being built with these technologies. Finally, new advances towards fully monolithic active pixel detectors, featuring full CMOS electronics merged with efficient signal charge collection, exploiting standard CMOS technologies, SOI and/or 3D integration, show the path for the future. This résumé attempts to extract the main statements of the results and developments presented at this conference.

The Upgraded Pixel Detector of the ATLAS Experiment for Run-2

CERN Document Server

Ferrere, Didier; The ATLAS collaboration

2016-01-01

Run-2 of the LHC is providing new challenges to track and vertex reconstruction with higher energies, denser jets and higher rates. Therefore the ATLAS experiment has constructed the first 4-layer Pixel detector in HEP, installing a new Pixel layer, also called Insertable B-Layer (IBL). IBL is a fourth layer of pixel detectors, and has been installed in May 2014 at a radius of 3.3 cm between the existing Pixel Detector and a new smaller radius beam-pipe. The new detector, built to cope with high radiation and expected occupancy, is the first large scale application of 3D detectors and CMOS 130nm technology. In addition the Pixel detector was refurbished with a new service quarter panel to recover about 3% of defective modules lost during run-1 and a new optical readout system to readout the data at higher speed while reducing the occupancy when running with increased luminosity. The commissioning and performance of the 4-layer Pixel Detector, in particular the IBL, will be presented, using collision data.

Digital Power Consumption Estimations for CHIPIX65 Pixel Readout Chip

CERN Document Server

Marcotulli, Andrea

2016-01-01

New hybrid pixel detectors with improved resolution capable of dealing with hit rates up to 3 GHz/cm2 will be required for future High Energy Physics experiments in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. Given this, the RD53 collaboration works on the design of the next generation pixel readout chip needed for both the ATLAS and CMS detector phase 2 pixel upgrades. For the RD53 demonstrator chip in 65nm CMOS technology, different architectures are considered. In particular the purpose of this work is estimating the power consumption of the digital architecture of the readout ASIC developed by CHIPIX65 project of the INFN National Scientific Committee. This has been done with modern chip design tools integrated with the VEPIX53 simulation framework that has been developed within the RD53 collaboration in order to assess the performance of the system in very high rate, high energy physics experiments.

Online calibrations and performance of the ATLAS Pixel Detector

CERN Document Server

Keil, M; The ATLAS collaboration

2010-01-01

The ATLAS Pixel Detector is the innermost detector of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. It consists of 1744 silicon sensors equipped with approximately 80 M electronic channels, providing typically three measurement points with high resolution for particles emerging from the beam-interaction region, thus allowing measuring particle tracks and secondary vertices with very high precision. The readout system of the Pixel Detector is based on a bi-directional optical data transmission system between the detector and the data acquisition system with an individual link for each of the 1744 modules. Signal conversion components are located on both ends, approximately 80 m apart. The talk will give an overview of the calibration and performance of both the detector and its optical readout. The most basic parameter to be tuned and calibrated for the detector electronics is the readout threshold of the individual pixel channels. These need to be carefully tuned to optimise position resolution a...

New pixel circuit compensating poly-si TFT threshold-voltage shift for a driving AMOLED

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fan, C. L.; Lin, Y. Y.; Lin, B. S.; Chang, J. Y.; Fan, C. L.; Chang, H. C.

2010-01-01

This study presents a novel pixel circuit that uses only n-type low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin-film transistors (LTPS-TFTs) to simplify the fabrication process of active matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) displays. The proposed pixel circuit consists of five switching TFTs, one driving TFT (DTFT), and two capacitors. The output current and the OLED anode voltage error rates are about 3% and 0.7%, respectively. Thus, the pixel circuit can realize uniform output current with high immunity to the poly-Si TFT threshold voltage deviation. The proposed novel pixel design has great potential for use in large-size, high-resolution AMOLED displays.

Current Status of the Pixel Phase I Upgrade in CMS: Barrel Module Production

CERN Document Server

Bartek, Rachel

2016-01-01

The silicon pixel detector is the innermost component of the CMS tracking system, providing high precision space point measurements of charged particle trajectories. Before 2018 the instantaneous luminosity of the LHC is expected to reach about 2~x~$10^{34}~\\rm{cm}^{-2}\\rm{s}^{-1}$, which will significantly increase the number of interactions per bunch crossing. To maintain a high tracking efficiency, CMS has planned to replace the current pixel system during phase I by a new lightweight detector, equipped with an additional 4th layer in the barrel, and one additional forward/backward disk. The present status of barrel modules production will be presented, including preliminary results from tests on the first production pixel modules of the new pixel tracker.

The central pixel of the MAGIC telescope for optical observations

Science.gov (United States)

Lucarelli, F.; Barrio, J. A.; Antoranz, P.; Asensio, M.; Camara, M.; Contreras, J. L.; Fonseca, M. V.; Lopez, M.; Miranda, J. M.; Oya, I.; Reyes, R. De Los; Firpo, R.; Sidro, N.; Goebel, F.; Lorenz, E.; Otte, N.

2008-05-01

The MAGIC telescope has been designed for the observation of Cherenkov light generated in Extensive Air Showers initiated by cosmic particles. However, its 17 m diameter mirror and optical design makes the telescope suitable for direct optical observations as well. In this paper, we report about the development of a system based on the use of a dedicated photo-multiplier (PMT) for optical observations. This PMT is installed in the centre of the MAGIC camera (the so-called central pixel). An electro-to-optical system has been developed in order to transmit the PMT output signal by an optical fibre to the counting room, where it is digitized and stored for off-line analysis. The performance of the system using the optical pulsation of the Crab nebula as calibration source is presented. The time required for a 5σ detection of the Crab pulsar in the optical band is less than 20 s. The central pixel will be mainly used to perform simultaneous observations of the Crab pulsar both in the optical and γ-ray regimes. It will also allow for periodic testing of the precision of the MAGIC timing system using the Crab rotational optical pulses as a very precise timing reference.

Overview of the CMS Pixel Detector

CERN Document Server

Cerati, Giuseppe B

2008-01-01

The Compact Muon Solenoid Experiment (CMS) will start taking data at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in 2009. It will investigate the proton-proton collisions at $14~TeV$. A robust tracking combined with a precise vertex reconstruction is crucial to address the physics challenge of proton collisions at this energy. To this extent an all-silicon tracking system with very fine granularity has been built and now is in the final commissioning phase. It represents the largest silicon tracking detector ever built. The system is composed by an outer part, made of micro-strip detectors, and an inner one, made of pixel detectors. The pixel detector consists of three pixel barrel layers and two forward disks at each side of the interaction region. Each pixel sensor, both for the barrel and forward detectors, has $100 \\times 150$ $\\mu m^2$ cells for a total of 66 million pixels covering a total area of about $1~m^2$. The pixel detector will play a crucial role in the pattern recognition and the track reconstruction both...

Pixel electronics for the ATLAS experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fischer, P.

2001-01-01

The ATLAS experiment at LHC will use 3 barrel layers and 2x5 disks of silicon pixel detectors as the innermost elements of the semiconductor tracker. The basic building blocks are pixel modules with an active area of 16.4 mmx60.8 mm which include an n + on n-type silicon sensor and 16 VLSI front-end (FE) chips. Every FE chip contains a low power, high speed charge sensitive preamplifier, a fast discriminator, and a readout system which operates at the 40 MHz rate of LHC. The addresses of hit pixels (as well as a low resolution pulse height information) are stored on the FE chips until arrival of a level 1 trigger signal. Hits are then transferred to a module controller chip (MCC) which collects the data of all 16 FE chips, builds complete events and sends the data through two optical links to the data acquisition system. The MCC receives clock and data through an additional optical link and provides timing and configuration information for the FE chips. Two additional chips are used to amplify and decode the pin diode signal and to drive the VCSEL laser diodes of the optical links

Dead pixel replacement in LWIR microgrid polarimeters.

Science.gov (United States)

Ratliff, Bradley M; Tyo, J Scott; Boger, James K; Black, Wiley T; Bowers, David L; Fetrow, Matthew P

2007-06-11

LWIR imaging arrays are often affected by nonresponsive pixels, or "dead pixels." These dead pixels can severely degrade the quality of imagery and often have to be replaced before subsequent image processing and display of the imagery data. For LWIR arrays that are integrated with arrays of micropolarizers, the problem of dead pixels is amplified. Conventional dead pixel replacement (DPR) strategies cannot be employed since neighboring pixels are of different polarizations. In this paper we present two DPR schemes. The first is a modified nearest-neighbor replacement method. The second is a method based on redundancy in the polarization measurements.We find that the redundancy-based DPR scheme provides an order-of-magnitude better performance for typical LWIR polarimetric data.

50 μm pixel pitch wafer-scale CMOS active pixel sensor x-ray detector for digital breast tomosynthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, C; Konstantinidis, A C; Zheng, Y; Anaxagoras, T; Speller, R D; Kanicki, J

2015-12-07

Wafer-scale CMOS active pixel sensors (APSs) have been developed recently for x-ray imaging applications. The small pixel pitch and low noise are very promising properties for medical imaging applications such as digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT). In this work, we evaluated experimentally and through modeling the imaging properties of a 50 μm pixel pitch CMOS APS x-ray detector named DynAMITe (Dynamic Range Adjustable for Medical Imaging Technology). A modified cascaded system model was developed for CMOS APS x-ray detectors by taking into account the device nonlinear signal and noise properties. The imaging properties such as modulation transfer function (MTF), noise power spectrum (NPS), and detective quantum efficiency (DQE) were extracted from both measurements and the nonlinear cascaded system analysis. The results show that the DynAMITe x-ray detector achieves a high spatial resolution of 10 mm(-1) and a DQE of around 0.5 at spatial frequencies  CMOS APS x-ray detector, image aquisition geometry and image reconstruction techniques should be considered.

Monolithic Active Pixel Matrix with Binary Counters (MAMBO) ASIC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khalid, Farah F.; Deptuch, Grzegorz; Shenai, Alpana; Yarema, Raymond J.; /Fermilab

2010-11-01

Monolithic Active Matrix with Binary Counters (MAMBO) is a counting ASIC designed for detecting and measuring low energy X-rays from 6-12 keV. Each pixel contains analogue functionality implemented with a charge preamplifier, CR-RC{sup 2} shaper and a baseline restorer. It also contains a window comparator which can be trimmed by 4 bit DACs to remove systematic offsets. The hits are registered by a 12 bit ripple counter which is reconfigured as a shift register to serially output the data from the entire ASIC. Each pixel can be tested individually. Two diverse approaches have been used to prevent coupling between the detector and electronics in MAMBO III and MAMBO IV. MAMBO III is a 3D ASIC, the bottom ASIC consists of diodes which are connected to the top ASIC using {mu}-bump bonds. The detector is decoupled from the electronics by physically separating them on two tiers and using several metal layers as a shield. MAMBO IV is a monolithic structure which uses a nested well approach to isolate the detector from the electronics. The ASICs are being fabricated using the SOI 0.2 {micro}m OKI process, MAMBO III is 3D bonded at T-Micro and MAMBO IV nested well structure was developed in collaboration between OKI and Fermilab.

Qualitative and quantitative measurement of human brain activity using pixel subtraction algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Jin Myoung; Jeong, Gwang Woo; Kim, Hyung Joong; Cho, Seong Hoon; Kang, Heoung Keun; Seo, Jeong Jin; Park, Seung Jin

2004-01-01

To develop an automated quantification program, which is called FALBA (Functional and Anatomical Labeling of Brain Activation), and to provide information on the brain centers, brain activity (%) and hemispheric lateralization index on the basis of a brain activation map obtained from functional MR imaging. The 3-dimensional activation MR images were processed by a statistical parametric mapping program (SPM99, The Wellcome Department of Cognitive Neurology, University College London, UK) and MRIcro software (www.micro.com). The 3-dimensional images were first converted into 2-dimensional sectional images, and then overlapped with the corresponding T1-weighted images. Then, the image dataset was extended to -59 mm to 83 mm with a 2 mm slice-gap, giving 73 axial images. By using a pixeI subtraction method, the differences in the R, G, B values between the T1-weighted images and the activation images were extracted, in order to produce black and white (B/W) differentiation images, in which each pixel is represented by 24-bit R, G, B true colors. Subsequently, another pixel differentiation method was applied to two template images, namely one functional and one anatomical index image, in order to generate functional and anatomical differentiation images containing regional brain activation information based on the Brodmann's and anatomical areas, respectively. In addition, the regional brain lateralization indices were automatically determined, in order to evaluate the hemispheric predominance, with the positive (+) and negative (-) indices showing left and right predominance, respectively. The manual counting method currently used is time consuming and has limited accuracy and reliability in the case of the activated cerebrocortical regions. The FALBA program we developed was 240 times faster than the manual counting method: -10 hours for manual accounting and -2.5 minutes for the FALBA program using a Pentium IV processor. Compared with the FALBA program, the manual

Qualitative and quantitative measurement of human brain activity using pixel subtraction algorithm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Jin Myoung; Jeong, Gwang Woo; Kim, Hyung Joong; Cho, Seong Hoon; Kang, Heoung Keun; Seo, Jeong Jin; Park, Seung Jin [School of Medicine, Chonnam National Univ., Kwangju (Korea, Republic of)

2004-08-01

To develop an automated quantification program, which is called FALBA (Functional and Anatomical Labeling of Brain Activation), and to provide information on the brain centers, brain activity (%) and hemispheric lateralization index on the basis of a brain activation map obtained from functional MR imaging. The 3-dimensional activation MR images were processed by a statistical parametric mapping program (SPM99, The Wellcome Department of Cognitive Neurology, University College London, UK) and MRIcro software (www.micro.com). The 3-dimensional images were first converted into 2-dimensional sectional images, and then overlapped with the corresponding T1-weighted images. Then, the image dataset was extended to -59 mm to 83 mm with a 2 mm slice-gap, giving 73 axial images. By using a pixeI subtraction method, the differences in the R, G, B values between the T1-weighted images and the activation images were extracted, in order to produce black and white (B/W) differentiation images, in which each pixel is represented by 24-bit R, G, B true colors. Subsequently, another pixel differentiation method was applied to two template images, namely one functional and one anatomical index image, in order to generate functional and anatomical differentiation images containing regional brain activation information based on the Brodmann's and anatomical areas, respectively. In addition, the regional brain lateralization indices were automatically determined, in order to evaluate the hemispheric predominance, with the positive (+) and negative (-) indices showing left and right predominance, respectively. The manual counting method currently used is time consuming and has limited accuracy and reliability in the case of the activated cerebrocortical regions. The FALBA program we developed was 240 times faster than the manual counting method: -10 hours for manual accounting and -2.5 minutes for the FALBA program using a Pentium IV processor. Compared with the FALBA program, the

Compton suppression gamma-counting: The effect of count rate

Science.gov (United States)

Millard, H.T.

1984-01-01

Past research has shown that anti-coincidence shielded Ge(Li) spectrometers enhanced the signal-to-background ratios for gamma-photopeaks, which are situated on high Compton backgrounds. Ordinarily, an anti- or non-coincidence spectrum (A) and a coincidence spectrum (C) are collected simultaneously with these systems. To be useful in neutron activation analysis (NAA), the fractions of the photopeak counts routed to the two spectra must be constant from sample to sample to variations must be corrected quantitatively. Most Compton suppression counting has been done at low count rate, but in NAA applications, count rates may be much higher. To operate over the wider dynamic range, the effect of count rate on the ratio of the photopeak counts in the two spectra (A/C) was studied. It was found that as the count rate increases, A/C decreases for gammas not coincident with other gammas from the same decay. For gammas coincident with other gammas, A/C increases to a maximum and then decreases. These results suggest that calibration curves are required to correct photopeak areas so quantitative data can be obtained at higher count rates. ?? 1984.

Development of radiation hard CMOS active pixel sensors for HL-LHC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pernegger, Heinz

2016-01-01

New pixel detectors, based on commercial high voltage and/or high resistivity full CMOS processes, hold promise as next-generation active pixel sensors for inner and intermediate layers of the upgraded ATLAS tracker. The use of commercial CMOS processes allow cost-effective detector construction and simpler hybridisation techniques. The paper gives an overview of the results obtained on AMS-produced CMOS sensors coupled to the ATLAS Pixel FE-I4 readout chips. The SOI (silicon-on-insulator) produced sensors by XFAB hold great promise as radiation hard SOI-CMOS sensors due to their combination of partially depleted SOI transistors reducing back-gate effects. The test results include pre-/post-irradiation comparison, measurements of charge collection regions as well as test beam results.

High Dynamic Range Imaging at the Quantum Limit with Single Photon Avalanche Diode-Based Image Sensors †

Science.gov (United States)

Mattioli Della Rocca, Francescopaolo

2018-01-01

This paper examines methods to best exploit the High Dynamic Range (HDR) of the single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) in a high fill-factor HDR photon counting pixel that is scalable to megapixel arrays. The proposed method combines multi-exposure HDR with temporal oversampling in-pixel. We present a silicon demonstration IC with 96 × 40 array of 8.25 µm pitch 66% fill-factor SPAD-based pixels achieving >100 dB dynamic range with 3 back-to-back exposures (short, mid, long). Each pixel sums 15 bit-planes or binary field images internally to constitute one frame providing 3.75× data compression, hence the 1k frames per second (FPS) output off-chip represents 45,000 individual field images per second on chip. Two future projections of this work are described: scaling SPAD-based image sensors to HDR 1 MPixel formats and shrinking the pixel pitch to 1–3 µm. PMID:29641479

Efficient High-Dimensional Entanglement Imaging with a Compressive-Sensing Double-Pixel Camera

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gregory A. Howland

2013-02-01

Full Text Available We implement a double-pixel compressive-sensing camera to efficiently characterize, at high resolution, the spatially entangled fields that are produced by spontaneous parametric down-conversion. This technique leverages sparsity in spatial correlations between entangled photons to improve acquisition times over raster scanning by a scaling factor up to n^{2}/log⁡(n for n-dimensional images. We image at resolutions up to 1024 dimensions per detector and demonstrate a channel capacity of 8.4 bits per photon. By comparing the entangled photons’ classical mutual information in conjugate bases, we violate an entropic Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen separability criterion for all measured resolutions. More broadly, our result indicates that compressive sensing can be especially effective for higher-order measurements on correlated systems.

An integral whole circuit of amplifying and discriminating suited to high counting rate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dong Chengfu; Su Hong; Wu Ming; Li Xiaogang; Peng Yu; Qian Yi; Liu Yicai; Xu Sijiu; Ma Xiaoli

2007-01-01

A hybrid circuit consists of charge sensitive preamplifier, main amplifier, discriminator and shaping circuit was described. This instrument has characteristics of low power consumption, small volume, high sensitivity, potable and so on, and is convenient for use in field. The output pulse of this instrument may directly consist with CMOS or TTL logic level. This instrument was mainly used for count measurement, for example, for high sensitive 3 He neutron detector, meanwhile also may used for other heavy ion detectors, the highest counting rate can reach 10 6 /s. (authors)

CMS Barrel Pixel Detector Overview

CERN Document Server

Kästli, H C; Erdmann, W; Gabathuler, K; Hörmann, C; Horisberger, Roland Paul; König, S; Kotlinski, D; Meier, B; Robmann, P; Rohe, T; Streuli, S

2007-01-01

The pixel detector is the innermost tracking device of the CMS experiment at the LHC. It is built from two independent sub devices, the pixel barrel and the end disks. The barrel consists of three concentric layers around the beam pipe with mean radii of 4.4, 7.3 and 10.2 cm. There are two end disks on each side of the interaction point at 34.5 cm and 46.5 cm. This article gives an overview of the pixel barrel detector, its mechanical support structure, electronics components, services and its expected performance.