Correction of SiPM temperature dependencies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaplan, A.

2009-01-01

The performance of a high granular analogue hadronic calorimeter (AHCAL) using scintillator tiles with built-in Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) readout is reported. A muon beam is used for the minimum ionizing particle (MIP) based calibration of the single cells. The calibration chain including corrections for the non-linearity of the SiPM is presented. The voltage and temperature dependencies of the SiPM signal have been investigated using the versatile LED system of the AHCAL. Monitoring and correction methods are discussed. Measurements from the operation 2006 and 2007 at the CERN SPS test beam and data provided by the Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics (ITEP) in Moscow are compared.

Development of a composite large-size SiPM (assembled matrix) based modular detector cluster for MAGIC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hahn, A., E-mail: ahahn@mpp.mpg.de [Max Planck Institute for Physics (Werner-Heisenberg-Institut), Föhringer Ring 6, 80805 München (Germany); Mazin, D., E-mail: mazin@mpp.mpg.de [Max Planck Institute for Physics (Werner-Heisenberg-Institut), Föhringer Ring 6, 80805 München (Germany); Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwa-no-Ha, Kashiwa City, Chiba 277–8582 (Japan); Bangale, P., E-mail: priya@mpp.mpg.de [Max Planck Institute for Physics (Werner-Heisenberg-Institut), Föhringer Ring 6, 80805 München (Germany); Dettlaff, A., E-mail: todettl@mpp.mpg.de [Max Planck Institute for Physics (Werner-Heisenberg-Institut), Föhringer Ring 6, 80805 München (Germany); Fink, D., E-mail: fink@mpp.mpg.de [Max Planck Institute for Physics (Werner-Heisenberg-Institut), Föhringer Ring 6, 80805 München (Germany); Grundner, F., E-mail: grundner@mpp.mpg.de [Max Planck Institute for Physics (Werner-Heisenberg-Institut), Föhringer Ring 6, 80805 München (Germany); Haberer, W., E-mail: haberer@mpp.mpg.de [Max Planck Institute for Physics (Werner-Heisenberg-Institut), Föhringer Ring 6, 80805 München (Germany); Maier, R., E-mail: rma@mpp.mpg.de [Max Planck Institute for Physics (Werner-Heisenberg-Institut), Föhringer Ring 6, 80805 München (Germany); and others

2017-02-11

The MAGIC collaboration operates two 17 m diameter Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) on the Canary Island of La Palma. Each of the two telescopes is currently equipped with a photomultiplier tube (PMT) based imaging camera. Due to the advances in the development of Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs), they are becoming a widely used alternative to PMTs in many research fields including gamma-ray astronomy. Within the Otto-Hahn group at the Max Planck Institute for Physics, Munich, we are developing a SiPM based detector module for a possible upgrade of the MAGIC cameras and also for future experiments as, e.g., the Large Size Telescopes (LST) of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). Because of the small size of individual SiPM sensors (6 mm×6 mm) with respect to the 1-inch diameter PMTs currently used in MAGIC, we use a custom-made matrix of SiPMs to cover the same detection area. We developed an electronic circuit to actively sum up and amplify the SiPM signals. Existing non-imaging hexagonal light concentrators (Winston cones) used in MAGIC have been modified for the angular acceptance of the SiPMs by using C++ based ray tracing simulations. The first prototype based detector module includes seven channels and was installed into the MAGIC camera in May 2015. We present the results of the first prototype and its performance as well as the status of the project and discuss its challenges. - Highlights: • The design of the first SiPM large-size IACT pixel is described. • The simulation of the light concentrators is presented. • The temperature stability of the detector module is demonstrated. • The calibration procedure of SiPM device in the field is described.

Photon counting with a FDIRC Cherenkov prototype readout by SiPM arrays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marrocchesi, P.S., E-mail: marrocchesi@pi.infn.it [Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, Via Roma 56, I-53100 Siena (Italy); INFN Sezione di Pisa, Largo Bruno Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa (Italy); Bagliesi, M.G. [Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, Via Roma 56, I-53100 Siena (Italy); Basti, A. [Department of Physics, University of Pisa, Largo Bruno Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa (Italy); INFN Sezione di Pisa, Largo Bruno Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa (Italy); Bigongiari, G.; Bonechi, S.; Brogi, P. [Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, Via Roma 56, I-53100 Siena (Italy); INFN Sezione di Pisa, Largo Bruno Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa (Italy); Checchia, C.; Collazuol, G. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Padova, Padova, Italy, and INFN-Padova, 35131 Padova (Italy); Maestro, P. [Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, Via Roma 56, I-53100 Siena (Italy); INFN Sezione di Pisa, Largo Bruno Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa (Italy); Morsani, F. [INFN Sezione di Pisa, Largo Bruno Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa (Italy); Piemonte, C. [Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK), I-38122 Trento (Italy); Stolzi, F.; Suh, J.E; Sulaj, A. [Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, Via Roma 56, I-53100 Siena (Italy); INFN Sezione di Pisa, Largo Bruno Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa (Italy)

2017-02-11

A prototype of a Focused Internal Reflection Cherenkov, equipped with 16 arrays of NUV-SiPM, was tested at CERN SPS in March 2015 with beams of relativistic ions at 13, 19 and 30 GeV/n obtained from fragmentation of an Ar primary beam. The detector, designed to identify cosmic nuclei, features a Fused Silica radiator bar optically connected to a cylindrical mirror of the same material and an imaging focal plane of dimensions ∼4 cm×3 cm covered with a total of 1024 SiPM photosensors. Thanks to the outstanding performance of the SiPM arrays, the detector could be operated in photon counting mode as a fully digital device. The Cherenkov pattern was recorded together with the total number of detected photoelectrons increasing as Z{sup 2} as a function of the atomic number Z of the beam particle. In this paper, we report on the characterization and test of the SiPM arrays and the performance of the Cherenkov prototype for the charge identification of the beam particles.

MUSIC: An 8 channel readout ASIC for SiPM arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Gómez, Sergio; Gascón, David; Fernández, Gerard; Sanuy, Andreu; Mauricio, Joan; Graciani, Ricardo; Sanchez, David

2016-04-01

This paper presents an 8 channel ASIC for SiPM anode readout based on a novel low input impedance current conveyor (under patent1). This Multiple Use SiPM Integrated Circuit (MUSIC) has been designed to serve several purposes, including, for instance, the readout of SiPM arrays for some of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) cameras. The current division scheme at the very front end part of the circuit splits the input current into differently scaled copies which are connected to independent current mirrors. The circuit contains a tunable pole zero cancellation of the SiPM recovery time constant to deal with sensors from different manufacturers. Decay times up to 100 ns are supported covering most of the available SiPM devices in the market. MUSIC offers three main features: (1) differential output of the sum of the individual input channels; (2) 8 individual single ended analog outputs and; (3) 8 individual binary outputs. The digital outputs encode the amount of collected charge in the duration of the digital signal using a time over threshold technique. For each individual channel, the user must select the analog or digital output. Each functionality, the signal sum and the 8 A/D outputs, include a selectable dual-gain configuration. Moreover, the signal sum implements dual-gain output providing a 15 bit dynamic range. Full die simulation results of the MUSIC designed using AMS 0.35 µm SiGe technology are presented: total die size of 9 mm2, 500 MHz bandwidth for channel sum and 150 MHz bandwidth for A/D channels, low input impedance (≍32 Ω), single photon output pulse width at half maximum (FWHM) between 5 and 10 ns and with a power consumption of ≍ 30 mW/ch plus ≍ 200 mW for the 8 ch sum. Encapsulated prototype samples of the MUSIC are expected by March 2016.

Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM) as novel photodetectors for PET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Del Guerra, Alberto; Belcari, Nicola; Giuseppina Bisogni, Maria; Corsi, Francesco; Foresta, Maurizio; Guerra, Pedro; Marcatili, Sara; Santos, Andres; Sportelli, Giancarlo

2011-01-01

Next generation PET scanners should fulfill very high requirements in terms of spatial, energy and timing resolution. Modern scanner performances are inherently limited by the use of standard photomultiplier tubes. The use of Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) is proposed for the construction of a 4D-PET module of 4.8x4.8 cm 2 aimed to replace the standard PMT based PET block detector. The module will be based on a LYSO continuous crystal read on two faces by Silicon Photomultipliers. A high granularity detection surface made by SiPM matrices of 1.5 mm pitch will be used for the x-y photon hit position determination with submillimetric accuracy, while a low granularity surface constituted by 16 mm 2 SiPM pixels will provide the fast timing information (t) that will be used to implement the Time of Flight technique (TOF). The spatial information collected by the two detector layers will be combined in order to measure the Depth of Interaction (DOI) of each event (z). The use of large area multi-pixel Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) detectors requires the development of a multichannel Data Acquisition system (DAQ) as well as of a dedicated front-end in order not to degrade the intrinsic detector capabilities and to manage many channels. The paper describes the progress made on the development of the proof of principle module under construction at the University of Pisa.

Time over threshold readout method of SiPM based small animal PET detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valastyan, I.; Gal, J.; Hegyesi, G.; Kalinka, G.; Nagy, F.; Kiraly, B.; Imrek, J.; Molnar, J.

2012-01-01

Complete text of publication follows. The aim of the work was to design a readout concept for silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) sensor array used in small animal PET scanner. The detector module consist of LYSO 35x35 scintillation crystals, 324 SiPM sensors (arranged in 2x2 blocks and those quads in a 9x9 configuration) and FPGA based readout electronics. The dimensions of the SiPM matrix are area: 48x48 mm 2 and the size of one SiPM sensor is 1.95x2.2 mm 2 . Due to the high dark current of the SiPM, conventional Anger based readout method does not provide sufficient crystal position maps. Digitizing the 324 SiPM channels is a straightforward way to obtain proper crystal position maps. However handling hundreds of analogue input channels and the required DSP resources cause large racks of data acquisition electronics. Therefore coding of the readout channels is required. Proposed readout method: The coding of the 324 SiPMs consists two steps: Step 1) Reduction of the channels from 324 to 36: Row column readout, SiPMs are connected to each other in column by column and row-by row, thus the required channels are 36. The dark current of 18 connected SiPMs is small in off for identifying pulses coming from scintillating events. Step 2) Reduction of the 18 rows and columns to 4 channels: Comparators were connected to each rows and columns, and the level was set above the level of dark noise. Therefore only few comparators are active when scintillation light enters in the tile. The output of the comparator rows and columns are divided to two parts using resistor chains. Then the outputs of the resistor chains are digitized by a 4 channel ADC. However instead of the Anger method, time over threshold (ToT) was used. Figure 1 shows the readout concept of the SiPM matrix. In order to validate the new method and optimize the front-end electronics of the detector, the analogue signals were digitized before the comparators using a CAEN DT5740 32 channel digitizer, then the

Studies of SiPM photosensors for time-of-flight detectors within PANDA at FAIR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gruber, L.

2014-01-01

The PANDA experiment at FAIR is a planned particle physics experiment dedicated to strong interaction studies using proton-antiproton annihilations. The PANDA time-of-flight (TOF) system is foreseen as a Scintillator Tile (SciTil) Hodoscope, which will deliver valuable input for event timing and particle identification. The proposed detector is based on small plastic scintillator tiles with a size of about 30 x 30 x 5 mm 3 , which are read-out with directly attached Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs). The whole system is composed of 5760 scintillator tiles and twice the number of photodetectors, covering an area of about 5.2 m 2 in total. The requirements for the detector are a time resolution in the order of 100 ps sigma and a minimum use of material due to the limited space inside the PANDA spectrometer. SiPMs are extremely versatile photodetectors which tend to successively replace the ordinary vacuum Photomultiplier Tubes (PMTs) in many of the photosensing demands ranging from particle physics to medical imaging. Due to many advantages like good time resolution, high photon detection efficiency (PDE), compactness, low operating voltage, radiation hardness, low cost and, in contrast to PMTs, insensitivity to magnetic fields, SiPMs are well suited for applications in high energy physics like PANDA. Recently, Philips invented the first fully digital SiPM (DPC), which allows to exploit the quasi digital nature of single photon detection. The analog and digital SiPM, respectively, are the main detector technologies used within this work. This thesis describes a detailed study of SiPM properties in order to characterize the new devices and get a profound understanding of their functionality. The characterization studies have been carried out using various experimental setups employing pulsed pico- and femtosecond lasers. With regard to applications in high energy physics experiments, e.g. the PANDA TOF system, parameters like SiPM gain, dark count rate, time resolution

Simulation, image reconstruction and SiPM characterisation for a novel endoscopic positron emission tomography detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zvolsky, Milan

2017-12-15

In the scope of the EndoTOFPET-US project, a novel multimodal device for ultrasound (US) endoscopy and positron emission tomography (PET) is being developed. The project aims at detecting and quantifying morphologic and functional biomarkers and developing new biomarkers for pancreas and prostate oncology. The detector system comprises a small detector probe mounted on an ultrasound endoscope and an external detector plate. The detection of the gamma rays is realised by scintillator crystals with Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) read-out. For the characterisation of over 4000 SiPMs for the external plate, an automatised measurement and data analysis procedure is established. The key properties of the SiPMs like breakdown voltage and dark count rate (DCR) are extracted. This knowledge is needed both as a quality assurance as well as for the calibration of the detector. The spread between minimum and maximum breakdown voltage within a SiPM array of 4 x 4 is at maximum 0.43 V with a mean of 0.15 V and an RMS of 0.06 V. This assures the optimal biasing of each SiPM at its individual operating voltage. The mean DCR amounts to 1.49 MHz with an RMS of 0.54 MHz and is thus well below the acceptable threshold of 3 MHz. Two spare modules from the external plate are re-measured and analysed several years after the module assembly, revealing a potential alteration of the SiPM noise properties over time. For the characterisation of SiPMs from different vendors, a software framework for the automatic extraction of performance parameters from pulseheight spectra, including a t of the entire spectrum, is developed and tested. In order to facilitate the modelling of the response of the EndoTOFPET-US detector, a framework is developed which is built around the Geant4-based simulation toolkit GAMOS, to simulate and reconstruct realistic imaging scenarios with this asymmetric PET detector. The simulation studies are used to compare different possible detector designs, guide the

Simulation, image reconstruction and SiPM characterisation for a novel endoscopic positron emission tomography detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zvolsky, Milan

2017-12-01

In the scope of the EndoTOFPET-US project, a novel multimodal device for ultrasound (US) endoscopy and positron emission tomography (PET) is being developed. The project aims at detecting and quantifying morphologic and functional biomarkers and developing new biomarkers for pancreas and prostate oncology. The detector system comprises a small detector probe mounted on an ultrasound endoscope and an external detector plate. The detection of the gamma rays is realised by scintillator crystals with Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) read-out. For the characterisation of over 4000 SiPMs for the external plate, an automatised measurement and data analysis procedure is established. The key properties of the SiPMs like breakdown voltage and dark count rate (DCR) are extracted. This knowledge is needed both as a quality assurance as well as for the calibration of the detector. The spread between minimum and maximum breakdown voltage within a SiPM array of 4 x 4 is at maximum 0.43 V with a mean of 0.15 V and an RMS of 0.06 V. This assures the optimal biasing of each SiPM at its individual operating voltage. The mean DCR amounts to 1.49 MHz with an RMS of 0.54 MHz and is thus well below the acceptable threshold of 3 MHz. Two spare modules from the external plate are re-measured and analysed several years after the module assembly, revealing a potential alteration of the SiPM noise properties over time. For the characterisation of SiPMs from different vendors, a software framework for the automatic extraction of performance parameters from pulseheight spectra, including a t of the entire spectrum, is developed and tested. In order to facilitate the modelling of the response of the EndoTOFPET-US detector, a framework is developed which is built around the Geant4-based simulation toolkit GAMOS, to simulate and reconstruct realistic imaging scenarios with this asymmetric PET detector. The simulation studies are used to compare different possible detector designs, guide the

The CMS Outer HCAL SiPM Upgrade

CERN Document Server

CMS Collaboration

2014-01-01

The CMS Outer Hadron Calorimeter (HO) is the first large scale hadron collider detector to use SiPMs. By late January 2014 the installation of 1656 of 2376 channels was completed. The HO readout system provides for active temperature stabilisation of the SiPMs to less than 0.1$^\\circ$C using Peltier coolers, temperature measurement, and software feedback. Each channel has independently controlled bias voltage with a resolution of 25mV. Each SiPM is read out by 40MHz QIE ADCs. We report on the system design, schedule and progress. The next phase for the detector is commissioning during 2014 before the 2015 LHC run. We report on the status of commissioning and plans for operation. We discuss the calibration strategy with local cosmic ray runs using the HO's self trigger ability.

Parameters of the preproduction series SiPMs for the CMS HCAL phase I upgrade

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heering, A., E-mail: Adriaan.Heering@cern.ch [University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556 (United States); Musienko, Yu., E-mail: Iouri.Musienko@cern.ch [University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556 (United States); Institute for Nuclear Research RAS, pr. 60-letiya Oktyabrya 7a, 117312 Moscow (Russian Federation); Ruchti, R.; Wayne, M. [University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556 (United States); Karneyeu, A.; Postoev, V. [Institute for Nuclear Research RAS, pr. 60-letiya Oktyabrya 7a, 117312 Moscow (Russian Federation)

2016-07-11

In 2012 the HCAL SiPM photo sensor upgrade was approved for the increased luminosity (5*10{sup 34}) of SLHC. The upgrade will replace the current hybrid photodiodes (HPDs) with multi-pixel Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes, also known as silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). A key aspect of the upgrade to SiPMs is to add longitudinal segmentation and improve signal to noise to compensate for scintillator radiation damage. After 5 years of R&D with multiple companies we developed custom large dynamic range SiPMs with large PDE and small ENC. To ensure good mechanical alignment and easy handling of the large number of production channels (>20,000) we have developed a custom ceramic package with a very thin 0.3 mm quartz window with Kyocera. Each package holds 8 channels of SiPMs. Here we report on the final SiPM parameters of the 2014 preproduction run from Hamamatsu (HPK) who has produced a series of 175 arrays with a total of 1400 SiPMs. An overview of our QA results and measurements of the photon detection efficiency, spectral response, crosstalk and cell recovery time will be discussed. - Highlights: • Uniformity of large scale SiPM production. • Small cell size SiPMs with high photo detection efficiency. • Fast recovery time SiPMs. • Custom packaging of SiPMs in High Energy Physics experiments.

A Systematic Study to Optimize SiPM Photo-Detectors for Highest Time Resolution in PET

CERN Document Server

Gundacker, S.; Frisch, B.; Hillemanns, H.; Jarron, P.; Meyer, T.; Pauwels, K.; Lecoq, P.

2012-01-01

We report on a systematic study of time resolution made with three different commercial silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) (Hamamatsu MPPC S10931-025P, S10931-050P, and S10931-100P) and two LSO scintillating crystals. This study aimed to determine the optimum detector conditions for highest time resolution in a prospective time-of-flight positron emission tomography (TOF-PET) system. Measurements were based on the time over threshold method in a coincidence setup using the ultrafast amplifier-discriminator NINO and a fast oscilloscope. Our tests with the three SiPMs of the same area but of different SPAD sizes and fill factors led to best results with the Hamamatsu type of 50×50×μm2 single-pixel size. For this type of SiPM and under realistic geometrical PET scanner conditions, i.e., with 2×2×10×mm3 LSO crystals, a coincidence time resolution of 220 ±4 ps FWHM could be achieved. The results are interpreted in terms of SiPM photon detection efficiency (PDE), dark noise, and photon yield.

The CMS Outer HCAL SiPM Upgrade

CERN Document Server

Lobanov, Artur

2015-01-01

The CMS Outer Hadron Calorimeter (HO) is the first large scale hadron collider detector to use SiPMs. By late January 2014 the installation of 1656 of 2376 channels was completed. The HO readout system provides for active temperature stabilization of the SiPMs to less than 0.1$^\\circ$C using Peltier coolers, temperature measurement, and software feedback. Each channel has independently controlled bias voltage with a resolution of 25~mV. Each SiPM is read out by 40~MHz QIE ADCs. We report on the system design, schedule and progress. The next phase for the detector is commissioning during 2014 before the 2015 LHC run. We report on the status of commissioning and plans for operation. We discuss the calibration strategy with local cosmic ray runs using the HO's self trigger ability. We discuss the plans for a global CMS operations run in November 2014.

Characterization of Hamamatsu 64-channel TSV SiPMs

Science.gov (United States)

Renschler, Max; Painter, William; Bisconti, Francesca; Haungs, Andreas; Huber, Thomas; Karus, Michael; Schieler, Harald; Weindl, Andreas

2018-04-01

The Hamamatsu UV-light enhanced 64-channel SiPM array of the newest generation (S13361-3050AS-08) has been examined for the purpose of being used for the Silicon Elementary Cell Add-on (SiECA) of the EUSO-SPB balloon experiment. At a room temperature of 19 . 5 °C, the average measured breakdown voltage of the array is (51 . 65 ± 0 . 11) V, the average gain is measured to (2 . 10 ± 0 . 07) ṡ 106 and the average photon detection efficiency results to (44 . 58 ± 1 . 80) % at a wavelength of (423 ± 8) nm and a bias voltage of 55 . 2V. The average dark-count rate is (0 . 69 ± 0 . 12) MHz, equivalent to a dark count rate per SiPM area of (57 ± 12) kHz /mm2, and the crosstalk probability is measured to (3 . 96 ± 0 . 64) %. These results confirm the information given by the manufacturer. Measurements performed with the newly installed Single Photon Calibration Stand at KIT (SPOCK) show the improved sensitivity to photons with wavelengths lower than 400 nm compared to the SiPM array S12642-0808PA-50, which was also investigated for comparison. Additional measurements confirm the strong temperature dependence of the SiPM characteristics as given in the data sheet. All the characterized parameters appear to be sufficiently uniform to build up a focal surface of SiPM arrays fulfilling the requirements for a telescope detecting photons in the UV range.

Development of an MRI-compatible digital SiPM detector stack for simultaneous PET/MRI.

Science.gov (United States)

Düppenbecker, Peter M; Weissler, Bjoern; Gebhardt, Pierre; Schug, David; Wehner, Jakob; Marsden, Paul K; Schulz, Volkmar

2016-02-01

Advances in solid-state photon detectors paved the way to combine positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) into highly integrated, truly simultaneous, hybrid imaging systems. Based on the most recent digital SiPM technology, we developed an MRI-compatible PET detector stack, intended as a building block for next generation simultaneous PET/MRI systems. Our detector stack comprises an array of 8 × 8 digital SiPM channels with 4 mm pitch using Philips Digital Photon Counting DPC 3200-22 devices, an FPGA for data acquisition, a supply voltage control system and a cooling infrastructure. This is the first detector design that allows the operation of digital SiPMs simultaneously inside an MRI system. We tested and optimized the MRI-compatibility of our detector stack on a laboratory test bench as well as in combination with a Philips Achieva 3 T MRI system. Our design clearly reduces distortions of the static magnetic field compared to a conventional design. The MRI static magnetic field causes weak and directional drift effects on voltage regulators, but has no direct impact on detector performance. MRI gradient switching initially degraded energy and timing resolution. Both distortions could be ascribed to voltage variations induced on the bias and the FPGA core voltage supply respectively. Based on these findings, we improved our detector design and our final design shows virtually no energy or timing degradations, even during heavy and continuous MRI gradient switching. In particular, we found no evidence that the performance of the DPC 3200-22 digital SiPM itself is degraded by the MRI system.

Development of high performance readout ASICs for silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen, Wei

2012-01-01

Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are novel kind of solid state photon detectors with extremely high photon detection resolution. They are composed of hundreds or thousands of avalanche photon diode pixels connected in parallel. These avalanche photon diodes are operated in Geiger Mode. SiPMs have the same magnitude of multiplication gain compared to the conventional photomultipliers (PMTs). Moreover, they have a lot of advantages such as compactness, relatively low bias voltage and magnetic field immunity etc. Special readout electronics are required to preserve the high performance of the detector. KLauS and STiC are two CMOS ASIC chips designed in particular for SiPMs. KLauS is used for SiPM charge readout applications. Since SiPMs have a much larger detector capacitance compared to other solid state photon detectors such as PIN diodes and APDs, a few special techniques are used inside the chip to make sure a descent signal to noise ratio for pixel charge signal can be obtained. STiC is a chip dedicated to SiPM time-of-flight applications. High bandwidth and low jitter design schemes are mandatory for such applications where time jitter less than tens of picoseconds is required. Design schemes and error analysis as well as measurement results are presented in the thesis.

Comparison of SensL and Hamamatsu 4×4 channel SiPM arrays in gamma spectrometry with scintillators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grodzicka-Kobylka, M., E-mail: m.grodzicka@ncbj.gov.pl; Szczesniak, T.; Moszyński, M.

2017-06-01

The market of Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) consists of many manufacturers that produce their detectors in different technology. Hamamatsu (Japan) and SensL (Ireland) seems to be the most popular companies that produce large SiPM arrays. The aim of this work is characterization and comparison of 4×4 channel SiPM arrays produced by these two producers. Both of the tested SiPMs are made in through-silicon via (TSV) technology, consist of 16, 3×3 mm avalanche photodiode (APD) cells and have fill factor slightly above 60%. The largest difference is a single APD cell size and hence total number of APD cells (55,424 for Hamamatsu, 76,640 for SensL). In the case of SensL SiPM, its spectral response characteristics is shifted slightly toward shorter wavelengths with maximum at 420 nm (450 nm for Hamamatsu). The presented measurements cover selection of the SiPM optimum operating voltage (in respect to energy resolution), verification of the excess noise factor and check of the linearity characteristics. Moreover, the gamma spectrometry with LSO, BGO and CsI:Tl scintillators together with pulse characteristics for these crystals (rise time and fall time) is reported, as well as temperature dependence. The presented measurements show better performance of the SensL array comparing to the Hamamatsu detector.

Development of gamma spectrometer using silicon photomultiplier (SiPM)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Chan Kyu

2011-02-01

Gamma spectroscopy is used to determine the identity and quantity of gamma-emitters in nuclear physics, geochemistry and astrophysics. The scintillation detectors are being used as a gamma spectrometer generally, because of their higher gamma-ray detection efficiency and cheaper price than germanium semi-conductor detectors. A typical scintillation detector is composed of a scintillator, a window, and a photodetector. The photomultiplier (PM) tube has been the most widely used as a photodetector because of its advantages like high sensitivity, high signal-to-noise ratio, and wide dynamic range. Recently, the Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) is being studied as a substitute of PM tube. The SiPM has almost same performance compared to PM tube but it has additional advantages; low operating voltage, small volume, and cheap production cost. In this research, the gamma spectrometer using SiPM instead of PM tube is developed. The use of SiPM as a photodetector makes the gamma spectrometer smaller, cheaper, easier to use. For photon transport and collection from the large area scintillator to the small area SiPM, a light guide is applied in this gamma spectrometer system. Before fabrication of light guide, DETECT simulation is performed to study and prospect characteristics of light guide structure. And actual light guides are fabricated on the basis of this simulation result. Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is chosen as material of light guide, 5 sample light guides are fabricated in different lengths and coatings. As a scintillator crystal, same NaI(Tl) crystal is chosen. For measurement and analysis of gamma spectrometer system, 3 gamma spectrometer systems are composed: PM tube-based system, PM tube-based system with the light guide, SiPM-based system with the light guide. Through comparison between the results of each gamma spectrometer, the performances of gamma spectrometer system are analyzed by each component. Measurement results of the second system is well

Amplitude and timing properties of a Geiger discharge in a SiPM cell

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Popova, E., E-mail: elenap73@mail.ru [National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute), 115409, Kashirskoe Shosse 31 (Russian Federation); Buzhan, P.; Pleshko, A. [National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute), 115409, Kashirskoe Shosse 31 (Russian Federation); Vinogradov, S. [University of Liverpool and Cockcroft Institute, Sci-Tech Daresbury, Keckwick Lane, Warrington WA4 4AD, Cheshire (United Kingdom); P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskiy Prospect 53, Moscow 119991 (Russian Federation); Stifutkin, A.; Ilyin, A. [National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute), 115409, Kashirskoe Shosse 31 (Russian Federation); Besson, D. [National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute), 115409, Kashirskoe Shosse 31 (Russian Federation); Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045-2151 (United States); Mirzoyan, R. [Max-Planck-Institute for Physics, Föhringer Ring 6, 80805 München (Germany)

2015-07-01

The amplitude and timing properties of a Geiger discharge in a stand-alone SiPM cell have been investigated in detail. Use of a single stand-alone SiPM cell allows us to perform measurements with better accuracy than the multicell structure of conventional SiPMs. We have studied the dependence of the output charge and amplitude from an SiPM cell illuminated by focused light vs the number of primary photoelectrons. We propose a SPICE model which explains the amplitude over saturation (when the SiPM's amplitude is greater than the sum over all cells) characteristics of SiPM signals for more than one initial photoelectrons. The time resolutions of a SiPM cell have been measured for the case of single (SPTR) and multiphoton light pulses. The Full Width Half Max (FWHM) for SPTR has been found to be at the level of 30 ps for focused and 40 ps for unfocused light (100 μm cell size). - Highlights: • A stand-alone SiPM cell has been investigated in detail. • Amplitude and time properties have been measured with femtosecond 660 nm laser. • SPICE model for a Geiger discharge development has been proposed. • SPTR for a stand-alone 100 μm size SiPM cell has been found to be 40 ps FWHM.

SiPM response to long and intense light pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vinogradov, S., E-mail: Sergey.Vinogradov@liverpool.ac.uk [University of Liverpool and Cockcroft Institute, Sci-Tech Daresbury, Keckwick Lane, Warrington WA4 4AD (United Kingdom); P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Leninskiy prospekt 53, Moscow (Russian Federation); Arodzero, A. [Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); RadiaBeam Technologies Inc., 1717 Stewart St., Santa Monica, CA 90404 (United States); Lanza, R.C. [Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Welsch, C.P. [University of Liverpool and Cockcroft Institute, Sci-Tech Daresbury, Keckwick Lane, Warrington WA4 4AD (United Kingdom)

2015-07-01

Recently Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) have become well recognized as the detector of choice for various applications which demand good photon number resolution and time resolution of short weak light pulses in the nanosecond time scale. In the case of longer and more intensive light pulses, SiPM performance gradually degrades due to dark noise, afterpulsing, and non-instant cell recovering. Nevertheless, SiPM benefits are expected to overbalance their drawbacks in applications such as X-ray cargo inspection using Scintillation-Cherenkov detectors and accelerator beam loss monitoring with Cherenkov fibres, where light pulses of a microsecond time scale have to be detected with good amplitude and timing resolution in a wide dynamic range of 10{sup 5}–10{sup 6}. This report is focused on transient characteristics of a SiPM response on a long rectangular light pulse with special attention to moderate and high light intensities above the linear dynamic range. An analytical model of the transient response and an initial consideration of experimental results in comparison with the model are presented.

Characteristics of a prototype matrix of Silicon PhotoMultipliers (SiPM)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dinu, N; Barrillon, P; Bazin, C; Bondil-Blin, S; Chaumat, V; Taille, C De La; Puill, V; Vagnucci, J F; Belcari, N; Bisogni, M G; Guerra, A Del; Llosa, G; Marcatili, S; Boscardin, M; Melchiorri, M; Piemonte, C; Tarolli, A; Zorzi, N; Collazuol, G

2009-01-01

This work reports on the electrical (static and dynamic) as well as on the optical characteristics of a prototype matrix of Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM). The prototype matrix consists of 4 x 4 SiPM's on the same substrat fabricated at FBK-irst (Trento, Italy). Each SiPM of the matrix has an area of 1 x 1mm 2 and it is composed of 625 microcells connected in parallel. Each microcell of the SiPM is a GM-APD (n + /p junction on P+ substrate) with an area of 40 x 40 μm 2 connected in series with its integrated polysilicon quenching resistance. The static characteristics as breakdown voltage, quenching resistance, post-breakdown dark current as well as the dynamic characteristics as gain and dark count rate have been analysed. The photon detection efficiency as a function of wavelength and operation voltage has been also estimated.

Advances in digital SiPMs and their application in biomedical imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schaart, Dennis R., E-mail: d.r.schaart@tudelft.nl [Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Radiation Science and Technology, Mekelweg 15, 2629 JB Delft (Netherlands); Charbon, Edoardo [Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Circuits and Systems, Mekelweg 4, 2628 CD Delft (Netherlands); Frach, Thomas [Philips Digital Photon Counting, Pauwelsstraße 17, 52074 Aachen (Germany); Schulz, Volkmar [Department for Physics of Molecular Imaging Systems, Institute for Experimental Molecular Imaging, RWTH Aachen University, Germany and Philips Research Europe, Aachen (Germany)

2016-02-11

Similar to analog silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs), digital SiPMs (dSiPMs) essentially consist of an array of single-photon avalanche photodiodes (SPADs). Instead of a passive quench resistor, however, an active quenching circuit is locally integrated with each SPAD, making the sensor response faster and less sensitive to the gains of the individual SPADs. Moreover, additional circuits for the fully digital acquisition, processing, and readout of optical signals are integrated within the sensor. As a result, dSiPMs offer high photo-detection efficiency, high single-photon time resolution (SPTR), and high uniformity, as well as many practical advantages, such as a very compact form factor, low voltage operation, magnetic field compatibility, high stability of operation, low gain drift, and a high degree of scalability. At the same time, dSiPMs represent a new paradigm in low-level light sensing technology. That is, their fully digital operation makes them true photon counting devices, preserving at least partly the discrete spatio-temporal structure of the information embedded in the optical signal. This means that the operation of dSiPMs can be fully understood only in statistical terms, but also opens up novel possibilities for extracting information from the measured data. So far, the main driver behind the development of dSiPMs has been the detection of scintillation pulses in detectors for time-of-flight (TOF) positron emission tomography (PET). Several types of dSiPM have been developed in recent years. Moreover, first imaging devices based on dSiPMs have been realized by various groups. This review summarizes the main dSiPM concepts and technologies currently under development, provides an overview of the results obtained recently with dSiPMs-based PET and SPECT devices, and presents a critical outlook on the challenges and chances for dSiPMs in future radiomolecular imaging systems.

Triroc: A Multi-Channel SiPM Read-Out ASIC for PET/PET-ToF Application

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmad, Salleh; Fleury, Julien; de la Taille, Christophe; Seguin-Moreau, Nathalie; Dulucq, Frederic; Martin-Chassard, Gisele; Callier, Stephane; Thienpont, Damien; Raux, Ludovic

2015-06-01

Triroc is the latest addition to SiPM readout ASICs family developed at Weeroc, a start-up company from the Omega microelectronics group of IN2P3/CNRS. This chip is developed under the framework TRIMAGE European project which is aimed for building a cost effective tri-modal PET/MR/EEG brain scan. To ensure the flexibility and compatibility with any SiPM in the market, the ASIC is designed to be capable of accepting negative and positive polarity input signals. This 64-channel ASIC, is suitable for SiPM readout which requires high accuracy timing and charge measurements. Targeted applications would be PET prototyping with time-of-flight capability. Main features of Triroc includes high dynamic range ADC up to 2500 photoelectrons and TDC fine time binning of 40 ps. Triroc requires very minimal external components which means it is a good contender for compact multichannel PET prototyping. Triroc is designed by using AMS 0.35 μm SiGe technology and it was submitted in March 2014. The detail design of this chip will be presented.

A CMOS ASIC Design for SiPM Arrays.

Science.gov (United States)

Dey, Samrat; Banks, Lushon; Chen, Shaw-Pin; Xu, Wenbin; Lewellen, Thomas K; Miyaoka, Robert S; Rudell, Jacques C

2011-12-01

Our lab has previously reported on novel board-level readout electronics for an 8×8 silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) array featuring row/column summation technique to reduce the hardware requirements for signal processing. We are taking the next step by implementing a monolithic CMOS chip which is based on the row-column architecture. In addition, this paper explores the option of using diagonal summation as well as calibration to compensate for temperature and process variations. Further description of a timing pickoff signal which aligns all of the positioning (spatial channels) pulses in the array is described. The ASIC design is targeted to be scalable with the detector size and flexible to accommodate detectors from different vendors. This paper focuses on circuit implementation issues associated with the design of the ASIC to interface our Phase II MiCES FPGA board with a SiPM array. Moreover, a discussion is provided for strategies to eventually integrate all the analog and mixed-signal electronics with the SiPM, on either a single-silicon substrate or multi-chip module (MCM).

Fast SiPM Readout of the PANDA TOF Detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Böhm, M.; Lehmann, A.; Motz, S.; Uhlig, F.

2016-01-01

For the identification of low momentum charged particles and for event timing purposes a barrel Time-of-Flight (TOF) detector surrounding the interaction point is planned for the PANDA experiment at FAIR . Since the boundary conditions in terms of available radial space and radiation length are quite strict the favored layout is a hodoscope composed of several thousand small scintillating tiles (SciTils) read out by silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). A time resolution of well below 100 ps is aimed for. With the originally proposed 30 × 30 × 5 mm 3 SciTils read out by two single 3 × 3 mm 2 SiPMs at the rims of the scintillator the targeted time resolution can be just reached, but with a considerable position dependence across the scintillator surface. In this paper we discuss other design options to further improve the time resolution and its homogeneity. It will be shown that wide scintillating rods (SciRods) with a size of, e.g., 50 × 30 × 5 mm 3 or longer and read out at opposite sides by a chain of four serially connected SiPMs a time resolution down to 50 ps can be reached without problems. In addition, the position dependence of the time resolution is negligible. These SciRods were tested in the laboratory with electrons of a 90 Sr source and under real experimental conditions in a particle beam at CERN. The measured time resolutions using fast BC418 or BC420 plastic scintillators wrapped in aluminum foil were consistently between 45 and 75 ps dependent on the SciRod design. This is a significant improvement compared to the original SciTil layout.

POSSuMUS: a position sensitive scintillating muon SiPM detector

CERN Document Server

Ruschke, Alexander

The development of a modular designed large scale scintillation detector with a two-dimensional position sensitivity is presented in this thesis. This novel POsition Sensitive Scintillating MUon SiPM Detector is named POSSuMUS. The POSSuMUS detector is capable to determine the particle’s position in two space dimensions with a fast trigger capability. Each module is constructed from two trapezoidal shaped plastic scintillators to form one rectangular shaped detector module. Both trapezoids are optically insulated against each other. In both trapezoids the scintillation light is collected by plastic fibers and guided towards silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). SiPMs are light sensors which are capable to detect even smallest amounts of light. By combining several detector modules, position sensitive areas from 100 cm2 to few m2 are achievable with few readout channels. Therefore, POSSuMUS provides a cost effective detector concept. The position sensitivity along the trapezoidal geometry of one detector module ...

Petiroc and Citiroc: front-end ASICs for SiPM read-out and ToF applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fleury, J; Ahmad, S; Callier, S; Taille, C de La; Seguin, N; Thienpont, D; Dulucq, F; Martin, G

2014-01-01

Petiroc and Citiroc are the two latest ASIC from Weeroc dedicated to SiPM read-out. Petiroc is a 16-channel front-end ASIC designed to readout silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) for particle time-of-flight measurement applications. It combines a very fast and low-jitter trigger with an accurate charge measurement. Citiroc is a 32-channel front-end ASIC designed to readout silicon photo-multipliers (SiPM). It allows triggering down to 1/3 pe and provides the charge measurement with a good noise rejection. Moreover, Citiroc outputs the 32-channel triggers with a high accuracy (100 ps). Each channel of both ASICs combines a trigger path with an accurate charge measurement path. An adjustment of the SiPM high voltage is possible using a channel-by-channel input DAC. That allows a fine SiPM gain and dark noise adjustment at the system level to correct for the non-uniformity of SiPMs. Timing measurement down to 16 ps RMS jitter for Petiroc and 100 ps RMS for Citiroc is possible along with 1% linearity energy measurement up to 2500 pe. The power consumption is around 3.5 mW/channel for Petiroc and 3 mW/channel for Citiroc, excluding ASICs outing buffer

Calibration and monitoring of a scintillator HCAL with SiPMs CALICE scintillator HCAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lucaci-Timoce, Angela

2009-01-01

The operational experience with a highly-granular analogue hadronic calorimeter (AHCAL) consisting of 7608 individual scintillator tiles readout via Silicon-Photo-multipliers (SiPM) is presented. The calibration of each cell is based on minimum ionizing particle signals for which in general a muon beam is used. In addition, a correction for the non-linearity introduced by the finite number of pixels (1156) in the SiPM is applied. The aspects of temperature and voltage dependence of SiPM are addressed, and monitoring and calibration procedures are discussed. Such procedures are essential for the extrapolation of calibration factors over several days of data taking with the calorimeter. For this purpose a versatile UV-LED light distribution system was developed, capable of delivering light to all tiles with intensity from a few photo-electrons to the saturation of the SiPM. The procedures are tested using data collected with the AHCAL at the CERN SPS test beam.

ARAPUCA a new device for liquid argon scintillation light detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Machado, A.A.; Segreto, E.

2016-01-01

We present a totally innovative device for the detection of liquid argon scintillation light, that has been named ARAPUCA (Argon R and D Advanced Program at UniCAmp). It is composed of a passive light collector and of active devices. The latters are standard SiPMs that operate at liquid argon temperature, while the passive collector is based on a new technology, never explored in this field before. It is a photon trap, that allows to collect light with extremely high efficiency. The total detection efficiency of the device can be tuned by modifying the ratio between the area of the active devices (SiPM) and the area of the optical window. For example, it will allow to reach a detection efficiency at the level of 1% on a surface of 50 × 50 cm 2 with an active coverage of 2 × 2 cm 2 (two/three large area SiPM). It is also a cheap device, since the major part of its cost is represented by the active devices. For these reason this appears to be the ideal device for scintillation light detection in large Time Projection Chambers. With appropriate modifications it can be used also in next generation Dark Matter detectors

Analytical model of SiPM time resolution and order statistics with crosstalk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vinogradov, S.

2015-01-01

Time resolution is the most important parameter of photon detectors in a wide range of time-of-flight and time correlation applications within the areas of high energy physics, medical imaging, and others. Silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) have been initially recognized as perfect photon-number-resolving detectors; now they also provide outstanding results in the scintillator timing resolution. However, crosstalk and afterpulsing introduce false secondary non-Poissonian events, and SiPM time resolution models are experiencing significant difficulties with that. This study presents an attempt to develop an analytical model of the timing resolution of an SiPM taking into account statistics of secondary events resulting from a crosstalk. Two approaches have been utilized to derive an analytical expression for time resolution: the first one based on statistics of independent identically distributed detection event times and the second one based on order statistics of these times. The first approach is found to be more straightforward and “analytical-friendly” to model analog SiPMs. Comparisons of coincidence resolving times predicted by the model with the known experimental results from a LYSO:Ce scintillator and a Hamamatsu MPPC are presented

Analytical model of SiPM time resolution and order statistics with crosstalk

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vinogradov, S., E-mail: Sergey.Vinogradov@liverpool.ac.uk [University of Liverpool and Cockcroft Institute, Sci-Tech Daresbury, Keckwick Lane, Warrington WA4 4AD (United Kingdom); P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Leninskiy Prospekt 53, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2015-07-01

Time resolution is the most important parameter of photon detectors in a wide range of time-of-flight and time correlation applications within the areas of high energy physics, medical imaging, and others. Silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) have been initially recognized as perfect photon-number-resolving detectors; now they also provide outstanding results in the scintillator timing resolution. However, crosstalk and afterpulsing introduce false secondary non-Poissonian events, and SiPM time resolution models are experiencing significant difficulties with that. This study presents an attempt to develop an analytical model of the timing resolution of an SiPM taking into account statistics of secondary events resulting from a crosstalk. Two approaches have been utilized to derive an analytical expression for time resolution: the first one based on statistics of independent identically distributed detection event times and the second one based on order statistics of these times. The first approach is found to be more straightforward and “analytical-friendly” to model analog SiPMs. Comparisons of coincidence resolving times predicted by the model with the known experimental results from a LYSO:Ce scintillator and a Hamamatsu MPPC are presented.

SiPMs coated with TPB: coating protocol and characterization for NEXT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Álvarez, V; Agramunt, J; Ball, M; Bayarri, J; Cárcel, S; Cervera, A; Díaz, J; Batallé, M; Borges, F I G; Conde, C A N; Dias, T H V T; Bolink, H; Brine, H; Carmona, J M; Castel, J; Cebrián, S; Dafni, T; Catalá, J M; Esteve, R; Chan, D

2012-01-01

Silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) are the photon detectors chosen for the tracking readout in NEXT, a neutrinoless ββ decay experiment which uses a high pressure gaseous xenon time projection chamber (TPC). The reconstruction of event track and topology in this gaseous detector is a key handle for background rejection. Among the commercially available sensors that can be used for tracking, SiPMs offer important advantages, mainly high gain, ruggedness, cost-effectiveness and radio-purity. Their main drawback, however, is their non sensitivity in the emission spectrum of the xenon scintillation (peak at 175 nm). This is overcome by coating these sensors with the organic wavelength shifter tetraphenyl butadiene (TPB). In this paper we describe the protocol developed for coating the SiPMs with TPB and the measurements performed for characterizing the coatings as well as the performance of the coated sensors in the UV-VUV range.

Characteristics of a prototype matrix of Silicon PhotoMultipliers (SiPM)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dinu, N; Barrillon, P; Bazin, C; Bondil-Blin, S; Chaumat, V; Taille, C De La; Puill, V; Vagnucci, J F [Laboratory of Linear Accelerator (LAL), IN2P3-CNRS, 91898 Orsay (France); Belcari, N; Bisogni, M G; Guerra, A Del; Llosa, G; Marcatili, S [Universita di Pisa, Dipartimento di Fisica ' E. Fermi' , 56127 Pisa (Italy); Boscardin, M; Melchiorri, M; Piemonte, C; Tarolli, A; Zorzi, N [Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK-irst), 38050 Trento (Italy); Collazuol, G [Scuola Normale Superiore (SNS), 56127 Pisa (Italy)], E-mail: dinu@lal.in2p3.fr

2009-03-15

This work reports on the electrical (static and dynamic) as well as on the optical characteristics of a prototype matrix of Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM). The prototype matrix consists of 4 x 4 SiPM's on the same substrat fabricated at FBK-irst (Trento, Italy). Each SiPM of the matrix has an area of 1 x 1mm{sup 2} and it is composed of 625 microcells connected in parallel. Each microcell of the SiPM is a GM-APD (n{sup +}/p junction on P+ substrate) with an area of 40 x 40 {mu}m{sup 2} connected in series with its integrated polysilicon quenching resistance. The static characteristics as breakdown voltage, quenching resistance, post-breakdown dark current as well as the dynamic characteristics as gain and dark count rate have been analysed. The photon detection efficiency as a function of wavelength and operation voltage has been also estimated.

Time Of Flight Detectors: From phototubes to SiPM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laurenti, G.; Levi, G.; Foschi, E.; Guandalini, C.; Quadrani, L.; Sbarra, C.; Zuffa, M.

2008-01-01

A sample of Silicon Photomultipliers was tested because they looked promising for future space missions: low consumption, low weight, resistance to radiation damage and insensitivity to magnetic fields. They have been studied in laboratory by means of the same characterization methods adopted to calibrate the fine mesh photomultipliers used by the Time Of Flight of the AMS-02 experiment. A detailed simulation was made to reproduce the SiPM response to the various experimental conditions. A possible counter design has been studied with front end electronics card equipped with SiPMs and Peltier cell for thermoregulation. A proper simulation based on COMSOL Multiphysics package reproduces quite well the Peltier cell nominal cooling capability

Readout electronics for the SiPM tracking plane in the NEXT-1 prototype

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herrero, V.; Toledo, J.; Català, J.M.; Esteve, R.; Gil, A.; Lorca, D.; Monzó, J.M.; Sanchis, F.; Verdugo, A.

2012-01-01

NEXT is a new experiment to search for neutrinoless double beta decay using a 100 kg radio-pure high-pressure gaseous xenon TPC with electroluminescence readout. A large-scale prototype with a SiPM tracking plane has been built. The primary electron paths can be reconstructed from time-resolved measurements of the light that arrives to the SiPM plane. Our approach is to measure how many photons have reached each SiPM sensor each microsecond with a gated integrator. We have designed and tested a 16-channel front-end board that includes the analog paths and a digital section. Each analog path consists of three different stages: a transimpedance amplifier, a gated integrator and an offset and gain control stage. Measurements show good linearity and the ability to detect single photoelectrons.

Readout electronics for the SiPM tracking plane in the NEXT-1 prototype

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Herrero, V. [Instituto de Instrumentacion para Imagen Molecular I3M (Centro mixto CSIC-Universitat Politecnica de Valencia-CIEMAT), 46022 Valencia (Spain); Toledo, J., E-mail: jtoledo@eln.upv.es [Instituto de Instrumentacion para Imagen Molecular I3M (Centro mixto CSIC-Universitat Politecnica de Valencia-CIEMAT), 46022 Valencia (Spain); Catala, J.M.; Esteve, R. [Instituto de Instrumentacion para Imagen Molecular I3M (Centro mixto CSIC-Universitat Politecnica de Valencia-CIEMAT), 46022 Valencia (Spain); Gil, A.; Lorca, D. [Instituto de Fisica Corpuscular (CSIC-Universidad de Valencia), 46980 Valencia (Spain); Monzo, J.M.; Sanchis, F. [Instituto de Instrumentacion para Imagen Molecular I3M (Centro mixto CSIC-Universitat Politecnica de Valencia-CIEMAT), 46022 Valencia (Spain); Verdugo, A. [CIEMAT-Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas, Medioambientales y Tecnologicas, Madrid (Spain)

2012-12-11

NEXT is a new experiment to search for neutrinoless double beta decay using a 100 kg radio-pure high-pressure gaseous xenon TPC with electroluminescence readout. A large-scale prototype with a SiPM tracking plane has been built. The primary electron paths can be reconstructed from time-resolved measurements of the light that arrives to the SiPM plane. Our approach is to measure how many photons have reached each SiPM sensor each microsecond with a gated integrator. We have designed and tested a 16-channel front-end board that includes the analog paths and a digital section. Each analog path consists of three different stages: a transimpedance amplifier, a gated integrator and an offset and gain control stage. Measurements show good linearity and the ability to detect single photoelectrons.

Development of a composite large-size SiPM (assembled matrix) based modular detector cluster for MAGIC

Science.gov (United States)

Hahn, A.; Mazin, D.; Bangale, P.; Dettlaff, A.; Fink, D.; Grundner, F.; Haberer, W.; Maier, R.; Mirzoyan, R.; Podkladkin, S.; Teshima, M.; Wetteskind, H.

2017-02-01

The MAGIC collaboration operates two 17 m diameter Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) on the Canary Island of La Palma. Each of the two telescopes is currently equipped with a photomultiplier tube (PMT) based imaging camera. Due to the advances in the development of Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs), they are becoming a widely used alternative to PMTs in many research fields including gamma-ray astronomy. Within the Otto-Hahn group at the Max Planck Institute for Physics, Munich, we are developing a SiPM based detector module for a possible upgrade of the MAGIC cameras and also for future experiments as, e.g., the Large Size Telescopes (LST) of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). Because of the small size of individual SiPM sensors (6 mm×6 mm) with respect to the 1-inch diameter PMTs currently used in MAGIC, we use a custom-made matrix of SiPMs to cover the same detection area. We developed an electronic circuit to actively sum up and amplify the SiPM signals. Existing non-imaging hexagonal light concentrators (Winston cones) used in MAGIC have been modified for the angular acceptance of the SiPMs by using C++ based ray tracing simulations. The first prototype based detector module includes seven channels and was installed into the MAGIC camera in May 2015. We present the results of the first prototype and its performance as well as the status of the project and discuss its challenges.

SiPM arrays and miniaturized readout electronics for compact gamma camera

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dinu, N., E-mail: dinu@lal.in2p3.fr [Laboratory of Linear Accelerator, IN2P3, CNRS, Orsay (France); Imando, T. Ait; Nagai, A. [Laboratory of Linear Accelerator, IN2P3, CNRS, Orsay (France); Pinot, L. [Laboratory of Imaging and Modelisation in Neurobiology and Cancerology, IN2P3, CNRS, Orsay (France); Puill, V. [Laboratory of Linear Accelerator, IN2P3, CNRS, Orsay (France); Callier, S. [Omega Microelectronics Group, CNRS, Palaiseau (France); Janvier, B.; Esnault, C.; Verdier, M.-A. [Laboratory of Imaging and Modelisation in Neurobiology and Cancerology, IN2P3, CNRS, Orsay (France); Raux, L. [Omega Microelectronics Group, CNRS, Palaiseau (France); Vandenbussche, V.; Charon, Y.; Menard, L. [Laboratory of Imaging and Modelisation in Neurobiology and Cancerology, IN2P3, CNRS, Orsay (France)

2015-07-01

This article reports on the design and features of a very compact and light gamma camera based on SiPM arrays and miniaturized readout electronics dedicated to tumor localization during radio-guided cancer surgery. This gamma camera, called MAGICS, is composed of four (2×2) photo-detection elementary modules coupled to an inorganic scintillator. The 256 channels photo-detection system covers a sensitive area of 54×53 m{sup 2}. Each elementary module is based on four (2×2) SiPM monolithic arrays, each array consisting of 16 SiPM photo-sensors (4×4) with 3×3 mm{sup 2} sensitive area, coupled to a miniaturized readout electronics and a dedicated ASIC. The overall dimensions of the electronics fit the size of the detector, enabling to assemble side-by-side several elementary modules in a close-packed arrangement. The preliminary performances of the system are very encouraging, showing an energy resolution of 9.8% and a spatial resolution of less than 1 mm at 122 keV.

SiPMs characterization and selection for the DUNE far detector photon detection system

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Y.; Maricic, J.

2016-01-01

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) together with the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) hosted at the Fermilab will provide a unique, world-leading program for the exploration of key questions at the forefront of neutrino physics and astrophysics. CP violation in neutrino flavor mixing is one of its most important potential discoveries. Additionally, the experiment will determine the neutrino mass hierarchy and precisely measure the neutrino mixing parameters which may potentially reveal new fundamental symmetries of nature. Moreover, the DUNE is also designed for the observation of nucleon decay and supernova burst neutrinos. The photon detection (PD) system in the DUNE far detector provides trigger for cosmic backgrounds, enhances supernova burst trigger efficiency and improves the energy resolution of the detector. The DUNE adopts the technology of liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) that requires the PD sensors, silicon photomultipliers (SiPM), to be carefully chosen to not only work properly in LAr temperature, but also meet certain specifications for the life of the experiment. A comprehensive testing of SiPMs in cryostat is necessary since the datasheet provided by the manufactures in the market does not cover this temperature regime. This paper gives the detailed characterization results of SenSL C-Series 60035 SiPMs, including gain, dark count rate (DCR), cross-talk and after-pulse rate. Characteristic studies on SiPMs from other vendors are also discussed in order to avoid any potential problems associated with using a single source. Moreover, the results of the ongoing mechanical durability tests are shown for the current candidate, SenSL B/C-Series 60035 SiPMs.

SiPM Gain Stabilization Studies for Adaptive Power Supply

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(CDS)2074257; Zalieckas, Justas; Cvach, Jaroslav; Kvasnicka, Jiri; Polak, Ivo

2016-01-01

We present herein gain stabilization studies of SiPMs using a climate chamber at CERN. We present results for four detectors not tested before, three from Hamamatsu and one from KETEK. Two of the Hamamatsu SiPMs are novel sensors with trenches that reduce cross talk. We use an improved readout system with a digital oscilloscope controlled with a dedicated LabView program. We improved and automized the analysis to deal with large datasets. We have measured the gain-versus-bias-voltage dependence at fixed temperature and gain-versus-temperature dependence at fixed bias voltage to determine the bias voltage dependence on temperature $V(T)$ for stable gain. We show that the gain remains stable to better than $\\pm 0.5\\%$ in the $20^\\circ \\rm C - 30^\\circ C$ temperature range if the bias voltage is properly adjusted with temperature.

The cross-talk problem in SiPMs and their use as light sensors for imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buzhan, P.; Dolgoshein, B.; Ilyin, A.; Kaplin, V.; Klemin, S.; Mirzoyan, R.; Popova, E.; Teshima, M.

2009-01-01

One of the major drawbacks of a SiPM is due to the so-called cross-talk effect. Often, one single photon in a chain reaction can generate more photons and thus can fire more than one micro-cell of a SiPM. This can be considered as a noise in the signal multiplication process and this degrades the signal/noise ratio. In self-trigger schemes this noise can be so high that it can make operating them difficult at low threshold settings. For the past few years, we have dwelt on this effect aiming to suppress it at the design stage. One can use (a) trenches around the micro-cells for suppressing the direct photon 'communication' channel and (b) the so-called double p-n junction for suppressing photon-induced charge 'communication' in neighbor pixels. The low cross-talk is mandatory, for example, for producing SiPM-based light sensor modules for the Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Technique projects for ground-based gamma-ray astrophysics. We produced and tested a few modules consisting of 4 SiPMs, each with a size of 5 mmx5 mm of custom production type. We report here on the main parameters of these units.

Immersion cooling of silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) for nuclear medicine imaging applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raylman, R.R.; Stolin, A.V.

2016-01-01

Silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) are compact, high amplification light detection devices that have recently been incorporated into magnetic field-compatible positron emission tomography (PET) scanners. To take full advantage of these devices, it is preferable to cool them below room temperature. Most current methods are limited to the cooling of individual detector modules, increasing complexity and cost of scanners made-up of a large number of modules. In this work we investigated a new method of cooling, immersion of the detector modules in non-electrically conductive, cooled liquid. A small-scale prototype system was constructed to cool a relatively large area SiPM-based, scintillator detector module by immersing it in a circulating bath of mineral oil. Testing demonstrated that the system rapidly decreased and stabilized the temperature of the device. Operation of the detector illustrated the expected benefits of cooling, with no apparent degradation of performance attributable to immersion in fluid. - Highlights: • Immersion cooling is new, simple and inexpensive method to cool solid state based nuclear medicine scanner. • Method successfully tested on a scaled version of an SiPM-based PET detector module. • Can be scaled up to cool a complete PET scanner.

Proof of concept of an imaging system demonstrator for PET applications with SiPM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morrocchi, Matteo; Marcatili, Sara; Belcari, Nicola; Giuseppina Bisogni, Maria; Collazuol, Gianmaria; Ambrosi, Giovanni; Santoni, Cristiano; Corsi, Francesco; Foresta, Maurizio; Marzocca, Cristoforo; Matarrese, Gianvito; Sportelli, Giancarlo; Guerra, Pedro; Santos, Andres; Del Guerra, Alberto

2013-01-01

A PET imaging system demonstrator based on LYSO crystal arrays coupled to SiPM matrices is under construction at the University and INFN of Pisa. Two SiPM matrices, composed of 8×8 SiPM pixels, and 1,5 mm pitch, have been coupled one to one to a LYSO crystals array and read out by a custom electronics system. front-end ASICs were used to read 8 channels of each matrix. Data from each front-end were multiplexed and sent to a DAQ board for the digital conversion; a motherboard collects the data and communicates with a host computer through a USB port for the storage and off-line data processing. In this paper we show the first preliminary tomographic image of a point-like radioactive source acquired with part of the two detection heads in time coincidence

Proof of concept of an imaging system demonstrator for PET applications with SiPM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morrocchi, Matteo, E-mail: matteo.morrocchi@pi.infn.it [University of Pisa and INFN Sezione di Pisa, Pisa 56127 (Italy); Marcatili, Sara; Belcari, Nicola; Giuseppina Bisogni, Maria [University of Pisa and INFN Sezione di Pisa, Pisa 56127 (Italy); Collazuol, Gianmaria [INFN Sezione di Pisa, Pisa 56127 (Italy); Ambrosi, Giovanni; Santoni, Cristiano [INFN Sezione di Perugia, Perugia 06100 (Italy); Corsi, Francesco; Foresta, Maurizio; Marzocca, Cristoforo; Matarrese, Gianvito [Politecnico di Bari and INFN Sezione di Bari, Bari 70100 (Italy); Sportelli, Giancarlo [University of Pisa and INFN Sezione di Pisa, Pisa 56127 (Italy); Guerra, Pedro; Santos, Andres [Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, E 28040 Madrid (Spain); Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN) (Spain); Del Guerra, Alberto [University of Pisa and INFN Sezione di Pisa, Pisa 56127 (Italy)

2013-08-21

A PET imaging system demonstrator based on LYSO crystal arrays coupled to SiPM matrices is under construction at the University and INFN of Pisa. Two SiPM matrices, composed of 8×8 SiPM pixels, and 1,5 mm pitch, have been coupled one to one to a LYSO crystals array and read out by a custom electronics system. front-end ASICs were used to read 8 channels of each matrix. Data from each front-end were multiplexed and sent to a DAQ board for the digital conversion; a motherboard collects the data and communicates with a host computer through a USB port for the storage and off-line data processing. In this paper we show the first preliminary tomographic image of a point-like radioactive source acquired with part of the two detection heads in time coincidence.

POSSuMUS. A position sensitive scintillating muon SiPM detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruschke, Alexander

2014-01-01

The development of a modular designed large scale scintillation detector with a two-dimensional position sensitivity is presented in this thesis. This novel POsition Sensitive Scintillating MUon SiPM Detector is named POSSuMUS. The POSSuMUS detector is capable to determine the particle's position in two space dimensions with a fast trigger capability. Each module is constructed from two trapezoidal shaped plastic scintillators to form one rectangular shaped detector module. Both trapezoids are optically insulated against each other. In both trapezoids the scintillation light is collected by plastic fibers and guided towards silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). SiPMs are light sensors which are capable to detect even smallest amounts of light. By combining several detector modules, position sensitive areas from 100 cm 2 to few m 2 are achievable with few readout channels. Therefore, POSSuMUS provides a cost effective detector concept. The position sensitivity along the trapezoidal geometry of one detector module is achieved by the path length dependent amount of detected light for crossing particles. The ratio of the light yields in both trapezoids is calculated. This value corresponds to the position of the particle traversing the detector. A spatial resolution in the order of several mm is foreseen. The position sensitivity along the scintillator module is determined by the propagation time of light to the SiPMs located on opposite sides of the detector. A spatial resolution of few cm is expected for this direction. The POSSuMUS detector is applicable as large area trigger detector with a two dimensional position information of crossing particles. This is suitable in detector tests of large area precesion detectors or for measuring the small angle scattering of cosmic muons. At the beginning of this thesis, the determination of important SiPM characteristics like the breakdown voltage is presented. In the course of this work the detector principle is proven by

Design and characterization of the SiPM tracking system of NEXT-DEMO, a demonstrator prototype of the NEXT-100 experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Álvarez, V; Ball, M; Cárcel, S; Cervera, A; Díaz, J; Ferrario, P; Borges, F I G; Conde, C A N; Dias, T H V T; Fernandes, L M P; Freitas, E D C; Garcia, A N C; Castel, J; Cebrián, S; Dafni, T; Egorov, M; Gehman, V M; Esteve, R; Evtoukhovitch, P; Ferreira, A L

2013-01-01

NEXT-100 experiment aims at searching the neutrinoless double-beta decay of the 136 Xe isotope using a TPC filled with a 100 kg of high-pressure gaseous xenon, with 90% isotopic enrichment. The experiment will take place at the Laboratorio Subterr and apos;aneo de Canfranc (LSC), Spain. NEXT-100 uses electroluminescence (EL) technology for energy measurement with a resolution better than 1% FWHM. The gaseous xenon in the TPC additionally allows the tracks of the two beta particles to be recorded, which are expected to have a length of up to 30 cm at 10 bar pressure. The ability to record the topological signature of the ββ0ν events provides a powerful background rejection factor for the ββ experiment. In this paper, we present a novel 3D imaging concept using SiPMs coated with tetraphenyl butadiene (TPB) for the EL read out and its first implementation in NEXT-DEMO, a large-scale prototype of the NEXT-100 experiment. The design and the first characterization measurements of the NEXT-DEMO SiPM tracking system are presented. The SiPM response uniformity over the tracking plane drawn from its gain map is shown to be better than 4%. An automated active control system for the stabilization of the SiPMs gain was developed, based on the voltage supply compensation of the gain drifts. The gain is shown to be stabilized within 0.2% relative variation around its nominal value, provided by Hamamatsu, in a temperature range of 10°C. The noise level from the electronics and the SiPM dark noise is shown to lay typically below the level of 10 photoelectrons (pe) in the ADC. Hence, a detection threshold at 10 pe is set for the acquisition of the tracking signals. The ADC full dynamic range (4096 channels) is shown to be adequate for signal levels of up to 200 pe/μs, which enables recording most of the tracking signals.

Characterization of high density SiPM non-linearity and energy resolution for prompt gamma imaging applications

Science.gov (United States)

Regazzoni, V.; Acerbi, F.; Cozzi, G.; Ferri, A.; Fiorini, C.; Paternoster, G.; Piemonte, C.; Rucatti, D.; Zappalà, G.; Zorzi, N.; Gola, A.

2017-07-01

Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK) (Trento, Italy) has recently introduced High Density (HD) and Ultra High-Density (UHD) SiPMs, featuring very small micro-cell pitch. The high cell density is a very important factor to improve the linearity of the SiPM in high-dynamic-range applications, such as the scintillation light readout in high-energy gamma-ray spectroscopy and in prompt gamma imaging for proton therapy. The energy resolution at high energies is a trade-off between the excess noise factor caused by the non-linearity of the SiPM and the photon detection efficiency of the detector. To study these effects, we developed a new setup that simulates the LYSO light emission in response to gamma photons up to 30 MeV, using a pulsed light source. We measured the non-linearity and energy resolution vs. energy of the FBK RGB-HD e RGB-UHD SiPM technologies. We considered five different cell sizes, ranging from 10 μm up to 25 μm. With the UHD technology we were able to observe a remarkable reduction of the SiPM non-linearity, less than 5% at 5 MeV with 10 μm cells, which should be compared to a non-linearity of 50% with 25 μm-cell HD-SiPMs. With the same setup, we also measured the different components of the energy resolution (intrinsic, statistical, detector and electronic noise) vs. cell size, over-voltage and energy and we separated the different sources of excess noise factor.

SiPM and ADD as advanced detectors for astro-particle physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mirzoyan, Razmick; Dolgoshein, Boris; Holl, Peter; Klemin, Sergei; Merck, Christine; Moser, Hans-Guenther; Otte, Adam Nepomuk; Ninkovic, Jelena; Popova, Elena; Richter, Rainer; Teshima, Masahiro

2007-01-01

In recent years, a few scientific groups are developing a novel type light sensor. These so-called silicon photo multipliers (SiPM) operate at relatively low bias voltage of 20-60 V, show unprecedented amplitude resolution and already now can provide photon detection efficiencies (PDE) comparable to or better than that of classical photo multipliers (PMT). We are developing the novel sensors for the astro-particle physics experiments MAGIC [J. Albert, et al., Astrophys. Lett. 642 (2006) L119. ] and also for EUSO [M. Teshima, et al., EUSO (The Extreme Universe Space Observatory), in: Scientific Objectives Proceedings ICRC, 2003, p. 10690. ]. The front-illuminated SiPM are developing with the group from MEPhI in Moscow and the back-illuminated Avalanche Drift Diodes (ADD) with the semiconductor laboratory (HLL) attached to the MPI for Physics. Our goal is to produce 5-10 mm size ultra-fast, low-noise and very high PDE (60-80%) sensors operating in the wavelength range 300-600 nm. Together with MEPhI, we have already produced and successfully tested 1.3x1.3, 3x3 and 5x5 mm 2 size SiPMs. Very recently, the first ADD test structures were produced and are under evaluation at the HLL. In this report, we want to outline the main parameters of the new sensors for the needs of astro-particle physics experiments

On the comparison of analog and digital SiPM readout in terms of expected timing performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gundacker, S.; Auffray, E.; Jarron, P.; Meyer, T.; Lecoq, P.

2015-01-01

In time of flight positron emission tomography (TOF-PET) and in particular for the EndoTOFPET-US Project (Frisch, 2013 [1]), and other applications for high energy physics, the multi-digital silicon photomultiplier (MD-SiPM) was recently proposed (Mandai and Charbon, 2012 [2]), in which the time of every single photoelectron is being recorded. If such a photodetector is coupled to a scintillator, the largest and most accurate timing information can be extracted from the cascade of the scintillation photons, and the most probable time of positron emission determined. The readout concept of the MD-SiPM is very different from that of the analog SiPM, where the individual photoelectrons are merely summed up and the output signal fed into the readout electronics. We have developed a comprehensive Monte Carlo (MC) simulation tool that describes the timing properties of the photodetector and electronics, the scintillation properties of the crystal and the light transfer within the crystal. In previous studies we have compared MC simulations with coincidence time resolution (CTR) measurements and found good agreement within less than 10% for crystals of different lengths (from 3 mm to 20 mm) coupled to SiPMs from Hamamatsu. In this work we will use the developed MC tool to directly compare the highest possible time resolution for both the analog and digital readout of SiPMs with different scintillator lengths. The presented studies reveal that the analog readout of SiPMs with microcell signal pile-up and leading edge discrimination can lead to nearly the same time resolution as compared to the maximum likelihood time estimation applied to MD-SiPMs. Consequently there is no real preference for either a digital or analog SiPM for the sake of achieving highest time resolution. However, the best CTR in the analog SiPM is observed for a rather small range of optimal threshold values, whereas the MD-SiPM provides stable CTR after roughly 20 registered photoelectron timestamps in

Application of large area SiPMs for the readout of a plastic scintillator based timing detector

Science.gov (United States)

Betancourt, C.; Blondel, A.; Brundler, R.; Dätwyler, A.; Favre, Y.; Gascon, D.; Gomez, S.; Korzenev, A.; Mermod, P.; Noah, E.; Serra, N.; Sgalaberna, D.; Storaci, B.

2017-11-01

In this study an array of eight 6 mm × 6 mm area SiPMs was coupled to the end of a long plastic scintillator counter which was exposed to a 2.5 GeV/c muon beam at the CERN PS. Timing characteristics of bars with dimensions 150 cm × 6 cm × 1 cm and 120 cm × 11 cm × 2.5 cm have been studied. An 8-channel SiPM anode readout ASIC (MUSIC R1) based on a novel low input impedance current conveyor has been used to read out and amplify SiPMs independently and sum the signals at the end. Prospects for applications in large-scale particle physics detectors with timing resolution below 100 ps are provided in light of the results.

A custom front-end ASIC for the readout and timing of 64 SiPM photosensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bagliesi, M.G.; Avanzini, C.; Bigongiari, G.; Cecchi, R.; Kim, M.Y.; Maestro, P.; Marrocchesi, P.S.; Morsani, F.

2011-01-01

A new class of instruments - based on Silicon PhotoMultiplier (SiPM) photosensors - are currently under development for the next generation of Astroparticle Physics experiments in future space missions. A custom front-end ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) for the readout of 64 SiPM sensors was specified in collaboration with GM-IDEAS (Norway) that designed and manufactured the ASIC. Our group developed a custom readout board equipped with a 16 bit ADC for the digitization of both pulse height and time information. A time stamp, generated by the ASIC in correspondence of the threshold crossing time, is digitized and recorded for each channel. This allows to define a narrow time window around the physics event that reduces significantly the background due to the SiPM dark count rate. In this paper, we report on the preliminary test results obtained with the readout board prototype.

Upgrade of the CMS Hadron Outer Calorimeter with SiPM sensors

CERN Document Server

Lutz, Benjamin

2012-01-01

The complete system of more than 2800 channels has been produced and is currently burned-in. The installation of the SiPM based readout will be performed during the first LHC long shutdown scheduled for 2013.

Single and multichannel scintillating fiber dosimeter for radiotherapic beams with SiPM readout

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berra, A., E-mail: alessandro.berra@gmail.it [Università degli Studi dell' Insubria e INFN sezione di Milano Bicocca (Italy); Ferri, A. [Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Centro per i Materiali e i Microsistemi (Italy); Novati, C. [Università degli Studi dell' Insubria e INFN sezione di Milano Bicocca (Italy); Ostinelli, A. [Ospedale Sant' Anna, Servizio di Fisica Sanitaria (Italy); Paternoster, G.; Piemonte, C. [Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Centro per i Materiali e i Microsistemi (Italy); Prest, M. [Università degli Studi dell' Insubria e INFN sezione di Milano Bicocca (Italy); Vallazza, E. [INFN Sezione di Trieste (Italy)

2016-12-01

The treatment of many neoplastic diseases requires the use of radiotherapy, which consists in the irradiation of the tumor, identified as the target volume, with ionizing radiations generated both by administered radiopharmaceuticals or by linear particle accelerators (LINACs). The radiotherapy beam delivered to the patient must be regularly checked to assure the best tumor control probability: this task is performed with dosimeters, i.e. devices able to provide a measurement of the dose deposited in their sensitive volume. This paper describes the development of two scintillator dosimeter prototypes for radiotherapic applications based on plastic scintillating fibers read out by high dynamic range Silicon PhotoMultipliers. The first dosimeter, consisting of a single-channel prototype with a pair of optical fibers, a scintillating and a white one, read out by two SiPMs, has been fully characterized and led to the development of a second multi-channel dosimeter based on an array of scintillating fibers: this device represents the first step towards the assembly of a “one-shot” device, capable to perform some of the daily quality controls in a few seconds. The dosimeters characterization was performed with a Varian Clinac iX linear accelerator at the Radiotherapy Department of the St. Anna Hospital in Como (IT).

The front-end electronics for the 1.8-kchannel SiPM tracking plane in the NEW detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodríguez, J.; Lorca, D.; Monrabal, F.; Toledo, J.; Esteve, R.

2015-01-01

NEW is the first phase of NEXT-100 experiment, an experiment aimed at searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay. NEXT technology combines an excellent energy resolution with tracking capabilities thanks to a combination of optical sensors, PMTs for the energy measurement and SiPMs for topology reconstruction. Those two tools result in one of the highest background rejection potentials in the field. This work describes the tracking plane that will be constructed for the NEW detector which consists of close to 1800 sensors with a 1-cm pitch arranged in twenty-eight 64-SiPM boards. Then it focuses in the development of the electronics needed to read the 1800 channels with a front-end board that includes per-channel differential transimpedance input amplifier, gated integrator, automatic offset voltage compensation and 12-bit ADC. Finally, a description of how the FPGA buffers data, carries out zero suppression and sends data to the DAQ interface using CERN RD-51 SRS's DTCC link specification complements the description of the electronics of the NEW detector tracking plane

Evaluation of a timing integrated circuit architecture for continuous crystal and SiPM based PET systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monzo, J M; Ros, A; Herrero-Bosch, V; Perino, I V; Aliaga, R J; Gadea-Girones, R; Colom-Palero, R J

2013-01-01

Improving timing resolution in positron emission tomography (PET), thus having fine time information of the detected pulses, is important to increase the reconstructed images signal to noise ratio (SNR) [1]. In the present work, an integrated circuit topology for time extraction of the incoming pulses is evaluated. An accurate simulation including the detector physics and the electronics with different configurations has been developed. The selected architecture is intended for a PET system based on a continuous scintillation crystal attached to a SiPM array. The integrated circuit extracts the time stamp from the first few photons generated when the gamma-ray interacts with the scintillator, thus obtaining the best time resolution. To get the time stamp from the detected pulses, a time to digital converter (TDC) array based architecture has been proposed as in [2] or [3]. The TDC input stage uses a current comparator to transform the analog signal into a digital signal. Individually configurable trigger levels allow us to avoid false triggers due to signal noise. Using a TDC per SiPM configuration results in a very area consuming integrated circuit. One solution to this problem is to join several SiPM outputs to one TDC. This reduces the number of TDCs but, on the other hand, the first photons will be more difficult to be detected. For this reason, it is important to simulate how the time resolution is degraded when the number of TDCs is reduced. Following this criteria, the best configuration will be selected considering the trade-off between achievable time resolution and the cost per chip. A simulation is presented that uses Geant4 for simulation of the physics process and, for the electronic blocks, spice and Matlab. The Geant4 stage simulates the gamma-ray interaction with the scintillator, the photon shower generation and the first stages of the SiPM. The electronics simulation includes an electrical model of the SiPM array and all the integrated circuitry

Radiation hardness tests of SiPMs for the JLab Hall D Barrel calorimeter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qiang, Yi; Zorn, Carl; Barbosa, Fernando; Smith, Elton

2013-01-01

We report on the measurement of the neutron radiation hardness of silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) manufactured by Hamamatsu Corporation in Japan and SensL in Ireland. Samples from both companies were irradiated by neutrons created by a 1 GeV electron beam hitting a thin lead target at Jefferson Lab Hall A. More tests regarding the temperature dependence of the neutron radiation damage and self-annealing were performed on Hamamatsu SiPMs using a calibrated Am–Be neutron source from the Jefferson Lab Radiation Control group. As the result of irradiation both dark current and dark rate increase linearly as a function of the 1 MeV equivalent neutron fluence and a temperature dependent self-annealing effect is observed.

First Compton telescope prototype based on continuous LaBr3-SiPM detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Llosá, G.; Cabello, J.; Callier, S.; Gillam, J.E.; Lacasta, C.; Rafecas, M.; Raux, L.; Solaz, C.; Stankova, V.; La Taille, C. de; Trovato, M.; Barrio, J.

2013-01-01

A first prototype of a Compton camera based on continuous scintillator crystals coupled to silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) arrays has been successfully developed and operated. The prototype is made of two detector planes. The first detector is made of a continuous 16×18×5 mm 3 LaBr 3 crystal coupled to a 16-elements SiPM array. The elements have a size of 3×3 mm 3 in a 4.5×4.05 mm 2 pitch. The second detector, selected by availability, consists of a continuous 16×18×5 mm 3 LYSO crystal coupled to a similar SiPM array. The SPIROC1 ASIC is employed in the readout electronics. Data have been taken with a 22 Na source placed at different positions and images have been reconstructed with the simulated one-pass list-mode (SOPL) algorithm. Detector development for the construction of a second prototype with three detector planes is underway. LaBr 3 crystals of 32×36 mm 2 size and 5/10 mm thickness have been acquired and tested with a PMT. The resolution obtained is 3.5% FWHM at 511 keV. Each crystal will be coupled to four MPPC arrays. Different options are being tested for the prototype readout

Characterization of a DAQ system for the readout of a SiPM based shashlik calorimeter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berra, A.; Bonvicini, V.; Bosisio, L.; Lietti, D.; Penzo, A.; Prest, M.; Rabaioli, S.; Rashevskaya, I.; Vallazza, E.

2014-01-01

Silicon PhotoMultipliers (SiPMs) are a recently developed type of silicon photodetector characterized by high gain and insensitivity to magnetic fields, which make them a suitable detector for the next generation high energy and space physics experiments. This paper presents the performance of a readout system for SiPMs based on the MAROC3 ASIC. The ASIC consists of 64 channels working in parallel, each one with a variable gain pre-amplifier, a tunable slow shaper with a sample and hold circuit for the analog readout and a tunable fast shaper for the digital one. In the tests described in this paper, only the analog part of the ASIC has been used. A frontend board based on the MAROC3 ASIC has been tested at CERN coupled to a scintillator-lead shashlik calorimeter, readout with 36 large area SiPMs. The performance of the system has been characterized in terms of linearity and energy resolution on the CERN PS-T9 and SPS-H2 beamlines, using different configurations of the ASIC parameters

A Fast Calibration System for SiPM Based Scintillator HCAL Detector

CERN Document Server

Polak, I

2015-01-01

with mid-range a fixed-intensity light pulse. The full SiPM response function is cross-checked by varying the light intensity from zero to the saturation level. In calibration systems we developed, we concentrate especially on the aspect a high dynamic range of pre...

arXiv Application of large area SiPMs for the readout of a plastic scintillator based timing detector

CERN Document Server

Betancourt, C.; Brundler, R.; Dätwyler, A.; Favre, Y.; Gascon, D.; Gomez, S.; Korzenev, Alexander; Mermod, P.; Noah, E.; Serra, N.; Sgalaberna, D.; Storaci, B.

2017-11-27

In this study an array of eight 6 mm × 6 mm area SiPMs was coupled to the end of a long plastic scintillator counter which was exposed to a 2.5 GeV/c muon beam at the CERN PS. Timing characteristics of bars with dimensions 150 cm × 6 cm × 1 cm and 120 cm × 11 cm × 2.5 cm have been studied. An 8-channel SiPM anode readout ASIC (MUSIC R1) based on a novel low input impedance current conveyor has been used to read out and amplify SiPMs independently and sum the signals at the end. Prospects for applications in large-scale particle physics detectors with timing resolution below 100 ps are provided in light of the results.

Studies on surface-mounted SiPMs in 2015 testbeam of a highly granular hadron calorimeter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krause, Sascha [Institut fuer Physik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet Mainz, Mainz (Germany); Collaboration: CALICE-D-Collaboration

2016-07-01

To achieve excellent jet energy resolution, a highly granular hadronic calorimeter is being developed within the CALICE collaboration. Therefore, about 8 million detector units consisting of scintillator tiles and silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) will be installed in the final HCAL design. The usage of surface-mounted (SMD) SiPMs allows an automated mass assembly. During CERN SPS testbeam 2015, data for a prototype consisting of up to 11 layers of HCAL base units (HBU) was collected using electron, muon and pion beams. One of the layers was equipped with the first SMD HBU. Results and performance, especially of the SMD HBU are presented.

A high-granularity scintillator hadronic-calorimeter with SiPM readout for a linear collider detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andreev, V.; Balagura, V; Bobchenko, B.

2004-01-01

We report upon the design, construction and operation of a prototype for a high-granularity tile hadronic calorimeter for a future international linear collider(ILC) detector. Scintillating tiles are read out via wavelength-shifting fibers which guides the scintillation light to a novel photodetector, the Silicon Photomultiplier. The prototype has been tested at DESY using a positron test beam. The results are compared with a reference prototype equipped with multichannel vacuum photomultipliers. Detector calibration, noise, linearity and stability are discussed, and the energy response in a 1-6 GeV positron beam is compared with simulation. The work presented serves to establish the application of SiPM for calorimetry, and leads to the choice of this device for the construction of a 1m 3 calorimeter prototype for tests in hadron beams. (orig.)

Development of a Gamma Spectrometer using a Large NaI Scintillator and SiPMs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Chankyu; Yoo, Hyunjun; Kim, Yewon and others

2014-01-01

A typical scintillation gamma spectrometer is composed of a NaI(Tl) scintillation crystal and a PM tube. From last years, a Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) is being developed and expanding its application area as a substitute of PM tube due to its advantages like low operating voltage, small volume, and cheap production cost, MR compatibility. This approach could make gamma spectrometer smaller, cheaper, easier to use, and these advantage are quite suitable to original purpose of scintillation gamma spectrometer. Gamma spectrometry and gamma spectrometer is used to analyze gamma source in nuclear science, geochemistry, and astrophysics. In this research, gamma spectrometer which uses SiPMs instead of PM tube is proposed. The proposed gamma spectrometer has advantages of low cost, small volume, low operation voltage; but it has disadvantages of performances. To reduce this loss in performances, a light guide of effective structure is required. (Material, reflection type, tapering angle) For design of the light guide, DETECT simulation was performed. And through DETECT simulation, the characteristics of light guide could be prospected. Actual light guide was manufactured on the basis of this simulation result. Using the light guide, gamma spectrometer system was composed and tested. In the test result, gamma spectrometer using SiPM shows degraded energy resolution. The reason of this degradation is being analyzed and the test system is under modification

Design, development and evaluation of a resistor-based multiplexing circuit for a 20×20 SiPM array

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Zhonghai; Sun, Xishan; Lou, Kai; Meier, Joseph; Zhou, Rong; Yang, Chaowen; Zhu, Xiaorong; Shao, Yiping

2016-01-01

One technical challenge in developing a large-size scintillator detector with multiple Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) arrays is to read out a large number of detector output channels. To achieve this, different signal multiplexing circuits have been studied and applied with different performances and cost-effective tradeoffs. Resistor-based multiplexing circuits exhibit simplicity and signal integrity, but also present the disadvantage of timing shift among different channels. In this study, a resistor-based multiplexing circuit for a large-sized SiPM array readout was developed and evaluated by simulation and experimental studies. Similarly to a multiplexing circuit used for multi-anode PMT, grounding and branching resistors were connected to each SiPM output channel. The grounding resistor was used to simultaneously reduce the signal crosstalk among different channels and to improve timing performance. Both grounding and branching resistor values were optimized to maintain a balanced performance of the event energy, timing, and positioning. A multiplexing circuit was implemented on a compact PCB and applied for a flat-panel detector which consisted of a 32×32 LYSO scintillator crystals optically coupled to 5×5 SiPM arrays for a total 20×20 output channels. Test results showed excellent crystal identification for all 1024 LYSO crystals (each with 2×2×30 mm"3 size) with "2"2Na flood-source irradiation. The measured peak-to-valley ratio from typical crystal map profile is around 3:1 to 6.6:1, an average single crystal energy resolution of about 17.3%, and an average single crystal timing resolution of about 2 ns. Timing shift among different crystals, as reported in some other resistor-based multiplexing circuit designs, was not observed. In summary, we have designed and implemented a practical resistor-based multiplexing circuit that can be readily applied for reading out a large SiPM array with good detector performance.

Design, development and evaluation of a resistor-based multiplexing circuit for a 20×20 SiPM array

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Zhonghai [College of Physical Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Radiation Physics and Technology, Ministry of Education, Sichuan University, Chengdu (China); Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Tx (United States); Sun, Xishan [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Tx (United States); Lou, Kai [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Tx (United States); Meier, Joseph [Department of Imaging Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Tx (United States); Zhou, Rong; Yang, Chaowen [College of Physical Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Radiation Physics and Technology, Ministry of Education, Sichuan University, Chengdu (China); Zhu, Xiaorong [Department of Radiation Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Tx (United States); Shao, Yiping [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Tx (United States)

2016-04-21

One technical challenge in developing a large-size scintillator detector with multiple Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) arrays is to read out a large number of detector output channels. To achieve this, different signal multiplexing circuits have been studied and applied with different performances and cost-effective tradeoffs. Resistor-based multiplexing circuits exhibit simplicity and signal integrity, but also present the disadvantage of timing shift among different channels. In this study, a resistor-based multiplexing circuit for a large-sized SiPM array readout was developed and evaluated by simulation and experimental studies. Similarly to a multiplexing circuit used for multi-anode PMT, grounding and branching resistors were connected to each SiPM output channel. The grounding resistor was used to simultaneously reduce the signal crosstalk among different channels and to improve timing performance. Both grounding and branching resistor values were optimized to maintain a balanced performance of the event energy, timing, and positioning. A multiplexing circuit was implemented on a compact PCB and applied for a flat-panel detector which consisted of a 32×32 LYSO scintillator crystals optically coupled to 5×5 SiPM arrays for a total 20×20 output channels. Test results showed excellent crystal identification for all 1024 LYSO crystals (each with 2×2×30 mm{sup 3} size) with {sup 22}Na flood-source irradiation. The measured peak-to-valley ratio from typical crystal map profile is around 3:1 to 6.6:1, an average single crystal energy resolution of about 17.3%, and an average single crystal timing resolution of about 2 ns. Timing shift among different crystals, as reported in some other resistor-based multiplexing circuit designs, was not observed. In summary, we have designed and implemented a practical resistor-based multiplexing circuit that can be readily applied for reading out a large SiPM array with good detector performance.

Performance evaluation of SiPM photodetectors for PET imaging in the presence of magnetic fields

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Espana, S., E-mail: samuel@nuclear.fis.ucm.e [Grupo de Fisica Nuclear, Dpto. Fisica Atomica, Molecular y Nuclear, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain); Fraile, L.M.; Herraiz, J.L.; Udias, J.M. [Grupo de Fisica Nuclear, Dpto. Fisica Atomica, Molecular y Nuclear, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain); Desco, M.; Vaquero, J.J. [Unidad de Medicina y Cirugia Experimental, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Maranon, Madrid (Spain)

2010-02-01

The multi-pixel photon counter (MPPC) or silicon photomultiplier (SiPM), recently introduced as a solid-state photodetector, consists of an array of Geiger-mode photodiodes (microcells). It is a promising device for PET due to its potential for high photon detection efficiency (PDE) and its foreseeable immunity to magnetic fields. It is also easy to use with simple read-outs, has a high gain and a small size. In this work we evaluate the in field performance of three 1x1 mm{sup 2} (with 100, 400 and 1600 microcells, respectively) and one 6x6 mm{sup 2} (arranged as a 2x2 array) Hamamatsu MPPCs for their use in PET imaging. We examine the dependence of the energy resolution and the gain of these devices on the temperature and reverse bias voltage, when coupled to LYSO scintillator crystals under conditions that one would find in a PET system. We find that the 400 and 1600 microcells models and the 2x2 array are suitable for small-size crystals, like those employed in high resolution small animal scanners. We have confirmed the good performance of these devices up to magnetic fields of 7 T as well as their suitability for performing PET acquisitions in the presence of fast switching gradients and high duty radiofrequency MRI sequences.

Time-Based Readout of a Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) for Time of Flight Positron Emission Tomography (TOF-PET)

CERN Document Server

Powolny, F; Brunner, S E; Hillemanns, H; Meyer, T; Garutti, E; Williams, M C S; Auffray, E; Shen, W; Goettlich, M; Jarron, P; Schultz-Coulon, H C

2011-01-01

Time of flight (TOF) measurements in positron emission tomography (PET) are very challenging in terms of timing performance, and should ideally achieve less than 100 ps FWHM precision. We present a time-based differential technique to read out silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) which has less than 20 ps FWHM electronic jitter. The novel readout is a fast front end circuit (NINO) based on a first stage differential current mode amplifier with 20 Omega input resistance. Therefore the amplifier inputs are connected differentially to the SiPM's anode and cathode ports. The leading edge of the output signal provides the time information, while the trailing edge provides the energy information. Based on a Monte Carlo photon-generation model, HSPICE simulations were run with a 3 x 3 mm(2) SiPM-model, read out with a differential current amplifier. The results of these simulations are presented here and compared with experimental data obtained with a 3 x 3 x 15 mm(3) LSO crystal coupled to a SiPM. The measured time coi...

A design of scintillator tiles read out by surface-mounted SiPMs for a future hadron calorimeter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Yong; Bauss, Bruno; Buescher, Volker; Caudron, Julien; Chau, Phi; Degele, Reinhold; Geib, Karl-Heinrich; Masetti, Lucia; Schaefer, Ulrich; Tapprogge, Stefan; Wanke, Rainer [Institut fuer Physik and PRISMA Detector Lab, Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet Mainz (Germany)

2015-07-01

Precision calorimetry using highly granular sampling calorimeters is being developed based on the particle flow concept within the CALICE collaboration. One design option of a hadron calorimeter is based on silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) to detect photons generated in plastic scintillator tiles. Driven by the need of automated mass assembly of around ten millions of channels stringently required by the high granularity, we developed a design of scintillator tiles directly coupled with surface-mounted SiPMs. A cavity is created in the center of the bottom surface of each tile to provide enough room for the whole SiPM package and to improve collection of the light produced by incident particles penetrating the tile at different positions. The cavity design has been optimized using a GEANT4-based full simulation model to achieve high response to Minimum Ionizing Particles (MIPs) and also good areal uniformity. Cosmic-ray measurements confirms high 1-MIP response for scintillator tiles with an optimized cavity design. Uniformity measurements by scanning the tile area using focused electrons from a beta source show excellent response uniformity. This optimized design is well beyond the requirements for a precision hadron calorimeter.

Influence of the active area size and read-out method on the timing performance of SiPMs coupled to LYSO scintillators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tarolli, Alessandro; Gola, Alberto; Ferri, Alessandro; Pro, Tiziana; Serra, Nicola; Zorzi, Nicola; Piemonte, Claudio

2013-01-01

In this work we report on the coincidence resolving time performance of SiPMs with different sizes, produced at FBK, coupled to the same LYSO scintillators. The measurements are performed both with and without the differential leading edge discriminator at three different temperatures, 20 °C, 0 °C and −20 °C. The photo-detectors feature an active area of 2×2 mm 2 and 4×4 mm 2 . The scintillators have a cross-section of 1.8×1.8 mm 2 and height of 10 mm. The measurements show that, once we eliminate the effect of noise on the timing measurements, we obtain similar coincidence resolving times for the two SiPM sizes considered. This means that the SiPM capacitance, at least up to 4×4 mm 2 , is not a limiting factor

Influence of the active area size and read-out method on the timing performance of SiPMs coupled to LYSO scintillators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tarolli, Alessandro, E-mail: tarolli@fbk.eu [Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK), Trento (Italy); Gola, Alberto; Ferri, Alessandro; Pro, Tiziana; Serra, Nicola; Zorzi, Nicola; Piemonte, Claudio [Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK), Trento (Italy)

2013-02-21

In this work we report on the coincidence resolving time performance of SiPMs with different sizes, produced at FBK, coupled to the same LYSO scintillators. The measurements are performed both with and without the differential leading edge discriminator at three different temperatures, 20 °C, 0 °C and −20 °C. The photo-detectors feature an active area of 2×2 mm{sup 2} and 4×4 mm{sup 2}. The scintillators have a cross-section of 1.8×1.8 mm{sup 2} and height of 10 mm. The measurements show that, once we eliminate the effect of noise on the timing measurements, we obtain similar coincidence resolving times for the two SiPM sizes considered. This means that the SiPM capacitance, at least up to 4×4 mm{sup 2}, is not a limiting factor.

Optimization of the coupling of optical fibers to an SiPM for a scintillator upgrade of the Pierre Auger Observatory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kemp, Julian; Bretz, Thomas; Hebbeker, Thomas; Meissner, Rebecca; Middendorf, Lukas; Niggemann, Tim; Peters, Christine; Schumacher, Johannes [III. Physikalisches Institut A, RWTH Aachen University (Germany); Collaboration: Pierre-Auger-Collaboration

2016-07-01

The Pierre Auger Observatory successfully measures cosmic-ray air-showers at the highest energies by detecting both the fluorescence light produced in the atmosphere and the particle density of the shower at the ground. Nevertheless, this procedure does not allow for a precise measurement of the muon to electron ratio of a single shower. As this quantity is connected to the mass of the primary particle, it allows for a cosmic-ray mass composition measurement. To improve the ability of separating muons from the electromagnetic component, scintillator based detectors will be added to each surface detector station. The basic design will consist of several scintillator bars feeding the produced light into a bundle of wavelength shifting fibers. The light can be detected by photomultipliers (PMTs) or by silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). The latter benefit from their higher photon detection efficiency and robustness. Due to the smaller area of the SiPMs compared to a PMT, the light detection efficiency of this system strongly depends on the quality of the optical coupling of the fiber bundle to the SiPM. Possible solutions are compared.

Efficiency studies for a tracking detector based on square 1.5 m long scintillating fibers read out by SiPM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanchez Majos, S.; Achenbach, P.; Pochodzalla, J.

2009-01-01

A tracking detector based on 1.5 m long scintillating fibers is being developed for the electron arm of the KAOS spectrometer at the Mainz Microtron MAMI. Measurements on light attenuation, particle detection efficiencies and accidental coincidence rates with a prototype set-up using 2x2mm 2 fibers read out by silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) are presented. The highest efficiency at the lowest accidental coincidence rate was reached for high trigger thresholds at the largest SiPM bias voltages. The influence of signal attenuation and dispersion on detection efficiencies is discussed. The results are in good agreement with a Monte Carlo model that was used to predict detector characteristics for different fiber geometries.

Characterization of UV-enhanced SiPMs for Imaging in High Pressure Xenon Electroluminescent TPC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yahlali, Nadia; Lorca, David; Fernandes, L.M.P.

2013-06-01

The possibility of recording charged particle tracks in an electro-luminescent xenon gas TPC is investigated using a SiPM-based tracking system, operated in the demonstrator prototype of the NEXT-100 ββ decay experiment. The tracks of the ββ0ν events from the decay of the 136 Xe isotope have a distinctive topology, which allows their discrimination against single-electron events from the natural radioactivity that populates the region of interest of the neutrinoless decay in the ββ energy spectrum. Combined to the near-intrinsic energy resolution of the gaseous detector, this tracking capability provides a powerful background rejection tool for the search of the neutrinoless ββ decay aimed by the experiment. The NEXT-100 detector concepts and sensitivity and the first results of its demonstrator prototype are presented. The characterization studies relevant for the operation of UV-enhanced SiPMs used for imaging in an electro-luminescent TPC are reviewed. (authors)

Development of a SiPM Camera for a Schwarzschild-Couder Cherenkov Telescope for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

CERN Document Server

Otte, A N; Dickinson, H.; Funk, S.; Jogler, T.; Johnson, C.A.; Karn, P.; Meagher, K.; Naoya, H.; Nguyen, T.; Okumura, A.; Santander, M.; Sapozhnikov, L.; Stier, A.; Tajima, H.; Tibaldo, L.; Vandenbroucke, J.; Wakely, S.; Weinstein, A.; Williams, D.A.

2015-01-01

We present the development of a novel 11328 pixel silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) camera for use with a ground-based Cherenkov telescope with Schwarzschild-Couder optics as a possible medium-sized telescope for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). The finely pixelated camera samples air-shower images with more than twice the optical resolution of cameras that are used in current Cherenkov telescopes. Advantages of the higher resolution will be a better event reconstruction yielding improved background suppression and angular resolution of the reconstructed gamma-ray events, which is crucial in morphology studies of, for example, Galactic particle accelerators and the search for gamma-ray halos around extragalactic sources. Packing such a large number of pixels into an area of only half a square meter and having a fast readout directly attached to the back of the sensors is a challenging task. For the prototype camera development, SiPMs from Hamamatsu with through silicon via (TSV) technology are used. We give ...

New method for evaluating effective recovery time and single photoelectron response in silicon photomultipliers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grodzicka, Martyna, E-mail: m.grodzicka@ncbj.gov.pl; Szczęśniak, Tomasz; Moszyński, Marek; Szawłowski, Marek; Grodzicki, Krystian

2015-05-21

The linearity of a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) response depends on the number of APD cells and its effective recovery time and it is related to the intensity and duration of the detected light pulses. The aim of this study was to determine the effective recovery time on the basis of the measured SiPM response to light pulses of different durations. A closer analysis of the SiPM response to the light pulses shorter than the effective recovery time of APD cells led to a method for the evaluation of the single photoelectron response of the devices where the single photoelectron peak cannot be clearly measured. This is necessary in the evaluation of the number of fired APD cells (or the number of photoelectrons) in measurements with light pulses of various durations. Measurements were done with SiPMs manufactured by two companies: Hamamatsu and SensL.

Detector characterization and first coincidence tests of a Compton telescope based on LaBr3 crystals and SiPMs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Llosá, G.; Barrio, J.; Cabello, J.; Crespo, A.; Lacasta, C.; Rafecas, M.; Callier, S.; La Taille, C. de; Raux, L.

2012-01-01

A Compton telescope for dose monitoring in hadron therapy consisting of several layers of continuous LaBr 3 crystals coupled to silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) arrays is under development within the ENVISION project. In order to test the possibility of employing such detectors for the telescope, a detector head consisting of a continuous 16 mm×18 mm×5 mm LaBr 3 crystal coupled to a SiPM array has been assembled and characterized, employing the SPIROC1 ASIC as readout electronics. The best energy resolution obtained at 511 keV is 6.5% FWHM and the timing resolution is 3.1 ns FWHM. A position determination method for continuous crystals is being tested, with promising results. In addition, the detector has been operated in time coincidence with a second detector layer, to determine the coincidence capabilities of the system. The first tests are satisfactory, and encourage the development of larger detectors that will compose the telescope prototype.

Studies of an array of PbF2 Cherenkov crystals with large-area SiPM readout

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fienberg, A. T.; Alonzi, L. P.; Anastasi, A.; Bjorkquist, R.; Cauz, D.; Fatemi, R.; Ferrari, C.; Fioretti, A.; Frankenthal, A.; Gabbanini, C.; Gibbons, L. K.; Giovanetti, K.; Goadhouse, S. D.; Gohn, W. P.; Gorringe, T. P.; Hertzog, D. W.; Iacovacci, M.; Kammel, P.; Kaspar, J.; Kiburg, B.; Li, L.; Mastroianni, S.; Pauletta, G.; Peterson, D. A.; Počanić, D.; Smith, M. W.; Sweigart, D. A.; Tishchenko, V.; Venanzoni, G.; Van Wechel, T. D.; Wall, K. B.; Winter, P.; Yai, K.

2015-05-01

The electromagnetic calorimeter for the new muon (g-2) experiment at Fermilab will consist of arrays of PbF2 Cherenkov crystals read out by large-area silicon photo-multiplier (SiPM) sensors. We report here on measurements and simulations using 2.0 -- 4.5 GeV electrons with a 28-element prototype array. All data were obtained using fast waveform digitizers to accurately capture signal pulse shapes versus energy, impact position, angle, and crystal wrapping. The SiPMs were gain matched using a laser-based calibration system, which also provided a stabilization procedure that allowed gain correction to a level of 1e-4 per hour. After accounting for longitudinal fluctuation losses, those crystals wrapped in a white, diffusive wrapping exhibited an energy resolution sigma/E of (3.4 +- 0.1) % per sqrt(E/GeV), while those wrapped in a black, absorptive wrapping had (4.6 +- 0.3) % per sqrt(E/GeV). The white-wrapped crystals---having nearly twice the total light collection---display a generally wider and impact-position-dependent pulse shape owing to the dynamics of the light propagation, in comparison to the black-wrapped crystals, which have a narrower pulse shape that is insensitive to impact position.

Characterization of Ca co-doped LSO:Ce scintillators coupled to SiPM for PET applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bisogni, M.G.; Collazuol, G.M.; Marcatili, S.; Melcher, C.L.; Del Guerra, A.

2011-01-01

Scintillators suitable for PET applications must be characterized by a high efficiency for gamma-ray detection, determined by a high density and atomic number of the crystal; a fast light signal that allows to achieve a good time resolution and to cope with high counting rates; a high light yield for a good energy and time resolution; a good linearity of the light output as a function of the energy to preserve the intrinsic energy resolution of the scintillator. Recently developed LSO:Ce scintillators, co-doped with Ca, have been produced by the University of Tennessee group. They are characterized by the improved performance of most the above-mentioned characteristics. The crystals, initially tested with PMTs, showed a higher light output, faster light pulse, improved energy resolution and reduced afterglow, as compared to the standard LSO:Ce crystals. Even though the PMTs still represent the gold standard photodetectors, the recently available SiPMs are now valid candidate to replace PMTs in the next generation of PET scanners thanks to their compactness, high spatial resolution performances, low bias operating voltage and, most important for combined PET/MRI systems, insensitivity to static and RF fields. In this work we present the performance of Ca co-doped LSO:Ce samples coupled to SiPMs and PMTs. In particular we have assessed their performances by evaluating the energy and time resolution.

Neutron-gamma discrimination via PSD plastic scintillator and SiPMs

Science.gov (United States)

Taggart, M. P.; Payne, C.; Sellin, P. J.

2016-10-01

The reduction in availability and inevitable increase in cost of traditional neutron detectors based on the 3He neutron capture reaction has resulted in a concerted effort to seek out new techniques and detection media to meet the needs of national nuclear security. Traditionally, the alternative has been provided through pulse shape discrimination (PSD) using liquid scintillators. However, these are not without their own inherent issues, primarily concerning user safety and ongoing maintenance. A potential system devised to separate neutron and gamma ray pulses utilising the PSD technique takes advantage of recent improvements in silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) technology and the development of plastic scintillators exhibiting the PSD phenomena. In this paper we present the current iteration of this ongoing work having achieved a Figure of Merit (FoM) of 1.39 at 1.5 MeVee.

Performance of a 64-channel, 3.2×3.2 cm2 SiPM tile for TOF-PET application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferri, Alessandro; Acerbi, Fabio; Gola, Alberto; Piemonte, Claudio; Paternoster, Giovanni; Zorzi, Nicola

2016-01-01

In this work, we present a new 3.2×3.2 cm 2 detector tile, composed of 8×8 single SiPMs, having a regular 4 mm pitch in both the X and Y directions. The tile fill factor is 85%. We produced two versions of the tile with different SiPM technologies: RGB-HD and NUV. The first one features square micro-cells with 25 µm pitch, a PDE peaked at 550 nm and a DCR of 300 kHz/mm 2 , at 20 °C and at maximum detection efficiency. The second one features micro-cells with 40 µm pitch and a PDE peaked in the blue part of the spectrum. The dark count rate at 20 °C and at maximum PDE is 100 kHz/mm 2 . In this work, we show the energy and timing resolution measurements at 511 keV obtained coupling the two tiles to an 8×8 LYSO array with a pixel size of 4×4×22 mm 3 , perfectly matching the photo-detector array.

Comparative Measurements of the Photon Detection Efficiency of KETEK SiPM Detectors for the LHCb SciFi Upgrade Project

CERN Document Server

Joram, Christian

2014-01-01

The LHCb SciFi detector is conceived to employ arrays of SiPM detectors to detect scintillation light from ribbons of 2.5 m long scintillating fibres of 250 $\\mu$m diameter. The fibres of type Kuraray SCSF-78 are blue emitting with an emission maximum at 440 nm. However, as a consequence of the radiation damage mainly from charged hadrons in the LHCb experiments, the effective emission spectrum at the end of the fibre will shift to longer wavelengths. A simulation of the light absorption in the fibre, assuming an ionizing dose distribution along the fibre as predicted by the FLUKA code, is able to predict the emission spectrum. Fig. 1 shows the emission spectra (in arbitrary units) for 10 cm intervals along the fibre. At 250 cm, where the ionization dose is expected to reach over the full lifetime of the upgrade LHCb detector about 30 kGy, the average wavelength of emission is approximately 500 nm. The sensitivity spectrum of the SiPM detector should be tuned to match this emission spectrum, i.e. the PDE shou...

Factors influencing the design of aiming devices for intraoral radiography and their practical application

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aken, J. van; Verhoeven, J.W.

Intraoral roentgenograms can be made according to the long-tube paralleling technique utilizing aiming devices. These instruments consist of a bite block, an indicator rod, and a collimator plate. For the position of the film in relation to the bite block surface, the following data are decisive and

Radiation Hardness tests with neutron flux on different Silicon photomultiplier devices

Science.gov (United States)

Cattaneo, P. W.; Cervi, T.; Menegolli, A.; Oddone, M.; Prata, M.; Prata, M. C.; Rossella, M.

2017-07-01

Radiation hardness is an important requirement for solid state readout devices operating in high radiation environments common in particle physics experiments. The MEG II experiment, at PSI, Switzerland, investigates the forbidden decay μ+ → e+ γ. Exploiting the most intense muon beam of the world. A significant flux of non-thermal neutrons (kinetic energy Ek>= 0.5 MeV) is present in the experimental hall produced along the beam-line and in the hall itself. We present the effects of neutron fluxes comparable to the MEG II expected doses on several Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPMs). The tested models are: AdvanSiD ASD-NUV3S-P50 (used in MEG II experiment), AdvanSiD ASD-NUV3S-P40, AdvanSiD ASD-RGB3S-P40, Hamamatsu and Excelitas C30742-33-050-X. The neutron source is the thermal Sub-critical Multiplication complex (SM1) moderated with water, located at the University of Pavia (Italy). We report the change of SiPMs most important electric parameters: dark current, dark pulse frequency, gain, direct bias resistance, as a function of the integrated neutron fluency.

Iterative reconstruction of SiPM light response functions in a square-shaped compact gamma camera

Science.gov (United States)

Morozov, A.; Alves, F.; Marcos, J.; Martins, R.; Pereira, L.; Solovov, V.; Chepel, V.

2017-05-01

Compact gamma cameras with a square-shaped monolithic scintillator crystal and an array of silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) are actively being developed for applications in areas such as small animal imaging, cancer diagnostics and radiotracer guided surgery. Statistical methods of position reconstruction, which are potentially superior to the traditional centroid method, require accurate knowledge of the spatial response of each photomultiplier. Using both Monte Carlo simulations and experimental data obtained with a camera prototype, we show that the spatial response of all photomultipliers (light response functions) can be parameterized with axially symmetric functions obtained iteratively from flood field irradiation data. The study was performed with a camera prototype equipped with a 30  ×  30  ×  2 mm3 LYSO crystal and an 8  ×  8 array of SiPMs for 140 keV gamma rays. The simulations demonstrate that the images, reconstructed with the maximum likelihood method using the response obtained with the iterative approach, exhibit only minor distortions: the average difference between the reconstructed and the true positions in X and Y directions does not exceed 0.2 mm in the central area of 22  ×  22 mm2 and 0.4 mm at the periphery of the camera. A similar level of image distortions is shown experimentally with the camera prototype.

Performance of a high-resolution depth-encoding PET detector module using linearly-graded SiPM arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Junwei; Bai, Xiaowei; Gola, Alberto; Acerbi, Fabio; Ferri, Alessandro; Piemonte, Claudio; Yang, Yongfeng; Cherry, Simon R.

2018-02-01

The goal of this study was to exploit the excellent spatial resolution characteristics of a position-sensitive silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) and develop a high-resolution depth-of-interaction (DOI) encoding positron emission tomography (PET) detector module. The detector consists of a 30  ×  30 array of 0.445  ×  0.445  ×  20 mm3 polished LYSO crystals coupled to two 15.5  ×  15.5 mm2 linearly-graded SiPM (LG-SiPM) arrays at both ends. The flood histograms show that all the crystals in the LYSO array can be resolved. The energy resolution, the coincidence timing resolution and the DOI resolution were 21.8  ±  5.8%, 1.23  ±  0.10 ns and 3.8  ±  1.2 mm, respectively, at a temperature of -10 °C and a bias voltage of 35.0 V. The performance did not degrade significantly for event rates of up to 130 000 counts s-1. This detector represents an attractive option for small-bore PET scanner designs that simultaneously emphasize high spatial resolution and high detection efficiency, important, for example, in preclinical imaging of the rodent brain with neuroreceptor ligands.

High resolution detectors based on continuous crystals and SiPMs for small animal PET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cabello, J.; Barrillon, P.; Barrio, J.; Bisogni, M.G.; Del Guerra, A.; Lacasta, C.; Rafecas, M.; Saikouk, H.; Solaz, C.; Solevi, P.; La Taille, C. de; Llosá, G.

2013-01-01

Sensitivity and spatial resolution are the two main factors to maximize in emission imaging. The improvement of one factor deteriorates the other with pixelated crystals. In this work we combine SiPM matrices with monolithic crystals, using an accurate γ-ray interaction position determination algorithm that provides depth of interaction. Continuous crystals provide higher sensitivity than pixelated crystals, while an accurate interaction position determination does not degrade the spatial resolution. Monte Carlo simulations and experimental data show good agreement both demonstrating sub-millimetre intrinsic spatial resolution. A system consisting in two rotating detectors in coincidence is currently under operation already producing tomographic images

Performance of a 64-channel, 3.2×3.2 cm{sup 2} SiPM tile for TOF-PET application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ferri, Alessandro, E-mail: aleferri@fbk.eu; Acerbi, Fabio; Gola, Alberto; Piemonte, Claudio; Paternoster, Giovanni; Zorzi, Nicola

2016-07-11

In this work, we present a new 3.2×3.2 cm{sup 2} detector tile, composed of 8×8 single SiPMs, having a regular 4 mm pitch in both the X and Y directions. The tile fill factor is 85%. We produced two versions of the tile with different SiPM technologies: RGB-HD and NUV. The first one features square micro-cells with 25 µm pitch, a PDE peaked at 550 nm and a DCR of 300 kHz/mm{sup 2}, at 20 °C and at maximum detection efficiency. The second one features micro-cells with 40 µm pitch and a PDE peaked in the blue part of the spectrum. The dark count rate at 20 °C and at maximum PDE is 100 kHz/mm{sup 2}. In this work, we show the energy and timing resolution measurements at 511 keV obtained coupling the two tiles to an 8×8 LYSO array with a pixel size of 4×4×22 mm{sup 3}, perfectly matching the photo-detector array.

SiPM application for a detector for UHE neutrinos tested at Sphinx station

Science.gov (United States)

Iori, M.; Atakisi, I. O.; Chiodi, G.; Denizli, H.; Ferrarotto, F.; Kaya, M.; Yilmaz, A.; Recchia, L.; Russ, J.

2014-04-01

We present the preliminary test results of the prototype detector, working at Sphinx Observatory Center, Jungfraujoch (~3800 m a.s.l.) HFSJG - Switzerland. This prototype detector is designed to measure large zenith angle showers produced by high energy neutrino interactions in the Earth crust. This station provides us an opportunity to understand if the prototype detector works safely (or not) under hard environmental conditions (the air temperature changes between -25 °C and -5 °C). The detector prototype is using silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) produced by SensL and DRS4 chip as read-out part. Measurements at different temperature at fixed bias voltage (~29.5 V) were performed to reconstruct tracks by Time Of Flight.

Test beam studies of the light yield, time and coordinate resolutions of scintillator strips with WLS fibers and SiPM readout

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Denisov, Dmitri [Fermilab, Batavia IL (United States); Evdokimov, Valery [Institute for High Energy Physics, Protvino (Russian Federation); Lukić, Strahinja; Ujić, Predrag [Vinča Institute, University of Belgrade (Serbia)

2017-03-11

Prototype scintilator+WLS strips with SiPM readout for large muon detection systems were tested in the muon beam of the Fermilab Test Beam Facility. Light yield of up to 137 photoelectrons per muon per strip has been observed , as well as time resolution of 330 ps and position resolution along the strip of 5.4 cm.

SiPM application for a detector for UHE neutrinos tested at Sphinx station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iori, M.; Atakisi, I.O.; Chiodi, G.; Denizli, H.; Ferrarotto, F.; Kaya, M.; Yilmaz, A.; Recchia, L.; Russ, J.

2014-01-01

We present the preliminary test results of the prototype detector, working at Sphinx Observatory Center, Jungfraujoch (∼3800 m a.s.l.) HFSJG – Switzerland. This prototype detector is designed to measure large zenith angle showers produced by high energy neutrino interactions in the Earth crust. This station provides us an opportunity to understand if the prototype detector works safely (or not) under hard environmental conditions (the air temperature changes between −25 °C and −5 °C). The detector prototype is using silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) produced by SensL and DRS4 chip as read-out part. Measurements at different temperature at fixed bias voltage (∼29.5 V) were performed to reconstruct tracks by Time Of Flight

SiPM application for a detector for UHE neutrinos tested at Sphinx station

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Iori, M. [Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome (Italy); Atakisi, I.O. [University of Kafkas, 36100 Kars (Turkey); Chiodi, G. [INFN, Sezione Roma 1, Piazzale A. Moro 2, 00185 Rome (Italy); Denizli, H. [Abant Izzet Baysal University, 14280 Bolu (Turkey); Ferrarotto, F. [INFN, Sezione Roma 1, Piazzale A. Moro 2, 00185 Rome (Italy); Kaya, M. [University of Kafkas, 36100 Kars (Turkey); Yilmaz, A. [Abant Izzet Baysal University, 14280 Bolu (Turkey); Recchia, L. [INFN, Sezione Roma 1, Piazzale A. Moro 2, 00185 Rome (Italy); Russ, J. [Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (United States)

2014-04-01

We present the preliminary test results of the prototype detector, working at Sphinx Observatory Center, Jungfraujoch (∼3800 m a.s.l.) HFSJG – Switzerland. This prototype detector is designed to measure large zenith angle showers produced by high energy neutrino interactions in the Earth crust. This station provides us an opportunity to understand if the prototype detector works safely (or not) under hard environmental conditions (the air temperature changes between −25 °C and −5 °C). The detector prototype is using silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) produced by SensL and DRS4 chip as read-out part. Measurements at different temperature at fixed bias voltage (∼29.5 V) were performed to reconstruct tracks by Time Of Flight.

New developments at INFN-LNS on TOF–DOI PET based on SiPM detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cosentino, L.; Cusanno, F.; De Leo, R.; Di Venti, G.; Finocchiaro, P.; Garibaldi, F.; Loddo, F.; Meddi, F.; Musico, P.; Pappalardo, A.; Perrino, R.; Ranieri, A.

2013-01-01

The development of an endorectal PET Time Of Flight (TOF) probe prototype compatible with MRI, is going to be carried out within the INFN project TOPEM. Time resolution and depth of interaction (DOI) will allow to significantly improve the image quality, by rejecting those events coming from the surrounding tissues and correcting the parallax error. The activity described in this paper is focused on the characterization of the single pixel detector of the probe, consisting of a LYSO finger scintillator read out at both ends by means of a pair of Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM). Energy, timing and DOI resolutions have been measured with a proper surface treatment and wrapping, finding very competitive results for DOI and timing

Quality Assurance on a Custom SiPMs Array for the Mu2e Experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Atanov, N.; et al.

2017-11-20

The Mu2e experiment at Fermilab will search for the coherent $\\mu \\to e$ conversion on aluminum atoms. The detector system consists of a straw tube tracker and a crystal calorimeter. A pre-production of 150 Silicon Photomultiplier arrays for the Mu2e calorimeter has been procured. A detailed quality assur- ance has been carried out on each SiPM for the determination of its own operation voltage, gain, dark current and PDE. The measurement of the mean-time-to-failure for a small random sample of the pro-production group has been also completed as well as the determination of the dark current increase as a function of the ioninizing and non-ioninizing dose.

Detector block based on arrays of 144 SiPMs and monolithic scintillators: A performance study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

González, A.J.; Conde, P.; Iborra, A.; Aguilar, A.; Bellido, P.; García-Olcina, R.; Hernández, L.; Moliner, L.; Rigla, J.P.; Rodríguez-Álvarez, M.J.; Sánchez, F.; Seimetz, M.; Soriano, A.; Torres, J.; Vidal, L.F.; Benlloch, J.M.

2015-01-01

We have developed a detector block composed by a monolithic LYSO scintillator coupled to a custom made 12×12 SiPMs array. The design is mainly focused to applications such as Positron Emission Tomography. The readout electronics is based on 3 identical and scalable Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC). We have determined the main performance of the detector block namely spatial, energy, and time resolution but also the system capability to determine the photon depth of interaction, for different crystal surface treatments. Intrinsic detector spatial resolution values as good as 1.7 mm FWHM and energies of 15% for black painted crystals were measured

Simulation and investigation of SiPM’s leakage currents at low voltages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parygin, P P; Popova, E V; Grachev, V M

2017-01-01

Technology Computer-Aided Design (TCAD) allows us to use computers in order to develop semiconductor processing technologies and devices and optimize them. Within a framework of a study of silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) a simulation of these devices has been made. The simulation was performed for the irradiated SiPMs and current-voltage characteristics were obtained for the modeled devices. Investigation of current-voltage curve below breakdown with regard to the simulated structure was performed. Obtained curves are presented. (paper)

Ultra-fast photon counting with a passive quenching silicon photomultiplier in the charge integration regime

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Guoqing; Lina, Liu

2018-02-01

An ultra-fast photon counting method is proposed based on the charge integration of output electrical pulses of passive quenching silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). The results of the numerical analysis with actual parameters of SiPMs show that the maximum photon counting rate of a state-of-art passive quenching SiPM can reach ~THz levels which is much larger than that of the existing photon counting devices. The experimental procedure is proposed based on this method. This photon counting regime of SiPMs is promising in many fields such as large dynamic light power detection.

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.

Optimization of a large-area detector-block based on SiPM and pixelated LYSO crystal arrays.

Science.gov (United States)

Calva-Coraza, E; Alva-Sánchez, H; Murrieta-Rodríguez, T; Martínez-Dávalos, A; Rodríguez-Villafuerte, M

2017-10-01

We present the performance evaluation of a large-area detector module based on the ArrayC-60035-64P, an 8×8 array of tileable, 7.2mm pitch, silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) by SensL, covering a total area of 57.4mm×57.4mm. We characterized the ArrayC-60035-64P, operating at room temperature, using LYSO pixelated crystal arrays of different pitch sizes (1.075, 1.430, 1.683, 2.080 and 2.280mm) to determine the resolvable crystal size. After an optimization process, a 7mm thick coupling light guide was used for all crystal pitches. To identify the interaction position a 16-channel (8 columns, 8 rows) symmetric charge division (SCD) readout board together with a center-of-gravity algorithm was used. Based on this, we assembled the detector modules using a 40×40 LYSO, 1.43mm pitch array, covering the total detector area. Calibration was performed using a 137 Cs source resulting in excellent crystal maps with minor geometric distortion, a mean 4.1 peak-to-valley ratio and 9.6% mean energy resolution for 662keV photons in the central region. The resolvability index was calculated in the x and y directions with values under 0.42 in all cases. We show that these large area SiPM arrays, combined with a 16-channel SCD readout board, can offer high spatial resolution, without processing a big number of signals, attaining excellent energy resolution and detector uniformity. Copyright © 2017 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time resolution below 100 ps for the SciTil detector of PANDA employing SiPM

Science.gov (United States)

Brunner, S. E.; Gruber, L.; Marton, J.; Orth, H.; Suzuki, K.

2014-03-01

The barrel time-of-flight (TOF) detector for the bar PANDA experiment at FAIR in Darmstadt is planned as a scintillator tile hodoscope (SciTil) using 8000 small scintillator tiles. It will provide fast event timing for a software trigger in the otherwise trigger-less data acquisition scheme of bar PANDA, relative timing in a multiple track event topology as well as additional particle identification in the low momentum region. The goal is to achieve a time resolution of σ simeq 100 ps. We have conducted measurements using organic scintillators coupled to Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM). The results are encouraging such that we are confident to reach the required system time resolution.

Simulation of a detector prototype with direct SiPM read-out and comparison with measurements

CERN Document Server

Kunsken, Andreas

2010-01-01

The features of a novel muon detection system are studied in this thesis with the help of GEANT4 simulations. The detector consists of a 10 cm×10 cm scintillator on whose top 3 mm×3 mm silicon photomultipliers are mounted. The scintillator may optionally be wrapped in a reflector. In the simulations various properties of the scintillator and the wrapping are varied like the scintillator thickness or the kind of wrapping and its reflectivity. Subsequently, the number of photons arriving at the SiPM is analyzed to determine the influence of the varied properties. Finally, the results of the simulations are compared to results that come from measurements with the detector setup.

A low cost network of spectrometer radiation detectors based on the ArduSiPM a compact transportable Software/Hardware Data Acquisition system with Arduino DUE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bocci, Valerio; Chiodi, Giacomo; Iacoangeli, Francesco; Nuccetelli, Massimo; Recchia, Luigi

2015-01-01

The necessity to use Photo Multipliers (PM) as light detector limited in the past the use of crystals in radiation handled device preferring the Geiger approach. The Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are very small and cheap, solid photon detectors with good dynamic range and single photon detection capability, they are usable to supersede cumbersome and difficult to use Photo Multipliers (PM). A SiPM can be coupled with a scintillator crystal to build efficient, small and solid radiation detector. A cost effective and easily replicable Hardware software module for SiPM detector readout is made using the ArduSiPM solution. The ArduSiPM is an easily battery operable handled device using an Arduino DUE (an open Software/Hardware board) as processor board and a piggy-back custom designed board (ArduSiPM Shield), the Shield contains all the blocks features to monitor, set and acquire the SiPM using internet network. (authors)

A low cost network of spectrometer radiation detectors based on the ArduSiPM a compact transportable Software/Hardware Data Acquisition system with Arduino DUE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bocci, Valerio; Chiodi, Giacomo; Iacoangeli, Francesco; Nuccetelli, Massimo; Recchia, Luigi [INFN Sezione di Roma, P.le Aldo moro 2, Rome, I-00185 (Italy)

2015-07-01

The necessity to use Photo Multipliers (PM) as light detector limited in the past the use of crystals in radiation handled device preferring the Geiger approach. The Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are very small and cheap, solid photon detectors with good dynamic range and single photon detection capability, they are usable to supersede cumbersome and difficult to use Photo Multipliers (PM). A SiPM can be coupled with a scintillator crystal to build efficient, small and solid radiation detector. A cost effective and easily replicable Hardware software module for SiPM detector readout is made using the ArduSiPM solution. The ArduSiPM is an easily battery operable handled device using an Arduino DUE (an open Software/Hardware board) as processor board and a piggy-back custom designed board (ArduSiPM Shield), the Shield contains all the blocks features to monitor, set and acquire the SiPM using internet network. (authors)

The front-end electronics and slow control of large area SiPM for the SST-1M camera developed for the CTA experiment

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Aguilar, J.A.; Bilnik, W.; Borkowski, J.; Mandát, Dušan; Pech, Miroslav; Schovánek, Petr

Roč. 830, Sep (2016), s. 219-232 ISSN 0168-9002 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LM2015046; GA MŠk LE13012; GA MŠk LG14019 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : CTA * SiPM * G-APD * preamplifier * front-end * slow-control * compensation Subject RIV: BF - Elementary Particles and High Energy Physics Impact factor: 1.362, year: 2016

Characterization of three high efficiency and blue sensitive silicon photomultipliers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Otte, Adam Nepomuk, E-mail: otte@gatech.edu; Garcia, Distefano; Nguyen, Thanh; Purushotham, Dhruv

2017-02-21

We report about the optical and electrical characterization of three high efficiency and blue sensitive Silicon photomultipliers from FBK, Hamamatsu, and SensL. Key features of the tested devices when operated at 90% breakdown probability are peak photon detection efficiencies between 40% and 55%, temperature dependencies of gain and PDE that are less than 1%/°C, dark rates of ∼50 kHz/mm{sup 2} at room temperature, afterpulsing of about 2%, and direct optical crosstalk between 6% and 20%. The characteristics of all three devices impressively demonstrate how the Silicon-photomultiplier technology has improved over the past ten years. It is further demonstrated how the voltage and temperature characteristics of a number of quantities can be parameterized on the basis of physical models. The models provide a deeper understanding of the device characteristics over a wide bias and temperature range. They also serve as examples how producers could provide the characteristics of their SiPMs to users. A standardized parameterization of SiPMs would enable users to find the optimal SiPM for their application and the operating point of SiPMs without having to perform measurements thus significantly reducing design and development cycles.

Evaluation of two thermal neutron detection units consisting of ZnS/{sup 6}LiF scintillating layers with embedded WLS fibers read out with a SiPM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mosset, J.-B., E-mail: jean-baptiste.mosset@a3.epfl.ch [Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Stoykov, A.; Greuter, U.; Hildebrandt, M.; Schlumpf, N. [Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Van Swygenhoven, H. [Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne (Switzerland)

2014-11-11

Two single channel detection units for thermal neutron detection are investigated in a neutron beam. They consist of two ZnS/{sup 6}LiF scintillating layers sandwiching an array of WLS fibers. The pattern of these units can be repeated laterally and vertically in order to build up a one-dimensional position sensitive multi-channel detector with the needed sensitive surface and with the required neutron absorption probability. The originality of this work arises from the fact that the WLS fibers are read out with SiPMs instead of the traditionally used PMTs or MaPMTs. The signal processing system is based on a photon counting approach. For SiPMs with a dark count rate as high as 0.7 MHz, a trigger efficiency of 80% is achieved together with a system background rate lower than 10{sup −3}Hz and a dead time of 30μs. No change of performance is observed for neutron count rates of up to 3.6 kHz.

Silicon photomultipliers for scintillating trackers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rabaioli, S., E-mail: simone.rabaioli@gmail.com [Universita degli Studi dell' Insubria, Via Valleggio, 11 - 22100 Como (Italy); Berra, A.; Bolognini, D. [Universita degli Studi dell' Insubria, Via Valleggio, 11 - 22100 Como (Italy); INFN sezione di Milano Bicocca (Italy); Bonvicini, V. [INFN sezione di Trieste (Italy); Bosisio, L. [Universita degli Studi di Trieste and INFN sezione di Trieste (Italy); Ciano, S.; Iugovaz, D. [INFN sezione di Trieste (Italy); Lietti, D. [Universita degli Studi dell' Insubria, Via Valleggio, 11 - 22100 Como (Italy); INFN sezione di Milano Bicocca (Italy); Penzo, A. [INFN sezione di Trieste (Italy); Prest, M. [Universita degli Studi dell' Insubria, Via Valleggio, 11 - 22100 Como (Italy); INFN sezione di Milano Bicocca (Italy); Rashevskaya, I.; Reia, S. [INFN sezione di Trieste (Italy); Stoppani, L. [Universita degli Studi dell' Insubria, Via Valleggio, 11 - 22100 Como (Italy); Vallazza, E. [INFN sezione di Trieste (Italy)

2012-12-11

In recent years, silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) have been proposed as a new kind of readout device for scintillating detectors in many experiments. A SiPM consists of a matrix of parallel-connected pixels, which are independent photon counters working in Geiger mode with very high gain ({approx}10{sup 6}). This contribution presents the use of an array of eight SiPMs (manufactured by FBK-irst) for the readout of a scintillating bar tracker (a small size prototype of the Electron Muon Ranger detector for the MICE experiment). The performances of the SiPMs in terms of signal to noise ratio, efficiency and time resolution will be compared to the ones of a multi-anode photomultiplier tube (MAPMT) connected to the same bars. Both the SiPMs and the MAPMT are interfaced to a VME system through a 64 channel MAROC ASIC.

Silicon photomultipliers for scintillating trackers

Science.gov (United States)

Rabaioli, S.; Berra, A.; Bolognini, D.; Bonvicini, V.; Bosisio, L.; Ciano, S.; Iugovaz, D.; Lietti, D.; Penzo, A.; Prest, M.; Rashevskaya, I.; Reia, S.; Stoppani, L.; Vallazza, E.

2012-12-01

In recent years, silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) have been proposed as a new kind of readout device for scintillating detectors in many experiments. A SiPM consists of a matrix of parallel-connected pixels, which are independent photon counters working in Geiger mode with very high gain (∼106). This contribution presents the use of an array of eight SiPMs (manufactured by FBK-irst) for the readout of a scintillating bar tracker (a small size prototype of the Electron Muon Ranger detector for the MICE experiment). The performances of the SiPMs in terms of signal to noise ratio, efficiency and time resolution will be compared to the ones of a multi-anode photomultiplier tube (MAPMT) connected to the same bars. Both the SiPMs and the MAPMT are interfaced to a VME system through a 64 channel MAROC ASIC.

Performance of ultra-small silicon photomultiplier array with active area of 0.12 mm×0.12 mm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yue, Wang; Zongde, Chen; Chenhui, Li; Ran, He; Shenyuan, Wang; Baicheng, Li; Ruiheng, Wang; Kun, Liang, E-mail: lk@bnu.edu.cn; Ru, Yang; Dejun, Han

2015-07-01

We report the performance of an ultra-small silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) line array with 7 elements of 0.12×0.12 mm{sup 2} in active area, 0.2 mm in pitch and 120 micro cells in one element. The device features an epitaxial bulk quenching resistor concept, demonstrated high geometrical fill factor of 41% and photon detection efficiency (PDE) of 25.4% in the wavelength region between 430 nm and 480 nm while retaining high micro cell density around 10 000 mm{sup −2} and ~3 ns FWHM of dark pulses width; it also demonstrated dark count rate of less than 28.7 kHz, optical crosstalk of the order of 2% to 4%, and excellent photon number discrimination. A 0.15 mm×1.6 mm×1.6 mm lutetium yttrium oxyorthosilicate (LYSO) crystal, corresponding to the width, length and height respectively, was successfully coupled to the 1×7 SiPM array for possible ultra-highly resolved positron emission tomography (PET) applications. This novel type of device has advantages particularly for small active area since the performances, such as PDE and response speed is one of the best among SiPMs with similarly high density of micro cells. It may pave a way for this type of SiPM as a promising pixel position sensitive device in imaging sensor applications. - Highlights: • The ultra-small SiPM line array with active area of 0.12 mm×0.12 mm was presented. • The ultra-small SiPM employs the bulk silicon structure as quenching resistor. • A considerable dynamic range and PDE over 25.4% @ 430 nm to 480 nm were characterized.

In-beam test of a DIRC Cherenkov radiator with SiPM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kroeck, B.; Hayrapetyan, A.; Foehl, K.; Merle, O.; Dueren, M.; Roy, B.J.; Peters, K.

2009-01-01

One of the crucial points for any high energy physics experiment is to obtain a good pion/kaon separation i.e. particle identification (PID). For particles in minimum ionising range, the conventional methods of PID using energy loss and time of flight become insufficient. In such a situation, the measurement of velocity of particles using Cherenkov radiation is an effective tool for PID in combination with momentum information from a tracking detector. The PANDA experiment at FAIR/ GSI plans to use a novel technique for PID with detection of internally reflected Cherenkov (DIRC) light. DIRC uses, in contrast to the conventional gas Cherenkov detectors, a solid radiator and total internal reflection to guide Cherenkov photons onto a detection plane where it will be detected by advanced photon counters. A SiPM is a very new generation photon counter that has several advantages over conventional PMTs. Several prototype Cherenkov detectors with different readout systems are being developed for R and D studies. One such prototype detector with Geiger-APD readout has been built at Giessen and was tested in-beam at GSI. The present report provides details of the very first test measurement

Pilot tests of a PET detector using the TOF-PET ASIC based on monolithic crystals and SiPMs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aguilar, A.; González-Montoro, A.; González, A.J.; Hernández, L.; Monzó, J.M.; Benlloch, J.M.; Bugalho, R.; Ferramacho, L.

2016-01-01

In this work we show pilot tests of PET detector blocks using the TOF-PET ASIC, coupled to SiPM detector arrays and different crystal configurations. We have characterized the main ASIC features running calibration processes to compensate the time dispersion among the different ASIC/SiPM paths as well as for the time walk on the arrival of optical photons. The aim of this work is to use of LYSO monolithic crystals and explore their photon Depth of Interaction (DOI) capabilities, keeping good energy and spatial resolutions. First tests have been carried out with crystal arrays. Here we made it possible to reach a coincidence resolving times (CRT) of 370 ps FWHM, with energy resolutions better than 20% and resolving well 2 mm sized crystal elements. When using monolithic crystals, a single-pixel LYSO reference crystal helped to explore the CRT performance. We studied different strategies to provide the best timestamp determination in the monolithic scintillator. Times around 1 ns FWHM have been achieved in these pilot studies. In terms of spatial and energy resolution, values of about 3 mm and better than 30% were found, respectively. We have also demonstrated the capability of this system (monolithic and ASIC) to return accurate DOI information.

Study of a silicon photodetector thermal stabilization using a Peltier cell

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foschi, E.; Levi, G.; Quadrani, L.; Sbarra, C.; Guandalini, C.; Zuffa, M.; Sbarra, C.

2007-01-01

In recent years a new type of silicon photon detection device (SiPM) has been developed by many groups. These devices have strong advantages in comparison to normal photomultipliers tubes (PMT) but, being made by an array of avalanche photo diodes operated in Geiger mode, are much more sensitive to temperature changes than standard PMTs. Typical SiPM gain, in fact, varies from 3 to 5 percent per Celsius degree. In space environment, where operative temperature can change from -40 deg.C to 50 deg.C, a definitive temperature stabilization is needed. In order to use SiPMs in space we have developed a thermoelectric model of a Peltier cell that allows us to simulate the final detector circuit assembly predicting the operative temperatures and the adsorbed powers. The characteristics of the model and the obtained results are shown. (authors)

Study of the silicon photomultipliers and their applications in positron emission tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Chen

2014-05-01

This thesis deals with silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) used in scintillation detectors and their applications in positron emission tomography (PET). The study of the SiPM is mainly focused on the application to the proposed EndoTOFPET-US detector, which is a multi-modality PET detector facilitating the development of new biomarkers for pancreas and prostate cancers. A Monte Carlo simulation tool is developed for the optimization of the detector's single channel design. In order to obtain a 200 ps system coincidence time resolution and maximize the detector sensitivity, the requirements for the crystal geometry, light yield and SiPM photon detection efficiency are specified based on the simulation study. In addition, the nonlinear response of the SiPM can be corrected by the simulation tool and the energy resolution of the detector is extracted. A series of measurements are established to characterize SiPMs in a fast and reliable way with high precision. The static characterization measures the value of different components in the derived electrical model of the SiPM, whereas the dynamic characterization extracts parameters that is crucial for the operation of the SiPM. Several SiPM samples are tested and their characteristics are compared. The developed setup and the precision of the measurement fulfill the requirements of the quality assurance test for the commissioning of the EndoTOFPET-US detector. The test foresees large quantities of SiPMs to be characterized. In addition, the developed measuring procedure has contributed to the study of X-ray induced surface damage of a SiPM from Hamamatsu. Characteristics of the device are measured before and after irradiating the SiPM with different X-ray doses, the results are compared and discussed. A comparative study of a digital and an analog SiPM in gamma spectroscopy with the inorganic scintillator is presented. The characteristics of a prototype digital SiPM that is developed for the EndoTOFPETUS detector is

Multi-channel programmable power supply with temperature compensation for silicon sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shukla, R. A.; Achanta, V. G.; Dugad, S. R.; Kurup, A. M.; Lokhandwala, S. S.; Prabhu, S. S.; Freeman, J.; Los, S.; Garde, C. S.; Khandekar, P. D.; Gupta, S. K.; Rakshe, P. S.

2016-01-01

Silicon Photo-Multipliers (SiPMs) are increasingly becoming popular for discrete photon counting applications due to the wealth of advantages they offer over conventional photo-detectors such as photo-multiplier tubes and hybrid photo-diodes. SiPMs are used in variety of applications ranging from high energy physics and nuclear physics experiments to medical diagnostics. The gain of a SiPM is directly proportional to the difference between applied and breakdown voltage of the device. However, the breakdown voltage depends critically on the ambient temperature and has a large temperature co-efficient in the range of 40-60 mV/°C resulting in a typical gain variation of 3%-5%/°C [Dinu et al., in IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium, Medical Imaging Conference and 17th Room Temperature Semiconductor Detector Workshop (IEEE, 2010), p. 215]. We plan to use the SiPM as a replacement for PMT in the cosmic ray experiment (GRAPES-3) at Ooty [Gupta et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A 540, 311 (2005)]. There the SiPMs will be operated in an outdoor environment subjected to temperature variation of about 15 °C over a day. A gain variation of more than 50% was observed for such large variations in the temperature. To stabilize the gain of the SiPM under such operating conditions, a low-cost, multi-channel programmable power supply (0-90 V) was designed that simultaneously provides the bias voltage to 16 SiPMs. The programmable power supply (PPS) was designed to automatically adjust the operating voltage for each channel with a built-in closed loop temperature feedback mechanism. The PPS provides bias voltage with a precision of 6 mV and measures the load current with a precision of 1 nA. Using this PPS, a gain stability of 0.5% for SiPM (Hamamatsu, S10931-050P) has been demonstrated over a wide temperature range of 15 °C. The design methodology of the PPS system, its validation, and the results of the tests carried out on the SiPM is presented in this

Multi-channel programmable power supply with temperature compensation for silicon sensors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shukla, R. A.; Achanta, V. G.; Dugad, S. R., E-mail: dugad@cern.ch; Kurup, A. M.; Lokhandwala, S. S.; Prabhu, S. S. [Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai 400005 (India); Freeman, J.; Los, S. [Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, Illinois 60510 (United States); Garde, C. S.; Khandekar, P. D. [Vishwakarma Institute of Information Technology, Pune 411048 (India); Gupta, S. K. [Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai 400005 (India); GRAPES-3 Experiment, Cosmic Ray Laboratory, Raj Bhavan, Ooty 643001 (India); Rakshe, P. S. [Vishwakarma Institute of Information Technology, Pune 411048 (India); GRAPES-3 Experiment, Cosmic Ray Laboratory, Raj Bhavan, Ooty 643001 (India)

2016-01-15

Silicon Photo-Multipliers (SiPMs) are increasingly becoming popular for discrete photon counting applications due to the wealth of advantages they offer over conventional photo-detectors such as photo-multiplier tubes and hybrid photo-diodes. SiPMs are used in variety of applications ranging from high energy physics and nuclear physics experiments to medical diagnostics. The gain of a SiPM is directly proportional to the difference between applied and breakdown voltage of the device. However, the breakdown voltage depends critically on the ambient temperature and has a large temperature co-efficient in the range of 40-60 mV/°C resulting in a typical gain variation of 3%-5%/°C [Dinu et al., in IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium, Medical Imaging Conference and 17th Room Temperature Semiconductor Detector Workshop (IEEE, 2010), p. 215]. We plan to use the SiPM as a replacement for PMT in the cosmic ray experiment (GRAPES-3) at Ooty [Gupta et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A 540, 311 (2005)]. There the SiPMs will be operated in an outdoor environment subjected to temperature variation of about 15 °C over a day. A gain variation of more than 50% was observed for such large variations in the temperature. To stabilize the gain of the SiPM under such operating conditions, a low-cost, multi-channel programmable power supply (0-90 V) was designed that simultaneously provides the bias voltage to 16 SiPMs. The programmable power supply (PPS) was designed to automatically adjust the operating voltage for each channel with a built-in closed loop temperature feedback mechanism. The PPS provides bias voltage with a precision of 6 mV and measures the load current with a precision of 1 nA. Using this PPS, a gain stability of 0.5% for SiPM (Hamamatsu, S10931-050P) has been demonstrated over a wide temperature range of 15 °C. The design methodology of the PPS system, its validation, and the results of the tests carried out on the SiPM is presented in this

A novel Silicon Photomultiplier with bulk integrated quench resistors: utilization in optical detection and tracking applications for particle physics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Petrovics, Stefan, E-mail: stp@hll.mpg.de [Halbleiterlabor der Max-Planck Gesellschaft, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, D-81739 Munich (Germany); Andricek, Ladislav [Halbleiterlabor der Max-Planck Gesellschaft, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, D-81739 Munich (Germany); Diehl, Inge; Hansen, Karsten [DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); Jendrysik, Christian [Infineon Technologies AG, Am Campeon 1-12, D-85579 Neubiberg (Germany); Krueger, Katja [DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); Lehmann, Raik; Ninkovic, Jelena [Halbleiterlabor der Max-Planck Gesellschaft, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, D-81739 Munich (Germany); Reckleben, Christian [DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); Richter, Rainer; Schaller, Gerhard; Schopper, Florian [Halbleiterlabor der Max-Planck Gesellschaft, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, D-81739 Munich (Germany); Sefkow, Felix [DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany)

2017-02-11

Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are a promising candidate for replacing conventional photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) in many applications, thanks to ongoing developments and advances in their technology. Conventional SiPMs are generally an array of avalanche photo diodes, operated in Geiger mode and read out in parallel, thus leading to the necessity of a high ohmic quenching resistor. This resistor enables passive quenching and is usually located on top of the array, limiting the fill factor of the device. In this paper, a novel detector concept with a bulk integrated quenching resistor will be recapped. In addition, due to other advantages of this novel detector design, a new concept, in which these devices will be utilized as tracking detectors for particle physics applications will be introduced, as well as first simulation studies and experimental measurements of this new approach. - Highlights: • A novel SiPM concept with bulk integrated quenching resistor is shown. • First prototypes of these SiPMs as tracking detectors are proposed. • Simulations of the Geiger efficiency suggest feasible operations at low overbias. • First measurements of the electron detection efficiency show promising results. • Measurements are in good agreement with the simulations.

High performance detector head for PET and PET/MR with continuous crystals and SiPMs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Llosá, G.; Barrillon, P.; Barrio, J.; Bisogni, M.G.; Cabello, J.; Del Guerra, A.; Etxebeste, A.; Gillam, J.E.; Lacasta, C.; Oliver, J.F.; Rafecas, M.; Solaz, C.; Stankova, V.; La Taille, C. de

2013-01-01

A high resolution PET detector head for small animal PET applications has been developed. The detector is composed of a 12mm×12mm continuous LYSO crystal coupled to a 64-channel monolithic SiPM matrix from FBK-irst. Crystal thicknesses of 5 mm and 10 mm have been tested, both yielding an intrinsic spatial resolution around 0.7 mm FWHM with a position determination algorithm that can also provide depth-of-interaction information. The detectors have been tested in a rotating system that makes it possible to acquire tomographic data and reconstruct images of 22 Na sources. An image reconstruction method specifically adapted for continuous crystals has been employed. The Full Width at Half Maximum measured from a point source reconstructed with ML–EM was 0.7 mm with the 5 mm crystal and 0.8 mm with the 10 mm crystal

Analysis of transit time spread on FBK silicon photomultipliers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Acerbi, F.; Gola, A.; Ferri, A.; Zorzi, N.; Paternoster, G.; Piemonte, C.

2015-01-01

In this paper we studied one of the aspects potentially limiting the single-photon time-resolution (SPTR) of the silicon photomultiplier (SiPM): the transit time spread (TTS). We illuminated the SiPM in different positions with a fast-pulsed laser collimated to a circular spot of 0.2 mm-diameter and acquired bi-dimensional maps of the avalanche-signal arrival time of RGB and RGB-HD SiPMs, produced at FBK. We studied the effect of both the number of bonding wires connecting the device to the package and the layout of the top-metal connection (on the device). We found that the TTS does not simply depend on the trace length between the cell and the bonding pad and it could vary in the range between tens of picoseconds (with 3 bonding connections) to more than one hundred of picoseconds (with one connection)

Study of a Digital SiPM for TOF-PET

CERN Document Server

Heller, M

2013-01-01

The digital Silicon Photomultipliers (dSiPM) from Philips have been used in a study aiming at the proof of principle of an axial positron emission tomography detector with time of flight capabilities. These novel detectors provide various features not present in analog devices. The readout chain is programmable and offers various options affecting the functioning of the device. For each application a characterization and an optimization of the settings must be done in order to get the best out of the sensor. The axial geometry already developed for the AX-PET demonstrator implies the readout of LYSO crystals (used for energy measurement and transaxial coordinate) and of wavelength shifting (WLS) strips (axial coordinate). The readout of these two types of scintillators requires dedicated operation modes of the dSiPM. This technical note describes the characterization of the sensors with the goal of an optimized performance for LYSO crystals and WLS strips.

Time resolving characteristics of HPK and FBK silicon photomultipliers for TOF and PET applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ambrosi, G.; Azzarello, P.; Battiston, R.; Di Lorenzo, G.; Ionica, M.; Pignatel, G.U.; Piemonte, C.; Dalla Betta, G.-F.; Del Guerra, A.

2010-01-01

In time-of-flight measurements, or positron emission tomography experiments where two gamma rays are detected in coincidence, the time resolution of the photodetector is of primary importance. SiPMs are very promising devices for these applications, since their intrinsic response time can be less than 1 ns. However the actual timing resolution of SiPM is affected by the area (capacitance) of the device, by the type of used to pre-amplify the signal, by the dark count rate which is revealed as pure noise, and other second order effects like cross-talk and after pulsing. In this work we report the characteristics of different samples of Hamamatsu Photonics (HPK) and Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK) SiPM, with pixel size ranging from 40 to 100 μm. In particular, we have investigated their time response when stimulated with O(50) ps pulsed laser at wavelengths in the range 400-800 nm.

Comparison of three resistor network division circuits for the readout of 4×4 pixel SiPM arrays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stratos, David; Maria, Georgiou; Eleftherios, Fysikopoulos; George, Loudos

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the behavior of a flexible SensL's silicon photomultiplier array (SPMArray4) photodetector for possible applications in PET imaging. We have designed and evaluated three different resistor network division circuits to read out the signal outputs of a 4×4 pixel SiPM array. We have applied firstly (i) a symmetric resistive voltage division circuit, secondly (ii) a symmetric resistive charge division circuit and thirdly (iii) a charge division multiplexing resistor network reducing the 16 pixel outputs to 4 position signals. In the first circuit the SensL SPMArray4-A0 preamplification electronics and a SPMArray4-A1 evaluation board providing the 16 pixels voltage outputs were used, before the symmetric resistive voltage network. We reduced the 16 voltage signals firstly to 4X and 4Y coordinate signals. Then those signals were further reduced to 2X and 2Y position signals connected via a resistor network. In the second readout circuit we have used the same technique but without the preamplification stage. The third circuit is based on a discretized positioning circuit, which multiplexes the 16 signals from the SiPM array to 4 position signals. The 4 position signals (Xa, Xb, Yc and Yd) were digitized using a free running sampling technique. An FPGA (Spartan 6 LX16) was used for triggering and signal processing of the pulses. We acquired raw images and energy histograms of a BGO and a CsI:Na pixilated scintillator under 22 Na excitation. A clear visualization of the discrete 2×2×5 mm 3 pixilated BGO scintillator elements as well as the 1×1×5 mm 3 pixilated CsI:Na crystal array was achieved with all applied readout circuits. The symmetric resistive charge division circuit provides higher peak to valley ratio than the other readout circuits. Τhe sensitivity and the energy resolution remained almost constant for the three circuits

Evaluation of a SiPM array detector coupled to a LFS-3 pixellated scintillator for PET/MR applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

David, Stratos; Fysikopoulos, Eleftherios; Georgiou, Maria; Loudos, George

2015-01-01

SiPM arrays are insensitive to magnetic fields and thus good candidates for hybrid PET/MR imaging systems. Moreover, due to their small size and flexibility can be used in dedicated small field of view small animal imaging detectors and especially in head PET/MR studies in mice. Co-doped LFS-3 scintillator crystals have higher light yield and slightly faster response than that of LSO:Ce mainly due to the co-doped activation of emission centers with varying materials such as Ce, Gd, Sc, Y, La, Tb, or Ca distributed at the molecular scale through the lutetium silicate crystal host. The purpose of this study is to investigate the behavior of the SensL ArraySL-4 (4x4 element array of 3x3 mm 2 silicon photomultipliers) optical detector coupled to a 6x6 LFS-3 scintillator array, with 2x2x5 mm 3 crystal size elements, for possible applications in small field of view PET/MR imaging detectors. We have designed a symmetric resistive charge division circuit to read out the signal outputs of 4x4 pixel SiPM array reducing the 16 pixel outputs of the photodetector to 4 position signals. The 4 position signals were digitized using free running Analog to Digital Converters. The ADCs sampling rate was 50 MHz. An FPGA (Spartan 6 LX150T) was used for triggering and digital signal processing of the pulses. Experimental evaluation was carried out with 22 Na radioactive source and the parameters studied where energy resolution and peak to valley ratio. The first preliminary results of the evaluation shows a clear visualization of the discrete 2x2x5 mm 3 LFS-3 scintillator elements. The mean peak to valley ratio of the horizontal profiles on the raw image was measured equal to 11 while the energy resolution was calculated equal to 30% at the central pixels.

Evaluation of a SiPM array detector coupled to a LFS-3 pixellated scintillator for PET/MR applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

David, Stratos; Fysikopoulos, Eleftherios [Technological Educational Institute of Athens (Greece); Georgiou, Maria [Technological Educational Institute of Athens (Greece); Department of Medical School, University of Thessaly, Larissa (Greece); Loudos, George [Technological Educational Institute of Athens (Greece)

2015-05-18

SiPM arrays are insensitive to magnetic fields and thus good candidates for hybrid PET/MR imaging systems. Moreover, due to their small size and flexibility can be used in dedicated small field of view small animal imaging detectors and especially in head PET/MR studies in mice. Co-doped LFS-3 scintillator crystals have higher light yield and slightly faster response than that of LSO:Ce mainly due to the co-doped activation of emission centers with varying materials such as Ce, Gd, Sc, Y, La, Tb, or Ca distributed at the molecular scale through the lutetium silicate crystal host. The purpose of this study is to investigate the behavior of the SensL ArraySL-4 (4x4 element array of 3x3 mm{sup 2} silicon photomultipliers) optical detector coupled to a 6x6 LFS-3 scintillator array, with 2x2x5 mm{sup 3} crystal size elements, for possible applications in small field of view PET/MR imaging detectors. We have designed a symmetric resistive charge division circuit to read out the signal outputs of 4x4 pixel SiPM array reducing the 16 pixel outputs of the photodetector to 4 position signals. The 4 position signals were digitized using free running Analog to Digital Converters. The ADCs sampling rate was 50 MHz. An FPGA (Spartan 6 LX150T) was used for triggering and digital signal processing of the pulses. Experimental evaluation was carried out with {sup 22}Na radioactive source and the parameters studied where energy resolution and peak to valley ratio. The first preliminary results of the evaluation shows a clear visualization of the discrete 2x2x5 mm{sup 3} LFS-3 scintillator elements. The mean peak to valley ratio of the horizontal profiles on the raw image was measured equal to 11 while the energy resolution was calculated equal to 30% at the central pixels.

First results in the application of silicon photomultiplier matrices to small animal PET

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Llosa, G. [University of Pisa, Department of Physics, Pisa (Italy)], E-mail: gabriela.llosa@pi.infn.it; Belcari, N.; Bisogni, M.G. [University of Pisa, Department of Physics, Pisa (Italy); INFN Pisa (Italy); Collazuol, G. [University of Pisa, Department of Physics, Pisa (Italy); Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa (Italy); Marcatili, S. [University of Pisa, Department of Physics, Pisa (Italy); INFN Pisa (Italy); Boscardin, M.; Melchiorri, M.; Tarolli, A.; Piemonte, C.; Zorzi, N. [FBK irst, Trento (Italy); Barrillon, P.; Bondil-Blin, S.; Chaumat, V.; La Taille, C. de; Dinu, N.; Puill, V.; Vagnucci, J-F. [Laboratoire de l' Accelerateur Lineaire, IN2P3-CNRS, Orsay (France); Del Guerra, A. [University of Pisa, Department of Physics, Pisa (Italy); INFN Pisa (Italy)

2009-10-21

A very high resolution small animal PET scanner that employs matrices of silicon photomultipliers as photodetectors is under development at the University of Pisa and INFN Pisa. The first SiPM matrices composed of 16 (4x4)1mmx1mm pixel elements on a common substrate have been produced at FBK-irst, and are being evaluated for this application. The MAROC2 ASIC developed at LAL-Orsay has been employed for the readout of the SiPM matrices. The devices have been tested with pixelated and continuous LYSO crystals. The results show the good performance of the matrices and lead to the fabrication of matrices with 64 SiPM elements.

First results in the application of silicon photomultiplier matrices to small animal PET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Llosa, G.; Belcari, N.; Bisogni, M.G.; Collazuol, G.; Marcatili, S.; Boscardin, M.; Melchiorri, M.; Tarolli, A.; Piemonte, C.; Zorzi, N.; Barrillon, P.; Bondil-Blin, S.; Chaumat, V.; La Taille, C. de; Dinu, N.; Puill, V.; Vagnucci, J-F.; Del Guerra, A.

2009-01-01

A very high resolution small animal PET scanner that employs matrices of silicon photomultipliers as photodetectors is under development at the University of Pisa and INFN Pisa. The first SiPM matrices composed of 16 (4x4)1mmx1mm pixel elements on a common substrate have been produced at FBK-irst, and are being evaluated for this application. The MAROC2 ASIC developed at LAL-Orsay has been employed for the readout of the SiPM matrices. The devices have been tested with pixelated and continuous LYSO crystals. The results show the good performance of the matrices and lead to the fabrication of matrices with 64 SiPM elements.

Laser-generated shock wave attenuation aimed at microscale pyrotechnic device design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyeonju Yu

2016-05-01

Full Text Available To meet the rising demand for miniaturizing the pyrotechnic device that consists of donor/acceptor pair separated by a bulkhead or a thin gap, the shock initiation sensitivity in the microscale gap test configuration is investigated. For understanding the shock attenuation within a gap sample (304 stainless steel thickness of 10∼800 μm, the laser-generated shock wave in water confinement is adopted. The shock properties are obtained from the free surface velocity by making use of a velocity interferometer system for any reflector (VISAR. Analytical models for plasma generation in a confined geometry and for evolution and decay of shock waves during the propagation are considered. The shape and amplitude of the laser-driven initial pressure load and its attenuation pattern in the gap are effectively controlled for targeting the microscale propagation distance and subsequent triggering pressure for the acceptor charge. The reported results are important in the precise controlling of the shock strength during the laser initiation of microscale pyrotechnic devices.

A new approach for improved time and position measurements for TOF-PET: Time-stamping of the photo-electrons using analogue SiPMs

CERN Document Server

Doroud, K

2017-01-01

Measurement of the Time-of-Flight (TOF) of the 511 keV gammas brings an important reduction of statistical noise in the PET image, with higher precision time measurements producing clearer images. The common method of coupling a photodetector to scintillating crystals is to have two matching matrices, with a one-to-one coupling between the crystal and the photodetector. We propose a new geometry based on analogue strip SiPMs reading out a scintillator cut into slabs. This technique allows the time stamping of individual photo-electrons and extracts the best time resolution using a specific algorithm. Here we present the results from the first ‘slab module’ test.

A new approach for improved time and position measurements for TOF-PET: Time-stamping of the photo-electrons using analogue SiPMs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Doroud, K., E-mail: Katayoun.Doroud@cern.ch [CERN Geneva (Switzerland); Williams, M.C.S. [CERN Geneva (Switzerland); INFN, Bologna (Italy)

2017-03-21

Measurement of the Time-of-Flight (TOF) of the 511 keV gammas brings an important reduction of statistical noise in the PET image, with higher precision time measurements producing clearer images. The common method of coupling a photodetector to scintillating crystals is to have two matching matrices, with a one-to-one coupling between the crystal and the photodetector. We propose a new geometry based on analogue strip SiPMs reading out a scintillator cut into slabs. This technique allows the time stamping of individual photo-electrons and extracts the best time resolution using a specific algorithm. Here we present the results from the first ‘slab module’ test.

S3T working group. Report 1: group aims

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pouey, M.

1983-04-01

The work group S3T which is aimed to designing and developing devices using unconventional holographic optics is presented. These devices find applications that are classified here in four items high resolution spectrometers, high definition imaging, high flux devices, metrology and interferometry. The problems to solve and the aims of the group in each of these cases are presented. Three synthesis of lectures are in this report. The main one concerns stigmatism conditions of concave holographic gratings used in normal incidence. This new process of focusing is very interesting for hot plasma diagnostics [fr

Characterization studies of Silicon Photomultipliers and crystals matrices for a novel time of flight PET detector

CERN Document Server

Auffray, Etiennette; Cortinovis, Daniele; Doroud, Katayoun; Garutti, Erika; Lecoq, Paul; Liu, Zheng; Martinez, Rosana; Paganoni, Marco; Pizzichemi, Marco; Silenzi, Alessandro; Xu, Chen; Zvolský, Milan

2015-01-01

This paper describes the characterization of crystal matrices and silicon photomultiplier arrays for a novel Positron Emission Tomography (PET) detector, namely the external plate of the EndoTOFPET-US system. The EndoTOFPET-US collaboration aims to integrate Time-Of-Flight PET with ultrasound endoscopy in a novel multimodal device, capable to support the development of new biomarkers for prostate and pancreatic tumors. The detector consists in two parts: a PET head mounted on an ultrasound probe and an external PET plate. The challenging goal of 1 mm spatial resolution for the PET image requires a detector with small crystal size, and therefore high channel density: 4096 LYSO crystals individually readout by Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM) make up the external plate. The quality and properties of these components must be assessed before the assembly. The dark count rate, gain, breakdown voltage and correlated noise of the SiPMs are measured, while the LYSO crystals are evaluated in terms of light yield and en...

Scintillator tiles with SiPM readout for calorimetry and fast timing in SuperKEKB commissioning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Windel, Hendrik [Max-Planck-Institute for Physics (Germany); Collaboration: CALICE-D-Collaboration

2016-07-01

The CALICE collaboration is studying plastic scintillators coupled to silicon photomultipliers as sensors for calorimeters for future linear colliders like ILC and CLIC. Current detector concepts foresee up to ten million channels for the hadronic calorimeter. A larger number of different types of SiPMs and scintillator materials exist and their properties have to be investigated to provide best results. For these purposes a dedicated laboratory setup has been developed to provide high resolution scanning of the scintillator tiles with a radioactive source. The data acquisition of this setup as well as a fast online analysis has been implemented in LABVIEW. A modified version of this setup, together with hardware previously used for measuring timing properties of hardronic showers, will be used in the commissioning phase of the SuperKEKB accelerator. This contribution discusses results from detailed investigations of different scintillator tiles, including the study of different materials. Key performance criteria for their application in calorimetry and in background measurements with high time resolution at SuperKEKB are also presented. The CALICE collaboration is studying plastic scintillators coupled to silicon photomultipliers as sensors for calorimeters for future linear colliders like ILC and CLIC. Current detector concepts foresee up two ten million channels for the hadronic calorimeter. In the real detector several thousands of these plastic scintillators will be used. To provide comparability between each of them, investigations of homogeneity for different packaging types and scintillating materials are needed as well as different attempts in tile arrangement to take inter tile crosstalk into account. A larger number of different types of SiPMs and scintillator materials exist and their properties have to be investigated to provide best results. For these purposes a dedicated LABVIEW based setup consistent of data acquisition system (DAQ) and analysis

Mass test of AdvanSiD model ASD-NUV3S-P SiliconPMs for the Pixel Timing Counter of the MEG II experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Rossella, M.; Bariani, S.; Barnaba, O.; Cattaneo, P. W.; Cervi, T.; Menegolli, A.; Nardò, R.; Prata, M. C.; Romano, E.; Scagliotti, C.; Simonetta, M.; Vercellati, F.

2017-02-01

The MEG II Timing Counter will measure the positron time of arrival with a resolution of 30 ps relying on two arrays of scintillator pixels read out by 6144 Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) from AdvanSiD. They must be characterized, measuring their breakdown voltage, to assure that the gains of the SiPMs of each pixel are as uniform as possible, to maximize the pixel resolution. To do this an automatic test system that can measure sequentially the parameters of 32 devices has been developed.

A 16-ch module for thermal neutron detection using ZnS:6LiF scintillator with embedded WLS fibers coupled to SiPMs and its dedicated readout electronics

Science.gov (United States)

Mosset, J.-B.; Stoykov, A.; Greuter, U.; Gromov, A.; Hildebrandt, M.; Panzner, T.; Schlumpf, N.

2017-02-01

A scalable 16-ch thermal neutron detection system has been developed in the framework of the upgrade of a neutron diffractometer. The detector is based on a ZnS:6LiF scintillator with embedded WLS fibers which are read out with SiPMs. In this paper, we present the 16-ch module, the dedicated readout electronics, a direct comparison between the performance of the diffractometer obtained with the current 3He detector and with the 16-ch detection module, and the channel-to-channel uniformity.

Improved SPICE electrical model of silicon photomultipliers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marano, D., E-mail: davide.marano@oact.inaf.it [INAF, Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania, Via S. Sofia 78, I-95123 Catania (Italy); Bonanno, G.; Belluso, M.; Billotta, S.; Grillo, A.; Garozzo, S.; Romeo, G. [INAF, Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania, Via S. Sofia 78, I-95123 Catania (Italy); Catalano, O.; La Rosa, G.; Sottile, G.; Impiombato, D.; Giarrusso, S. [INAF, Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica di Palermo, Via U. La Malfa 153, I-90146 Palermo (Italy)

2013-10-21

The present work introduces an improved SPICE equivalent electrical model of silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) detectors, in order to simulate and predict their transient response to avalanche triggering events. In particular, the developed circuit model provides a careful investigation of the magnitude and timing of the read-out signals and can therefore be exploited to perform reliable circuit-level simulations. The adopted modeling approach is strictly related to the physics of each basic microcell constituting the SiPM device, and allows the avalanche timing as well as the photodiode current and voltage to be accurately simulated. Predictive capabilities of the proposed model are demonstrated by means of experimental measurements on a real SiPM detector. Simulated and measured pulses are found to be in good agreement with the expected results. -- Highlights: • An improved SPICE electrical model of silicon photomultipliers is proposed. • The developed model provides a truthful representation of the physics of the device. • An accurate charge collection as a function of the overvoltage is achieved. • The adopted electrical model allows reliable circuit-level simulations to be performed. • Predictive capabilities of the adopted model are experimentally demonstrated.

Experimental evaluation of Gd3Al2Ga3O12:Ce (GAGG:Ce) single crystals coupled to a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) under high gamma ray irradiation conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Metallinos, A.; Kefalidis, E.; Kandarakis, I.; David, S.

2017-11-01

Cerium (Ce) ion doped scintillators are of high interest in Medical Imaging systems and radiation monitoring devices, due to their very fast response and very good emission characteristics. In this study, a series of measurements regarding the energy resolution, photofraction, sensitivity, as well as the figure of merit, of Gd3Al2Ga3O12:Ce (GAGG:Ce) scintillator crystals, is presented. All GAGG:Ce crystals have a surface area of 3x3 mm2 with varying thicknesses, from 4 up to 20 mm (4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 15 and 20 mm). These crystals were exposed to γ radiation, using two different radioactive sources: 137Cs (0.662 MeV) and 60Co (1.173 MeV and 1.332 MeV). Each crystal was measured individually and was optically coupled to a KETEK PM3350 SiPM, an optical sensor with high gain, suitable to operate in room temperature. The digitization of the pulses was accomplished using CAEN DT5720 desktop digitizer and its corresponding digital pulse processing (DPP) firmware. Each measurement was performed in a light-tight box and had duration of 30 min. The best energy resolution value was measured for the GAGG:Ce crystal with dimensions 3x3x15mm3, equal to 3.9% at 1.332 MeV. Results were evaluated and compared to previous published data.

Development of new photon detection device for Cherenkov and fluorescence radiation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tinti A.

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Recent progress on the development of a new solid state detector allowed the use of finely pixelled photocathodes obtained from silicon semiconductors. SiPM detectors seem to be an ideal tool for the detection of Cherenkov and fluorescence light in spite of their not yet resolved criticism for operating temperature and intrinsic noise. The main disadvantage of SiPM in this case is the poor sensitivity in the wavelength range 300-400 nm, where the Cherenkov light and fluorescence radiation are generated. We report on the possibility to realize a new kind of pixelled photodetector based on the use of silicon substrate with carbon nanotube compounds, more sensitive to the near UV radiation. Also if at the very beginning, the development of such detector appears very promising and useful for astroparticle physics, both in the ground based arrays and in the space experiments. The detectors are ready to be operated in conditions of measurements without signal amplification.

The MU-RAY experiment. An application of SiPM technology to the understanding of volcanic phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anastasio, A.; Ambrosino, F.; Basta, D.; Bonechi, L.; Brianzi, M.; Bross, A.; Callier, S.; Cassese, F.; Castellini, G.; Ciaranfi, R.; Cimmino, L.; D'Alessandro, R.; De Fazio, B.; La Taille, C. de; Garufi, F.; Iacobucci, G.; Martini, M.; Masone, V.; Mattone, C.; Miyamoto, S.

2013-01-01

The purpose of the MU-RAY project is to develop an innovative approach to the study of volcanoes and their monitoring based on a particle physics approach. The test site is Vesuvio: one of the higher risk volcanoes in the world. In this context, muon radiography is an innovative method of enormous impact. This is an imaging technique which relies on the measurement, by means of a cosmic ray telescope, of the absorption in the volcano of muons with near-horizontal trajectories, produced by the interactions of cosmic rays with the atmosphere. Since 2003 this technique has been successfully used on volcanoes in Japan, providing pictures of their vertices with resolutions much better than those obtained with the traditional techniques based on gravimeters. Researchers from Naples and Florence are currently involved in the construction and testing of a prototype telescope based on the use of bars of plastic scintillator with a triangular section whose scintillation light is collected by special fibres (wave length shifters) and transported to SiPM (Silicon photomultipliers). A complete prototype telescope, consisting of three xy scintillation planes and 1 m 2 active area has been assembled and is now under test

Flattening the Energy Response of a Scintillator Based Gamma Dose Rate Meter Coupled to SiPM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knafo, Y.; Manor, A.; Ginzburg, D.; Ellenbogen, M.; Osovizky, A.; Wengrowicz, U.; Ghelman, M.; Seif, R.; Mazor, T.; Kadmon, Y.; Cohen, Y.

2014-01-01

Among the newest emerging technologies that are used in the design of personal gamma radiation detection instruments, the silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) light sensor is playing an important role. This type of photo sensor is characterized by low power consumption, small dimensions and high gain. These special characteristics present applicable alternatives for the replacement of traditional gamma sensors based on scintillator coupled to Photomultiplier tubes (PMT) or on Geiger-Muller(G.M.) sensors. For health physics applications, flat energy response is required for a wide range of radio-nuclides emitting gamma rays of different energies. Scintillation based radiation instrumentation provides count rate and amplitude of the measured pulses. These pulses can be split in different bins corresponding to the energy of the measured isotopes and their intensity. The count rate and the energy of the measured events are related to the dose rate. The conversion algorithm applys a different calibration factor for each energy bin in order to provide an accurate dose rate response for a wide range of gamma energies. This work describes the utilization of an innovative approach for dose rate conversion by using the abilities of newest 32-bit microcontroller based ARM core architecture

The MU-RAY experiment. An application of SiPM technology to the understanding of volcanic phenomena

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anastasio, A. [INFN-Napoli, Napoli (Italy); Ambrosino, F. [INFN-Napoli, Napoli (Italy); Università Federico II, Napoli (Italy); Basta, D. [INFN-Napoli, Napoli (Italy); Bonechi, L. [INFN-Firenze, Firenze (Italy); Università degli Studi di Firenze, Firenze (Italy); Brianzi, M. [Università degli Studi di Firenze, Firenze (Italy); Bross, A. [Fermilab (United States); Callier, S. [LAL, Orsay (France); Cassese, F. [INFN-Napoli, Napoli (Italy); Castellini, G. [CNR-IFAC, Firenze (Italy); Ciaranfi, R. [INFN-Firenze, Firenze (Italy); Cimmino, L. [Università Federico II, Napoli (Italy); D' Alessandro, R., E-mail: candi@fi.infn.it [INFN-Firenze, Firenze (Italy); Università degli Studi di Firenze, Firenze (Italy); De Fazio, B. [Università Federico II, Napoli (Italy); La Taille, C. de [LAL, Orsay (France); Garufi, F. [Università Federico II, Napoli (Italy); Iacobucci, G. [INFN-Napoli, Napoli (Italy); Martini, M. [INGV-Osservatorio Vesuviano, Napoli (Italy); Masone, V. [INFN-Napoli, Napoli (Italy); Mattone, C. [INFN-Napoli, Napoli (Italy); Università Federico II, Napoli (Italy); Miyamoto, S. [Earthquake Research Institute, The University of Tokyo (Japan); and others

2013-08-01

The purpose of the MU-RAY project is to develop an innovative approach to the study of volcanoes and their monitoring based on a particle physics approach. The test site is Vesuvio: one of the higher risk volcanoes in the world. In this context, muon radiography is an innovative method of enormous impact. This is an imaging technique which relies on the measurement, by means of a cosmic ray telescope, of the absorption in the volcano of muons with near-horizontal trajectories, produced by the interactions of cosmic rays with the atmosphere. Since 2003 this technique has been successfully used on volcanoes in Japan, providing pictures of their vertices with resolutions much better than those obtained with the traditional techniques based on gravimeters. Researchers from Naples and Florence are currently involved in the construction and testing of a prototype telescope based on the use of bars of plastic scintillator with a triangular section whose scintillation light is collected by special fibres (wave length shifters) and transported to SiPM (Silicon photomultipliers). A complete prototype telescope, consisting of three xy scintillation planes and 1 m{sup 2} active area has been assembled and is now under test.

A Compact Cosmic Ray Telescope using Silicon Photomultipliers for use in High Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Castro, Luis; Elizondo, Leonardo; Shelor, Mark; Cervantes, Omar; Fan, Sewan; Ritt, Stefan

2016-03-01

Over the years, the QuarkNet and the LBL Cosmic Ray Project have helped trained thousands of high school students and teachers to explore cosmic ray physics. To get high school students in the Salinas, CA area also excited about cosmic rays, we constructed a cosmic ray telescope as a physics outreach apparatus. Our apparatus includes a pair of plastic scintillators coupled to silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) and a coincidence circuit board. We designed and constructed custom circuit boards for mounting the SiPM detectors, the high voltage power supplies and coincidence AND circuit. The AND logic signals can be used for triggering data acquisition devices including an oscilloscope, a waveform digitizer or an Arduino microcontroller. To properly route the circuit wire traces, the circuit boards were layout in Eagle and fabricated in-house using a circuit board maker from LPKF LASER, model Protomat E33. We used a Raspberry Pi computer to control a fast waveform sampler, the DRS4 to digitize the SiPM signal waveforms. The CERN PAW software package was used to analyze the amplitude and time distributions of SiPM detector signals. At this conference, we present our SiPM experimental setup, circuit board fabrication procedures and the data analysis work flow. AIP Megger's Award, Dept. of Ed. Title V Grant PO31S090007.

A 16-ch module for thermal neutron detection using ZnS:{sup 6}LiF scintillator with embedded WLS fibers coupled to SiPMs and its dedicated readout electronics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mosset, J.-B., E-mail: jean-baptiste.mosset@psi.ch; Stoykov, A.; Greuter, U.; Gromov, A.; Hildebrandt, M.; Panzner, T.; Schlumpf, N.

2017-02-11

A scalable 16-ch thermal neutron detection system has been developed in the framework of the upgrade of a neutron diffractometer. The detector is based on a ZnS:{sup 6}LiF scintillator with embedded WLS fibers which are read out with SiPMs. In this paper, we present the 16-ch module, the dedicated readout electronics, a direct comparison between the performance of the diffractometer obtained with the current {sup 3}He detector and with the 16-ch detection module, and the channel-to-channel uniformity.

Analysis of photon statistics with Silicon Photomultiplier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Ascenzo, N.; Saveliev, V.; Wang, L.; Xie, Q.

2015-01-01

The Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) is a novel silicon-based photodetector, which represents the modern perspective of low photon flux detection. The aim of this paper is to provide an introduction on the statistical analysis methods needed to understand and estimate in quantitative way the correct features and description of the response of the SiPM to a coherent source of light

First data from IceAct, an imaging air Cherenkov telescope with SiPMs at the South Pole

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Auffenberg, Jan; Bretz, Thomas; Hansmann, Bengt; Hansmann, Tim; Hebbeker, Thomas; Kemp, Julian; Middendorf, Lukas; Niggemann, Tim; Raedel, Leif; Schaufel, Merlin; Schumacher, Johannes; Stahlberg, Martin; Werhan, Ansgar; Wiebusch, Christopher [RWTH Aachen University (Germany)

2016-07-01

IceCube-Gen2 is planned to extend the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the geographic South Pole. For neutrino astronomy, a large background-free sample of well-reconstructed astrophysical neutrinos is essential. The main background for this signal are muons and neutrinos which are produced in cosmic-ray air showers in the Earth's atmosphere. The coincident detection of these air showers by the surface detector IceTop has been proven to be a powerful veto for atmospheric neutrinos and muons in the field of view of the Southern Hemisphere. This motivates a large extension of IceTop to more efficiently detect cosmic rays, IceVeto. Part of these extension plans is an array of imaging air Cherenkov telescopes, IceAct. A first IceAct prototype is consisting of an SiPM camera and lens optics optimized for harsh environments. Compared to IceTop stations, these telescopes potentially lower the detection threshold for air showers at the cost of a lower duty cycle. We present first data, taken during the commissioning of an IceAct prototype in December 2015 at the South Pole.

Image-based surveillance and security systems using personal computers for device aiming and digital image comparison

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quiett, S.; Axtell, L.H.

1987-01-01

A detection-type security system using enhanced capability cameras or other imaging devices can aid in maintaining security from long distance and/or for large areas. To do so requires that the imaging device(s) be repeatedly and accurately positioned so that no areas are overlooked. Digital control using personal computers is the simplest method of achieving positional accuracy. The monitoring of large areas and/or a large number of areas also requires that a substantial quantity of visual information be catalogued and evaluated for potential security problems. While security personnel alone are typically used for such monitoring, as the quantity of visual information increases, the likelihood that potential security threats will be missed also increases. The ability of an image-based security system to detect potential security problems can be further increased with the use of selected image processing techniques. Utilizing personal computers for both imaging device position control as well as image processing, surveillance of large areas can be performed by a limited number of individuals with a high level of system confidence

Development of large-area silicon photomultiplier detectors for PET applications at FBK

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zorzi, Nicola, E-mail: zorzi@fbk.eu [Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK), Via Sommarive 18, I-38123 Trento Povo (Italy); Melchiorri, Mirko; Piazza, Alessandro; Piemonte, Claudio; Tarolli, Alessandro [Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK), Via Sommarive 18, I-38123 Trento Povo (Italy)

2011-04-21

This paper reports on the development of large-area silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) detectors specifically designed for positron emission tomography (PET) instruments. The sensors under study are monolithic arrays of two different types: a 2x2 array of {approx}4x4 mm{sup 2} elements and an 8x8 array of 1.5x1.5 mm{sup 2} pixels. These devices are characterized at wafer level by means of an automatic test procedure, consisting of current-voltage curves in forward and reverse bias. The tests allowed selection of functioning devices and evaluation of the uniformity of basic parameters. Results of the electrical characterization are reported showing that acceptable values of yield together with rather uniform distribution of parameters have been obtained. Reliability of produced SiPMs has been proved by long-term accelerated stress tests.

Development of large-area silicon photomultiplier detectors for PET applications at FBK

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zorzi, Nicola; Melchiorri, Mirko; Piazza, Alessandro; Piemonte, Claudio; Tarolli, Alessandro

2011-01-01

This paper reports on the development of large-area silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) detectors specifically designed for positron emission tomography (PET) instruments. The sensors under study are monolithic arrays of two different types: a 2x2 array of ∼4x4 mm 2 elements and an 8x8 array of 1.5x1.5 mm 2 pixels. These devices are characterized at wafer level by means of an automatic test procedure, consisting of current-voltage curves in forward and reverse bias. The tests allowed selection of functioning devices and evaluation of the uniformity of basic parameters. Results of the electrical characterization are reported showing that acceptable values of yield together with rather uniform distribution of parameters have been obtained. Reliability of produced SiPMs has been proved by long-term accelerated stress tests.

Evaluation of the dark signal performance of different SiPM-technologies under irradiation with cold neutrons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Durini, Daniel, E-mail: d.durini@fz-juelich.de [Central Institute of Engineering, Electronics and Analytics ZEA-2 – Electronic Systems, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, D-52425 Jülich (Germany); Degenhardt, Carsten; Rongen, Heinz [Central Institute of Engineering, Electronics and Analytics ZEA-2 – Electronic Systems, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, D-52425 Jülich (Germany); Feoktystov, Artem [Jülich Centre for Neutron Science (JCNS) at Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Lichtenbergstr. 1, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Schlösser, Mario; Palomino-Razo, Alejandro [Central Institute of Engineering, Electronics and Analytics ZEA-2 – Electronic Systems, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, D-52425 Jülich (Germany); Frielinghaus, Henrich [Jülich Centre for Neutron Science (JCNS) at Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Lichtenbergstr. 1, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Waasen, Stefan van [Central Institute of Engineering, Electronics and Analytics ZEA-2 – Electronic Systems, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, D-52425 Jülich (Germany)

2016-11-01

In this paper we report the results of the assessment of changes in the dark signal delivered by three silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) detector arrays, fabricated by three different manufacturers, when irradiated with cold neutrons (wavelength λ{sub n}=5 Å or neutron energy of E{sub n}=3.27 meV) up to a neutron dose of 6×10{sup 12} n/cm{sup 2}. The dark signals as well as the breakdown voltages (V{sub br}) of the SiPM detectors were monitored during the irradiation. The system was characterized at room temperature. The analog SiPM detectors, with and without a 1 mm thick Cerium doped {sup 6}Li-glass scintillator material located in front of them, were operated using a bias voltage recommended by the respective manufacturer for a proper detector performance. I{sub out}-V{sub bias} measurements, used to determine the breakdown voltage of the devices, were repeated every 30 s during the first hour and every 300 s during the rest of the irradiation time. The digital SiPM detectors were held at the advised bias voltage between the respective breakdown voltage and dark count mappings repeated every 4 min. The measurements were performed on the KWS-1 instrument of the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) in Garching, Germany. The two analog and one digital SiPM detector modules under investigation were respectively fabricated by SensL (Ireland), Hamamatsu Photonics (Japan), and Philips Digital Photon Counting (Germany).

Signal encoding method for a time-of-flight PET detector using a silicon photomultiplier array

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Sun Il; Lee, Jae Sung

2014-10-01

The silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) is a promising photosensor for magnetic resonance (MR) compatible time-of-flight (TOF) positron emission tomography (PET) scanners. The compact size of the SiPM allows direct one-to-one coupling between the scintillation crystal and the photosensor, yielding better timing and energy resolutions than the light sharing methods that have to be used in photomultiplier tube (PMT) PET systems. However, the one-to-one coupling scheme requires a huge volume of readout and processing electronics if no electric signal multiplexing or encoding scheme is properly applied. In this paper, we develop an electric signal encoding scheme for SiPM array based TOF PET detector blocks with the aim of reducing the complexity and volume of the signal readout and processing electronics. In an M×N SiPM array, the output signal of each channel in the SiPM array is divided into two signal lines. These output lines are then tied together in row and column lines. The row and column signals are used to measure the energy and timing information (or vice versa) of each incident gamma-ray event, respectively. Each SiPM channel was directly coupled to a 3×3×20 mm3 LGSO crystal. The reference detector, which was used to measure timing, consisted of an R9800 PMT and a 4×4×10 mm3 LYSO crystal and had a single time resolution of ~200 ps (FWHM). Leading edge discriminators were used to determine coincident events. Dedicated front-end electronics were developed, and the timing and energy resolutions of SiPM arrays with different array sizes (4×4, 8×8, and 12×12) were compared. Breakdown voltage of each SiPM channel was measured using energy spectra within various bias voltages. Coincidence events were measured using a 22Na point source. The average coincidence time resolution of 4×4, 8×8, and 12×12 SiPM arrays were 316 ps, 320 ps, and 335 ps (FWHM), respectively. The energy resolution of 4×4, 8×8, and 12×12 SiPM arrays were 11.8%, 12.5%, and 12.8% (FWHM

Silicon Photomultiplier Performance in High ELectric Field

Science.gov (United States)

Montoya, J.; Morad, J.

2016-12-01

Roughly 27% of the universe is thought to be composed of dark matter. The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) relies on the emission of light from xenon atoms after a collision with a dark matter particle. After a particle interaction in the detector, two things can happen: the xenon will emit light and charge. The charge (electrons), in the liquid xenon needs to be pulled into the gas section so that it can interact with gas and emit light. This allows LUX to convert a single electron into many photons. This is done by applying a high voltage across the liquid and gas regions, effectively ripping electrons out of the liquid xenon and into the gas. The current device used to detect photons is the photomultiplier tube (PMT). These devices are large and costly. In recent years, a new technology that is capable of detecting single photons has emerged, the silicon photomultiplier (SiPM). These devices are cheaper and smaller than PMTs. Their performance in a high electric fields, such as those found in LUX, are unknown. It is possible that a large electric field could introduce noise on the SiPM signal, drowning the single photon detection capability. My hypothesis is that SiPMs will not observe a significant increase is noise at an electric field of roughly 10kV/cm (an electric field within the range used in detectors like LUX). I plan to test this hypothesis by first rotating the SiPMs with no applied electric field between two metal plates roughly 2 cm apart, providing a control data set. Then using the same angles test the dark counts with the constant electric field applied. Possibly the most important aspect of LUX, is the photon detector because it's what detects the signals. Dark matter is detected in the experiment by looking at the ratio of photons to electrons emitted for a given interaction in the detector. Interactions with a low electron to photon ratio are more like to be dark matter events than those with a high electron to photon ratio. The ability to

Evaluation of the optical cross talk level in the SiPMs adopted in ASTRI SST-2M Cherenkov Camera using EASIROC front-end electronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Impiombato, D; Giarrusso, S; Mineo, T; Agnetta, G; Biondo, B; Catalano, O; Gargano, C; Rosa, G La; Russo, F; Sottile, G; Belluso, M; Billotta, S; Bonanno, G; Garozzo, S; Marano, D; Romeo, G

2014-01-01

ASTRI (Astrofisica con Specchi a Tecnologia Replicante Italiana), is a flagship project of the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research whose main goal is the design and construction of an end-to-end prototype of the Small Size of Telescopes of the Cherenkov Telescope Array. The prototype, named ASTRI SST-2M, will adopt a wide field dual mirror optical system in a Schwarzschild-Couder configuration to explore the VHE range of the electromagnetic spectrum. The camera at the focal plane is based on Silicon Photo-Multipliers detectors which is an innovative solution for the detection astronomical Cherenkov light. This contribution reports some preliminary results on the evaluation of the optical cross talk level among the SiPM pixels foreseen for the ASTRI SST-2M camera

SENTIRAD-An innovative personal radiation detector based on a scintillation detector and a silicon photomultiplier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osovizky, A.; Ginzburg, D.; Manor, A.; Seif, R.; Ghelman, M.; Cohen-Zada, I.; Ellenbogen, M.; Bronfenmakher, V.; Pushkarsky, V.; Gonen, E.; Mazor, T.; Cohen, Y.

2011-01-01

The alarming personal radiation detector (PRD) is a device intended for Homeland Security (HLS) applications. This portable device is designed to be worn or carried by security personnel to detect photon-emitting radioactive materials for the purpose of crime prevention. PRD is required to meet the scope of specifications defined by various HLS standards for radiation detection. It is mandatory that the device be sensitive and simultaneously small, pocket-sized, of robust mechanical design and carriable on the user's body. To serve these specialized purposes and requirements, we developed the SENTIRAD, a new radiation detector designed to meet the performance criteria established for counterterrorist applications. SENTIRAD is the first commercially available PRD based on a CsI(Tl) scintillation crystal that is optically coupled with a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) serving as a light sensor. The rapidly developing technology of SiPM, a multipixel semiconductor photodiode that operates in Geiger mode, has been thoroughly investigated in previous studies. This paper presents the design considerations, constraints and radiological performance relating to the SENTIRAD radiation sensor.

A SiPM-based scintillator prototype for the upgrade of the Pierre Auger Observatory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schumacher, Johannes; Bretz, Thomas; Hebbeker, Thomas; Kemp, Julian; Meissner, Rebecca; Middendorf, Lukas; Niggemann, Tim; Peters, Christine [III. Physikalisches Institut A, RWTH Aachen University (Germany); Collaboration: Pierre-Auger-Collaboration

2016-07-01

Plastic scintillator-based detectors are simple and yet powerful instruments, commonly used in particle physics experiments. These detectors are also planned to be installed at the Pierre Auger Observatory as part of the upgrade called AugerPrime. Here, a single detector module will consist of several large-sized scintillator bars. Embedded wavelength shifting fibres read out the scintillation light and are coupled to a single photo-sensitive device. We investigate the application of silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) in this scope, which benefits from high photon detection efficiency and stability. We show the performance of a SiPM-based prototype device installed in the 2 m{sup 2} detector ASCII - an early prototype of the scintillating detector planned for AugerPrime. We focus on the electronics, the optical coupling and the in situ calibration. As ASCII has been operating with SiPMs for several months now, we also highlight first high-energy events seen in coincidence with the Surface Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory.

Development of analog solid-state photo-detectors for Positron Emission Tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bisogni, Maria Giuseppina; Morrocchi, Matteo

2016-01-01

Solid-state photo-detectors are one of the main innovations of past century in the field of sensors. First produced in the early forties with the invention of the p–n junction in silicon and the study of its optical properties, photo-detectors received a major boost in the sixties when the p-i-n (PIN) photodiode was developed and successfully used in several applications. The development of devices with internal gain, avalanche photodiodes (APD) first and then Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes, named single photon avalanche diode (SPAD), leads to a substantial improvement in sensitivity and allowed single photon detection. Later on, thousands of SPADs have been assembled in arrays of few millimeters squared (named SiPM, silicon photo-multiplier) with single photon resolution. The high internal gain of SiPMs, together with other features peculiar of the silicon technology like compactness, speed and compatibility with magnetic fields, promoted SiPMs as the principal photo-detector competitor of photomultipliers in many applications from radiation detection to medical imaging. This paper provides a review of the properties of analog solid-state photo-detectors. Particular emphasis is given to latest advances on Positron Emission Tomography instrumentation boosted by the adoption of the silicon photo-detectors as an alternative to photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). Special attention is dedicated to the SiPMs, which are playing a key role in the development of innovative scanners.

Development of analog solid-state photo-detectors for Positron Emission Tomography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bisogni, Maria Giuseppina, E-mail: giuseppina.bisogni@pi.infn.it; Morrocchi, Matteo

2016-02-11

Solid-state photo-detectors are one of the main innovations of past century in the field of sensors. First produced in the early forties with the invention of the p–n junction in silicon and the study of its optical properties, photo-detectors received a major boost in the sixties when the p-i-n (PIN) photodiode was developed and successfully used in several applications. The development of devices with internal gain, avalanche photodiodes (APD) first and then Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes, named single photon avalanche diode (SPAD), leads to a substantial improvement in sensitivity and allowed single photon detection. Later on, thousands of SPADs have been assembled in arrays of few millimeters squared (named SiPM, silicon photo-multiplier) with single photon resolution. The high internal gain of SiPMs, together with other features peculiar of the silicon technology like compactness, speed and compatibility with magnetic fields, promoted SiPMs as the principal photo-detector competitor of photomultipliers in many applications from radiation detection to medical imaging. This paper provides a review of the properties of analog solid-state photo-detectors. Particular emphasis is given to latest advances on Positron Emission Tomography instrumentation boosted by the adoption of the silicon photo-detectors as an alternative to photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). Special attention is dedicated to the SiPMs, which are playing a key role in the development of innovative scanners.

Performance characteristics of a personal gamma spectrometer based on a SiPM array for radiation monitoring applications

Science.gov (United States)

Kefalidis, E.; Kandarakis, I.; David, S.

2017-11-01

Due to the increased radiation pollution in the environment as a result of the often nuclear accidents taking place around the world, the need for efficient, reliable, smart and handheld radiation measurement systems has been born especially in daily routine. In this study it is evaluated the angular response of two crystal non-pixelated Gd3Al2Ga3O12:Ce (GAGG:Ce) scintillators with dimensions at 10x10x10mm3 & 10x10x20mm3 under 137Cs isotope emitting at 662 keV coupled to a 4x4 discrete silicon photomultiplier array (SiPM). A symmetric resistive voltage division matrix was applied reducing the array 16 outputs to 4 analog position signals which digitized by a 4 Channel 12 bit 250 MS/s desktop waveform digitizer. The number of the evaluated angles set at 5 (0°, 45°, 90°, 135°, 180°) and a variety of measured values are presented (energy resolution, sensitivity, figure of merit etc). The encouraging results such as energy resolution about 9% and figure of merit equal to 4.11 for 10x10x10mm3 and 4.43 for 10x10x20mm3 crystal, prove that this system could build up to a compact radiation sensor for integration into mobile applications.

Performance study of Philips digital silicon photomultiplier coupled to scintillating crystals

CERN Document Server

Liu, Z.; Auffray, E.; Lecoq, P.; Paganoni, M.

2016-01-01

Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) and scintillators are often arranged in the shape of arrays in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) systems. Digital SiPMs provide signal readout in single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) level. From the photon count rate measurement of each SPAD cell of digital SiPM, we found that the output scintillating photons distribute in an area larger than the scintillator physical coupling area. Taking advantage of the possibility to enable/disable individual cells of the digital SiPM, a group of Lutetium-yttrium oxyorthosilicate (LYSO) crystals with different dimensions coupled to a digital SiPM was used to study the influence of using different SiPM active area on the number of photons detected, energy resolution and coincidence time resolution (CTR). For the same crystal coupled to the digital SiPM, the larger the active area of digital SiPM, the higher the number of photons detected. The larger active area of the digital SiPM also results in a better energy resolution after saturation...

Vulnerability of industrial facilities to attacks with improvised explosive devices aimed at triggering domino scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Landucci, Gabriele; Reniers, Genserik; Cozzani, Valerio; Salzano, Ernesto

2015-01-01

Process- and chemical plants may constitute a critical target for a terrorist attack. In the present study, the analysis of industrial accidents induced by intentional acts of interference is carried out focusing on accident chains triggered by attacks with home-made (improvised) explosives. The effects of blast waves caused by improvised explosive devices are compared with those expected from a net equivalent charge of TNT by using a specific methodology for the assessment of stand-off distances. It is demonstrated that a home-made explosive device has a TNT efficiency comprised between 0.2 and 0.5. The model was applied to a case study, demonstrating the potentiality of improvised explosives in causing accident escalation sequences and severe effects on population and assets. The analysis of the case-study also allowed obtaining suggestions for an adequate security management. - Highlights: • Improvised explosives possibly used for terrorist attacks were described. • The TNT efficiency of ANFO and TATP was characterized. • Domino effects caused by an attack with improvised explosive were analyzed. • Domino scenarios induced by an attack were compared to conventional scenarios

Dimensionless parameterization of lidar for laser remote sensing of the atmosphere and its application to systems with SiPM and PMT detectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Agishev, Ravil; Comerón, Adolfo; Rodriguez, Alejandro; Sicard, Michaël

2014-05-20

In this paper, we show a renewed approach to the generalized methodology for atmospheric lidar assessment, which uses the dimensionless parameterization as a core component. It is based on a series of our previous works where the problem of universal parameterization over many lidar technologies were described and analyzed from different points of view. The modernized dimensionless parameterization concept applied to relatively new silicon photomultiplier detectors (SiPMs) and traditional photomultiplier (PMT) detectors for remote-sensing instruments allowed predicting the lidar receiver performance with sky background available. The renewed approach can be widely used to evaluate a broad range of lidar system capabilities for a variety of lidar remote-sensing applications as well as to serve as a basis for selection of appropriate lidar system parameters for a specific application. Such a modernized methodology provides a generalized, uniform, and objective approach for evaluation of a broad range of lidar types and systems (aerosol, Raman, DIAL) operating on different targets (backscatter or topographic) and under intense sky background conditions. It can be used within the lidar community to compare different lidar instruments.

Development of Smartphone based Optical Device

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Youngkee

Due to the economy of scale, smartphones are becoming more affordable while their computing powers are increasing dramatically every year. Here we propose a ubiquitous and portable instrument for analyte quantitation by utilizing the characteristics of typical smartphone imaging system and specific design of transducers for different applications. Three testbeds included in this work are: quantitative colorimetric analysis, ultra-low radiant flux detection, and portable spectrometer. As a proof-of-principle for each device, 3-D printed cradle and theoretical simulation with MATLAB have been implemented. First example utilizes the native CMOS camera with their respective RGB channel data and perform an analyte quantitation for typical lateral flow devices (LFD). Histogram analysis method has been employed to detect the analyte concentration and calibration results show good correlation between perceived color change and analyte concentration. The second example shows the possibility of using a conventional CMOS camera for pico Watt level photon flux detection. Since most of consumer grade CMOS cameras cannot detect this level of light intensity and their dark current are relatively higher, a new algorithm called NREA (Noise Reduction by Ensemble Averaging) algorithm was developed to effectively reduce the noise level and increase the SNR (signal to noise ratio). This technique is effective for bioanalytical assays that has lower flux intensity such as fluorescence and luminescence. As a proof-of-principle, we tested the device with Pseudomonas fluorescens M3A and achieved a limit of detection of high 10? CFU/ml. In addition to basic schematic of detection model, another experiment with a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) has been studied for more sensitive light detectability. Based on both the laser experiment and tw bioluminescent experiments, named Pseudomonas fluorescens M3A and NanoLuc, we found that the miniSM based device has a superior ability than the

Digital signal processing for a thermal neutron detector using ZnS(Ag):{sup 6}LiF scintillating layers read out with WLS fibers and SiPMs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mosset, J.-B., E-mail: jean-baptiste.mosset@psi.ch; Stoykov, A.; Greuter, U.; Hildebrandt, M.; Schlumpf, N.

2016-07-11

We present a digital signal processing system based on a photon counting approach which we developed for a thermal neutron detector consisting of ZnS(Ag):{sup 6}LiF scintillating layers read out with WLS fibers and SiPMs. Three digital filters have been evaluated: a moving sum, a moving sum after differentiation and a digital CR-RC{sup 4} filter. The performances of the detector with these filters are presented. A full analog signal processing using a CR-RC{sup 4} filter has been emulated digitally. The detector performance obtained with this analog approach is compared with the one obtained with the best performing digital approach. - Highlights: • Application of digital signal processing for a SiPM-based ZnS:6LiF neutron detector. • Optimisation of detector performances with 3 different digital filters. • Comparison with detector performances with a full analog signal processing.

Testing and simulation of silicon photomultiplier readouts for scintillators in high-energy astronomy and solar physics

Science.gov (United States)

Bloser, P. F.; Legere, J. S.; Bancroft, C. M.; Jablonski, L. F.; Wurtz, J. R.; Ertley, C. D.; McConnell, M. L.; Ryan, J. M.

2014-11-01

Space-based gamma-ray detectors for high-energy astronomy and solar physics face severe constraints on mass, volume, and power, and must endure harsh launch conditions and operating environments. Historically, such instruments have usually been based on scintillator materials due to their relatively low cost, inherent ruggedness, high stopping power, and radiation hardness. New scintillator materials, such as LaBr3:Ce, feature improved energy and timing performance, making them attractive for future astronomy and solar physics space missions in an era of tightly constrained budgets. Despite this promise, the use of scintillators in space remains constrained by the volume, mass, power, and fragility of the associated light readout device, typically a vacuum photomultiplier tube (PMT). In recent years, silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) have emerged as promising alternative light readout devices that offer gains and quantum efficiencies similar to those of PMTs, but with greatly reduced mass and volume, high ruggedness, low voltage requirements, and no sensitivity to magnetic fields. In order for SiPMs to replace PMTs in space-based instruments, however, it must be shown that they can provide comparable performance, and that their inherent temperature sensitivity can be corrected for. To this end, we have performed extensive testing and modeling of a small gamma-ray spectrometer composed of a 6 mm×6 mm SiPM coupled to a 6 mm×6 mm ×10 mm LaBr3:Ce crystal. A custom readout board monitors the temperature and adjusts the bias voltage to compensate for gain variations. We record an energy resolution of 5.7% (FWHM) at 662 keV at room temperature. We have also performed simulations of the scintillation process and optical light collection using Geant4, and of the SiPM response using the GosSiP package. The simulated energy resolution is in good agreement with the data from 22 keV to 662 keV. Above ~1 MeV, however, the measured energy resolution is systematically worse than

Testing and simulation of silicon photomultiplier readouts for scintillators in high-energy astronomy and solar physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bloser, P.F.; Legere, J.S.; Bancroft, C.M.; Jablonski, L.F.; Wurtz, J.R.; Ertley, C.D.; McConnell, M.L.; Ryan, J.M.

2014-01-01

Space-based gamma-ray detectors for high-energy astronomy and solar physics face severe constraints on mass, volume, and power, and must endure harsh launch conditions and operating environments. Historically, such instruments have usually been based on scintillator materials due to their relatively low cost, inherent ruggedness, high stopping power, and radiation hardness. New scintillator materials, such as LaBr 3 :Ce, feature improved energy and timing performance, making them attractive for future astronomy and solar physics space missions in an era of tightly constrained budgets. Despite this promise, the use of scintillators in space remains constrained by the volume, mass, power, and fragility of the associated light readout device, typically a vacuum photomultiplier tube (PMT). In recent years, silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) have emerged as promising alternative light readout devices that offer gains and quantum efficiencies similar to those of PMTs, but with greatly reduced mass and volume, high ruggedness, low voltage requirements, and no sensitivity to magnetic fields. In order for SiPMs to replace PMTs in space-based instruments, however, it must be shown that they can provide comparable performance, and that their inherent temperature sensitivity can be corrected for. To this end, we have performed extensive testing and modeling of a small gamma-ray spectrometer composed of a 6 mm×6 mm SiPM coupled to a 6 mm×6 mm ×10 mm LaBr 3 :Ce crystal. A custom readout board monitors the temperature and adjusts the bias voltage to compensate for gain variations. We record an energy resolution of 5.7% (FWHM) at 662 keV at room temperature. We have also performed simulations of the scintillation process and optical light collection using Geant4, and of the SiPM response using the GosSiP package. The simulated energy resolution is in good agreement with the data from 22 keV to 662 keV. Above ∼1 MeV, however, the measured energy resolution is systematically

Testing and simulation of silicon photomultiplier readouts for scintillators in high-energy astronomy and solar physics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bloser, P.F., E-mail: Peter.Bloser@unh.edu; Legere, J.S.; Bancroft, C.M.; Jablonski, L.F.; Wurtz, J.R.; Ertley, C.D.; McConnell, M.L.; Ryan, J.M.

2014-11-01

Space-based gamma-ray detectors for high-energy astronomy and solar physics face severe constraints on mass, volume, and power, and must endure harsh launch conditions and operating environments. Historically, such instruments have usually been based on scintillator materials due to their relatively low cost, inherent ruggedness, high stopping power, and radiation hardness. New scintillator materials, such as LaBr{sub 3}:Ce, feature improved energy and timing performance, making them attractive for future astronomy and solar physics space missions in an era of tightly constrained budgets. Despite this promise, the use of scintillators in space remains constrained by the volume, mass, power, and fragility of the associated light readout device, typically a vacuum photomultiplier tube (PMT). In recent years, silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) have emerged as promising alternative light readout devices that offer gains and quantum efficiencies similar to those of PMTs, but with greatly reduced mass and volume, high ruggedness, low voltage requirements, and no sensitivity to magnetic fields. In order for SiPMs to replace PMTs in space-based instruments, however, it must be shown that they can provide comparable performance, and that their inherent temperature sensitivity can be corrected for. To this end, we have performed extensive testing and modeling of a small gamma-ray spectrometer composed of a 6 mm×6 mm SiPM coupled to a 6 mm×6 mm ×10 mm LaBr{sub 3}:Ce crystal. A custom readout board monitors the temperature and adjusts the bias voltage to compensate for gain variations. We record an energy resolution of 5.7% (FWHM) at 662 keV at room temperature. We have also performed simulations of the scintillation process and optical light collection using Geant4, and of the SiPM response using the GosSiP package. The simulated energy resolution is in good agreement with the data from 22 keV to 662 keV. Above ∼1 MeV, however, the measured energy resolution is

Evaluation of performance of silicon photomultipliers in lidar applications

Science.gov (United States)

Vinogradov, Sergey L.

2017-05-01

Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are a well-recognized new generation of photon number resolving avalanche photodetectors. Many advantages - a high gain with an ultra-low excess noise of multiplication, multi-pixel architecture, relatively low operating voltage - make SiPMs very competitive in a growing number of applications. Challenging demands of LIDAR applications for a receiver having high sensitivity starting from single photons, superior time-offlight resolution, robustness including surviving at bright light flashes, solid-state compactness and more, are expected to be feasible for the SiPMs. Despite some known drawbacks, namely crosstalk, afterpulsing, dark noise, limited dynamic range, SiPMs are already considered as promising substitutes for conventional APDs and PMTs in LIDAR applications. However, these initial considerations are based on a rather simplified representation of the SiPM as a generic LIDAR receiver described by generic expressions. This study is focused on a comprehensive evaluation of a SiPM potential considering essential features of this new technology, which could affect applicability and performance of SiPMs as LIDAR receivers. Namely, an excess noise due to correlated processes of crosstalk and afterpulsing, are included into account utilizing the well-established framework of analytical probabilistic models. The analysis of SiPM performance in terms of a photon number and time resolution clarifies their competitiveness over conventional APD and PMT and anticipates the development of next SiPM generations.

A practical depth-of-interaction PET/MR detector with dichotomous-orthogonal-symmetry decoding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Yuxuan; Baghaei, Hossain; Yan, Han; Wong, Wai-Hoi

2015-01-01

Conventional dual-end depth-of-interaction (DOI) PET detector readout requires two 2D SiPM arrays; with top and bottom SiPM reading the same pixel, there is information redundancy. We proposed a dichotomous-orthogonal-symmetric (DOS) dual-end DOI readout to eliminate this redundancy to significantly reduce SiPM usage, electronic channels, and heat load. Reflecting films are used within the scintillator array to channel light exiting the top along the X-direction, while light exiting the bottom is channeled along the orthogonal Y-direction. Despite the unidirectional channeling on each end, the top readout can provide X-Y information using two 1-D SiPM arrays; similarly, the bottom readout also provides X-Y information with two 1-D SiPM arrays. Thus four 1-D SiPM arrays (4xN) are used to decode XYZ to replace two 2D SiPM arrays (2NxN); SiPM usage is reduced from 2N**2 to 4N. Monte Carlo simulations (GATE) were carried out to study the XY decoding accuracy, energy resolution, and DOI resolution. Coupling the DOS-DOI design with a channel-decoding scheme, an array of 15x15 LSO (2.4x2.4x20 mm pixels) can be decoded by 18 SiPMs (2 rows of nine 3x3mm SiPM) on top and 18 SiPMs at bottom, thus achieving a 10X reduction in SiPM usage, electronic channels and heat load. For BGO detectors, an 8x8 array (2.4x2.4x20 mm pixels) can be achieved with 6.4X reduction. Simulations show 5-6mm DOI resolution, 0.45-0.96mm XY decoding blurring, 20-24% energy resolution. This study shows the feasibility of the DOS-DOI design. Even comparing to non-DOI detectors, there is a 5X/3X SiPM reduction for LSO/BGO. The proposed detector may yield practical ultrahigh-resolution PET/MR systems with depth-of-interaction with a production cost below current non-DOI systems.

Online device usage habits and emotional well-being in net generation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nur Demirbas Celik

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The aim of this research is to examine the effect of online device usage habit of high school students on their emotional well-being, using a sample 308 Turkish high school students who aged from 15 to 19 in Istanbul in 2014 participated in this research. PIF is applied in order to determine the aims of students in using online devices. There are questions in PIF upon the gender of the students, online devices they own, time they on these online devices, the usage aims of these devices. PANAS is used in order to measure the emotional well-being of the students. PANAS has got two sub-dimensions as positive affect and negative affect. Usage time of the online devices creates a significant difference on negative affect score. The usage of this devices with the aim of homework/project creates a significant difference in positive and negative affect scores; usage of these devices with the aim of game and entertainment creates a significant difference in negative affect score and the usage of these devices with the aim of news/newspaper creates a significant difference in positive affect score. The result of the research discovered that the time and aim of online device use are significant indicators for high school students’ emotional well-being. The result of this research shows that high school students mostly use smart phones among online devices. If the future researches are carried out upon smart phones, this may provide information upon how are the adolescents affected from being grown up with the technology. On the other hand as online devices have become widespread rapidly, their usage aims are versatile, children grow up with technology show that more researches are needed in this field.

A novel fully integrated handheld gamma camera

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Massari, R.; Ucci, A.; Campisi, C.; Scopinaro, F.; Soluri, A.

2016-01-01

In this paper, we present an innovative, fully integrated handheld gamma camera, namely designed to gather in the same device the gamma ray detector with the display and the embedded computing system. The low power consumption allows the prototype to be battery operated. To be useful in radioguided surgery, an intraoperative gamma camera must be very easy to handle since it must be moved to find a suitable view. Consequently, we have developed the first prototype of a fully integrated, compact and lightweight gamma camera for radiopharmaceuticals fast imaging. The device can operate without cables across the sterile field, so it may be easily used in the operating theater for radioguided surgery. The prototype proposed consists of a Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) array coupled with a proprietary scintillation structure based on CsI(Tl) crystals. To read the SiPM output signals, we have developed a very low power readout electronics and a dedicated analog to digital conversion system. One of the most critical aspects we faced designing the prototype was the low power consumption, which is mandatory to develop a battery operated device. We have applied this detection device in the lymphoscintigraphy technique (sentinel lymph node mapping) comparing the results obtained with those of a commercial gamma camera (Philips SKYLight). The results obtained confirm a rapid response of the device and an adequate spatial resolution for the use in the scintigraphic imaging. This work confirms the feasibility of a small gamma camera with an integrated display. This device is designed for radioguided surgery and small organ imaging, but it could be easily combined into surgical navigation systems.

A novel fully integrated handheld gamma camera

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Massari, R.; Ucci, A.; Campisi, C. [Biostructure and Bioimaging Institute (IBB), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Rome (Italy); Scopinaro, F. [University of Rome “La Sapienza”, S. Andrea Hospital, Rome (Italy); Soluri, A., E-mail: alessandro.soluri@ibb.cnr.it [Biostructure and Bioimaging Institute (IBB), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Rome (Italy)

2016-10-01

In this paper, we present an innovative, fully integrated handheld gamma camera, namely designed to gather in the same device the gamma ray detector with the display and the embedded computing system. The low power consumption allows the prototype to be battery operated. To be useful in radioguided surgery, an intraoperative gamma camera must be very easy to handle since it must be moved to find a suitable view. Consequently, we have developed the first prototype of a fully integrated, compact and lightweight gamma camera for radiopharmaceuticals fast imaging. The device can operate without cables across the sterile field, so it may be easily used in the operating theater for radioguided surgery. The prototype proposed consists of a Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) array coupled with a proprietary scintillation structure based on CsI(Tl) crystals. To read the SiPM output signals, we have developed a very low power readout electronics and a dedicated analog to digital conversion system. One of the most critical aspects we faced designing the prototype was the low power consumption, which is mandatory to develop a battery operated device. We have applied this detection device in the lymphoscintigraphy technique (sentinel lymph node mapping) comparing the results obtained with those of a commercial gamma camera (Philips SKYLight). The results obtained confirm a rapid response of the device and an adequate spatial resolution for the use in the scintigraphic imaging. This work confirms the feasibility of a small gamma camera with an integrated display. This device is designed for radioguided surgery and small organ imaging, but it could be easily combined into surgical navigation systems.

Personal radiation detector at a high technology readiness level that satisfies DARPA's SN-13-47 and SIGMA program requirements

Science.gov (United States)

Ginzburg, D.; Knafo, Y.; Manor, A.; Seif, R.; Ghelman, M.; Ellenbogen, M.; Pushkarsky, V.; Ifergan, Y.; Semyonov, N.; Wengrowicz, U.; Mazor, T.; Kadmon, Y.; Cohen, Y.; Osovizky, A.

2015-06-01

the proposed approach of SiPM, with pixel size of 35 μm, coupled to a scintillation material (for gamma and neutron detection) ensures the availability and low cost of the key components. Furthermore, automated manufacturing process enables mass production, thereby fulfilling the SIGMA program requirements, both as a sensor (assimilated with mobile device) and as a full detection device.

Memory attacks on device-independent quantum cryptography.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrett, Jonathan; Colbeck, Roger; Kent, Adrian

2013-01-04

Device-independent quantum cryptographic schemes aim to guarantee security to users based only on the output statistics of any components used, and without the need to verify their internal functionality. Since this would protect users against untrustworthy or incompetent manufacturers, sabotage, or device degradation, this idea has excited much interest, and many device-independent schemes have been proposed. Here we identify a critical weakness of device-independent protocols that rely on public communication between secure laboratories. Untrusted devices may record their inputs and outputs and reveal information about them via publicly discussed outputs during later runs. Reusing devices thus compromises the security of a protocol and risks leaking secret data. Possible defenses include securely destroying or isolating used devices. However, these are costly and often impractical. We propose other more practical partial defenses as well as a new protocol structure for device-independent quantum key distribution that aims to achieve composable security in the case of two parties using a small number of devices to repeatedly share keys with each other (and no other party).

An introduction to electrooptic devices

CERN Document Server

Kaminow, Ivan P

1974-01-01

An Introduction to Electrooptic Devices aims to present an introduction to the electrooptic effect and to summarize work on devices employing the electrooptic effect. The book provides the necessary background in classical crystal optics. The text then discusses topics including crystal symmetry, the tensor description of linear dielectric properties, propagation in anisotropic media, and passive crystal optic devices. The book also describes the phenomenological description of tensor nonlinear dielectric properties of crystals, with emphasis on the electrooptic effect; device design and appli

Plasma health care - Aims, constraints and progress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morfill, G.E.; Zimmerman, J.L.

2013-01-01

Health Care covers three areas of interest for cold atmospheric pressure plasmas: Cosmetics, Hygiene and Medicine. These areas can be subdivided into personal and professional care. In this review will concentrate on Hygiene and Medicine. In professional hygiene the most important plasma contribution is sterilization, decontamination and disinfection. The main aim is the prevention of diseases or their containment. Progress in the development of efficient bactericidal plasma sources has been rapid, so that it appears realistic to use plasmas to combat nosocomial infections as well as community associated infections in the not too distant future. The advantages of plasma devices – they use air and electricity only, there are no waste products, they are inexpensive to manufacture and operate, easy to transport and install, and bactericidal effects are fast (seconds). Plasmas can efficiently kill resistant bacteria (e.g. MRSA) and tests have shown no resistance build-up so far. With an estimated 2 Million hospital induced infections each year in the US alone, and about 100.000 resulting deaths, very efficient, safe and fast hospital plasma hygiene devices would appear to be a very important weapon to help contain the spread of infectious diseases. In Medicine there are a number of ambitious ideas and aims. Plasmas can be “designed” to some extent. They can include different active species that can have an effect at the cellular level. There are ionic atoms and molecules, whose medical use need to be evaluated – the vision is that a new area of “plasma pharmacy” could develop. First steps are currently being taken in biological studies. Also the excited atoms in cold atmospheric plasmas may make cell walls more permeable for such species. (author)

Study of the radiation damage of silicon photomultipliers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nitschke, Michael; Chmill, Valery; Garutti, Erika; Klanner, Robert; Schwandt, Joern [Institute for Experimental Physics, Hamburg University, Luruper Chaussee 149, D-22761 Hamburg (Germany)

2016-07-01

Radiation damage significantly changes the performance of silicon photomultipliers (SiPM). In this work, we first have characterized KETEK SiPMs with a pixel size of 15 x 15 μm{sup 2} using I-V (current-voltage), C/G-V/f (capacitance/impedance-voltage/frequency) and Q-V (charge-voltage) measurements with and without illumination with blue light of 470 nm from an LED. The SiPM parameters determined are DCR (dark count rate), relative PDE (photon detection efficiency), G (Gain), XT (cross-talk), Geiger breakdown characteristics, C{sub pix} (pixel capacitance) and R{sub q} (quenching resistance). Following this first characterization, the SiPMs were irradiated using reactor neutrons with fluences of 10{sup 9}, 10{sup 10}, 10{sup 11}, 5 . 10{sup 11}, and 10{sup 12} n/cm{sup 2}. Afterwards, the same measurements were repeated, and the dependence of the SiPM parameters on neutron fluence was determined. The results are used to optimize the radiation tolerance of SiPMs.

Digital forensics for handheld devices

CERN Document Server

Doherty, Eamon P

2012-01-01

Approximately 80 percent of the world's population now owns a cell phone, which can hold evidence or contain logs about communications concerning a crime. Cameras, PDAs, and GPS devices can also contain information related to corporate policy infractions and crimes. Aimed to prepare investigators in the public and private sectors, Digital Forensics for Handheld Devices examines both the theoretical and practical aspects of investigating handheld digital devices. This book touches on all areas of mobile device forensics, including topics from the legal, technical, academic, and social aspects o

In-depth study of single photon time resolution for the Philips digital silicon photomultiplier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Z.; Pizzichemi, M.; Ghezzi, A.; Paganoni, M.; Gundacker, S.; Auffray, E.; Lecoq, P.

2016-01-01

The digital silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) has been commercialised by Philips as an innovative technology compared to analog silicon photomultiplier devices. The Philips digital SiPM, has a pair of time to digital converters (TDCs) connected to 12800 single photon avalanche diodes (SPADs). Detailed measurements were performed to understand the low photon time response of the Philips digital SiPM. The single photon time resolution (SPTR) of every single SPAD in a pixel consisting of 3200 SPADs was measured and an average value of 85 ps full width at half maximum (FWHM) was observed. Each SPAD sends the signal to the TDC with different signal propagation time, resulting in a so called trigger network skew. This distribution of the trigger network skew for a pixel (3200 SPADs) has been measured and a variation of 50 ps FWHM was extracted. The SPTR of the whole pixel is the combination of SPAD jitter, trigger network skew, and the SPAD non-uniformity. The SPTR of a complete pixel was 103 ps FWHM at 3.3 V above breakdown voltage. Further, the effect of the crosstalk at a low photon level has been studied, with the two photon time resolution degrading if the events are a combination of detected (true) photons and crosstalk events. Finally, the time response to multiple photons was investigated.

Performance study of Philips digital silicon photomultiplier coupled to scintillating crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Z.; Pizzichemi, M.; Paganoni, M.; Auffray, E.; Lecoq, P.

2016-01-01

Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) and scintillators are often arranged in the shape of arrays in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) systems. Digital SiPMs provide signal readout in single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) level. From the photon count rate measurement of each SPAD cell of digital SiPM, we found that the output scintillating photons distribute in an area larger than the scintillator physical coupling area. Taking advantage of the possibility to enable/disable individual cells of the digital SiPM, a group of Lutetium-yttrium oxyorthosilicate (LYSO) crystals with different dimensions coupled to a digital SiPM was used to study the influence of using different SiPM active area on the number of photons detected, energy resolution and coincidence time resolution (CTR). For the same crystal coupled to the digital SiPM, the larger the active area of digital SiPM, the higher the number of photons detected. The larger active area of the digital SiPM also results in a better energy resolution after saturation correction. The best energy resolution full width half maximum (FWHM) obtained for the 2×2×5mm 3 , 2×2×10 mm 3 , 2×2×15mm 3 , 2×2×20mm 3 LYSO crystals was 10.7%, 11.6%, 12.1%, 12.5%, respectively. For crystals with different cross sections coupled to the digital SiPM, we found that the larger the cross section of coupling area, the more photons were detected and thus a better energy resolution was obtained. The CTR of crystals fully wrapped with Teflon or without wrapping was measured by positioning two identical crystals facing each other. A larger area of digital SiPM improves the CTR and the CTR reaches the plateau when the active area is larger than 2.2×2.2mm 2 with both two configurations of wrapping. The best CTR value for the 2×2×5mm 3 , 2×2×10mm 3 , 2×2×15mm 3 , 2×2×20mm 3 LYSO crystals was 128.9 ps, 148.4 ps, 171.6 ps, 177.9 ps, respectively. The measurements performed lead us to conclude that optimising the coupling between crystal

Control device for handling device of control rod drive

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sasaki, Toshiya

1998-01-01

A predetermined aimed portion of control rod drives disposed in a pedestal is photographed, and image data and camera data including the position of the camera are outputted. Edge cut out processing image data are formed based on the outputted image data, and aimed image data and aimed camera data obtained when previously positioning the handling device precisely to a predetermined aimed position are stored. The aimed image data are taken out from the aimed image data file to prepare computer graphic image data, and there is disposed an image superposing processing portion for comparing images based on the computer graphic image data and images based on the image data for edge cut out processing, as well as comparing the aimed camera data and the camera data, and displaying each of them to an image display portion. (I.S.)

Second LaBr3 Compton Telescope Prototype

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Llosa, Gabriela; Cabello, Jorge; Gillam, John-E.; Lacasta, Carlos; Oliver, Josep F.; Rafecas, Magdalena; Solaz, Carles; Solevi, Paola; Stankova, Vera; Torres-Espallardo, Irene; Trovato, Marco

2013-06-01

A Compton telescope for dose delivery monitoring in hadron therapy is under development at IFIC Valencia within the European project ENVISION. The telescope will consist of three detector planes, each one composed of a LaBr 3 continuous scintillator crystal coupled to four silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) arrays. After the development of a first prototype which served to assess the principle, a second prototype with larger crystals has been assembled and is being tested. The current version of the prototype consists of two detector layers, each one composed of a 32.5 x 35 mm 2 crystal coupled to four SiPM arrays. The VATA64HDR16 ASIC has been employed as front-end electronics. The readout system consists of a custom made data acquisition board. Tests with point-like sources have been carried out in the laboratory, assessing the correct functioning of the device. The system optimization is ongoing. (authors)

Towards Optical Partial Discharge Detection with Micro Silicon Photomultipliers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ming Ren

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Optical detection is reliable in intrinsically characterizing partial discharges (PDs. Because of the great volume and high-level power supply of the optical devices that can satisfy the requirements in photosensitivity, optical PD detection can merely be used in laboratory studies. To promote the practical application of the optical approach in an actual power apparatus, a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM-based PD sensor is introduced in this paper, and its basic properties, which include the sensitivity, pulse resolution, correlation with PD severity, and electromagnetic (EM interference immunity, are experimentally evaluated. The stochastic phase-resolved PD pattern (PRPD for three typical insulation defects are obtained by SiPM PD detector and are compared with those obtained using a high-frequency current transformer (HFCT and a vacuum photomultiplier tube (PMT. Because of its good performances in the above aspects and its additional advantages, such as the small size, low power supply, and low cost, SiPM offers great potential in practical optical PD monitoring.

Assessment of MR-compatibility of SiPM PET insert using short optical fiber bundles for small animal research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, H.G.; Hong, S.J.; Ko, G.B.; Yoon, H.S.; Lee, J.S.; Song, I.C.; Rhee, J.T.

2015-01-01

Simultaneous positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can provide new perspectives in human disease research because of their complementary in-vivo imaging techniques. Previously, we have developed an MR-compatible PET insert based on optical fibers using silicon photomultipliers (SiPM). However when echo planar imaging (EPI) sequence was performed, signal intensity was slowly decreased by −0.9% over the 5.5 minutes and significant geometrical distortion was observed as the PET insert was installed inside an MRI bore, indicating that the PET electronics and its shielding boxes might have been too close to an MR imaging object. In this paper, optical fiber bundles with a length of 54 mm instead of 31 mm were employed to minimize PET interference on MR images. Furthermore, the LYSO crystals with a size of 1.5 × 1.5 × 7.0 mm 3 were used instead of 2.47 × 2.74 × 20.0 mm 3 for preclinical PET/MR applications. To improve the MR image quality, two receive-only loop coils were used. The effects of the PET insert on the SNR of the MR image either for morphological or advanced MR pulse sequences such as diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), functional MRI (fMRI), and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) were investigated. The quantitative MR compatibility such as B 0 and B 1 field homogeneity without PET, with 'PET OFF', and with 'PET ON' was also evaluated. In conclusion, B 0 maps were not affected by the proposed PET insert whereas B 1 maps were significantly affected by the PET insert. The advanced MRI sequences such as DWI, EPI, and MRS can be performed without a significant MR image quality degradation

Device for electron beam machining

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Panzer, S.; Ardenne, T. von; Liebergeld, H.

1984-01-01

The invention concerns a device for electron beam machining, in particular welding. It is aimed at continuous operation of the electron irradiation device. This is achieved by combining the electron gun with a beam guiding chamber, to which vacuum chambers are connected. The working parts to be welded can be arranged in the latter

Device Optimization and Transient Electroluminescence Studies of Organic light Emitting Devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lijuan Zou

2003-08-05

Organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) are among the most promising for flat panel display technologies. They are light, bright, flexible, and cost effective. And while they are emerging in commercial product, their low power efficiency and long-term degradation are still challenging. The aim of this work was to investigate their device physics and improve their performance. Violet and blue OLEDs were studied. The devices were prepared by thermal vapor deposition in high vacuum. The combinatorial method was employed in device preparation. Both continuous wave and transient electroluminescence (EL) were studied. A new efficient and intense UV-violet light emitting device was developed. At a current density of 10 mA/cm{sup 2}, the optimal radiance R could reach 0.38 mW/cm{sup 2}, and the quantum efficiency was 1.25%. using the delayed EL technique, electron mobilities in DPVBi and CBP were determined to be {approx} 10{sup -5} cm{sup 2}/Vs and {approx} 10{sup -4} cm{sup 2}/Vs, respectively. Overshoot effects in the transient El of blue light emitting devices were also observed and studied. This effect was attributed to the charge accumulation at the organic/organic and organic/cathode interfaces.

Device Optimization and Transient Electroluminescence Studies of Organic light Emitting Devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lijuan Zou

2003-01-01

Organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) are among the most promising for flat panel display technologies. They are light, bright, flexible, and cost effective. And while they are emerging in commercial product, their low power efficiency and long-term degradation are still challenging. The aim of this work was to investigate their device physics and improve their performance. Violet and blue OLEDs were studied. The devices were prepared by thermal vapor deposition in high vacuum. The combinatorial method was employed in device preparation. Both continuous wave and transient electroluminescence (EL) were studied. A new efficient and intense UV-violet light emitting device was developed. At a current density of 10 mA/cm 2 , the optimal radiance R could reach 0.38 mW/cm 2 , and the quantum efficiency was 1.25%. using the delayed EL technique, electron mobilities in DPVBi and CBP were determined to be ∼ 10 -5 cm 2 /Vs and ∼ 10 -4 cm 2 /Vs, respectively. Overshoot effects in the transient El of blue light emitting devices were also observed and studied. This effect was attributed to the charge accumulation at the organic/organic and organic/cathode interfaces

A study on development of fast silicon photomultipliers for TOF-PET Application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Chae Hun

2011-02-01

The PET technique is based on the fact that the radioisotopes introduced to the body as labels tracer molecules emitting positrons. To improve the image quality of PET, the Time-Of-Flight (TOF) technique was proposed, so it reduces the statistical noise by confining the Line-Of-Response using the information measuring the time difference between two opposite PET detectors. Nowadays, the components of PET detectors such as scintillation crystals, photo-sensors, and their readout electronics were well developed. Despite major improvement in imaging detector technologies, solid- state photo-sensors have not been replaced instead of the vacuum type PM tubes whose performance is still superior to others, even though they have some disadvantages such as mal-function in magnetic field, high operating bias, bulkiness, and high cost. One of the candidates for the photo-sensor in TOF-PET detectors to replace the PMTs is 'Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM)' which has high gain comparable to PMTs, high photon detection efficiency, non-sensitive to MR, low operating bias about 30 V, and low cost. To apply the SiPM in TOF-PET, the timing characteristics should be improved more. In this study, SiPM was studied to improve the timing performance. In PET detectors, the timing resolution is directly related to the amplitude to the rise time ratio. As the ratio increases, the timing performance can be enhanced. PDE of SiPM was modeled to increase the amplitude of PET detectors based on SiPM with dynamic range consideration. The optimum micro-pixel size, consequently the number of micro-pixels for TOF-PET detectors were calculated from PDE modeling. To shorten the rise time of PET detector, the single photon pulse shape of SiPM is needed to modify. To do this, a quenching capacitor in a micro-pixel of SiPM was integrated. Circuit modeling was done in order to know how it affects the pulse shape. SiPM was fabricated at National NanoFab Center with the modeling results. A SiPM pixel has 1912

Motivation, procedures and aims of reacting plasma experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miyahara, Akira

1982-01-01

A project of reacting plasma experiment (R-project) was proposed at the Institute of Plasma Physics (IPP), Nagoya University. It is necessary to bridge plasma physics and fusion engineering by means of a messenger wire like burning plasma experiment. This is a motivation of the R-project. The university linkage organization of Japan for fusion engineering category carried out a lot of contribution to R-tokamak design. The project consists of four items, namely, R-tokamak design, research and development (R and D), site and facilities, and international collaboration. The phase 1 experiment (R 1 - phase) corresponds to burning plasma experiment without D + T fuel, while the phase-2 experiment (R 2 -phase) with D + T fuel. One reference design was finished. Intensive efforts have been carried out by the R and D team on the following items, wall material, vacuum system, tritium system, neutronics, remote control system, pulsed superconducting magnet development, negative ion source, and alpha-particle diagnostics. The problems concerning site and major facilities are also important, because tritium handling, neutron and gamma-ray sky shines and the activation of devices cause impact to surrounding area. The aims of burning plasma experiment are to enter tritium into the fusion device, and to study burning plasma physics. (Kato, T.)

Device independent quantum key distribution secure against coherent attacks with memoryless measurement devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKague, Matthew

2009-01-01

Device independent quantum key distribution (QKD) aims to provide a higher degree of security than traditional QKD schemes by reducing the number of assumptions that need to be made about the physical devices used. The previous proof of security by Pironio et al (2009 New J. Phys. 11 045021) applies only to collective attacks where the state is identical and independent and the measurement devices operate identically for each trial in the protocol. We extend this result to a more general class of attacks where the state is arbitrary and the measurement devices have no memory. We accomplish this by a reduction of arbitrary adversary strategies to qubit strategies and a proof of security for qubit strategies based on the previous proof by Pironio et al and techniques adapted from Renner.

Cherenkov TOF PET with silicon photomultipliers

Science.gov (United States)

Dolenec, R.; Korpar, S.; Križan, P.; Pestotnik, R.

2015-12-01

As previously demonstrated, an excellent timing resolution below 100 ps FWHM is possible in time-of-flight positron emission tomography (TOF PET) if the detection method is based on the principle of detecting photons of Cherenkov light, produced in a suitable material and detected by microchannel plate photomultipliers (MCP PMTs). In this work, the silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) were tested for the first time as the photodetectors in Cherenkov TOF PET. The high photon detection efficiency (PDE) of SiPMs led to a large improvement in detection efficiency. On the other hand, the time response of currently available SiPMs is not as good as that of MCP PMTs. The SiPM dark counts introduce a new source of random coincidences in Cherenkov method, which would be overwhelming with present SiPM technology at room temperature. When the apparatus was cooled, its performance significantly improved.

The performance of silicon photomultipliers in Cherenkov TOF PET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dolenec, Rok; Korpar, Samo; Krizan, Peter; Pestotink, Rok

2015-01-01

In time-of-flight positron emission tomography (TOF PET) one of the main factors limiting the time resolution is the time evolution of the scintillation process. This can be avoided by using exclusively the Cherenkov light produced in a suitable material. Sub 100 ps FWHM timing has already been experimentally demonstrated but with a drawback of relatively low detection efficiency due to the photodetectors used. In this work silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) are considered as a photodetector in Cherenkov TOF PET. The detection efficiency can be significantly improved by using SiPMs, however, at room temperature the SiPM dark counts introduce a significant source of fake coincidences. SiPM samples from different producers were tested in a simple back-to-back setup in combination with lead fluoride Cherenkov radiators. Results for coincidence timing, detection efficiency and effects of dark counts at different temperatures and SiPM overvoltages are presented.

Humanitarian Use Device and Humanitarian Device Exemption regulatory programs: pros and cons.

Science.gov (United States)

Bernad, Daniel Maxwell

2009-03-01

The US FDA established the Humanitarian Use Device (HUD) and Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE) program to encourage medical device firms to address rare diseases. Despite being in existence for over a decade, there has only been one peer-reviewed publication examining this field. The objective of this report is to investigate how the HUD/HDE program differs from the standard regulatory system, discuss its potential advantages and disadvantages, and to speculate which humanitarian devices will be brought to market within the next 5 years. A total of 40 semistructured interviews with stakeholders, representing approximately half (n = 20, 49%) of the firms that have successfully obtained HDE-approved products, were performed in order to acquire the primary data for this paper. There appear to be short-term gains and long-term drains associated with launching humanitarian devices to market. This report aims to provide sponsors with information that may allow them to make better decisions during their product development of humanitarian devices and may, hopefully, also play a role in encouraging other sponsors to take the necessary steps forward in helping to find treatments for patients with rare diseases.

Creation of electromechanical device for electric vehicle traction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Денис Юрьевич Зубенко

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The problems of creation of electromechanical device for electric vehicle traction are considered in the article. The aim of creation this design are the replacement of the internal combustion engine on electromechanical device. For this electromechanical device are constructed model, which describe processes that occur in the electric drive of electromechanical device. Characteristics of the main modes of motion were recorded. The introduction of electromechanical device will reduce the level of emissions and reduce noise in the cities

Development and Validation of a Spike Detection and Classification Algorithm Aimed at Implementation on Hardware Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Biffi

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Neurons cultured in vitro on MicroElectrode Array (MEA devices connect to each other, forming a network. To study electrophysiological activity and long term plasticity effects, long period recording and spike sorter methods are needed. Therefore, on-line and real time analysis, optimization of memory use and data transmission rate improvement become necessary. We developed an algorithm for amplitude-threshold spikes detection, whose performances were verified with (a statistical analysis on both simulated and real signal and (b Big O Notation. Moreover, we developed a PCA-hierarchical classifier, evaluated on simulated and real signal. Finally we proposed a spike detection hardware design on FPGA, whose feasibility was verified in terms of CLBs number, memory occupation and temporal requirements; once realized, it will be able to execute on-line detection and real time waveform analysis, reducing data storage problems.

Propagation Measurements for Device-to-Device Communication in Forest Terrain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hejselbæk, Johannes; Nielsen, Jesper Ødum; Drewes, Christian

2018-01-01

In this paper, we present a measurement campaign conducted in forest terrain with focus on path-loss. The aim of the measurement campaign is to study the coverage in a Device-to-Device (D2D) communication scenario. The measurement campaign was conducted in the LTE band 8 at 917.5 MHz...... with measurement ranges extending to more than 2.5 km. The measurements have been conducted using a purpose-developed measurement system with a dynamic range of 180 dB. The measurements showed that a D2D system with transmit and receive antenna at heights of 1.5 m could achieve a range of approximately 2 km using...

Silicon photonics fundamentals and devices

CERN Document Server

Deen, M Jamal

2012-01-01

The creation of affordable high speed optical communications using standard semiconductor manufacturing technology is a principal aim of silicon photonics research. This would involve replacing copper connections with optical fibres or waveguides, and electrons with photons. With applications such as telecommunications and information processing, light detection, spectroscopy, holography and robotics, silicon photonics has the potential to revolutionise electronic-only systems. Providing an overview of the physics, technology and device operation of photonic devices using exclusively silicon and related alloys, the book includes: * Basic Properties of Silicon * Quantum Wells, Wires, Dots and Superlattices * Absorption Processes in Semiconductors * Light Emitters in Silicon * Photodetectors , Photodiodes and Phototransistors * Raman Lasers including Raman Scattering * Guided Lightwaves * Planar Waveguide Devices * Fabrication Techniques and Material Systems Silicon Photonics: Fundamentals and Devices outlines ...

The Salinas Airshower Learning And Discovery Project (SALAD)

Science.gov (United States)

Hernandez, Victor; Niduaza, Rommel; Ruiz Castruita, Daniel; Knox, Adrian; Ramos, Daniel; Fan, Sewan; Fatuzzo, Laura

2015-04-01

The SALAD project partners community college and high school STEM students in order to develop and investigate cosmic ray detector telescopes and the physical concepts, using a new light sensor technology based on silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) detectors. Replacing the conventional photomultiplier with the SiPM, offers notable advantages in cost and facilitates more in depth, hands-on learning laboratory activities. The students in the SALAD project design, construct and extensively evaluate the SiPM detector modules. These SiPM modules, can be completed in a short time utilizing cost effective components. We describe our research to implement SiPM as read out light detectors for plastic scintillators in a cosmic ray detector telescope for use in high schools. In particular, we describe our work in the design, evaluation and the assembly of (1) a fast preamplifier, (2) a simple coincidence circuit using fast comparators, to discriminate the SiPM noise signal pulses, and (3) a monovibrator circuit to shape the singles plus the AND logic pulses for subsequent processing. To store the singles and coincidence counts data, an Arduino micro-controller with program sketches can be implemented. Results and findings from our work would be described and presented. US Department of Education Title V Grant Award PO31S090007

Charging device for an electrostatic accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pivovar, L.I.; Khurgin, K.M.

1983-01-01

The invention relates to electrostatic accelerators operating in compressed gases and charged by a charge-carrying belt transport device with driving and driven shafts. The aim of the invention is the increase of service life of the device by decreasing deflection of the charge-carrying belt in high-voltage conductor operation at high voltages. Increase of survice life of the device is provided due to the fact that the belt as a whole is more stable and it runs true without slacking shielding rods

QCD studies with anti-protons at FAIR: Indian participation in PANDA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kailas, S.; Roy, B.J.; Dutta, D.; Jha, V.; Varma, R.

2011-01-01

The Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) is a future project at GSI which will extend hadron physics studies up to the charm meson region using antiproton beams together with a state-of-the-art detector antiproton annihilation at Darmstadt (PANDA). The physics aim, in a broader sense, is to address the fundamental problems of hadron physics and aspects of quantum chromo-dynamics (QCD) at low energies. The proposed work in India will consist of several parts: R and D studies of silicon micro-strip detector, development of a scintillator hodoscope with silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) readout, studies of SiPM as photon counter and simulation studies of the detector design as well as physics case studies. The present article describes the physics motivation and initial progress made towards achieving these goals. (author)

Systematic study of new types of Hamamatsu MPPCs read out with the NINO ASIC

CERN Document Server

Doroud, K; Williams, M C S; Yamamoto, K; Zichichi, A; Zuyeuski, R

2014-01-01

Over the last decade there have been commercial TOF-PET scanners constructed using Photo-Multiplier Tubes (PMT) that have achieved View the MathML source~500ps FWHM Coincidence Time Resolution (CTR). A new device known as the Silicon PhotoMultiplier (SiPM) has the potential to overcome some of the limitations of the PMT. Therefore implementing a SiPM based TOF-PET scanner is of high interest. Recently Philips has introduced a TOF-PET scanner that uses digital Silicon PhotoMultipliers (d-SiPMs) which has a CTR of 350 ps. Here we will report on the timing performance of two Hamamatsu 3×3 mm2 analogue-SiPMs read out with the NINO ASIC: this is an ultra-fast amplifier/discriminator with a differential architecture. The differential architecture is very important since the single-ended readout uses the ground as the signal return; as the ground is also the reference level for the discriminators, the result is high crosstalk and degraded time resolution. However differential readout allows the scaling up from a si...

Characterization of silicon photomultipliers and validation of the electrical model

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Peng; Qiang, Yi; Ross, Steve; Burr, Kent

2018-04-01

This paper introduces a systematic way to measure most features of the silicon photomultipliers (SiPM). We implement an efficient two-laser procedure to measure the recovery time. Avalanche probability was found to play an important role in explaining the right behavior of the SiPM recovery process. Also, we demonstrate how equivalent circuit parameters measured by optical tests can be used in SPICE modeling to predict details of the time constants relevant to the pulse shape. The SiPM properties measured include breakdown voltage, gain, diode capacitor, quench resistor, quench capacitor, dark count rate, photodetection efficiency, cross-talk and after-pulsing probability, and recovery time. We apply these techniques on the SiPMs from two companies: Hamamatsu and SensL.

Radiation damage of multipixel Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes irradiated with low-energy γ's and electrons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kwon, Y.; Yun, Y. B. [Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Ha, J. M. [Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Lee, J. S.; Yoon, Y. S. [Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Eun, J. W. [Namseoul University, Cheonan (Korea, Republic of)

2012-05-15

A few types of multipipixel Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes (also referred to as silicon photomultipliers SiPMs) are irradiated with 1 to 2.5 MeV γ's and electrons. We characterize radiation damage effects appearing in the reverse bias current, the dark current and count rate, the pixel gain, and the photon detection efficiency of the devices. An interesting observation on the dark current and count rate is made and linked to the specific damage caused by the irradiation.

Chiasmus as a Stylistic Device in Donne's and Vaughan's Poetry

Science.gov (United States)

I'jam, Dunya Muhammad Miqdad; Fadhil, Zahraa Adnan

2016-01-01

This study investigates chiasmus as a stylistic device in ten metaphysical poems (five for John Donne and five for Henry Vaughan). It aims at showing how both, Donne and Vaughan, utilize chiasmus at the different linguistic levels as a stylistic device in their poetry. Thus, to achieve this aim, it is hypothesized that chiasmus as used by Donne…

Radiation Damage Studies of Silicon Photomultipliers

CERN Document Server

Bohn, P; Hazen, E.; Heering, A.; Rohlf, J.; Freeman, J.; Los, Sergey V.; Cascio, E.; Kuleshov, S.; Musienko, Y.; Piemonte, C.

2008-01-01

We report on the measurement of the radiation hardness of silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) manufactured by Fondazione Bruno Kessler in Italy (1 mm$^2$ and 6.2 mm$^2$), Center of Perspective Technology and Apparatus in Russia (1 mm$^2$ and 4.4 mm$^2$), and Hamamatsu Corporation in Japan (1 mm$^2$). The SiPMs were irradiated using a beam of 212 MeV protons at Massachusetts General Hospital, receiving fluences of up to $3 \\times 10^{10}$ protons per cm$^2$ with the SiPMs at operating voltage. Leakage currents were read continuously during the irradiation. The delivery of the protons was paused periodically to record scope traces in response to calibrated light pulses to monitor the gains, photon detection efficiencies, and dark counts of the SiPMs. The leakage current and dark noise are found to increase with fluence. Te leakage current is found to be proportional to the mean square deviation of the noise distribution, indicating the dark counts are due to increased random individual pixel activation, while SiPM...

Silicon photomultipliers in AMIGA muon counters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Botti, Ana Martina [Institut fuer Kernphysik, Karlsruher Institut fuer Technologie (Germany); Instituto de Tecnologias en Deteccion y Astroparticulas (ITeDA) (Argentina); Collaboration: Pierre-Auger-Collaboration

2016-07-01

The project AMIGA (Auger Muons and Infill for the Ground Array) aims to extend the energy range at the Pierre Auger Observatory to observe cosmic rays of lower energies (down to ∝10{sup 17} eV) and to study the transition from extragalactic to galactic cosmic rays. AMIGA is compounded by an infill of surface detectors (employing Cherenkov radiation detection in water) and muon counters. The AMIGA muon counters consist of an array of buried modules composed of 64 scintillator bars, a multi-pixel Photo Multiplier Tube (PMT) and the corresponding electronic of acquisition which works along with the surface detector. Currently, ITeDA is evaluating the feasibility of replacing PMTs with silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) without performing any substantial modification in the digital readout nor in the mechanical design. I present calibration results of a prototype module associated to the surface detector Toune of the Pierre Auger Observatory using a SiPM Hamamatsu S1257-100C plugged to the standard AMIGA front-end electronics. In addition, a study concerning gain stability and temperature variation has also been performed and is reported. I finally discuss a comparison between traces measured by both photodetectors (PMT and SiPM) for modules associated to the surface detector Toune.

Photoelectric transfer device

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shinomiya, Takuji; Murao, Fumihide

1987-12-07

Concerning the conventional photoelectric transfer device, a short-circuit current of photodiodes is switched over with MOS transistors. However, since the backgate voltage of the MOS transistor which is to be used as the switching element, is provided by the source voltage, the leakage current between the backgate and the source/drain/ channel is great and due to this leakage current, errors occur in the photoelectric transfer power output. Especially, when the leakage current of the photodiodes is small, the error becomes large. In order to solve the above problem, this invention aims at offering a photoelectric transfer device which can provide the high precision photoelectric transfer even the short-circuit current generated in the photodiodes is small and proposes a photoelectric transfer device in which the backgate voltage of the MOS transistor switching over the short-circuit current of the photodiodes is made equal to the electric potential of the mutually connected anodes (or cathodes) of the photodiodes. (3 figs)

Silicon photomultipliers. Properties and applications in a highly granular calorimeter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feege, Nils

2008-12-01

Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are novel semiconductor-based photodetectors operated in Geiger mode. Their response is not linear, and both their gain and their photon detection efficiency depend on the applied bias voltage and on temperature. The CALICE collaboration investigates several technology options for highly granular calorimeters for the future ILC. The prototype of a scintillator-steel sampling calorimeter with analogue readout for hadrons constructed at DESY and successfully operated in testbeam experiments at DESY, CERN and FNAL by this collaboration is the first large scale application for 7608 SiPMs developed by MEPhI. This thesis deals with properties of the SiPMs used in the calorimeter prototype. The effective numer of pixels of the SiPMs, which influences their saturation behaviour, is extracted from in situ measurements and compared to results obtained for the bare SiPMs. In addition, the effects of temperature and voltage changes on the parameters necessary for the calibration of the SiPMs and the detector are determined. Methods which allow for correcting or compensating these effects are evaluated. An approach to improve the absolute calibration of the temperature sensors in the prototype is described and temperature profiles are studied. Finally, a procedure to adjust the light yield of the cells of the prototype is presented. The results of the application of this procedure during the commissioning of the detector at FNAL are discussed. (orig.)

Silicon photomultipliers. Properties and applications in a highly granular calorimeter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feege, Nils

2008-12-15

Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are novel semiconductor-based photodetectors operated in Geiger mode. Their response is not linear, and both their gain and their photon detection efficiency depend on the applied bias voltage and on temperature. The CALICE collaboration investigates several technology options for highly granular calorimeters for the future ILC. The prototype of a scintillator-steel sampling calorimeter with analogue readout for hadrons constructed at DESY and successfully operated in testbeam experiments at DESY, CERN and FNAL by this collaboration is the first large scale application for 7608 SiPMs developed by MEPhI. This thesis deals with properties of the SiPMs used in the calorimeter prototype. The effective numer of pixels of the SiPMs, which influences their saturation behaviour, is extracted from in situ measurements and compared to results obtained for the bare SiPMs. In addition, the effects of temperature and voltage changes on the parameters necessary for the calibration of the SiPMs and the detector are determined. Methods which allow for correcting or compensating these effects are evaluated. An approach to improve the absolute calibration of the temperature sensors in the prototype is described and temperature profiles are studied. Finally, a procedure to adjust the light yield of the cells of the prototype is presented. The results of the application of this procedure during the commissioning of the detector at FNAL are discussed. (orig.)

On Heterogeneity in Mobile Sensing Applications Aiming at Representative Data Collection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blunck, Henrik; Bouvin, Niels Olof; Franke, Tobias

2013-01-01

Gathering representative data using mobile sensing to answer research questions is becoming increasingly popular, driven by growing ubiquity and sensing capabilities of mobile devices. However, there are pitfalls along this path, which introduce heterogeneity in the gathered data, and which...... on collective, mobile sensed data are valid. In this paper, we aim to inform researchers and developers about mobile sensing data heterogeneity and ways to combat it. We do so via distilling a vocabulary of underlying causes, and via describing their effects on mobile sensing---building on experiences from...

Characterization of 1.2×1.2 mm2 silicon photomultipliers with Ce:LYSO, Ce:GAGG, and Pr:LuAG scintillation crystals as detector modules for positron emission tomography

Science.gov (United States)

Omidvari, N.; Sharma, R.; Ganka, T. R.; Schneider, F. R.; Paul, S.; Ziegler, S. I.

2017-04-01

The design of a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner is specially challenging since it should not compromise high spatial resolution, high sensitivity, high count-rate capability, and good energy and time resolution. The geometrical design of the system alongside the characteristics of the individual PET detector modules contributes to the overall performance of the scanner. The detector performance is mainly influenced by the characteristics of the photo-detector and the scintillation crystal. Although silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) have already proven to be promising photo-detectors for PET, their performance is highly influenced by micro-cell structure and production technology. Therefore, five types of SiPMs produced by KETEK with an active area size of 1.2 × 1.2 mm2 were characterized in this study. The SiPMs differed in the production technology and had micro-cell sizes of 25, 50, 75, and 100 μm. Performance of the SiPMs was evaluated in terms of their breakdown voltage, temperature sensitivity, dark count rate, and correlated noise probability. Subsequently, energy resolution and coincidence time resolution (CTR) of the SiPMs were measured with five types of crystals, including two Ce:LYSO, two Ce:GAGG, and one Pr:LuAG. Two crystals with a geometry of 1.5 × 1.5 × 6 mm3 were available from each type. The best CTR achieved was ~ 240 ps, which was obtained with the Ce:LYSO crystals coupled to the 50 μm SiPM produced with the trench technology. The best energy resolution for the 511 keV photo-peak was ~ 11% and was obtained with the same SiPM coupled to the Ce:GAGG crystals.

SiPM-MAROC gamma-camera prototype with monolithic NaI(Tl) scintillator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Philippov, Dmitry; Ilyin, Andrey; Belyaev, Vladimir; Popova, Elan [National Research Nuclear University, Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (Russian Federation); Buzhan, Pavel; Stifutkin, Alexei [Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (Russian Federation)

2015-05-18

A full-body gamma-camera based on SiPM readout is currently under development as a part of MEPHI R activity supported in the framework of Russian Megagrants program. A goal of this development is a fast upgrade of existing medical equipment with minor changes in a system design and construction in order to combine SPECT and MR instruments. A monolithic NaI(Tl) scintillator commonly used for conventional PMT-based gamma cameras has been chosen for this study. SiPMs will be coupled with the scintillator via an optical guide. To cover scintillator surface thousands of SiPMs are required, together with multichannel front-end electronics. That means that readout electronics have to be very compact, with low power consumption and low cost. 64 – channel ASIC MAROC from Weeroc provides individual readout of each SiPM and has been considered as the best choice among electronics solutions available on the market. As the photodetector parameters are the key issues here, KETEK SiPMs with high detection efficiency, low crosstalk and low noise have been chosen for this study. In order to study the proposed detection system in detail and obtain detector module parameters, required for MC simulation, a 64-channel small prototype with 6x6mm{sup 2} SiPMs has been constructed and tested. SiPMs in SMD packages have been assembled as a matrix of 8x8 elements and readout by MAROC-based board. Prototype has been tested with different shape NaI(Tl) scintillators and gammas with different energy. Dedicated algorithms for extraction of gamma-event’s energy and position are under development. They are based on fitting a matrix of individual SiPMs responses by an analytical function F(x,y). They will be tested with GEANT-simulated events and experimental data. Development of the next (engineering) prototype of SiPM’s module for gamma-camera will be started soon.

SiPM-MAROC gamma-camera prototype with monolithic NaI(Tl) scintillator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Philippov, Dmitry; Ilyin, Andrey; Belyaev, Vladimir; Popova, Elan; Buzhan, Pavel; Stifutkin, Alexei

2015-01-01

A full-body gamma-camera based on SiPM readout is currently under development as a part of MEPHI R activity supported in the framework of Russian Megagrants program. A goal of this development is a fast upgrade of existing medical equipment with minor changes in a system design and construction in order to combine SPECT and MR instruments. A monolithic NaI(Tl) scintillator commonly used for conventional PMT-based gamma cameras has been chosen for this study. SiPMs will be coupled with the scintillator via an optical guide. To cover scintillator surface thousands of SiPMs are required, together with multichannel front-end electronics. That means that readout electronics have to be very compact, with low power consumption and low cost. 64 – channel ASIC MAROC from Weeroc provides individual readout of each SiPM and has been considered as the best choice among electronics solutions available on the market. As the photodetector parameters are the key issues here, KETEK SiPMs with high detection efficiency, low crosstalk and low noise have been chosen for this study. In order to study the proposed detection system in detail and obtain detector module parameters, required for MC simulation, a 64-channel small prototype with 6x6mm 2 SiPMs has been constructed and tested. SiPMs in SMD packages have been assembled as a matrix of 8x8 elements and readout by MAROC-based board. Prototype has been tested with different shape NaI(Tl) scintillators and gammas with different energy. Dedicated algorithms for extraction of gamma-event’s energy and position are under development. They are based on fitting a matrix of individual SiPMs responses by an analytical function F(x,y). They will be tested with GEANT-simulated events and experimental data. Development of the next (engineering) prototype of SiPM’s module for gamma-camera will be started soon.

A digital silicon photomultiplier with multiple time-to-digital converters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garutti, Erika [University Hamburg (Germany); Silenzi, Alessandro [DESY, Hamburg (Germany); Xu, Chen [DESY, Hamburg (Germany); University Hamburg (Germany)

2013-07-01

A silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) with pixel level signal digitization and column-wise connected time-to-digital converters (TDCs) has been developed for an endoscopic Positron Emission Tomography (PET) detector. A digital SiPM has pixels consist of a single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) and circuit elements to optimize overall dark counts and temporal response. Compared with conventional analog SiPM, digital SiPM's direct signal route from SPAD to TDC improves single photon time resolution. In addition, using multiple TDCs can perform the statistical estimation of the time-of-arrival in multiple photon detection case such as readout of scintillation crystals. Characterization measurements of the prototype digital SiPM and a Monte-Carlo simulation to predict the timing performance of the PET detector are shown.

A novel depth-of-interaction block detector for positron emission tomography using a dichotomous orthogonal symmetry decoding concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Yuxuan; Yan, Han; Baghaei, Hossain; Wong, Wai-Hoi

2016-01-01

Conventionally, a dual-end depth-of-interaction (DOI) block detector readout requires two two-dimensional silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) arrays, one on top and one on the bottom, to define the XYZ positions. However, because both the top and bottom SiPM arrays are reading the same pixels, this creates information redundancy. We propose a dichotomous orthogonal symmetric (DOS) dual-end readout block detector design, which removes this redundancy by reducing the number of SiPMs and still achieves XY and DOI (Z) decoding for positron emission tomography (PET) block detector. Reflecting films are used within the block detector to channel photons going to the top of the block to go only in the X direction, and photons going to the bottom are channeled along the Y direction. Despite the unidirectional channeling on each end, the top readout provides both X and Y information using two one-dimensional SiPM arrays instead of a two-dimensional SiPM array; similarly, the bottom readout also provides both X and Y information with just two one-dimensional SiPM arrays. Thus, a total of four one-dimensional SiPM arrays (4  ×  N SiPMs) are used to decode the XYZ positions of the firing pixels instead of two two-dimensional SiPM arrays (2  ×  N  ×  N SiPMs), reducing the number of SiPM arrays per block from 2N 2 to 4 N for PET/MR or PET/CT systems. Moreover, the SiPM arrays on one end can be replaced by two regular photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), so that a block needs only 2 N SiPMs  +  2 half-PMTs; this hybrid-DOS DOI block detector can be used in PET/CT systems. Monte Carlo simulations were carried out to study the performance of our DOS DOI block detector design, including the XY-decoding quality, energy resolution, and DOI resolution. Both BGO and LSO scintillators were studied. We found that 4 mm pixels were well decoded for 5  ×  5 BGO and 9  ×  9 LSO arrays with 4 to 5 mm DOI resolution and 16–20% energy resolution

Impact and appreciation of two methods aiming at reducing hazardous drug environmental contamination: The centralization of the priming of IV tubing in the pharmacy and use of a closed-system transfer device.

Science.gov (United States)

Guillemette, Annie; Langlois, Hélène; Voisine, Maxime; Merger, Delphine; Therrien, Roxane; Mercier, Genevieve; Lebel, Denis; Bussières, Jean-François

2014-12-01

The main objective was to evaluate the impact of two methods aiming at reducing hazardous drug environmental contamination: the centralization of the priming of IV tubing in the pharmacy and the use of a closed-system transfer device. The secondary objective was to evaluate the satisfaction of pharmacy technicians using a survey. Sites in the hematology-oncology satellite pharmacy and care unit were analyzed for the presence of cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide and methotrexate before and after the centralization of the priming of IV tubing in the pharmacy and before and after using a closed-system transfer device. The limits of detection for cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide and methotrexate were, respectively, of 0.0015 ng/cm(2), 0.0012 ng/cm(2) and 0.0060 ng/cm(2). The pharmacy technician satisfaction was evaluated using a questionnaire. A total of 225 samples was quantified. After the centralization of priming in the pharmacy, no significant difference was found in the proportion of positive samples for cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide and methotrexate. Traces of cyclophosphamide found on the floor in patient care areas was significantly reduced (median[min-max] 0.08[0.06-0.09]ng/cm(2) vs. 0.03[0.02-0.05], p tubing in the pharmacy reduced floor contamination in patient care areas without increasing surface contamination in the pharmacy. Closed-system transfer devices reduced contamination in pharmacy, but handling issues were raised by pharmacy technicians. © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Poster: Virtual reality interaction using mobile devices

KAUST Repository

Aseeri, Sahar A.

2013-03-01

In this work we aim to implement and evaluate alternative approaches for interacting with virtual environments on mobile devices for navigation, object selection and manipulation. Interaction with objects in virtual worlds using traditional input such as current state-of-the-art devices is often difficult and could diminish the immersion and sense of presence when it comes to 3D virtual environment tasks. We have developed new methods to perform different kinds of interactions using a mobile device (e.g. a smartphone) both as input device, performing selection and manipulation of objects, and as output device, utilizing the screen as an extra view (virtual camera or information display). Our hypothesis is that interaction via mobile devices facilitates simple tasks like the ones described within immersive virtual reality systems. We present here our initial implementation and result. © 2013 IEEE.

Two Different Maintenance Strategies in the Hospital Environment: Preventive Maintenance for Older Technology Devices and Predictive Maintenance for Newer High-Tech Devices

OpenAIRE

Sezdi, Mana

2016-01-01

A maintenance program generated through the consideration of characteristics and failures of medical equipment is an important component of technology management. However, older technology devices and newer high-tech devices cannot be efficiently managed using the same strategies because of their different characteristics. This study aimed to generate a maintenance program comprising two different strategies to increase the efficiency of device management: preventive maintenance for older tec...

Personal radiation detector at a high technology readiness level that satisfies DARPA’s SN-13-47 and SIGMA program requirements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ginzburg, D.; Knafo, Y.; Manor, A.; Seif, R.; Ghelman, M.; Ellenbogen, M.; Pushkarsky, V.; Ifergan, Y.; Semyonov, N.; Wengrowicz, U.; Mazor, T.; Kadmon, Y.; Cohen, Y.; Osovizky, A.

2015-01-01

the proposed approach of SiPM, with pixel size of 35 μm, coupled to a scintillation material (for gamma and neutron detection) ensures the availability and low cost of the key components. Furthermore, automated manufacturing process enables mass production, thereby fulfilling the SIGMA program requirements, both as a sensor (assimilated with mobile device) and as a full detection device. - Highlights: • We analyze the technological requirements of the new DARPA program. • We propose potential solution based on the analysis of the program requirements. • Technological match of the available PRD to the program needs is presented. • Improvements in noise threshold, resolution using new developments are presented. • Options for neutron detection and isotope identification enhancements are proposed

Personal radiation detector at a high technology readiness level that satisfies DARPA’s SN-13-47 and SIGMA program requirements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ginzburg, D., E-mail: dimgiz@rotemi.co.il [Radiation Detection Department, Rotem Industries Ltd. (Israel); Knafo, Y.; Manor, A. [Radiation Detection Department, Rotem Industries Ltd. (Israel); Seif, R.; Ghelman, M. [Electronics & Control Laboratories, Nuclear Research Center, Negev, Beersheba (Israel); Ellenbogen, M.; Pushkarsky, V. [Radiation Detection Department, Rotem Industries Ltd. (Israel); Ifergan, Y. [Electronics & Control Laboratories, Nuclear Research Center, Negev, Beersheba (Israel); Semyonov, N. [Radiation Detection Department, Rotem Industries Ltd. (Israel); Wengrowicz, U.; Mazor, T.; Kadmon, Y.; Cohen, Y. [Electronics & Control Laboratories, Nuclear Research Center, Negev, Beersheba (Israel); Osovizky, A. [Radiation Detection Department, Rotem Industries Ltd. (Israel)

2015-06-01

the proposed approach of SiPM, with pixel size of 35 μm, coupled to a scintillation material (for gamma and neutron detection) ensures the availability and low cost of the key components. Furthermore, automated manufacturing process enables mass production, thereby fulfilling the SIGMA program requirements, both as a sensor (assimilated with mobile device) and as a full detection device. - Highlights: • We analyze the technological requirements of the new DARPA program. • We propose potential solution based on the analysis of the program requirements. • Technological match of the available PRD to the program needs is presented. • Improvements in noise threshold, resolution using new developments are presented. • Options for neutron detection and isotope identification enhancements are proposed.

Reactor control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kinoshita, Mitsuo.

1991-01-01

Heretofore, since the aimed value of a reactor power has been determined only based on the deviation between a temperature variation coefficient and the aimed value, it involves a problem that a region for finely determining a control constant is complicated. In view of the above, in the present invention, an approximate value of the aimed reactor power value is determined based on the aimed value for the temperature variation coefficient, then a compensation value for the aimed power value is determined based on the deviation between the temperature variation coefficient and the aimed value and, further, the aimed power value is determined based on the approximate value and the compensation value. Control elements are automatically operated so that the power follows the aimed value after determining the aimed value. Then, since the aimed reactor power value is controlled finely so that the responsiveness of the temperature variation coefficient is satisfactory and the temperature variation coefficient agrees with the aimed value, the stability for the control of temperature variation coefficient is satisfactory. That is, high performance control is enabled by a simple control algorithm to reduce the number of the steps for the design and the device control. (N.H.)

Two Different Maintenance Strategies in the Hospital Environment: Preventive Maintenance for Older Technology Devices and Predictive Maintenance for Newer High-Tech Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Sezdi, Mana

2016-01-01

A maintenance program generated through the consideration of characteristics and failures of medical equipment is an important component of technology management. However, older technology devices and newer high-tech devices cannot be efficiently managed using the same strategies because of their different characteristics. This study aimed to generate a maintenance program comprising two different strategies to increase the efficiency of device management: preventive maintenance for older technology devices and predictive maintenance for newer high-tech devices. For preventive maintenance development, 589 older technology devices were subjected to performance verification and safety testing (PVST). For predictive maintenance development, the manufacturers' recommendations were used for 134 high-tech devices. These strategies were evaluated in terms of device reliability. This study recommends the use of two different maintenance strategies for old and new devices at hospitals in developing countries. Thus, older technology devices that applied only corrective maintenance will be included in maintenance like high-tech devices.

Characterization of 1.2×1.2 mm2 silicon photomultipliers with Ce:LYSO, Ce:GAGG, and Pr:LuAG scintillation crystals as detector modules for positron emission tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Omidvari, N.; Sharma, R.; Schneider, F.R.; Ziegler, S.I.; Ganka, T.R.; Paul, S.

2017-01-01

The design of a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner is specially challenging since it should not compromise high spatial resolution, high sensitivity, high count-rate capability, and good energy and time resolution. The geometrical design of the system alongside the characteristics of the individual PET detector modules contributes to the overall performance of the scanner. The detector performance is mainly influenced by the characteristics of the photo-detector and the scintillation crystal. Although silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) have already proven to be promising photo-detectors for PET, their performance is highly influenced by micro-cell structure and production technology. Therefore, five types of SiPMs produced by KETEK with an active area size of 1.2 × 1.2 mm 2 were characterized in this study. The SiPMs differed in the production technology and had micro-cell sizes of 25, 50, 75, and 100 μm. Performance of the SiPMs was evaluated in terms of their breakdown voltage, temperature sensitivity, dark count rate, and correlated noise probability. Subsequently, energy resolution and coincidence time resolution (CTR) of the SiPMs were measured with five types of crystals, including two Ce:LYSO, two Ce:GAGG, and one Pr:LuAG. Two crystals with a geometry of 1.5 × 1.5 × 6 mm 3 were available from each type. The best CTR achieved was ∼ 240 ps, which was obtained with the Ce:LYSO crystals coupled to the 50 μm SiPM produced with the trench technology. The best energy resolution for the 511 keV photo-peak was ∼ 11% and was obtained with the same SiPM coupled to the Ce:GAGG crystals.

Optimization of Performance Parameters for Large Area Silicon Photomultipliers

Science.gov (United States)

Janzen, Kathryn

2008-10-01

The goal of the GlueX experiment is to search for exotic hybrid mesons as evidence of gluonic excitations in an effort to better understand confinement. A key component of the GlueX detector is the electromagnetic barrel calorimeter (BCAL) located immediately inside a superconducting solenoid of approximately 2.5T. Because of this arrangement, traditional vacuum photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) which are affected significantly by magnetic fields cannot be used on the BCAL. The use of Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) as front-end detectors has been proposed. While the largest SiPMs that have been previously employed by other experiments are 1x1 mm^2, GlueX proposes to use large area SiPMs each composed of 16 - 3x3 mm^2 cells in a 4x4 array. This puts the GlueX collaboration in the unique position of driving the technology for larger area sensors. In this talk I will discuss tests done in Regina regarding performance parameters of prototype SiPM arrays delivered by SensL, a photonics research and development company based in Ireland, as well as sample 1x1 mm^2 and 3x3 mm^2 SiPMs.

Optimization of performance parameters for large area silicon photomultipliers for use in the GlueX experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Janzen, Kathryn Louise

Largely because of their resistance to magnetic fields, silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) are being considered as the readout for the GlueX Barrel Calorimeter, a key component of the GlueX detector located immediately inside a 2.2 T superconducting solenoid. SiPMs with active area 1 x 1 mm2 have been investigated for use in other experiments, but detectors with larger active areas are required for the GlueX BCAL. This puts the GlueX collaboration in the unique position of being pioneers in the use of this frontend detection revolution by driving the technology for larger area sensors. SensL, a photonics research and development company in Ireland, has been collaborating with the University of Regina GlueX group to develop prototype large area SiPMs comprising 16 - 3x3 mm2 cells assembled in a close-packed matrix. Performance parameters of individual SensL 1x1 mm2 and 3x3 mm2 SiPMs along with prototype SensL SiPM arrays are tested, including current versus voltage characteristics, photon detection efficiency, and gain uniformity, in an effort to determine the suitability of these detectors to the GlueX BCAL readout.

Silicon Photomultiplier charaterization

Science.gov (United States)

Munoz, Leonel; Osornio, Leo; Para, Adam

2014-03-01

Silicon Photo Multiples (SiPM's) are relatively new photon detectors. They offer many advantages compared to photo multiplier tubes (PMT's) such as insensitivity to magnetic field, robustness at varying lighting levels, and low cost. The SiPM output wave forms are poorly understood. The experiment conducted collected waveforms of responses of Hamamatsu SiPM to incident laser pulse at varying temperatures and bias voltages. Ambient noise was characterized at all temperatures and bias voltages by averaging the waveforms. Pulse shape of the SiPM response was determined under different operating conditions: the pulse shape is nearly independent of the bias voltage but exhibits strong variation with temperature, consistent with the temperature variation of the quenching resistor. Amplitude of responses of the SiPM to low intensity laser light shows many peaks corresponding to the detection of 1,2,3 etc. photons. Amplitude of these pulses depends linearly on the bias voltage, enabling determination of the breakdown voltage at each temperature. Poisson statistics has been used to determine the average number of detected photons at each operating conditions. Department of Education Grant No. P0315090007 and the Department of Energy/ Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

Development of a SiPM-based PET imaging system for small animals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, Yanye; Yang, Kun; Zhou, Kedi; Zhang, Qiushi; Pang, Bo; Ren, Qiushi

2014-01-01

Advances in small animal positron emission tomography (PET) imaging have been accelerated by many new technologies such as the successful incorporation of silicon photomultiplier (SiPM). In this paper, we have developed a compact, lightweight PET imaging system that is based on SiPM detectors for small animals imaging, which could be integrated into a multi-modality imaging system. This PET imaging system consists of a stationary detector gantry, a motor-controlled animal bed module, electronics modules, and power supply modules. The PET detector, which was designed as a multi-slice circular ring geometry of 27 discrete block detectors, is composed of a cerium doped lutetium–yttrium oxyorthosilicate (LYSO) scintillation crystal and SiPM arrays. The system has a 60 mm transaxial field of view (FOV) and a 26 mm axial FOV. Performance tests (e.g. spatial resolution, energy resolution, and sensitivity) and phantom and animal imaging studies were performed to evaluate the imaging performance of the PET imaging system. The performance tests and animal imaging results demonstrate the feasibility of an animal PET system based on SiPM detectors and indicate that SiPM detectors can be promising photodetectors in animal PET instrumentation development

Development of a SiPM-based PET imaging system for small animals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lu, Yanye [Department of Biomedicine and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Yang, Kun, E-mail: yangkun9999@hotmail.com [Department of Control Technology and Instrumentation, College of Quality and Technical Supervision, Hebei University, Baoding, 071000 (China); Zhou, Kedi; Zhang, Qiushi; Pang, Bo [Department of Biomedicine and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Ren, Qiushi, E-mail: renqsh@coe.pku.edu.cn [Department of Biomedicine and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China)

2014-04-11

Advances in small animal positron emission tomography (PET) imaging have been accelerated by many new technologies such as the successful incorporation of silicon photomultiplier (SiPM). In this paper, we have developed a compact, lightweight PET imaging system that is based on SiPM detectors for small animals imaging, which could be integrated into a multi-modality imaging system. This PET imaging system consists of a stationary detector gantry, a motor-controlled animal bed module, electronics modules, and power supply modules. The PET detector, which was designed as a multi-slice circular ring geometry of 27 discrete block detectors, is composed of a cerium doped lutetium–yttrium oxyorthosilicate (LYSO) scintillation crystal and SiPM arrays. The system has a 60 mm transaxial field of view (FOV) and a 26 mm axial FOV. Performance tests (e.g. spatial resolution, energy resolution, and sensitivity) and phantom and animal imaging studies were performed to evaluate the imaging performance of the PET imaging system. The performance tests and animal imaging results demonstrate the feasibility of an animal PET system based on SiPM detectors and indicate that SiPM detectors can be promising photodetectors in animal PET instrumentation development.

Cooling device of superconducting coils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duthil, R.; Lottin, J.C.

1985-01-01

This device is rotating around an horizontal axis. The superconducting coils are contained in a cryogenic enclosure feeded in liquid helium forced circulation. They are related to an electric generator by electric mains each of them comprising a gas exchanger, and an exchanger-evaporator set between the cryogenic device and those exchangers. The exchanger-evaporator is aimed at dissipating the heat arriving by conductors connected to the superconducting coils. According to the invention, the invention includes an annular canalization with horizontal axis in which the connection conductors bathe in liquid helium [fr

The MINDView brain PET detector, feasibility study based on SiPM arrays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

González, Antonio J., E-mail: agonzalez@i3m.upv.es [Institute for Instrumentation in Molecular Imaging (I3M), 46022 Valencia (Spain); Majewski, Stan [Radiology Research, Department of Radiology, University of Virginia, VA 22903 (United States); Sánchez, Filomeno [Institute for Instrumentation in Molecular Imaging (I3M), 46022 Valencia (Spain); Aussenhofer, Sebastian [NORAS MRI products GmbH, Hochberg (Germany); Aguilar, Albert; Conde, Pablo; Hernández, Liczandro; Vidal, Luis F. [Institute for Instrumentation in Molecular Imaging (I3M), 46022 Valencia (Spain); Pani, Roberto; Bettiol, Marco; Fabbri, Andrea [Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome (Italy); Bert, Julien; Visvikis, Dimitris [Université de Bretagne Occidentale, Brest (France); Jackson, Carl; Murphy, John; O’Neill, Kevin [SensL Technologies, Cork (Ireland); Benlloch, Jose M. [Institute for Instrumentation in Molecular Imaging (I3M), 46022 Valencia (Spain)

2016-05-11

The Multimodal Imaging of Neurological Disorders (MINDView) project aims to develop a dedicated brain Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanner with sufficient resolution and sensitivity to visualize neurotransmitter pathways and their disruptions in mental disorders for diagnosis and follow-up treatment. The PET system should be compact and fully compatible with a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) device in order to allow its operation as a PET brain insert in a hybrid imaging setup with most MRI scanners. The proposed design will enable the currently-installed MRI base to be easily upgraded to PET/MRI systems. The current design for the PET insert consists of a 3-ring configuration with 20 modules per ring and an axial field of view of ~15 cm and a geometrical aperture of ~33 cm in diameter. When coupled to the new head Radio Frequency (RF) coil, the inner usable diameter of the complete PET-RF coil insert is reduced to 26 cm. Two scintillator configurations have been tested, namely a 3-layer staggered array of LYSO with 1.5 mm pixel size, with 35×35 elements (6 mm thickness each) and a black-painted monolithic LYSO block also covering about 50×50 mm{sup 2} active area with 20 mm thickness. Laboratory test results associated with the current MINDView PET module concept are presented in terms of key parameters' optimization, such as spatial and energy resolution, sensitivity and Depth of Interaction (DOI) capability. It was possible to resolve all pixel elements from the three scintillator layers with energy resolutions as good as 10%. The monolithic scintillator showed average detector resolutions varying from 3.5 mm in the entrance layer to better than 1.5 mm near the photosensor, with average energy resolutions of about 17%.

Reading device of a radiation image contained in a radioluminescent screen and tomography device containing it

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allemand, R.; Cuzin, M.; Parot, P.

1984-01-01

The present invention is aimed at improving the random access time to a stimulable radioluminescent screen point (and consequently the reading time of the screen image); it is noticeably useful for longitudinal tomography. The reading device contains a source emitting a stimulation radiation beam towards the stimulable radioluminescent screen, a control mean of the stimulation radiation beam and a deflection mean which allows the beam to scan the screen surface. The device is characterized by the use of a very fast acousto-optical type deflection mean [fr

Placebo Acupuncture Devices: Considerations for Acupuncture Research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dan Zhu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Determining an appropriate control for use in acupuncture research remains one of the largest methodological challenges acupuncture researchers face. In general, acupuncture controls fall under one of two categories: (1 sham acupuncture, in which the skin is punctured with real acupuncture needles either fully at nonacupoint locations or shallowly at acupoint locations or both and (2 placebo acupuncture, which utilizes nonpenetrating acupuncture devices. In this study, we will focus on non-penetrating placebo acupuncture devices (blunted-needle and nonneedle devices that are currently available in acupuncture research. We will describe each device and discuss each device’s validation and application in previous studies. In addition, we will outline the advantages and disadvantages of these devices and highlight how the differences among placebo devices can be used to isolate distinct components of acupuncture treatment and investigate their effects. We would like to emphasize that there is no single placebo device that can serve as the best control for all acupuncture studies; the choice of an acupuncture control should be determined by the specific aim of the study.

Molecular electronics with single molecules in solid-state devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moth-Poulsen, Kasper; Bjørnholm, Thomas

2009-01-01

The ultimate aim of molecular electronics is to understand and master single-molecule devices. Based on the latest results on electron transport in single molecules in solid-state devices, we focus here on new insights into the influence of metal electrodes on the energy spectrum of the molecule...

Study of the photo-detection efficiency of FBK High-Density silicon photomultipliers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zappalà, G.; Regazzoni, V.; Acerbi, F.; Ferri, A.; Gola, A.; Paternoster, G.; Zorzi, N.; Piemonte, C.

2016-01-01

This work presents a study of the factors contributing to the Photo-Detection Efficiency of Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs): Quantum Efficiency, Triggering Probability and Fill Factor. Two different SiPM High-Density technologies are tested, NUV-HD, based on n-on-p junction, and RGB-HD, based on p-on-n junction, developed at FBK, Trento. The quantum efficiency was measured on photodiodes produced along with the SiPMs. The triggering probability, as a function of wavelength and bias voltage, was measured on circular Single Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPADs) with 100% fill factor. Square SPADs, having the same layout of single SiPM cells, were studied to measure the effective fill factor and compare it to the nominal value. The comparison of the circular and square SPADs allows to get the transition region size between the effective active area of the cell and the one defined by the layout.

Study of silicon photomultipliers fast amplifier and thermoregulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'antone, I.; Fabbri, L.; Foschi, E.; Guandalini, C.; Laurenti, G.; Lax, I.; Levi, G.; Quadrani, L.; Sbarra, Ca.; Sbarra, Cr.; Villa, M.; Zoccoli, A.; Zuffa, M.

2011-01-01

The silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) are adopted in various physical applications, from medical physics to astrophysics, for their advantages in terms of cost and weight with respect to traditional photo detectors. Their low bias voltage supply (about 30 V), hardiness and resistance to magnetic field are ideal characteristics for space application. In the frame of INFN-Irst collaboration, some of them have been developed and produced at FBK (Trento-Italy), and have been characterized in the INFN laboratories of Bologna (DaSiPM2 collaboration). The SiPM can be used in conjunction with fibres and counters in high energy physics experiments. To exploit the SiPM time resolution, a fast amplifier has been studied. The SiPM gain depends critically on temperature and a thermal stabilization is also necessary. The use of a thermoelectric cooler module based on a Peltier cell has been investigated, and the results are shown.

Hadron showers in a highly granular calorimeter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lutz, Benjamin

2010-11-01

A future electron-positron collider like the planned International Linear Collider (ILC) needs excellent detectors to exploit the full physics potential. Different detector concepts have been evaluated for the ILC and two concepts on the particle-flow approach were validated. To make particle-flow work, a new type of imaging calorimeters is necessary in combination with a high performance tracking system, to be able to track the single particles through the full detector system. These calorimeters require an unprecedented level of both longitudinal and lateral granularity. Several calorimeter technologies promise to reach the required readout segmentation and are currently studied. This thesis addresses one of these: The analogue hadron calorimeter technology. It combines work on the technological aspects of a highly granular calorimeter with the study of hadron shower physics. The analogue hadron calorimeter technology joins a classical scintillator-steel sandwich design with a modern photo-sensor technology, the silicon photomultiplier (SiPM). The SiPM is a millimetre sized, magnetic field insensitive, and low cost photo-sensor, that opens new possibilities in calorimeter design. This thesis outlines the working principle and characteristics of these devices. The requirements for an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) to read the SiPM are discussed; the performance of a prototype chip for SiPM readout, the SPIROC, is quantified. Also the SiPM specific reconstruction of a multi-thousand channel prototype calorimeter, the CALICE AHCAL, is explained; the systematic uncertainty of the calibration method is derived. The AHCAL does not only offer a test of the calorimeter technology, it also allows to record hadron showers with an unprecedented level of details. Test-beam measurements have been performed with the AHCAL and provide a unique sample for the development of novel analysis techniques and the validation of hadron shower simulations. A method to

Hadron showers in a highly granular calorimeter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lutz, Benjamin

2010-11-15

A future electron-positron collider like the planned International Linear Collider (ILC) needs excellent detectors to exploit the full physics potential. Different detector concepts have been evaluated for the ILC and two concepts on the particle-flow approach were validated. To make particle-flow work, a new type of imaging calorimeters is necessary in combination with a high performance tracking system, to be able to track the single particles through the full detector system. These calorimeters require an unprecedented level of both longitudinal and lateral granularity. Several calorimeter technologies promise to reach the required readout segmentation and are currently studied. This thesis addresses one of these: The analogue hadron calorimeter technology. It combines work on the technological aspects of a highly granular calorimeter with the study of hadron shower physics. The analogue hadron calorimeter technology joins a classical scintillator-steel sandwich design with a modern photo-sensor technology, the silicon photomultiplier (SiPM). The SiPM is a millimetre sized, magnetic field insensitive, and low cost photo-sensor, that opens new possibilities in calorimeter design. This thesis outlines the working principle and characteristics of these devices. The requirements for an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) to read the SiPM are discussed; the performance of a prototype chip for SiPM readout, the SPIROC, is quantified. Also the SiPM specific reconstruction of a multi-thousand channel prototype calorimeter, the CALICE AHCAL, is explained; the systematic uncertainty of the calibration method is derived. The AHCAL does not only offer a test of the calorimeter technology, it also allows to record hadron showers with an unprecedented level of details. Test-beam measurements have been performed with the AHCAL and provide a unique sample for the development of novel analysis techniques and the validation of hadron shower simulations. A method to

Virtual Reality Interaction Using Mobile Devices

KAUST Repository

Aseeri, Sahar A.

2013-07-01

With the use of an immersive display system such as CAVE system, the user is able to realize a 3D immersive virtual environment realistically. However, interacting with virtual worlds in CAVE systems using traditional input devices to perform easy operations such as manipulation, object selection, and navigation is often difficult. This difficulty could diminish the immersion and sense of presence when it comes to 3D virtual environment tasks. Our research aims to implement and evaluate alternative approaches of interaction with immersive virtual environments on mobile devices for manipulation and object selection tasks. As many researchers have noted, using a mobile device as an interaction device has a number of advantages, including built-in display, built-in control, and touch screen facility. These advantages facilitate simple tasks within immersive virtual environments. This research proposes new methods using mobile devices like Smart-phones to perform di↵erent kinds of interactions both as an input device, (e.g. performing selection and manipulation of objects) and as an output device (e.g. utilizing the screen as an extra view for a virtual camera or information display). Moreover, we developed a prototype system to demonstrate and informally evaluate these methods. The research conclusion suggests using mobile devices as a 3D-controller. This will be a more intuitive approach to interact within the virtual environment.

Multifaceted Comparison of Two Cryotherapy Devices Used After Total Knee Arthroplasty: Cryotherapy Device Comparison.

Science.gov (United States)

Schinsky, Mark F; McCune, Christine; Bonomi, Judith

2016-01-01

Some form of cryotherapy used after total knee arthroplasty is commonplace. However, various factors determine the specific device deployed. This study aimed to answer the following questions: : A group of 100 patients undergoing primary total knee arthroplasty by a single surgeon were enrolled in an institutional review board-approved, prospective study and randomized to receive either a circulating cold water or ice/gel pack cryotherapy device postoperatively. Demographic, pain, swelling, blood loss, range of motion, compliance, satisfaction, and adverse event outcomes were recorded until 6 weeks after surgery. Hospital staff satisfaction and economic variables were examined. The ice/gel pack cryotherapy wrap was noninferior to the cold water cryotherapy device for any patient outcome measured. Average pain level at 6 weeks postoperative was significantly less in the ice/gel pack cryotherapy wrap group. Hospital staff satisfaction was higher with the ice/gel pack cryotherapy wrap.Substantial economic savings can be realized at our institution by switching to the lower cost cryotherapy device. In this study, the lower cost ice/gel pack cryotherapy wrap was noninferior to the circulating ice water cryotherapy device with respect to objective patient outcomes and subjective patient satisfaction after total knee arthroplasty. Hospital staff satisfaction and economic considerations also favor the ice/gel pack compression cryotherapy wraps.

Pumps in wearable ultrafiltration devices: pumps in wuf devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Armignacco, Paolo; Garzotto, Francesco; Bellini, Corrado; Neri, Mauro; Lorenzin, Anna; Sartori, Marco; Ronco, Claudio

2015-01-01

The wearable artificial kidney (WAK) is a device that is supposed to operate like a real kidney, which permits prolonged, frequent, and continuous dialysis treatments for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Its functioning is mainly related to its pumping system, as well as to its dialysate-generating and alarm/shutoff ones. A pump is defined as a device that moves fluids by mechanical action. In such a context, blood pumps pull blood from the access side of the dialysis catheter and return the blood at the same rate of flow. The main aim of this paper is to review the current literature on blood pumps, describing the way they have been functioning thus far and how they are being engineered, giving details about the most important parameters that define their quality, thus allowing the production of a radar comparative graph, and listing ideal pumps' features. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Scintillating Fibre Tracker Front-End Electronics for LHCb upgrade

CERN Multimedia

Comerma, A

2014-01-01

The LHCb detector will be upgraded during the next LHC shutdown in 2018/19. The tracker system will undergo major changes. Its components will be replaced by new technologies in order to cope with the increased hit occupancy and the higher radiation dose. A detector made of scintillating fibres read out by silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) is envisaged for this upgrade. Even if this technology has proven to achieve high efficiency and spatial resolution, its integration within a LHC experiment bears new challenges. The detector will consist of 12 planes of 5 to 6 layers of 250μm fibres stacked covering a total area of 5x6m^2 . The desired spacial resolution on the reconstructed hit is 100μm. SiPMs have been adapted to the detector geometry reducing the dead area between channels. A total of 64 channels are arranged in a single die with common cathode connection and channel size of 0.23x1.32mm^2 . Two dies are packaged together with only 0.25mm of dead area between them. Radiation tolerance of such devices is ...

Gain compensation technique by bias correction in arrays of Silicon Photomultipliers using fully differential fast shaper

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baszczyk, M., E-mail: baszczyk@agh.edu.pl [AGH University of Science and Technology, Department of Electronics, Krakow (Poland); Dorosz, P.; Glab, S.; Kucewicz, W. [AGH University of Science and Technology, Department of Electronics, Krakow (Poland); Mik, L. [AGH University of Science and Technology, Department of Electronics, Krakow (Poland); State Higher Vocational School, Tarnow (Poland); Sapor, M. [AGH University of Science and Technology, Department of Electronics, Krakow (Poland)

2016-07-11

Proposed algorithm compensates the gain by changing the bias voltage of Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM). The signal from SiPM is amplified in fully differential preamplifier then is formed in time by the fully differential fast shaper. The compensation method was tested with four channels common cathode multi-pixel photon counter from Hamamatsu. The measurement system requires only one high voltage power supply. The polarization voltage is adjusted individually in each channel indirectly by tuning the output common mode voltage (VOCM) of fully differential amplifier. The changes of VOCM affect the input voltage through the feedback network. Actual gain of the SiPM is calculated by measuring the mean amplitude of the signal resulting from detection of single photoelectron. The VOCM is adjusted by DAC so as to reach the desired value of gain by each channel individually. The advantage of the algorithm is the possibility to set the bias of each SiPM in the array independently so they all could operate in very similar conditions (have similar gain and dark count rate). The algorithm can compensate the variations of gain of SiPM by using thermally generated pulses. There is no need to use additional current to voltage conversion which could introduce extra noises.

Gain compensation technique by bias correction in arrays of Silicon Photomultipliers using fully differential fast shaper

Science.gov (United States)

Baszczyk, M.; Dorosz, P.; Glab, S.; Kucewicz, W.; Mik, L.; Sapor, M.

2016-07-01

Proposed algorithm compensates the gain by changing the bias voltage of Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM). The signal from SiPM is amplified in fully differential preamplifier then is formed in time by the fully differential fast shaper. The compensation method was tested with four channels common cathode multi-pixel photon counter from Hamamatsu. The measurement system requires only one high voltage power supply. The polarization voltage is adjusted individually in each channel indirectly by tuning the output common mode voltage (VOCM) of fully differential amplifier. The changes of VOCM affect the input voltage through the feedback network. Actual gain of the SiPM is calculated by measuring the mean amplitude of the signal resulting from detection of single photoelectron. The VOCM is adjusted by DAC so as to reach the desired value of gain by each channel individually. The advantage of the algorithm is the possibility to set the bias of each SiPM in the array independently so they all could operate in very similar conditions (have similar gain and dark count rate). The algorithm can compensate the variations of gain of SiPM by using thermally generated pulses. There is no need to use additional current to voltage conversion which could introduce extra noises.

Simulation of Silicon Photomultiplier Signals

Science.gov (United States)

Seifert, Stefan; van Dam, Herman T.; Huizenga, Jan; Vinke, Ruud; Dendooven, Peter; Lohner, Herbert; Schaart, Dennis R.

2009-12-01

In a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM), also referred to as multi-pixel photon counter (MPPC), many Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes (GM-APDs) are connected in parallel so as to combine the photon counting capabilities of each of these so-called microcells into a proportional light sensor. The discharge of a single microcell is relatively well understood and electronic models exist to simulate this process. In this paper we introduce an extended model that is able to simulate the simultaneous discharge of multiple cells. This model is used to predict the SiPM signal in response to fast light pulses as a function of the number of fired cells, taking into account the influence of the input impedance of the SiPM preamplifier. The model predicts that the electronic signal is not proportional to the number of fired cells if the preamplifier input impedance is not zero. This effect becomes more important for SiPMs with lower parasitic capacitance (which otherwise is a favorable property). The model is validated by comparing its predictions to experimental data obtained with two different SiPMs (Hamamatsu S10362-11-25u and Hamamatsu S10362-33-25c) illuminated with ps laser pulses. The experimental results are in good agreement with the model predictions.

Gain compensation technique by bias correction in arrays of Silicon Photomultipliers using fully differential fast shaper

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baszczyk, M.; Dorosz, P.; Glab, S.; Kucewicz, W.; Mik, L.; Sapor, M.

2016-01-01

Proposed algorithm compensates the gain by changing the bias voltage of Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM). The signal from SiPM is amplified in fully differential preamplifier then is formed in time by the fully differential fast shaper. The compensation method was tested with four channels common cathode multi-pixel photon counter from Hamamatsu. The measurement system requires only one high voltage power supply. The polarization voltage is adjusted individually in each channel indirectly by tuning the output common mode voltage (VOCM) of fully differential amplifier. The changes of VOCM affect the input voltage through the feedback network. Actual gain of the SiPM is calculated by measuring the mean amplitude of the signal resulting from detection of single photoelectron. The VOCM is adjusted by DAC so as to reach the desired value of gain by each channel individually. The advantage of the algorithm is the possibility to set the bias of each SiPM in the array independently so they all could operate in very similar conditions (have similar gain and dark count rate). The algorithm can compensate the variations of gain of SiPM by using thermally generated pulses. There is no need to use additional current to voltage conversion which could introduce extra noises.

Multipixel geiger-mode photon detectors for ultra-weak light sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campisi, A.; Cosentino, L.; Finocchiaro, P.; Pappalardo, A.; Musumeci, F.; Privitera, S.; Scordino, A.; Tudisco, S.; Fallica, G.; Sanfilippo, D.; Mazzillo, M.; Condorelli, G.; Piazza, A.; Valvo, G.; Lombardo, S.; Sciacca, E.; Bonanno, G.; Belluso, M.

2007-01-01

Arrays of Single Photon Avalanche Detectors (SPAD) are considered today as a possible alternative to PMTs and other semiconductor devices in several applications, like physics research, bioluminescence, Positron Emission Tomography (PET) systems, etc. We have developed and characterized a first prototype array produced by STMicroelectronics in silicon planar technology and working at low voltage (30-40 V) in Geiger mode operation. The single cell structure (size down to 20 μm) and the geometrical arrangement give rise to appealing intrinsic characteristics of the device, such as photon detection efficiency, dark count map, cross-talk effects, timing and energy resolution. New prototypes are under construction with a higher number of pixels that have a common output signal to obtain a so-called SiPM (Silicon PhotoMultiplier) configuration

A study of timing properties of Silicon Photomultipliers

Science.gov (United States)

Avella, Paola; De Santo, Antonella; Lohstroh, Annika; Sajjad, Muhammad T.; Sellin, Paul J.

2012-12-01

Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are solid-state pixelated photodetectors. Lately these sensors have been investigated for Time of Flight Positron Emission Tomography (ToF-PET) applications, where very good coincidence time resolution of the order of hundreds of picoseconds imply spatial resolution of the order of cm in the image reconstruction. The very fast rise time typical of the avalanche discharge improves the time resolution, but can be limited by the readout electronics and the technology used to construct the device. In this work the parameters of the equivalent circuit of the device that directly affect the pulse shape, namely the quenching resistance and capacitance and the diode and parasitic capacitances, were calculated. The mean rise time obtained with different preamplifiers was also measured.

Bring Your Own Device--A Snapshot of Two Australian Primary Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Maher, Damian; Twining, Peter

2017-01-01

Background: The use of 1:1 and Bring Your Own Device strategies in schools is in its infancy and little is known about how mobile devices such as tablets are being used to support educational practice. Purpose: In this article, two suburban primary schools in Sydney, Australia were focused on with an aim to understand how mobile device strategies…

Protection device for a thermonuclear device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawashima, Shuichi.

1986-01-01

Purpose: To exactly detect the void coefficients of coolants even under high magnetic fields thereby detect the overheat of a thermonuclear device at an early stage. Constitution: The protecting device of this invention comprises a laser beam generation device, a laser beam detection device and an accident detection device. The laser generation device always generates laser beams, which are permeated through coolants and detected by the laser beam detection device, the optical amount of which is transmitted to the accident detection device. The accident detection device judges the excess or insufficiency of the detected optical amount with respect to the optical amount of the laser beams under the stationary state as a reference and issues an accident signal. Since only the optical cables that do not undergo the effect of the magnetic fields are exposed to high magnetic fields in the protection device of this invention, a high reliability can be maintained. (Kamimura, M.)

Studies on Colombian Cryptogams. X. The genus Everniastrum Hale and related taxa (Lichenes)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sipman, H.J.M.

1980-01-01

The Colombian representatives of the lichen family Parmeliaceae with linear lobes and marginal cilia have been revised. A key is given and morphology, chemistry and distribution are treated of 12 species in three genera: Cetrariastrum Sipm. gen. nov, with C. andense (Kärnef.) Sipm. comb. nov., C.

Liquid-liquid extraction. Choice, calculation and design of devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leybros, J.

2005-01-01

The aim of this work is to study the problematic due to the choice of an equipment, to its size and to its industrial bringing into operation. Besides its efficiency to carry out a mass transfer, the economical interest of an industrial device will be proportional to its specific rate (volume treated by surface unit of the cross section of the extractor). Nevertheless, as it seems to be logic to maximize the three parameters which have an influence on it (transfer coefficient, interfacial surface and transfer potential), there exists no device which can modify separately any of these parameters. In order to satisfy these aims, a great diversity of devices have been put on the market. Indeed, it exists about twenty different industrial devices. This diversity leads the engineer, during the design of a solvent extraction device, to take difficult and subjective decisions without pilot experiment on the considered system. The main problem of an economical and optimized calculation of the liquid-liquid extractors from theoretical data has still not found totally satisfying solutions. Thus, except in some cases where we have empirical correlations, the recourse to prototype experiments is required and the most recent advances have resulted essentially to define more reliable rules for the extrapolation of these experiments for the size of industrial devices. (O.M.)

Construction and commissioning of the CALICE analog hadron calorimeter prototype

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adloff, C.; Karyotakis, Y.

2010-03-01

An analog hadron calorimeter (AHCAL) prototype of 5.3 nuclear interaction lengths thickness has been constructed by members of the CALICE Collaboration. The AHCAL prototype consists of a 38-layer sandwich structure of steel plates and highlysegmented scintillator tiles that are read out by wavelength-shifting fibers coupled to SiPMs. The signal is amplified and shaped with a custom-designed ASIC. A calibration/ monitoring system based on LED light was developed to monitor the SiPM gain and to measure the full SiPM response curve in order to correct for non-linearity. Ultimately, the physics goals are the study of hadron shower shapes and testing the concept of particle flow. The technical goal consists of measuring the performance and reliability of 7608 SiPMs. The AHCAL was commissioned in test beams at DESY and CERN. The entire prototype was completed in 2007 and recorded hadron showers, electron showers and muons at different energies and incident angles in test beams at CERN and Fermilab. (orig.)

Construction and commissioning of the CALICA analog hadron calorimeter prototype

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adloff, C.; Karyotakis, Y. [Universite de Savoie, Annecy-le-Vieux (France). Laboratoire d' Annecy-le-Vieux de Physique des Particules, CNRS/IN2P3; Repond, J. [Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL (US)] (and others)

2010-03-15

An analog hadron calorimeter (AHCAL) prototype of 5.3 nuclear interaction lengths thickness has been constructed by members of the CALICE Collaboration. The AHCAL prototype consists of a 38-layer sandwich structure of steel plates and highlysegmented scintillator tiles that are read out by wavelength-shifting fibers coupled to SiPMs. The signal is amplified and shaped with a custom-designed ASIC. A calibration/ monitoring system based on LED light was developed to monitor the SiPM gain and to measure the full SiPM response curve in order to correct for non-linearity. Ultimately, the physics goals are the study of hadron shower shapes and testing the concept of particle flow. The technical goal consists of measuring the performance and reliability of 7608 SiPMs. The AHCAL was commissioned in test beams at DESY and CERN. The entire prototype was completed in 2007 and recorded hadron showers, electron showers and muons at different energies and incident angles in test beams at CERN and Fermilab. (orig.)

Construction and Commissioning of the CALICE Analog Hadron Calorimeter Prototype

CERN Document Server

Adloff, C.; Repond, J.; Brandt, A.; Brown, H.; De, K.; Medina, C.; Smith, J.; Li, J.; Sosebee, M.; White, A.; Yu, J.; Buanes, T.; Eigen, G.; Mikami, Y.; Miller, O.; Watson, N.K.; Wilson, J.A.; Goto, T.; Mavromanolakis, G.; Thomson, M.A.; Ward, D.R.; Yan, W.; Benchekroun, D.; Hoummada, A.; Khoulaki, Y.; Oreglia, M.; Benyamna, M.; Carloganu, C.; Gay, P.; Ha, J.; Blazey, G.C.; Chakraborty, D.; Dyshkant, A.; Francis, K.; Hedin, D.; Lima, G.; Zutshi, V.; Babkin, V.A.; Bazylev, S.N.; Fedotov, Yu I.; Slepnev, V.M.; Tiapkin, I.A.; Volgin, S.V.; Hostachy, J.Y.; Morin, L.; D'Ascenzo, N.; Cornett, U.; David, D.; Fabbri, R.; Falley, G.; Feege, N.; Gadow, K.; Garutti, E.; Gottlicher, P.; Jung, T.; Karstensen, S.; Korbel, V.; Lucaci-Timoce, A.I.; Lutz, B.; Meyer, N.; Morgunov, V.; Reinecke, M.; Schatzel, S.; Schmidt, S.; Sefkow, F.; Smirnov, P.; Vargas-Trevino, A.; Wattimena, N.; Wendt, O.; Groll, M.; Heuer, R.D.; Richter, S.; Samson, J.; Kaplan, A.; Schultz-Coulon, H.Ch; Shen, W.; Tadday, A.; Bilki, B.; Norbeck, E.; Onel, Y.; Kim, E.J.; Kim, G.; Kim, D.W.; Lee, K.; Lee, S.C.; Kawagoe, K.; Tamura, Y.; Ballin, J.A.; Dauncey, P.D.; Magnan, A.M.; Yilmaz, H.; Zorba, O.; Bartsch, V.; Postranecky, M.; Warren, M.; Wing, M.; Faucci Giannelli, M.; Green, M.G.; Salvatore, F.; Kieffer, R.; Laktineh, I.; Fouz, M.C.; Bailey, D.S.; Barlow, R.J.; Thompson, R.J.; Batouritski, M.; Dvornikov, O.; Shulhevich, Yu; Shumeiko, N.; Solin, A.; Starovoitov, P.; Tchekhovski, V.; Terletski, A.; Bobchenko, B.; Chadeeva, M.; Danilov, M.; Markin, O.; Mizuk, R.; Morgunov, V.; Novikov, E.; Rusinov, V.; Tarkovsky, E.; Andreev, V.; Kirikova, N.; Komar, A.; Kozlov, V.; Smirnov, P.; Soloviev, Y.; Terkulov, A.; Buzhan, P.; Dolgoshein, B.; Ilyin, A.; Kantserov, V.; Kaplin, V.; Karakash, A.; Popova, E.; Smirnov, S.; Baranova, N.; Boos, E.; Gladilin, L.; Karmanov, D.; Korolev, M.; Merkin, M.; Savin, A.; Voronin, A.; Topkar, A.; Frey, A.; Kiesling, C.; Lu, S.; Prothmann, K.; Seidel, K.; Simon, F.; Soldner, C.; Weuste, L.; Bouquet, B.; Callier, S.; Cornebise, P.; Dulucq, F.; Fleury, J.; Li, H.; Martin-Chassard, G.; Richard, F.; de la Taille, Ch.; Poeschl, R.; Raux, L.; Ruan, M.; Seguin-Moreau, N.; Wicek, F.; Anduze, M.; Boudry, V.; Brient, J.C.; Gaycken, G.; Cornat, R.; Jeans, D.; Mora de Freitas, P.; Musat, G.; Reinhard, M.; Rouge, A.; Vanel, J.Ch; Videau, H.; Park, K.H.; Zacek, J.; Cvach, J.; Gallus, P.; Havranek, M.; Janata, M.; Kvasnicka, J.; Marcisovsky, M.; Polak, I.; Popule, J.; Tomasek, L.; Tomasek, M.; Ruzicka, P.; Sicho, P.; Smolik, J.; Vrba, V.; Zalesak, J.; Arestov, Yu; Ammosov, V.; Chuiko, B.; Gapienko, V.; Gilitski, Y.; Koreshev, V.; Semak, A.; Sviridov, Yu; Zaets, V.; Belhorma, B.; Belmir, M.; Baird, A.; Halsall, R.N.; Nam, S.W.; Park, I.H.; Yang, J.; Chai, J.S.; Kim, J.T.; Kim, G.B.; Kim, Y.; Kang, J.; Kwon, Y.J.; Kim, I.; Lee, T.; Park, J.; Sung, J.; Itoh, S.; Kotera, K.; Nishiyama, M.; Takeshita, T.; Weber, S.; Zeitnitz, C.

2010-01-01

An analog hadron calorimeter (AHCAL) prototype of 5.3 nuclear interaction lengths thickness has been constructed by members of the CALICE Collaboration. The AHCAL prototype consists of a 38-layer sandwich structure of steel plates and highly-segmented scintillator tiles that are read out by wavelength-shifting fibers coupled to SiPMs. The signal is amplified and shaped with a custom-designed ASIC. A calibration/monitoring system based on LED light was developed to monitor the SiPM gain and to measure the full SiPM response curve in order to correct for non-linearity. Ultimately, the physics goals are the study of hadron shower shapes and testing the concept of particle flow. The technical goal consists of measuring the performance and reliability of 7608 SiPMs. The AHCAL was commissioned in test beams at DESY and CERN. The entire prototype was completed in 2007 and recorded hadron showers, electron showers and muons at different energies and incident angles in test beams at CERN and Fermilab.

Legislative aspects of the development of medical devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Marešová, Petra; Klímová, Blanka; Krejcar, Ondřej; Kuča, Kamil

2015-09-01

European industry of medical device technologies represents 30% of all worlds sales. New health technologies bring effective treatment approaches, help shorten stays in hospital1),bring better treatment results and accelerate rehabilitation which leads to the earlier patients recovery.Legislative aspects are one of the key areas influencing the speed of development of medical devices and their launching. The aim of this article is to specify current state of legislation in the development of medical devices in the European Union in comparison with the market leaders such as China, Japan and USA.The best established market of medical devices is in the USA. Both Japan and China follow the USA model. However, a non-professional code of ethics in China in some respect contributes to the decrease of quality of medical devices, while Japan as well as the EU countries try really hard to conform to all the regulations imposed on the manufacturing of medical devices.

A feasibility study of a PET/MRI insert detector using strip-line and waveform sampling data acquisition.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, H; Chen, C-T; Eclov, N; Ronzhin, A; Murat, P; Ramberg, E; Los, S; Wyrwicz, Alice M; Li, Limin; Kao, C-M

2015-06-01

We are developing a time-of-flight Positron Emission Tomography (PET) detector by using silicon photo-multipliers (SiPM) on a strip-line and high speed waveform sampling data acquisition. In this design, multiple SiPMs are connected on a single strip-line and signal waveforms on the strip-line are sampled at two ends of the strip to reduce readout channels while fully exploiting the fast time response of SiPMs. In addition to the deposited energy and time information, the position of the hit SiPM along the strip-line is determined by the arrival time difference of the waveform. Due to the insensitivity of the SiPMs to magnetic fields and the compact front-end electronics, the detector approach is highly attractive for developing a PET insert system for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner to provide simultaneous PET/MR imaging. To investigate the feasibility, experimental tests using prototype detector modules have been conducted inside a 9.4 Tesla small animal MRI scanner (Bruker BioSpec 94/30 imaging spectrometer). On the prototype strip-line board, 16 SiPMs (5.2 mm pitch) are installed on two strip-lines and coupled to 2 × 8 LYSO scintillators (5.0 × 5.0 × 10.0 mm 3 with 5.2 mm pitch). The outputs of the strip-line boards are connected to a Domino-Ring-Sampler (DRS4) evaluation board for waveform sampling. Preliminary experimental results show that the effect of interference on the MRI image due to the PET detector is negligible and that PET detector performance is comparable with the results measured outside the MRI scanner.

Design of numerical model for thermoacoustic devices using OpenFOAM

Science.gov (United States)

Tisovsky, Tomas; Vit, Tomas

2017-09-01

Thermoacoustic devices are increasingly popular especially because of their construction simplicity and the ability to easily convert waste heat into the form of usable energy. Aim of this paper is to introduce some of the effective procedures for creating a complex mathematical model of thermoacoustic devices in OpenFOAM.

Systematic study of new types of Hamamatsu MPPCs read out with the NINO ASIC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Doroud, K. [Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche E. Fermi, Roma (Italy); Rodriguez, A. [CERN, Geneva (Switzerland); ICSC World Laboratory, Geneva (Switzerland); Williams, M.C.S., E-mail: crispin.williams@cern.ch [CERN, Geneva (Switzerland); INFN and Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna (Italy); Yamamoto, K. [Solid State Division, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hamamatsu (Japan); Zichichi, A. [Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche E. Fermi, Roma (Italy); CERN, Geneva (Switzerland); INFN and Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna (Italy); Zuyeuski, R. [CERN, Geneva (Switzerland); ICSC World Laboratory, Geneva (Switzerland)

2014-07-01

Over the last decade there have been commercial TOF-PET scanners constructed using Photo-Multiplier Tubes (PMT) that have achieved ∼500ps FWHM Coincidence Time Resolution (CTR). A new device known as the Silicon PhotoMultiplier (SiPM) has the potential to overcome some of the limitations of the PMT. Therefore implementing a SiPM based TOF-PET scanner is of high interest. Recently Philips has introduced a TOF-PET scanner that uses digital Silicon PhotoMultipliers (d-SiPMs) which has a CTR of 350 ps. Here we will report on the timing performance of two Hamamatsu 3×3 mm{sup 2} analogue-SiPMs read out with the NINO ASIC: this is an ultra-fast amplifier/discriminator with a differential architecture. The differential architecture is very important since the single-ended readout uses the ground as the signal return; as the ground is also the reference level for the discriminators, the result is high crosstalk and degraded time resolution. However differential readout allows the scaling up from a single cell to a multi-cell device with no loss of time resolution; this becomes increasingly important for the highly segmented detectors that are being built today, both for particle and for medical instrumentation. We obtained excellent results for both the Single Photon Time Resolution (SPTR) and for the CTR using a LYSO crystal of 15 mm length. Such a crystal length has sufficient detection efficiency for 511 keV gammas to make an excellent PET device. The results presented here are proof that a TOF-PET detector with a CTR of 175 ps is indeed possible. This is the first step that defines the starting point of our SuperNINO project.

Systematic study of new types of Hamamatsu MPPCs read out with the NINO ASIC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doroud, K.; Rodriguez, A.; Williams, M.C.S.; Yamamoto, K.; Zichichi, A.; Zuyeuski, R.

2014-01-01

Over the last decade there have been commercial TOF-PET scanners constructed using Photo-Multiplier Tubes (PMT) that have achieved ∼500ps FWHM Coincidence Time Resolution (CTR). A new device known as the Silicon PhotoMultiplier (SiPM) has the potential to overcome some of the limitations of the PMT. Therefore implementing a SiPM based TOF-PET scanner is of high interest. Recently Philips has introduced a TOF-PET scanner that uses digital Silicon PhotoMultipliers (d-SiPMs) which has a CTR of 350 ps. Here we will report on the timing performance of two Hamamatsu 3×3 mm 2 analogue-SiPMs read out with the NINO ASIC: this is an ultra-fast amplifier/discriminator with a differential architecture. The differential architecture is very important since the single-ended readout uses the ground as the signal return; as the ground is also the reference level for the discriminators, the result is high crosstalk and degraded time resolution. However differential readout allows the scaling up from a single cell to a multi-cell device with no loss of time resolution; this becomes increasingly important for the highly segmented detectors that are being built today, both for particle and for medical instrumentation. We obtained excellent results for both the Single Photon Time Resolution (SPTR) and for the CTR using a LYSO crystal of 15 mm length. Such a crystal length has sufficient detection efficiency for 511 keV gammas to make an excellent PET device. The results presented here are proof that a TOF-PET detector with a CTR of 175 ps is indeed possible. This is the first step that defines the starting point of our SuperNINO project

The Strip Silicon Photo-Multiplier: An innovation for enhanced time and position measurement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Doroud, K., E-mail: Katayoun.Doroud@cern.ch [CERN, Geneva (Switzerland); Williams, M.C.S. [CERN, Geneva (Switzerland); INFN, Bologna (Italy); Yamamoto, K. [Solid State Division, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hamamatsu (Japan)

2017-05-01

There is considerable R&D concerning precise time measurement from a variety of detectors, and in particular for the Silicon PhotoMultiplier (SiPM). In this paper we discuss a new geometry for the SiPM in the form of a strip. A strip can be read out at both end, with each end coupled to an individual TDC (time to digital converter). The time difference is related to the position of the firing SPAD along the length of the strip, while the average of the two times gives the time of the hit. Results from the testing of the first prototype Strip SiPMs are presented in this paper.

Device-Centric Monitoring for Mobile Device Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luke Chircop

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The ubiquity of computing devices has led to an increased need to ensure not only that the applications deployed on them are correct with respect to their specifications, but also that the devices are used in an appropriate manner, especially in situations where the device is provided by a party other than the actual user. Much work which has been done on runtime verification for mobile devices and operating systems is mostly application-centric, resulting in global, device-centric properties (e.g. the user may not send more than 100 messages per day across all applications being difficult or impossible to verify. In this paper we present a device-centric approach to runtime verify the device behaviour against a device policy with the different applications acting as independent components contributing to the overall behaviour of the device. We also present an implementation for Android devices, and evaluate it on a number of device-centric policies, reporting the empirical results obtained.

A comparative study of the time performance between NINO and FlexToT ASICs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarasola, I.; Rato, P.; Marín, J.; Nemallapudi, M.V.; Gundacker, S.; Auffray, E.; Sánchez, D.; Gascón, D.

2017-01-01

Universitat de Barcelona (UB) and CIEMAT have designed the FlexToT ASIC for the front-end readout of SiPM-based scintillator detectors. This ASIC is aimed at time of flight (ToF) positron emission tomography (PET) applications. In this work we have evaluated the time performance of the FlexToT v2 ASIC compared to the NINO ASIC, a fast ASIC developped at CERN. NINO electronics give 64 ps sigma for single-photon time resolution (SPTR) and 93 ps FWHM for coincidence time resolution (CTR) with 2 × 2 × 5 mm 3 LSO:Ce,Ca crystals and S13360-3050CS SiPMs. Using the same SiPMs and crystals, the FlexToT v2 ASIC yields 91 ps sigma for SPTR and 123 ps FWHM for CTR. Despite worse time performace than NINO, FlexToT v2 features lower power consumption (11 vs. 27 mW/ch) and linear ToT energy measurement.

Desarrollo de un circuito integrado de múltiples canales para Silicon fotomultiplicador arrays lectura

CERN Document Server

Comerma i Montells, Albert

2013-10-31

The aim of this thesis is to present a solution for the readout of Silicon Photo-Multipliers (SiPMs) arrays improving currently implemented systems. Using as a starting point previous designs with similar objectives a novel current mode input stage has been designed and tested. To start with the design a valid model has been used to generate realistic output from the SiPMs depending on light input. Design has been performed in first place focusing in general applications for medical imaging Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and then using the same topology for a more constrained design in particle detectors (upgrade of Tracker detector at LHCb experiment). A 16 channel ASIC for PET applications including the novel input stage has demonstrated an excellent timing measurement with good energy resolution measurement and pile-up detection. This document starts with the analysis of the requirements needed to fit such a system. Followed by a detailed description of the input stage and analog processing. Signal is ...

EndoTOFPET-US: a novel multimodal tool for endoscopy and positron emission tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aubry, N; Fourmigue, J-M; Auffray, E; Mimoun, F B; Doroud, K; Fornaro, G; Frisch, B; Brillouet, N; Courday, P; Bugalho, R; Charbon, E; Charles, O; Damon, C; Cortinovis, D; Gadow, K; Cserkaszky, A; Fischer, J-M; Fürst, B; Gardiazabal, J; Garutti, E

2013-01-01

The EndoTOFPET-US project aims to develop a multimodal detector to foster the development of new biomarkers for prostate and pancreatic tumors. The detector will consist of two main components: an external plate, and a PET extension to an endoscopic ultrasound probe. The external plate is an array of LYSO crystals read out by silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) coupled to an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). The internal probe will be an highly integrated and miniaturized detector made of LYSO crystals read out by a fully digital SiPM featuring photosensor elements and digital readout in the same chip. The position and orientation of the two detectors will be tracked with respect to the patient to allow the fusion of the metabolic image from the PET and the anatomic image from the ultrasound probe in the time frame of the medical procedure. The fused information can guide further interventions of the organ, such as biopsy or in vivo confocal microscopy.

Location tracking forensics on mobile devices

Science.gov (United States)

Sack, Stefan; Kröger, Knut; Creutzburg, Reiner

2013-03-01

The spread of navigation devices has increased significantly over the last 10 years. With the help of the current development of even smaller navigation receiver units it is to navigate with almost any current smart phone. Modern navigation systems are no longer limited to satellite navigation, but use current techniques, e.g. WLAN localization. Due to the increased use of navigation devices their relevance to forensic investigations has risen rapidly. Because navigation, for example with navigation equipment and smartphones, have become common place these days, also the amount of saved navigation data has risen rapidly. All of these developments lead to a necessary forensic analysis of these devices. However, there are very few current procedures for investigating of navigation devices. Navigation data is forensically interesting because by the position of the devices in most cases the location and the traveled path of the owner can be reconstructed. In this work practices for forensic analysis of navigation devices are developed. Different devices will be analyzed and it is attempted, by means of forensic procedures to restore the traveled path of the mobile device. For analysis of the various devices different software and hardware is used. There will be presented common procedures for securing and testing of mobile devices. Further there will be represented the specials in the investigation of each device. The different classes considered are GPS handhelds, mobile navigation devices and smartphones. It will be attempted, wherever possible, to read all data of the device. The aim is to restore complete histories of the navigation data and to forensically study and analyze these data. This is realized by the usage of current forensic software e.g. TomTology or Oxygen Forensic Suite. It is also attempted to use free software whenever possible. Further alternative methods are used (e.g. rooting) to access locked data of the unit. To limit the practical work the

A new challenge for advertising on mobile devices: Social TV

OpenAIRE

Natalia Quintas-Froufe; Ana González-Neira

2015-01-01

Mobile device advertising is a rapidly growing market due to the penetration of mobile devices in Spanish society. Advertising communication in this digital ecosystem continually poses new challenges. One of these - the subject of this proposal - is the link-up between mobile advertising with social TV. It opens up new possibilities for the development of advertising strategies on mobile devices.The aim of this paper is to describe the challenges faced by the Spanish advertising industry with...

Towards Scalable Graph Computation on Mobile Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yiqi; Lin, Zhiyuan; Pienta, Robert; Kahng, Minsuk; Chau, Duen Horng

2014-10-01

Mobile devices have become increasingly central to our everyday activities, due to their portability, multi-touch capabilities, and ever-improving computational power. Such attractive features have spurred research interest in leveraging mobile devices for computation. We explore a novel approach that aims to use a single mobile device to perform scalable graph computation on large graphs that do not fit in the device's limited main memory, opening up the possibility of performing on-device analysis of large datasets, without relying on the cloud. Based on the familiar memory mapping capability provided by today's mobile operating systems, our approach to scale up computation is powerful and intentionally kept simple to maximize its applicability across the iOS and Android platforms. Our experiments demonstrate that an iPad mini can perform fast computation on large real graphs with as many as 272 million edges (Google+ social graph), at a speed that is only a few times slower than a 13″ Macbook Pro. Through creating a real world iOS app with this technique, we demonstrate the strong potential application for scalable graph computation on a single mobile device using our approach.

Towards Scalable Graph Computation on Mobile Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yiqi; Lin, Zhiyuan; Pienta, Robert; Kahng, Minsuk; Chau, Duen Horng

2015-01-01

Mobile devices have become increasingly central to our everyday activities, due to their portability, multi-touch capabilities, and ever-improving computational power. Such attractive features have spurred research interest in leveraging mobile devices for computation. We explore a novel approach that aims to use a single mobile device to perform scalable graph computation on large graphs that do not fit in the device's limited main memory, opening up the possibility of performing on-device analysis of large datasets, without relying on the cloud. Based on the familiar memory mapping capability provided by today's mobile operating systems, our approach to scale up computation is powerful and intentionally kept simple to maximize its applicability across the iOS and Android platforms. Our experiments demonstrate that an iPad mini can perform fast computation on large real graphs with as many as 272 million edges (Google+ social graph), at a speed that is only a few times slower than a 13″ Macbook Pro. Through creating a real world iOS app with this technique, we demonstrate the strong potential application for scalable graph computation on a single mobile device using our approach. PMID:25859564

Device for making firewood; Laite polttopuun tekoon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jaatinen, E [Haemeen Teraesrakenne Oy, Haemeenlinna (Finland)

1997-12-31

By present equipment it is impossible to make firewood with single-stage processing of the trees. Pulpwood and logs are collected from the forests, but energy wood has to be collected separately and processed in a different place. The aim of the project was to develop a device, by which it is possible to make firewood on the felling site using single-stage processing, and packing the firewood directly to large packages ready for delivery or utilization. It is possible to make e.g. either 3 m long pulpwood or small-logs by the device. A farming tractor is used as traction and power supply unit of the device. The method is especially useful in first thinnings. A study and costs analysis were made for the basis of the research in Evo unit of the Haeme Polytechnic Institute of Technology. Logic control of the device was developed in the Haemeenlinna unit of the Haeme Polytechnic. Two prototype devices have been made. The test results have shown that firewood production speed will be multiplied in comparison to the previous devices, and the out-look of firewood is remarkable better. The method has been patented

Device for making firewood; Laite polttopuun tekoon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jaatinen, E. [Haemeen Teraesrakenne Oy, Haemeenlinna (Finland)

1996-12-31

By present equipment it is impossible to make firewood with single-stage processing of the trees. Pulpwood and logs are collected from the forests, but energy wood has to be collected separately and processed in a different place. The aim of the project was to develop a device, by which it is possible to make firewood on the felling site using single-stage processing, and packing the firewood directly to large packages ready for delivery or utilization. It is possible to make e.g. either 3 m long pulpwood or small-logs by the device. A farming tractor is used as traction and power supply unit of the device. The method is especially useful in first thinnings. A study and costs analysis were made for the basis of the research in Evo unit of the Haeme Polytechnic Institute of Technology. Logic control of the device was developed in the Haemeenlinna unit of the Haeme Polytechnic. Two prototype devices have been made. The test results have shown that firewood production speed will be multiplied in comparison to the previous devices, and the out-look of firewood is remarkable better. The method has been patented

External shading devices for energy efficient building

Science.gov (United States)

Shahdan, M. S.; Ahmad, S. S.; Hussin, M. A.

2018-02-01

External shading devices on a building façade is an important passive design strategy as they reduce solar radiation. Although studies have proven the benefits of external shading devices, many are designed solely for aesthetic purposes without fully considering its high potential to reduce solar radiation and glare. Furthermore, explorations into shading devices by the design team are mostly left too late in the design development phases. Hence, the paper looks into the effectiveness of external shading devices on a building towards more energy efficient building. The study aims to analyse the effects of various configurations of external shading devices towards the energy consumption of a case study building based on computer simulations. This study uses Building Information Modelling (BIM) through Autodesk Revit software as simulation tool. The constant variables for the simulation are the orientation of the building, types of glazing used by the building and the internal loads of the building. Whereas, the manipulated variable is the types of shading device used. The data were sorted according to the categories and translated into a chart. Analysis of the findings indicate that shading devices with different configurations show significant results in the energy consumption and the best configuration is the egg-crate shading devices. The study recommends that the consideration for shading device as a passive design strategy needs to be developed at the early stage of the building design.

Testing a Novel 3D Printed Radiographic Imaging Device for Use in Forensic Odontology.

Science.gov (United States)

Newcomb, Tara L; Bruhn, Ann M; Giles, Bridget; Garcia, Hector M; Diawara, Norou

2017-01-01

There are specific challenges related to forensic dental radiology and difficulties in aligning X-ray equipment to teeth of interest. Researchers used 3D printing to create a new device, the combined holding and aiming device (CHAD), to address the positioning limitations of current dental X-ray devices. Participants (N = 24) used the CHAD, soft dental wax, and a modified external aiming device (MEAD) to determine device preference, radiographer's efficiency, and technique errors. Each participant exposed six X-rays per device for a total of 432 X-rays scored. A significant difference was found at the 0.05 level between the three devices (p = 0.0015), with the MEAD having the least amount of total errors and soft dental wax taking the least amount of time. Total errors were highest when participants used soft dental wax-both the MEAD and the CHAD performed best overall. Further research in forensic dental radiology and use of holding devices is needed. © 2016 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Sensitivity encoded silicon photomultiplier—a new sensor for high-resolution PET-MRI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schulz, Volkmar; Berker, Yannick; Berneking, Arne; Omidvari, Negar; Kiessling, Fabian; Gola, Alberto; Piemonte, Claudio

2013-01-01

Detectors for simultaneous positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in particular with sub-mm spatial resolution are commonly composed of scintillator crystal arrays, readout via arrays of solid state sensors, such as avalanche photo diodes (APDs) or silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). Usually a light guide between the crystals and the sensor is used to enable the identification of crystals which are smaller than the sensor elements. However, this complicates crystal identification at the gaps and edges of the sensor arrays. A solution is to use as many sensors as crystals with a direct coupling, which unfortunately increases the complexity and power consumption of the readout electronics. Since 1997, position-sensitive APDs have been successfully used to identify sub-mm crystals. Unfortunately, these devices show a limitation in their time resolution and a degradation of spatial resolution when placed in higher magnetic fields. To overcome these limitations, this paper presents a new sensor concept that extends conventional SiPMs by adding position information via the spatial encoding of the channel sensitivity. The concept allows a direct coupling of high-resolution crystal arrays to the sensor with a reduced amount of readout channels. The theory of sensitivity encoding is detailed and linked to compressed sensing to compute unique sparse solutions. Two devices have been designed using one- and two-dimensional linear sensitivity encoding with eight and four readout channels, respectively. Flood histograms of both devices show the capability to precisely identify all 4 × 4 LYSO crystals with dimensions of 0.93 × 0.93 × 10 mm 3 . For these crystals, the energy and time resolution (MV ± SD) of the devices with one (two)-dimensional encoding have been measured to be 12.3 · (1 ± 0.047)% (13.7 · (1 ± 0.047)%) around 511 keV with a paired coincidence time resolution (full width at half maximum) of 462 · (1 ± 0.054) ps (452 · (1 ± 0

Sensitivity encoded silicon photomultiplier—a new sensor for high-resolution PET-MRI

Science.gov (United States)

Schulz, Volkmar; Berker, Yannick; Berneking, Arne; Omidvari, Negar; Kiessling, Fabian; Gola, Alberto; Piemonte, Claudio

2013-07-01

Detectors for simultaneous positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in particular with sub-mm spatial resolution are commonly composed of scintillator crystal arrays, readout via arrays of solid state sensors, such as avalanche photo diodes (APDs) or silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). Usually a light guide between the crystals and the sensor is used to enable the identification of crystals which are smaller than the sensor elements. However, this complicates crystal identification at the gaps and edges of the sensor arrays. A solution is to use as many sensors as crystals with a direct coupling, which unfortunately increases the complexity and power consumption of the readout electronics. Since 1997, position-sensitive APDs have been successfully used to identify sub-mm crystals. Unfortunately, these devices show a limitation in their time resolution and a degradation of spatial resolution when placed in higher magnetic fields. To overcome these limitations, this paper presents a new sensor concept that extends conventional SiPMs by adding position information via the spatial encoding of the channel sensitivity. The concept allows a direct coupling of high-resolution crystal arrays to the sensor with a reduced amount of readout channels. The theory of sensitivity encoding is detailed and linked to compressed sensing to compute unique sparse solutions. Two devices have been designed using one- and two-dimensional linear sensitivity encoding with eight and four readout channels, respectively. Flood histograms of both devices show the capability to precisely identify all 4 × 4 LYSO crystals with dimensions of 0.93 × 0.93 × 10 mm3. For these crystals, the energy and time resolution (MV ± SD) of the devices with one (two)-dimensional encoding have been measured to be 12.3 · (1 ± 0.047)% (13.7 · (1 ± 0.047)%) around 511 keV with a paired coincidence time resolution (full width at half maximum) of 462 · (1 ± 0.054) ps (452 · (1 ± 0

Sensitivity encoded silicon photomultiplier--a new sensor for high-resolution PET-MRI.

Science.gov (United States)

Schulz, Volkmar; Berker, Yannick; Berneking, Arne; Omidvari, Negar; Kiessling, Fabian; Gola, Alberto; Piemonte, Claudio

2013-07-21

Detectors for simultaneous positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in particular with sub-mm spatial resolution are commonly composed of scintillator crystal arrays, readout via arrays of solid state sensors, such as avalanche photo diodes (APDs) or silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). Usually a light guide between the crystals and the sensor is used to enable the identification of crystals which are smaller than the sensor elements. However, this complicates crystal identification at the gaps and edges of the sensor arrays. A solution is to use as many sensors as crystals with a direct coupling, which unfortunately increases the complexity and power consumption of the readout electronics. Since 1997, position-sensitive APDs have been successfully used to identify sub-mm crystals. Unfortunately, these devices show a limitation in their time resolution and a degradation of spatial resolution when placed in higher magnetic fields. To overcome these limitations, this paper presents a new sensor concept that extends conventional SiPMs by adding position information via the spatial encoding of the channel sensitivity. The concept allows a direct coupling of high-resolution crystal arrays to the sensor with a reduced amount of readout channels. The theory of sensitivity encoding is detailed and linked to compressed sensing to compute unique sparse solutions. Two devices have been designed using one- and two-dimensional linear sensitivity encoding with eight and four readout channels, respectively. Flood histograms of both devices show the capability to precisely identify all 4 × 4 LYSO crystals with dimensions of 0.93 × 0.93 × 10 mm(3). For these crystals, the energy and time resolution (MV ± SD) of the devices with one (two)-dimensional encoding have been measured to be 12.3 · (1 ± 0.047)% (13.7 · (1 ± 0.047)%) around 511 keV with a paired coincidence time resolution (full width at half maximum) of 462 · (1 ± 0.054) ps (452 · (1 ± 0

MRI with cardiac pacing devices – Safety in clinical practice

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaasalainen, Touko, E-mail: touko.kaasalainen@hus.fi [HUS Medical Imaging Center, Helsinki University Central Hospital, POB 340 (Haartmaninkatu 4), 00290 Helsinki (Finland); Department of Physics, University of Helsinki (Finland); Pakarinen, Sami, E-mail: sami.pakarinen@hus.fi [HUS Department of Cardiology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, POB 340 (Haartmaninkatu 4), 00290 Helsinki (Finland); Kivistö, Sari, E-mail: sari.kivisto@hus.fi [HUS Medical Imaging Center, Helsinki University Central Hospital, POB 340 (Haartmaninkatu 4), 00290 Helsinki (Finland); Holmström, Miia, E-mail: miia.holmstrom@hus.fi [HUS Medical Imaging Center, Helsinki University Central Hospital, POB 340 (Haartmaninkatu 4), 00290 Helsinki (Finland); Hänninen, Helena, E-mail: helena.hanninen@hus.fi [HUS Department of Cardiology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, POB 340 (Haartmaninkatu 4), 00290 Helsinki (Finland); Peltonen, Juha, E-mail: juha.peltonen@hus.fi [HUS Medical Imaging Center, Helsinki University Central Hospital, POB 340 (Haartmaninkatu 4), 00290 Helsinki (Finland); Department of Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science, School of Science, Aalto University, Helsinki (Finland); Lauerma, Kirsi, E-mail: kirsi.lauerma@hus.fi [HUS Medical Imaging Center, Helsinki University Central Hospital, POB 340 (Haartmaninkatu 4), 00290 Helsinki (Finland); Sipilä, Outi, E-mail: outi.sipila@hus.fi [HUS Medical Imaging Center, Helsinki University Central Hospital, POB 340 (Haartmaninkatu 4), 00290 Helsinki (Finland)

2014-08-15

Objectives: The aim of this study was to introduce a single centre “real life” experience of performing MRI examinations in clinical practice on patients with cardiac pacemaker systems. Additionally, we aimed to evaluate the safety of using a dedicated safety protocol for these patients. Materials and methods: We used a 1.5 T MRI scanner to conduct 68 MRI scans of different body regions in patients with pacing systems. Of the cardiac devices, 32% were MR-conditional, whereas the remaining 68% were MR-unsafe. We recorded the functional parameters of the devices prior, immediately after, and approximately one month after the MRI scanning, and compared the device parameters to the baseline values. Results: All MRI examinations were completed safely, and each device could be interrogated normally following the MRI. We observed no changes in the programmed parameters of the devices. For most of the participants, the distributions of the immediate and one-month changes in the device parameters were within 20% of the baseline values, although some changes approached clinically important thresholds. Furthermore, we observed no differences in the variable changes between MR-conditional and MR-unsafe pacing systems, or between scans of the thorax area and other scanned areas. Conclusion: MRI in patients with MR-conditional pacing systems and selected MR-unsafe systems could be performed safely under strict conditions in this study.

Sensor device for X-ray beam to evaluate the radiation focal spot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos, Lara H.E. dos; Schiabel, Homero; Silva, Aderbal A.B. da; Marques, Paulo M.A.; Campos, Marcelo; Slaets, Annie F.F.

1996-01-01

A new electronic device to determine the position of the central ray of the radiation beam is proposed. The device aims to provide a perfect alignment of test objects used for evaluating focal spots with this reference axis

Power source device for thermonuclear device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ozaki, Akira.

1992-01-01

The present invention provides a small sized and economical power source device for a thermonuclear device. That is, the device comprises a conversion device having a rated power determined by a power required during a plasma current excitation period and a conversion device having a rated power determined by a power required during a plasma current maintaining period, connected in series to each other. Then, for the former conversion device, power is supplied from an electric power generator and, for the latter, power is supplied from a power system. With such a constitution, during the plasma electric current maintaining period for substantially continuous operation, it is possible to conduct bypassing paired operation for the former conversion device while the electric power generator is put under no load. Further, since a short period rated power may be suffice for the former conversion device and the electric power generator having the great rated power required for the plasma electric current excitation period, they can be reduced in the size and made economical. On the other hand, since the power required for the plasma current maintaining period is relatively small, the capacity of the continuous rated conversion device may be small, and the power can be received from the power system. (I.S.)

A silicon photomultiplier readout for time of flight neutron spectroscopy with {gamma}-ray detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pietropaolo, A.; Gorini, G. [Dipartimento di Fisica ' ' G. Occhialini' ' and CNISM, Universita Degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 3, 20126 Milano (Italy); Festa, G.; Andreani, C.; De Pascale, M. P.; Reali, E. [Dipartimento di Fisica and Centro NAST, Universita degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133, Roma (Italy); Grazzi, F. [Istituto dei Sistemi Complessi-Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Madonna del Piano n.10, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze (Italy); Schooneveld, E. M. [ISIS Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0QX (United Kingdom)

2009-09-15

The silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) is a recently developed photosensor used in particle physics, e.g., for detection of minimum ionizing particles and/or Cherenkov radiation. Its performance is comparable to that of photomultiplier tubes, but with advantages in terms of reduced volume and magnetic field insensitivity. In the present study, the performance of a gamma ray detector made of an yttrium aluminum perovskite scintillation crystal and a SiPM-based readout is assessed for use in time of flight neutron spectroscopy. Measurements performed at the ISIS pulsed neutron source demonstrate the feasibility of {gamma}-detection based on the new device.

Automatic coordination of protection devices in distribution system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Comassetto, L.; Bernardon, D.P.; Canha, L.N.; Abaide, A.R.

2008-01-01

Among the several components of distribution systems, protection devices present a fundamental importance, since they aim at keeping the physical integrity not only of the system equipment, but also of the electricians' team and the population in general. The existing tools today in the market that carry out the making of protection studies basically draw curves, and need direct user's interference for the protection devices adjustment and coordination analyses of selectivity, being susceptible to the user's mistakes and not always considering the best technical and economical application. In Brazil, the correct application of the protection devices demand a high amount of time, being extremely laborious due to the great number of devices (around 200 devices), besides the very dynamic behaviour of distribution networks and the need for constant system expansion. This article presents a computational tool developed with the objective of automatically determining the adjustments of all protection devices in the distribution networks to obtain the best technical application, optimizing its performance and making easier protection studies. (author)

Pulse Shape Analysis and Discrimination for Silicon-Photomultipliers in Helium-4 Gas Scintillation Neutron Detector

Science.gov (United States)

Barker, Cathleen; Zhu, Ting; Rolison, Lucas; Kiff, Scott; Jordan, Kelly; Enqvist, Andreas

2018-01-01

Using natural helium (helium-4), the Arktis 180-bar pressurized gas scintillator is capable of detecting and distinguishing fast neutrons and gammas. The detector has a unique design of three optically separated segments in which 12 silicon-photomultiplier (SiPM) pairs are positioned equilaterally across the detector to allow for them to be fully immersed in the helium-4 gas volume; consequently, no additional optical interfaces are necessary. The SiPM signals were amplified, shaped, and readout by an analog board; a 250 MHz, 14-bit digitizer was used to examine the output pulses from each SiPMpair channel. The SiPM over-voltage had to be adjusted in order to reduce pulse clipping and negative overshoot, which was observed for events with high scintillation production. Pulse shaped discrimination (PSD) was conducted by evaluating three different parameters: time over threshold (TOT), pulse amplitude, and pulse integral. In order to differentiate high and low energy events, a 30ns gate window was implemented to group pulses from two SiPM channels or more for the calculation of TOT. It was demonstrated that pulses from a single SiPM channel within the 30ns window corresponded to low-energy gamma events while groups of pulses from two-channels or more were most likely neutron events. Due to gamma pulses having lower pulse amplitude, the percentage of measured gamma also depends on the threshold value in TOT calculations. Similarly, the threshold values were varied for the optimal PSD methods of using pulse amplitude and pulse area parameters. Helium-4 detectors equipped with SiPMs are excellent for in-the-field radiation measurement of nuclear spent fuel casks. With optimized PSD methods, the goal of developing a fuel cask content monitoring and inspection system based on these helium-4 detectors will be achieved.

Cell transplantation and immunoisolation : studies on a macroencapsulation device

OpenAIRE

Rafael, Ehab

1999-01-01

Encapsulation of cellular grafts in semipermeable membranes may provide a way to protect the graft from immune attack without the need for pharmacological immunosuppression. In this thesis, the use of immunoisolating devices consisting of a bilaminar PTFE membrane was evaluated. Previous experimental studies indicate that these devices can protect cellular allografts from rejection. This thesis aims at improving our understanding of physiological factors influencing graft su...

Very old Swedish women's experiences of mobility devices in everyday occupation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Löfqvist, Charlotte; Nygren, Carita; Brandt, Ase

2009-01-01

The use of mobility devices, such as walking sticks and rollators, increases during the ageing process. Our aim was to explore how very old single-living Swedish women experience the use of mobility devices over time, in relation to everyday occupation. A multiple case study strategy involving....... Personal factors such as ability to adjust and adapt to different situations seem to be crucial for optimal mobility device use. Strategies and adaptive behavior were developed over the years while striving for maintained independence and participation. The use of mobility devices was described...

Design and performance of SiPM-based readout of PbF 2 crystals for high-rate, precision timing applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaspar, J.; Fienberg, A.T.; Hertzog, D.W.; Huehn, M.A.; Kammel, P.; Khaw, K.S.; Peterson, D.A.; Smith, M.W.; Wechel, T.D. Van; Chapelain, A.; Gibbons, L.K.; Sweigart, D.A.; Ferrari, C.; Fioretti, A.; Gabbanini, C.; Venanzoni, G.; Iacovacci, M.; Mastroianni, S.; Giovanetti, K.; Gohn, W.

2017-01-01

We have developed a custom amplifier board coupled to a large-format 16-channel Hamamatsu silicon photomultiplier device for use as the light sensor for the electromagnetic calorimeters in the Muon g - 2 experiment at Fermilab. The calorimeter absorber is an array of lead-fluoride crystals, which produces short-duration Cherenkov light. The detector sits in the high magnetic field of the muon storage ring. The SiPMs selected, and their accompanying custom electronics, must preserve the short pulse shape, have high quantum efficiency, be non-magnetic, exhibit gain stability under varying rate conditions, and cover a fairly large fraction of the crystal exit surface area. We describe an optimized design that employs the new-generation of thru-silicon via devices. The performance is documented in a series of bench and beam tests.

SiPM-based azimuthal position sensor in ANITA-IV Hi-Cal Antarctic balloon experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Novikov, A.; Besson, D.; Chernysheva, I.; Dmitrenko, V.; Grachev, V.; Petrenko, D.; Prohira, S.; Shustov, A.; Ulin, S.; Uteshev, Z.; Vlasik, K.

2017-01-01

Hi-Cal (High-Altitude Calibration) is a balloon-borne experiment that will be launched in December, 2016 in Antarctica following ANITA-IV (Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna) and will generate a broad-band pulse over the frequency range expected from radiation induced by a cosmic ray shower. Here, we describe a device based on an array of silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) for determination of the azimuthal position of Hi-Cal. The angular resolution of the device is about 3 degrees. Since at the float altitude of ˜38 km the pressure will be ˜0.5 mbar and temperature ˜ - 20 °C, the equipment has been tested in a chamber over a range of corresponding pressures (0.5 ÷ 1000) mbar and temperatures (-40 ÷ +50) °C.

SiPM-based azimuthal position sensor in ANITA-IV Hi-Cal Antarctic balloon experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novikov, A; Besson, D; Chernysheva, I; Dmitrenko, V; Grachev, V; Petrenko, D; Shustov, A; Ulin, S; Uteshev, Z; Vlasik, K; Prohira, S

2017-01-01

Hi-Cal (High-Altitude Calibration) is a balloon-borne experiment that will be launched in December, 2016 in Antarctica following ANITA-IV (Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna) and will generate a broad-band pulse over the frequency range expected from radiation induced by a cosmic ray shower. Here, we describe a device based on an array of silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) for determination of the azimuthal position of Hi-Cal. The angular resolution of the device is about 3 degrees. Since at the float altitude of ∼38 km the pressure will be ∼0.5 mbar and temperature ∼ − 20 °C, the equipment has been tested in a chamber over a range of corresponding pressures (0.5 ÷ 1000) mbar and temperatures (−40 ÷ +50) °C. (paper)

Classification of methods for measuring current-voltage characteristics of semiconductor devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iermolenko Ia. O.

2014-06-01

Full Text Available It is shown that computer systems for measuring current-voltage characteristics are very important for semiconductor devices production. The main criteria of efficiency of such systems are defined. It is shown that efficiency of such systems significantly depends on the methods for measuring current-voltage characteristics of semiconductor devices. The aim of this work is to analyze existing methods for measuring current-voltage characteristics of semiconductor devices and to create the classification of these methods in order to specify the most effective solutions in terms of defined criteria. To achieve this aim, the most common classifications of methods for measuring current-voltage characteristics of semiconductor devices and their main disadvantages are considered. Automated and manual, continuous, pulse, mixed, isothermal and isodynamic methods for measuring current-voltage characteristics are analyzed. As a result of the analysis and generalization of existing methods the next classification criteria are defined: the level of automation, the form of measurement signals, the condition of semiconductor device during the measurements, and the use of mathematical processing of the measurement results. With the use of these criteria the classification scheme of methods for measuring current-voltage characteristics of semiconductor devices is composed and the most effective methods are specified.

VUV-sensitive silicon-photomultipliers for the nEXO-experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wrede, Gerrit; Bayerlein, Reimund; Hufschmidt, Patrick; Jamil, Ako; Schneider, Judith; Wagenpfeil, Michael; Ziegler, Tobias; Hoessl, Juergen; Anton, Gisela; Michel, Thilo [ECAP, Friedrich-Alexander-Universitaet Erlangen-Nuernberg (Germany)

2016-07-01

The nEXO (next Enriched Xenon Observatory) experiment will search for the neutrinoless double beta decay of Xe-136 with a liquid xenon TPC (Time ProjectionChamber). The sensitivity of the experiment is related to the energy resolution, which itself depends on the accuracies of the measurements of the amount of drifting electrons and the number of scintillation photons with their wavelength being in the vacuum ultraviolet band. Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM) shall be used for the detection of the scintillation light, since they can be produced extremely radiopure. Commercially available SiPM do not fulfill all requirements of the nEXO experiment, thus a dedicated development is necessary. To characterize the silicon photomultipliers, we have built a test apparatus for xenon liquefaction, in which a VUV-sensitive photomultiplier tube can be operated together with the SiPM. In this contribution we present our apparatus for the SiPM characterization measurements and our latest results on the test of the silicon photomultipliers for the detection of xenon scintillation light.

Pulse shape discrimination using EJ-299-33 plastic scintillator coupled with a Silicon Photomultiplier array

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liao, Can; Yang, Haori

2015-01-01

Recent developments in organic plastic scintillators capable of pulse shape discrimination (PSD) have gained much interest. Novel photon detectors, such as Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs), offer numerous advantages and can be used as an alternative to conventional photo multiplier tubes (PMTs) in many applications. In this work, we evaluate the PSD performance of the EJ-299-33 plastic scintillator coupled with a SiPM array. 2D PSD plots as well as the Figure of Merit (FOM) parameters are presented to demonstrate the PSD capability of EJ-299-33 using a SiPM as the light sensor. The best FOM of 0.76 was observed with a 1.0 MeVee (MeV-electron-equivalent) energy threshold, despite the high noise level of the SiPM array. A high-speed digital oscilloscope was used to acquire data, which was then processed offline in MATLAB. A performance comparison between two different PSD algorithms was carried out. The dependence of PSD quality on the sampling rate was also evaluated, stimulated by the interest to implement this setup for handheld applications where power consumption is crucial

Characterization of scintillating plastic fibers and silicon photomultipliers for their usage in a particle telescope

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pruefer, Lea; Losekamm, Martin; Poeschl, Thomas; Greenwald, Daniel; Paul, Stephan [Technische Universitaet Muenchen, 85748 Garching (Germany)

2016-07-01

The Multi-purpose Active-target Particle Telescope (MAPT) is a newly developed compact charged-particle detector. It can be used for space applications, such as radiation monitoring on spacecraft or for stratospheric research balloons. Its core consists of scintillating plastic fibers coupled to silicon photomultiplier (SiPMs). The energy reconstruction of the incoming particles is based on an extended Bragg curve spectroscopy technique, requiring a good measurement of the energy deposition. Therefore, non-linearities of the measured light output -such as quenching effects of the scintillating material or saturation of the SiPMs at high light yields- have to be known quantitatively. To investigate these effects, two scaled-down prototypes were built, consisting of 128 and 16 channels. The first one was tested at a stationary proton beam at Paul Scherrer Institute. We determine Birk's coefficient describing the ionization quenching of the scintillator and calculate the characteristic photon detection efficiency of the SiPMs. We explain the results of the first prototype tests and the characterization of the SiPMs.

Research and development of an aimed magnetic lead current density-magnetic field diagnostic. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-01-01

A diagnostics survey was made to provide a clear definition of advanced diagnostic needs and the limitations of current approaches in addressing those needs. Special attention was given to the adequacy with which current diagnostics are interfaced to signal processing/data acquisition devices and systems. Critical evaluations of selected alternative diagnostic techniques for future R and D activities are presented. The conceptual basis of the Aimed Magnetic Lead Gradiometric system as a current density/magnetic field diagnostic is established

The upgrade of the CMS hadron calorimeter with silicon photomultipliers

CERN Document Server

Strobbe, N

2017-01-01

The upgrade of the hadron calorimeter of the CMS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider is currently underway. The endcap sections will be upgraded in the winter of 2016–2017 and the barrel sections during the second LHC long shutdown in 2019. The existing photosensors will be replaced with about 16 000 new silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs), resulting in the first large installation of SiPMs in a radiation environment. All associated front-end electronics will also be upgraded. This paper discusses the motivation for the upgrade and provides a description 17 of the new system, including the SiPMs with associated control electronics and the front-end readout cards.

Tests of Scintillator+WLS Strips for Muon System at Future Colliders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Denisov, Dmitri [Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States); Evdokimov, Valery [Inst. for High Energy Physics (IHEP), Protvino (Russian Federation); Lukić, Strahinja [Univ. of Belgrade (Serbia)

2015-10-11

Prototype scintilator+WLS strips with SiPM readout for muon system at future colliders were tested for light yield, time resolution and position resolution. Depending on the configuration, light yield of up to 36 photoelectrons per muon per SiPM has been achieved, as well as time resolution of 0.5 ns and position resolution of ~ 7 cm.

The Scintillator Tile Hadronic Calorimeter Prototype

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rusinov, V.

2006-01-01

A high granularity scintillator hadronic calorimeter prototype is described. The calorimeter is based on a novel photodetector - Silicon Photo-Multiplier (SiPM). The main parameters of SiPM are discussed as well as readout cell construction and optimization. The experience with a small prototype production and testing is described. A new 8 k channel prototype is being manufactured now

Tracking, aiming, and hitting the UAV with ordinary assault rifle

Science.gov (United States)

Racek, František; Baláž, Teodor; Krejčí, Jaroslav; Procházka, Stanislav; Macko, Martin

2017-10-01

The usage small-unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is significantly increasing nowadays. They are being used as a carrier of military spy and reconnaissance devices (taking photos, live video streaming and so on), or as a carrier of potentially dangerous cargo (intended for destruction and killing). Both ways of utilizing the UAV cause the necessity to disable it. From the military point of view, to disable the UAV means to bring it down by a weapon of an ordinary soldier that is the assault rifle. This task can be challenging for the soldier because he needs visually detect and identify the target, track the target visually and aim on the target. The final success of the soldier's mission depends not only on the said visual tasks, but also on the properties of the weapon and ammunition. The paper deals with possible methods of prediction of probability of hitting the UAV targets.

Device-Centric Monitoring for Mobile Device Management

OpenAIRE

Chircop, Luke; Colombo, Christian; Pace, Gordon J.

2016-01-01

The ubiquity of computing devices has led to an increased need to ensure not only that the applications deployed on them are correct with respect to their specifications, but also that the devices are used in an appropriate manner, especially in situations where the device is provided by a party other than the actual user. Much work which has been done on runtime verification for mobile devices and operating systems is mostly application-centric, resulting in global, device-centri...

QUIESST Guidebook to Noise Reducing Devices optimisation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Clairbois, J.P.; Roo, F. de; Garai, M.; Conter, M.; Defrance, J.; Oltean-Dumbrava, C.A.; Durso, C.

2012-01-01

The aim of this guidebook is to become a reference tool for noise mitigation through a better use of Noise Reducing Devices (NRD) (e.g.: Noise Barriers or sound Absorptive Claddings). It targets all the stakeholders involved in NRD projects (designers, manufacturers, authorities, construction

Cross-Surface: Workshop on Interacting with Multi-Device Ecologies in the Wild

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Houben, Steven; Vermeulen, Jo; Klokmose, Clemens Nylandsted

2015-01-01

In this workshop, we will review and discuss opportunities, technical challenges and problems with cross-device interactions in interactive multi-surface and multi-device ecologies. We aim to bring together researchers and practitioners currently working on novel techniques for cross......-surface interactions, identify application domains and enabling technologies for cross-surface interactions in the wild, and establish a research community to develop effective strategies for successful design of cross-device interactions....

High speed heterostructure devices

CERN Document Server

Beer, Albert C; Willardson, R K; Kiehl, Richard A; Sollner, T C L Gerhard

1994-01-01

Volume 41 includes an in-depth review of the most important, high-speed switches made with heterojunction technology. This volume is aimed at the graduate student or working researcher who needs a broad overview andan introduction to current literature. Key Features * The first complete review of InP-based HFETs and complementary HFETs, which promise very low power and high speed * Offers a complete, three-chapter review of resonant tunneling * Provides an emphasis on circuits as well as devices.

Optimisation of a novel trailing edge concept for a high lift device

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Botha, JDM

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to observe the effect of a novel concept (referred to as the flap extension) implemented on the leading edge of the flap of a three element high lift device. The high lift device, consisting of a flap, main element and slat...

Vacuum with mesh is a feasible temporary closure device after fascial dehiscence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørsum-Meyer, Thomas; Skarbye, Mona; Jensen, Kenneth Højsgaard

2013-01-01

INTRODUCTION: The open abdomen is a challenging condition and a temporary abdominal closure device is required in order to protect the intra-abdominal viscera. We aimed to evaluate the feasibility of a recent device: vacuum-assisted wound closure and mesh-mediated fascial traction (VAWCM) after f...

Steam/water separation device for drying a wet vapour

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sundheimer, P.

1986-01-01

The aim of the present invention is to dry a wet vapour which flows up to the device. The device has at least a group of steam dryer elements in a zone in which there is a vertical apertured panel; this vertical apertured panel is a metal grille with baffles the inlet steam flow to make it horizontal or slightly inclined to the bottom. The invention applies more particularly, to PWR steam generators [fr

Using Personal Portable Devices as Learning Tools in the English Class

Science.gov (United States)

Herrera Díaz, Luz Edith; Cruz Ramos, María de los Milagros; Sandoval Sánchez, Mario Alberto

2014-01-01

A group of university students used a variety of personal portable devices (cellphones, tablets, laptops, and netbooks) which distracted them in English class. This qualitative action research aimed to implement activities entailing the use of such devices and to learn their impact on students' learning and the use of English in class. Thus, a…

Left ventricular assist device as destination therapy: application of the payment-by-results approach for the device reimbursement.

Science.gov (United States)

Messori, Andrea; Trippoli, Sabrina; Bonacchi, Massimo; Sani, Guido

2009-08-01

Value-based methods are increasingly used to reimburse therapeutic innovation, and the payment-by-results approach has been proposed for handling interventions with limited therapeutic evidence. Because most left ventricular assist devices are supported by preliminary efficacy data, we examined the effectiveness data of the HeartMate (Thoratec Corp, Pleasanton, CA) device to explore the application of the payment-by-results approach to these devices and to develop a model for handling reimbursements. According to our model, after establishing the societal economic countervalue for each month of life saved, each patient treated with one such device is associated to the payment of this countervalue for every month of survival lived beyond the final date of estimated life expectancy without left ventricular assist devices. Our base-case analysis, which used the published data of 68 patients who received the HeartMate device, was run with a monthly countervalue of euro 5000, no adjustment for quality of life, and a baseline life expectancy of 150 days without left ventricular assist devices. Sensitivity analysis was aimed at testing the effect of quality of life adjustments and changes in life expectancy without device. In our base-case analysis, the mean total reimbursement per patient was euro 82,426 (range, euro 0 to euro 250,000; N = 68) generated as the sum of monthly payments. This average value was close to the current price of the HeartMate device (euro 75,000). Sensitivity testing showed that the base-case reimbursement of euro 82,426 was little influenced by variations in life expectancy, whereas variations in utility had a more pronounced impact. Our report delineates an innovative procedure for appropriately allocating economic resources in this area of invasive cardiology.

R&D of a pioneering system for a high resolution photodetector: The VSiPMT

Science.gov (United States)

Barbato, F. C. T.; Barbarino, G.; Campajola, L.; Di Capua, F.; Mollo, C. M.; Valentini, A.; Vivolo, D.

2017-12-01

The VSiPMT (Vacuum Silicon PhotoMultiplier Tube) is an innovative design for a hybrid photodetector. The idea, born with the purpose to use a SiPM for large detection volumes, consists in replacing the classical dynode chain with a special SiPM. In this configuration, we match the large sensitive area of a photocathode with the performances of the SiPM technology, which therefore acts like an electron detector and so like a current amplifier. The excellent photon counting capability, fast response, low power consumption and the stability are among the most attractive features of the VSiPMT.We now present the progress on the realization of a 1-in. prototype and the preliminary tests we are performing on it.

AIMES Final Technical Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Katz, Daniel S [Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States). National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA); Jha, Shantenu [Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, NJ (United States); Weissman, Jon [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States); Turilli, Matteo [Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, NJ (United States)

2017-01-31

This is the final technical report for the AIMES project. Many important advances in science and engineering are due to large-scale distributed computing. Notwithstanding this reliance, we are still learning how to design and deploy large-scale production Distributed Computing Infrastructures (DCI). This is evidenced by missing design principles for DCI, and an absence of generally acceptable and usable distributed computing abstractions. The AIMES project was conceived against this backdrop, following on the heels of a comprehensive survey of scientific distributed applications. AIMES laid the foundations to address the tripartite challenge of dynamic resource management, integrating information, and portable and interoperable distributed applications. Four abstractions were defined and implemented: skeleton, resource bundle, pilot, and execution strategy. The four abstractions were implemented into software modules and then aggregated into the AIMES middleware. This middleware successfully integrates information across the application layer (skeletons) and resource layer (Bundles), derives a suitable execution strategy for the given skeleton and enacts its execution by means of pilots on one or more resources, depending on the application requirements, and resource availabilities and capabilities.

Anthropometric comparison of Anthropometric Test Device (ATD ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Anthropometric test device (ATD) is surrogate used in automotive crash testing. Female ATDs used worldwide in the evaluation of vehicle safety performance was produced based on anthropometry of U.S. population. This work is aimed at assessing the difference between the anthropometric dimensions of Nigerian female ...

Progress in Group III nitride semiconductor electronic devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hao Yue; Zhang Jinfeng; Shen Bo; Liu Xinyu

2012-01-01

Recently there has been a rapid domestic development in group III nitride semiconductor electronic materials and devices. This paper reviews the important progress in GaN-based wide bandgap microelectronic materials and devices in the Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, which focuses on the research of the fundamental physical mechanisms of group III nitride semiconductor electronic materials and devices with the aim to enhance the crystal quality and electric performance of GaN-based electronic materials, develop new GaN heterostructures, and eventually achieve high performance GaN microwave power devices. Some remarkable progresses achieved in the program will be introduced, including those in GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) and metal—oxide—semiconductor high electron mobility transistors (MOSHEMTs) with novel high-k gate insulators, and material growth, defect analysis and material properties of InAlN/GaN heterostructures and HEMT fabrication, and quantum transport and spintronic properties of GaN-based heterostructures, and high-electric-field electron transport properties of GaN material and GaN Gunn devices used in terahertz sources. (invited papers)

Ferroelectric Thin Films Basic Properties and Device Physics for Memory Applications

CERN Document Server

Okuyama, Masanori

2005-01-01

Ferroelectric thin films continue to attract much attention due to their developing, diverse applications in memory devices, FeRAM, infrared sensors, piezoelectric sensors and actuators. This book, aimed at students, researchers and developers, gives detailed information about the basic properties of these materials and the associated device physics. All authors are acknowledged experts in the field.

The Role of Ethological Observation for Measuring Animal Reactions to Biotelemetry Devices

OpenAIRE

Paci, Patrizia; Mancini, Clara; Price, Blaine

2017-01-01

This paper presents a methodological approach used to assess the wearability of biotelemetry devices in animals. A detailed protocol to gather quantitative and qualitative ethological observations was adapted and tested in an experimental study of 13 cat participants wearing two different GPS devices. The aim was twofold: firstly, to ascertain the potential interference generated by the devices on the animal body and behavior by quantifying and characterizing it; secondly, to individuate devi...

2-D tiles declustering method based on virtual devices

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zhongmin; Gao, Lu

2009-10-01

Generally, 2-D spatial data are divided as a series of tiles according to the plane grid. To satisfy the effect of vision, the tiles in the query window including the view point would be displayed quickly at the screen. Aiming at the performance difference of real storage devices, we propose a 2-D tiles declustering method based on virtual device. Firstly, we construct a group of virtual devices which have same storage performance and non-limited capacity, then distribute the tiles into M virtual devices according to the query window of 2-D tiles. Secondly, we equably map the tiles in M virtual devices into M equidistant intervals in [0, 1) using pseudo-random number generator. Finally, we devide [0, 1) into M intervals according to the tiles distribution percentage of every real storage device, and distribute the tiles in each interval in the corresponding real storage device. We have designed and realized a prototype GlobeSIGht, and give some related test results. The results show that the average response time of each tile in the query window including the view point using 2-D tiles declustering method based on virtual device is more efficient than using other methods.

System Control Applications of Low-Power Radio Frequency Devices

Science.gov (United States)

van Rensburg, Roger

2017-09-01

This paper conceptualizes a low-power wireless sensor network design for application employment to reduce theft of portable computer devices used in educational institutions today. The aim of this study is to design and develop a reliable and robust wireless network that can eradicate accessibility of a device’s human interface. An embedded system supplied by an energy harvesting source, installed on the portable computer device, may represent one of multiple slave nodes which request regular updates from a standalone master station. A portable computer device which is operated in an undesignated area or in a field perimeter where master to slave communication is restricted, indicating a possible theft scenario, will initiate a shutdown of its operating system and render the device unusable. Consequently, an algorithm in the device firmware may ensure the necessary steps are executed to track the device, irrespective whether the device is enabled. Design outcomes thus far indicate that a wireless network using low-power embedded hardware, is feasible for anti-theft applications. By incorporating one of the latest Bluetooth low-energy, ANT+, ZigBee or Thread wireless technologies, an anti-theft system may be implemented that has the potential to reduce major portable computer device theft in institutions of digitized learning.

Validation of a low-cost EEG device for mood induction studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez, Alejandro; Rey, Beatriz; Alcañiz, Mariano

2013-01-01

New electroencephalography (EEG) devices, more portable and cheaper, are appearing on the market. Studying the reliability of these EEG devices for emotional studies would be interesting, as these devices could be more economical and compatible with Virtual Reality (VR) settings. Therefore, the aim in this work was to validate a low-cost EEG device (Emotiv Epoc) to monitor brain activity during a positive emotional induction procedure. Emotional pictures (IAPS) were used to induce a positive mood in sixteen participants. Changes in the brain activity of subjects were compared between positive induction and neutral conditions. Obtained results were in accordance with previous scientific literature regarding frontal EEG asymmetry, which supports the possibility of using this low-cost EEG device in future mood induction studies combined with VR.

Topology Optimization of Nanophotonic Devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yang, Lirong

This thesis explores the various aspects of utilizing topology optimization in designing nanophotonic devices. Either frequency-domain or time-domain methods is used in combination with the optimization algorithms, depending on various aims of the designing problems. The frequency-domain methods...... lengthscale and flexible pulse delay are addressed to demonstrate time-domain based topology optimization’s potential in designing complicated photonic structures with specifications on the time characteristics of pulses....

Theological imagination as hermeneutical device: Exploring the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In the past, biblical scholarship has neglected the hermeneutical contribution that an imaginal engagement with the text may make. The author's aim in this article was to develop theological imagination as a hermeneutical device. This was done by briefly considering the concurrence in the hermeneutic contributions of three ...

Time-resolved single-photon detection module based on silicon photomultiplier: A novel building block for time-correlated measurement systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martinenghi, E., E-mail: edoardo.martinenghi@polimi.it; Di Sieno, L.; Contini, D.; Dalla Mora, A. [Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano (Italy); Sanzaro, M. [Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano (Italy); Pifferi, A. [Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano (Italy); Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano (Italy)

2016-07-15

We present the design and preliminary characterization of the first detection module based on Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) tailored for single-photon timing applications. The aim of this work is to demonstrate, thanks to the design of a suitable module, the possibility to easily exploit SiPM in many applications as an interesting detector featuring large active area, similarly to photomultipliers tubes, but keeping the advantages of solid state detectors (high quantum efficiency, low cost, compactness, robustness, low bias voltage, and insensitiveness to magnetic field). The module integrates a cooled SiPM with a total photosensitive area of 1 mm{sup 2} together with the suitable avalanche signal read-out circuit, the signal conditioning, the biasing electronics, and a Peltier cooler driver for thermal stabilization. It is able to extract the single-photon timing information with resolution better than 100 ps full-width at half maximum. We verified the effective stabilization in response to external thermal perturbations, thus proving the complete insensitivity of the module to environment temperature variations, which represents a fundamental parameter to profitably use the instrument for real-field applications. We also characterized the single-photon timing resolution, the background noise due to both primary dark count generation and afterpulsing, the single-photon detection efficiency, and the instrument response function shape. The proposed module can become a reliable and cost-effective building block for time-correlated single-photon counting instruments in applications requiring high collection capability of isotropic light and detection efficiency (e.g., fluorescence decay measurements or time-domain diffuse optics systems).

Time-resolved single-photon detection module based on silicon photomultiplier: A novel building block for time-correlated measurement systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinenghi, E.; Di Sieno, L.; Contini, D.; Dalla Mora, A.; Sanzaro, M.; Pifferi, A.

2016-01-01

We present the design and preliminary characterization of the first detection module based on Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) tailored for single-photon timing applications. The aim of this work is to demonstrate, thanks to the design of a suitable module, the possibility to easily exploit SiPM in many applications as an interesting detector featuring large active area, similarly to photomultipliers tubes, but keeping the advantages of solid state detectors (high quantum efficiency, low cost, compactness, robustness, low bias voltage, and insensitiveness to magnetic field). The module integrates a cooled SiPM with a total photosensitive area of 1 mm"2 together with the suitable avalanche signal read-out circuit, the signal conditioning, the biasing electronics, and a Peltier cooler driver for thermal stabilization. It is able to extract the single-photon timing information with resolution better than 100 ps full-width at half maximum. We verified the effective stabilization in response to external thermal perturbations, thus proving the complete insensitivity of the module to environment temperature variations, which represents a fundamental parameter to profitably use the instrument for real-field applications. We also characterized the single-photon timing resolution, the background noise due to both primary dark count generation and afterpulsing, the single-photon detection efficiency, and the instrument response function shape. The proposed module can become a reliable and cost-effective building block for time-correlated single-photon counting instruments in applications requiring high collection capability of isotropic light and detection efficiency (e.g., fluorescence decay measurements or time-domain diffuse optics systems).

Evaluation of algorithms for photon depth of interaction estimation for the TRIMAGE PET component

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Camarlinghi, Niccolo; Belcari, Nicola [University of Pisa (Italy); Cerello, Piergiorgio [University of Torino (Italy); Sportelli, Giancarlo [University of Pisa (Italy); Pennazio, Francesco [University of Torino (Italy); Zaccario, Emanuele; Del Guerra, Alberto [University of Pisa (Italy)

2015-05-18

The TRIMAGE consortium aims to develop a multimodal PET/MR/EEG brain scanner dedicated to the early diagnosis of schizophrenia and other mental health disorders. The PET component features a full ring made of 18 detectors, each one consisting of twelve 8x8 Silicon PhotoMultipliers (SiPMs) tiles coupled to two segmented LYSO crystal matrices with staggered layers. In each module, the crystals belonging to the bottom layer are coupled one to one to the SiPMs, while each crystal of the top layer is coupled to four crystals of the bottom layer. This configuration allows to increase the crystal thickness while reducing the depth of interaction uncertainty, as photons interacting in different layers are expected to produce different light patterns on the SiPMs. The PET scanner will implement the pixel/layer identification on a front-end FPGA. This will allow increasing the effective bandwidth, setting at the same time restrictions on the complexity of the algorithms to be implemented. In this work two algorithms whose implementation is feasible directly on an FPGA are presented and evaluated. The first algorithm implements a method based on adaptive thresholding, while the other uses a linear Support Vector Machine (SVM) trained to distinguish the light pattern coming from two different layers. The validation of the algorithm performance is carried out by using simulated data generated with the GAMOS Monte Carlo. The obtained results show that the achieved accuracy in layer and pixel identification is above the 90% for both the proposed approaches.

The STiC ASIC. High precision timing with silicon photomultipliers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harion, Tobias

2015-01-01

In recent years, Silicon Photomultipliers are being increasingly used for Time of Flight measurements in particle detectors. To utilize the high intrinsic time resolution of these sensors in detector systems, the development of specialized, highly integrated readout electronics is required. In this thesis, a mixed-signal application specific integrated circuit, named STiC, has been developed, characterized and integrated in a detector system. STiC has been specifically designed for high precision timing measurements with SiPMs, and is in particular dedicated to the EndoTOFPET-US project, which aims to achieve a coincidence time resolution of 200 ps FWHM and an energy resolution of less than 20% in an endoscopic positron emission tomography system. The chip integrates 64 high precision readout channels for SiPMs together with a digital core logic to process, store and transfer the recorded events to a data acquisition system. The performance of the chip has been validated in coincidence measurements using detector modules consisting of 3.1 x 3.1 x 15 mm 3 LYSO crystals coupled to Silicon Photomultipliers from Hamamatsu. The measurements show an energy resolution of 15% FWHM for the detection of 511 keV photons. A coincidence time resolution of 213 ps FWHM has been measured, which is among the best resolution values achieved to date with this detector topology. STiC has been integrated in the EndoTOFPET-US detector system and has been chosen as the baseline design for the readout of SiPM sensors in the Mu3e experiment.

Developing and validating a sham cupping device.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Myeong Soo; Kim, Jong-In; Kong, Jae Cheol; Lee, Dong-Hyo; Shin, Byung-Cheul

2010-12-01

The aims of this study were to develop a sham cupping device and to validate its use as a placebo control for healthy volunteers. A sham cupping device was developed by establishing a small hole to reduce the negative pressure after suction such that inner pressure could not be maintained in the cup. We enrolled 34 healthy participants to evaluate the validity of the sham cupping device as a placebo control. The participants were informed that they would receive either real or sham cupping and were asked which treatment they thought they had received. Other sensations and adverse events related to cupping therapy were investigated. 17 patients received real cupping therapy and 17 received sham cupping. The two groups felt similar sensations. There was a tendency for subjects to feel that real cupping created a stronger sensation than sham cupping (48.9±21.4 vs 33.3±20.3 on a 100mm visual analogue scale). There were only mild to moderate adverse events observed in both groups. We developed a new sham cupping device that seems to provide a credible control for real cupping therapy by producing little or no negative pressure. This conclusion was supported by a pilot study, but more rigorous research is warranted regarding the use of this device.

Ontology-Based Device Descriptions and Device Repository for Building Automation Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dibowski Henrik

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Device descriptions play an important role in the design and commissioning of modern building automation systems and help reducing the design time and costs. However, all established device descriptions are specialized for certain purposes and suffer from several weaknesses. This hinders a further design automation, which is strongly needed for the more and more complex building automation systems. To overcome these problems, this paper presents novel Ontology-based Device Descriptions (ODDs along with a layered ontology architecture, a specific ontology view approach with virtual properties, a generic access interface, a triple store-based database backend, and a generic search mask GUI with underlying query generation algorithm. It enables a formal, unified, and extensible specification of building automation devices, ensures their comparability, and facilitates a computer-enabled retrieval, selection, and interoperability evaluation, which is essential for an automated design. The scalability of the approach to several ten thousand devices is demonstrated.

Multi-Device to Multi-Device (MD2MD Content-Centric Networking Based on Multi-RAT Device

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheolhoon Kim

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a method whereby a device can transmit and receive information using a beacon, and also describes application scenarios for the proposed method. In a multi-device to multi-device (MD2MD content-centric networking (CCN environment, the main issue involves searching for and connecting to nearby devices. However, if a device can’t find another device that satisfies its requirements, the connection is delayed due to the repetition of processes. It is possible to rapidly connect to a device without repetition through the selection of the optimal device using the proposed method. Consequently, the proposed method and scenarios are advantageous in that they enable efficient content identification and delivery in a content-centric Internet of Things (IoT environment, in which multiple mobile devices coexist.

A Self-Provisioning Mechanism in OpenStack for IoT Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Solano, Antonio; Dormido, Raquel; Duro, Natividad; Sánchez, Juan Miguel

2016-08-17

The aim of this paper is to introduce a plug-and-play mechanism for an Internet of Things (IoT) device to instantiate a Software as a Service (SaaS) application in a private cloud, built up with OpenStack. The SaaS application is the digital avatar of a physical object connected to Internet. As a proof of concept, a Vending Machine is retrofitted and connected to Internet with and Arduino Open Hardware device. Once the self-configuration mechanism is completed, it is possible to order a product from a mobile communication device.

Increasing physical activity with mobile devices: a meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Fanning, Jason; Mullen, Sean P; McAuley, Edward

2012-11-21

Regular physical activity has established physical and mental health benefits; however, merely one quarter of the U.S. adult population meets national physical activity recommendations. In an effort to engage individuals who do not meet these guidelines, researchers have utilized popular emerging technologies, including mobile devices (ie, personal digital assistants [PDAs], mobile phones). This study is the first to synthesize current research focused on the use of mobile devices for increasing physical activity. To conduct a meta-analysis of research utilizing mobile devices to influence physical activity behavior. The aims of this review were to: (1) examine the efficacy of mobile devices in the physical activity setting, (2) explore and discuss implementation of device features across studies, and (3) make recommendations for future intervention development. We searched electronic databases (PubMed, PsychINFO, SCOPUS) and identified publications through reference lists and requests to experts in the field of mobile health. Studies were included that provided original data and aimed to influence physical activity through dissemination or collection of intervention materials with a mobile device. Data were extracted to calculate effect sizes for individual studies, as were study descriptives. A random effects meta-analysis was conducted using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software suite. Study quality was assessed using the quality of execution portion of the Guide to Community Preventative Services data extraction form. Four studies were of "good" quality and seven of "fair" quality. In total, 1351 individuals participated in 11 unique studies from which 18 effects were extracted and synthesized, yielding an overall weight mean effect size of g = 0.54 (95% CI = 0.17 to 0.91, P = .01). Research utilizing mobile devices is gaining in popularity, and this study suggests that this platform is an effective means for influencing physical activity behavior. Our focus

Data acquisition for the CALICE engineering prototype of the analog hadronic calorimeter for the international linear collider

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Irles, Adrian [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg (Germany); Collaboration: CALICE-D-Collaboration

2016-07-01

The engineering prototype of the Analogue Hadronic Calorimeter, developed by the CALICE collaboration for future linear colliders, consists in a set of high granularity layers of scintillator tiles readout by a silicon photo-multiplier (SiPM) and is housed in steel cassettes which can be interleaved with different absorber plates. The readout is done with a dedicated front-end SiPM readout system: the SPIROC ASIC. The current data acquisition (DAQ) framework used for the engineering prototype of the AHCAL is fruit of several years of improvement and exhaustive testing in the laboratory and in different test beams and has been designed to be scalable to the full detector size (∝8.10{sup 6} channels) making use of a new Link Data Aggregator. Current efforts in the DAQ development aims to gain in flexibility to include other subsystems in common test beams. The solution that is presented here is based on the use of the EUDAQ software which is a DAQ framework designed to be modular and portable and that has strong suppport from the ILC community.

Vacuum ultra-violet and ultra-violet scintillation light detection by means of silicon photomultipliers at cryogenic temperature

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Falcone, A., E-mail: andrea.falcone@pv.infn.it [University of Pavia, via Bassi, 6, 27100 Pavia (Italy); INFN Sezione di Pavia, via Bassi, 6, 27100 Pavia (Italy); Bertoni, R. [INFN Sezione di Milano Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza, 3, 20126 Milano (Italy); Boffelli, F. [University of Pavia, via Bassi, 6, 27100 Pavia (Italy); INFN Sezione di Pavia, via Bassi, 6, 27100 Pavia (Italy); Bonesini, M. [INFN Sezione di Milano Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza, 3, 20126 Milano (Italy); Cervi, T. [University of Pavia, via Bassi, 6, 27100 Pavia (Italy); Menegolli, A. [University of Pavia, via Bassi, 6, 27100 Pavia (Italy); INFN Sezione di Pavia, via Bassi, 6, 27100 Pavia (Italy); Montanari, C.; Prata, M.C.; Rappoldi, A.; Raselli, G.L.; Rossella, M.; Simonetta, M. [INFN Sezione di Pavia, via Bassi, 6, 27100 Pavia (Italy); Spanu, M. [University of Pavia, via Bassi, 6, 27100 Pavia (Italy); Torti, M. [University of Pavia, via Bassi, 6, 27100 Pavia (Italy); INFN Sezione di Pavia, via Bassi, 6, 27100 Pavia (Italy); Zani, A. [INFN Sezione di Pavia, via Bassi, 6, 27100 Pavia (Italy)

2015-07-01

We tested the performance of two types of silicon photomultipliers, AdvanSiD ASD-NUV-SiPM3S-P and Hamamatsu 3×3 MM-50 UM VUV2, both at room (300 K) and at liquid nitrogen (77 K) temperature: breakdown voltage, quenching resistance, signal shape, gain and dark counts rate have been studied as function of temperature. The response of the devices to ultra-violet light is also studied. - Highlights: • We tested 2 SiPMs both at room and at cryogenic temperature. • Breakdown voltage, quenching resistance, gain and dark rate were measured. • Efficiency for VUV light detection was measured.

Variation-aware advanced CMOS devices and SRAM

CERN Document Server

Shin, Changhwan

2016-01-01

This book provides a comprehensive overview of contemporary issues in complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) device design, describing how to overcome process-induced random variations such as line-edge-roughness, random-dopant-fluctuation, and work-function variation, and the applications of novel CMOS devices to cache memory (or Static Random Access Memory, SRAM). The author places emphasis on the physical understanding of process-induced random variation as well as the introduction of novel CMOS device structures and their application to SRAM. The book outlines the technical predicament facing state-of-the-art CMOS technology development, due to the effect of ever-increasing process-induced random/intrinsic variation in transistor performance at the sub-30-nm technology nodes. Therefore, the physical understanding of process-induced random/intrinsic variations and the technical solutions to address these issues plays a key role in new CMOS technology development. This book aims to provide the reade...

Graphene device and method of using graphene device

Science.gov (United States)

Bouchiat, Vincent; Girit, Caglar; Kessler, Brian; Zettl, Alexander K.

2015-08-11

An embodiment of a graphene device includes a layered structure, first and second electrodes, and a dopant island. The layered structure includes a conductive layer, an insulating layer, and a graphene layer. The electrodes are coupled to the graphene layer. The dopant island is coupled to an exposed surface of the graphene layer between the electrodes. An embodiment of a method of using a graphene device includes providing the graphene device. A voltage is applied to the conductive layer of the graphene device. Another embodiment of a method of using a graphene device includes providing the graphene device without the dopant island. A dopant island is placed on an exposed surface of the graphene layer between the electrodes. A voltage is applied to the conductive layer of the graphene device. A response of the dopant island to the voltage is observed.

Application of Geiger-mode photosensors in Cherenkov detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gamal, Ahmed, E-mail: gamal.ahmed@assoc.oeaw.ac.a [Stefan Meyer Institute for Subatomic Physics of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna (Austria); Al-Azhar University, Faculty of Science, Physics Department, Cairo (Egypt); Paul, Buehler; Michael, Cargnelli [Stefan Meyer Institute for Subatomic Physics of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna (Austria); Roland, Hohler [GSI Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Darmstadt (Germany); Johann, Marton [Stefan Meyer Institute for Subatomic Physics of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna (Austria); Herbert, Orth [GSI Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Darmstadt (Germany); Ken, Suzuki [Stefan Meyer Institute for Subatomic Physics of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna (Austria)

2011-05-21

Silicon-based photosensors (SiPMs) working in the Geiger-mode represent an elegant solution for the readout of particle detectors working at low-light levels like Cherenkov detectors. Especially the insensitivity to magnetic fields makes this kind of sensors suitable for modern detector systems in subatomic physics which are usually employing magnets for momentum resolution. We are characterizing SiPMs of different manufacturers for selecting sensors and finding optimum operating conditions for given applications. Recently we designed and built a light concentrator prototype with 8x8 cells to increase the active photon detection area of an 8x8 SiPM (Hamamatsu MPPC S10931-100P) array. Monte Carlo studies, measurements of the collection efficiency, and tests with the MPPC were carried out. The status of these developments are presented.

A novel, SiPM-array-based, monolithic scintillator detector for PET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schaart, Dennis R; Dam, Herman T van; Seifert, Stefan; Beekman, Freek J; Vinke, Ruud; Dendooven, Peter; Loehner, Herbert

2009-01-01

Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) are of great interest to positron emission tomography (PET), as they enable new detector geometries, for e.g., depth-of-interaction (DOI) determination, are MR compatible, and offer faster response and higher gain than other solid-state photosensors such as avalanche photodiodes. Here we present a novel detector design with DOI correction, in which a position-sensitive SiPM array is used to read out a monolithic scintillator. Initial characterization of a prototype detector consisting of a 4 x 4 SiPM array coupled to either the front or back surface of a 13.2 mm x 13.2 mm x 10 mm LYSO:Ce 3+ crystal shows that front-side readout results in significantly better performance than conventional back-side readout. Spatial resolutions 2 detector, equals 960 ps FWHM.

An overview of robotic/mechanical devices for post-stroke thumb rehabilitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Suarez-Escobar, Marian; Rendon-Velez, Elizabeth

2018-01-15

This article aims to clarify the current state-of-the-art of robotic/mechanical devices for post-stroke thumb rehabilitation as well as the anatomical characteristics and motions of the thumb that are crucial for the development of any device that aims to support its motion. A systematic literature search was conducted to identify robotic/mechanical devices for post-stroke thumb rehabilitation. Specific electronic databases and well-defined search terms and inclusion/exclusion criteria were used for such purpose. A reasoning model was devised to support the structured abstraction of relevant data from the literature of interest. Following the main search and after removing duplicated and other non-relevant studies, 68 articles (corresponding to 32 devices) were left for further examination. These articles were analyzed to extract data relative to (i) the motions assisted/permitted - either actively or passively - by the device per anatomical joint of the thumb and (ii) mechanical-related aspects (i.e., architecture, connections to thumb, other fingers supported, adjustability to different hand sizes, actuators - type, quantity, location, power transmission and motion trajectory). Most articles describe preliminary design and testing of prototypes, rather than the thorough evaluation of commercially ready devices. Defining appropriate kinematic models of the thumb upon which to design such devices still remains a challenging and unresolved task. Further research is needed before these devices can actually be implemented in clinical environments to serve their intended purpose of complementing the labour of therapists by facilitating intensive treatment with precise and repeatable exercises. Implications for Rehabilitation Post-stroke functional disability of the hand, and particularly of the thumb, significantly affects the capability to perform activities of daily living, threatening the independence and quality of life of the stroke survivors. The latest studies

Humanitarian Use Devices/Humanitarian Device Exemptions in cardiovascular medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaplan, Aaron V; Harvey, Elisa D; Kuntz, Richard E; Shiran, Hadas; Robb, John F; Fitzgerald, Peter

2005-11-01

The Second Dartmouth Device Development Symposium held in October 2004 brought together leaders from the medical device community, including clinical investigators, senior representatives from the US Food and Drug Administration, large and small device manufacturers, and representatives from the financial community to examine difficult issues confronting device development. The role of the Humanitarian Use Device/Humanitarian Device Exemption (HUD/HDE) pathway in the development of new cardiovascular devices was discussed in this forum. The HUD/HDE pathway was created by Congress to facilitate the availability of medical devices for "orphan" indications, ie, those affecting HDEs have been granted (23 devices, 6 diagnostic tests). As the costs to gain regulatory approval for commonly used devices increase, companies often seek alternative ways to gain market access, including the HUD/HDE pathway. For a given device, there may be multiple legitimate and distinct indications, including indications that meet the HUD criteria. Companies must choose how and when to pursue each of these indications. The consensus of symposium participants was for the HUD/HDE pathway to be reserved for true orphan indications and not be viewed strategically as part of the clinical development plan to access a large market.

Cellphone-based devices for bioanalytical sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Vashist, Sandeep Kumar; Mudanyali, Onur; Schneider, E.Marion; Zengerle, Roland; Ozcan, Aydogan

2014-01-01

During the last decade, there has been a rapidly growing trend toward the use of cellphone-based devices (CBDs) in bioanalytical sciences. For example, they have been used for digital microscopy, cytometry, read-out of immunoassays and lateral flow tests, electrochemical and surface plasmon resonance based bio-sensing, colorimetric detection and healthcare monitoring, among others. Cellphone can be considered as one of the most prospective devices for the development of next-generation point-of-care (POC) diagnostics platforms, enabling mobile healthcare delivery and personalized medicine. With more than 6.5 billion cellphone subscribers worldwide and approximately 1.6 billion new devices being sold each year, cellphone technology is also creating new business and research opportunities. Many cellphone-based devices, such as those targeted for diabetic management, weight management, monitoring of blood pressure and pulse rate, have already become commercially-available in recent years. In addition to such monitoring platforms, several other CBDs are also being introduced, targeting e.g., microscopic imaging and sensing applications for medical diagnostics using novel computational algorithms and components already embedded on cellphones. This manuscript aims to review these recent developments in CBDs for bioanalytical sciences along with some of the challenges involved and the future opportunities. PMID:24287630

Research and development aimed at enabling Industry 4.0 from a cybersecurity perspective

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Mtsweni, Jabu

2017-10-01

Full Text Available ‹#› CSIR Smart City Platform – Current project Mobile app visualisation & control application Web dashboard visualisation & control Cloud application infrastructure Smart City Platform Edge Smart City Platform Edge Gateway device Smart... device Smart device Smart device Smart device Back-end infrastructure Smart City Platform Core Gateway device ‹#› Cyber threat intelligence Sharing ‹#› NESL – Cybersecurity Training ‹#› Cyber Range – Security Solutions Testing...

SPECIFICITY OF MANIFACTURING PROCESS VALIDATION FOR DIAGNOSTIC SEROLOGICAL DEVICES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. Yu. Galkin

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The aim of this research was to analyze recent scientific literature, as well as national and international legislature on manifacturing process validation of biopharmaceutical production, in particular devices for serological diagnostics. Technology validation in the field of medical devices for serological diagnostics is most influenced by the Technical Regulation for Medical Devices for in vitro Diagnostics State Standards of Ukraine – SSU EN ISO 13485:2015 “Medical devices. Quality management system. Requirements for regulation”, SSU EN ISO 14971:2015 “Medical devices. Instructions for risk management”, Instruction ST-N of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine 42-4.0:2014 “Medications. Suitable industrial practice”, State Pharmacopoeia of Ukraine and Instruction ICH Q9 on risk management. Current recommendations for validations of drugs manufacturing process, including biotechnological manufacturing, can not be directly applied to medical devices for in vitro diagnostics. It was shown that the specifics of application and raw materials require individual validation parameters and process validations for serological diagnostics devices. Critical parameters to consider in validation plans were provided for every typical stage of production of in vitro diagnostics devices on the example of immunoassay kits, such as obtaining protein antigens, including recombinant ones, preparations of mono- and polyclonal antibodies, immunoenzyme conjugates and immunosorbents, chemical reagents etc. The bottlenecks of technologies for in vitro diagnostics devices were analyzed from the bioethical and biosafety points of view.

AVAILABILITY RESEARCH OF REMOTE DEVICES FOR WIRELESS NETWORKS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. A. Bazhayev

2016-05-01

Full Text Available We consider the wireless network under attack, aimed at "broadcast storm" initiation, in order to determine the availability of stand-alone units and the ability to carry out their functional tasks under information exposure. We determine a set of conditions for such type of attacks on the part of potential information interloper. The functional analysis of the systems based on wireless technology is made. We examine the remote device of a self-organizing wireless network as a queuing system M/M/1/n. Model dependencies are shown for normal system performance and at information exposure on the part of potential information interloper. Analytical simulation of wireless network functioning is carried out in the normal mode and under the attack aimed at "broadcast storm" initiation. An experiment is described which provides statistical information on operation of network remote devices. We present experiment results on carrying out attack at typical system transferring data by broabcast net scanning package at different noise intensities on the part of information interloper. The proposed model can be used to determine the technical characteristics of wireless ad-hoc network, develop recommendations for node configuration, aimed at countering "broadcast storm".

Integrated multiscale modeling of molecular computing devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cummings, Peter T; Leng Yongsheng

2005-01-01

Molecular electronics, in which single organic molecules are designed to perform the functions of transistors, diodes, switches and other circuit elements used in current siliconbased microelecronics, is drawing wide interest as a potential replacement technology for conventional silicon-based lithographically etched microelectronic devices. In addition to their nanoscopic scale, the additional advantage of molecular electronics devices compared to silicon-based lithographically etched devices is the promise of being able to produce them cheaply on an industrial scale using wet chemistry methods (i.e., self-assembly from solution). The design of molecular electronics devices, and the processes to make them on an industrial scale, will require a thorough theoretical understanding of the molecular and higher level processes involved. Hence, the development of modeling techniques for molecular electronics devices is a high priority from both a basic science point of view (to understand the experimental studies in this field) and from an applied nanotechnology (manufacturing) point of view. Modeling molecular electronics devices requires computational methods at all length scales - electronic structure methods for calculating electron transport through organic molecules bonded to inorganic surfaces, molecular simulation methods for determining the structure of self-assembled films of organic molecules on inorganic surfaces, mesoscale methods to understand and predict the formation of mesoscale patterns on surfaces (including interconnect architecture), and macroscopic scale methods (including finite element methods) for simulating the behavior of molecular electronic circuit elements in a larger integrated device. Here we describe a large Department of Energy project involving six universities and one national laboratory aimed at developing integrated multiscale methods for modeling molecular electronics devices. The project is funded equally by the Office of Basic

[Destruction of microsurgical devices by sterilisation].

Science.gov (United States)

Berto, Raphaela; Strutz, Jürgen

2017-11-01

Hospital facilities issue numerous risk announcements on corrosion, deformation or premature wearout of medical devices every year. As there is yet little data on the impact of reprocessing on the quality and durability of microsurgical instruments, this paper aims at evaluating the effects of the reprocessing on microsurgical instruments. Material and Methods 22 brand new microsurgical instruments for stapes surgery were being reprocessed 30 times without being used for surgery or other purposes in the interim time. After each reprocessing the instruments were examined macroscopicly and microscopicly. The results were portrayed in a photo documentation and analysed on that basis. Results Almost all devices showed mechanical damage caused by the reprocessing procedure. The increasing deterioration was often associated with missing protective caps. Furthermore contaminations and stains were apparent in several cases. Conclusions The findings illustrate that careful handling of delicate surgical devices during reprocessing is vital. They also highlight problems of protective caps. As an alternative going forward it should be considered to store microsurgical instruments statically in special racks. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Molecular electronics with single molecules in solid-state devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Moth-Poulsen, Kasper; Bjørnholm, Thomas

2009-09-01

The ultimate aim of molecular electronics is to understand and master single-molecule devices. Based on the latest results on electron transport in single molecules in solid-state devices, we focus here on new insights into the influence of metal electrodes on the energy spectrum of the molecule, and on how the electron transport properties of the molecule depend on the strength of the electronic coupling between it and the electrodes. A variety of phenomena are observed depending on whether this coupling is weak, intermediate or strong.

Device-independent secret-key-rate analysis for quantum repeaters

Science.gov (United States)

Holz, Timo; Kampermann, Hermann; Bruß, Dagmar

2018-01-01

The device-independent approach to quantum key distribution (QKD) aims to establish a secret key between two or more parties with untrusted devices, potentially under full control of a quantum adversary. The performance of a QKD protocol can be quantified by the secret key rate, which can be lower bounded via the violation of an appropriate Bell inequality in a setup with untrusted devices. We study secret key rates in the device-independent scenario for different quantum repeater setups and compare them to their device-dependent analogon. The quantum repeater setups under consideration are the original protocol by Briegel et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 5932 (1998), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.5932] and the hybrid quantum repeater protocol by van Loock et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 240501 (2006), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.240501]. For a given repeater scheme and a given QKD protocol, the secret key rate depends on a variety of parameters, such as the gate quality or the detector efficiency. We systematically analyze the impact of these parameters and suggest optimized strategies.

Spike-Timing Dependent Plasticity in Unipolar Silicon Oxide RRAM Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Zarudnyi, Konstantin; Mehonic, Adnan; Montesi, Luca; Buckwell, Mark; Hudziak, Stephen; Kenyon, Anthony J

2018-01-01

Resistance switching, or Resistive RAM (RRAM) devices show considerable potential for application in hardware spiking neural networks (neuro-inspired computing) by mimicking some of the behavior of biological synapses, and hence enabling non-von Neumann computer architectures. Spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP) is one such behavior, and one example of several classes of plasticity that are being examined with the aim of finding suitable algorithms for application in many computing tasks such as coincidence detection, classification and image recognition. In previous work we have demonstrated that the neuromorphic capabilities of silicon-rich silicon oxide (SiO x ) resistance switching devices extend beyond plasticity to include thresholding, spiking, and integration. We previously demonstrated such behaviors in devices operated in the unipolar mode, opening up the question of whether we could add plasticity to the list of features exhibited by our devices. Here we demonstrate clear STDP in unipolar devices. Significantly, we show that the response of our devices is broadly similar to that of biological synapses. This work further reinforces the potential of simple two-terminal RRAM devices to mimic neuronal functionality in hardware spiking neural networks.

Physical models of semiconductor quantum devices

CERN Document Server

Fu, Ying

2013-01-01

The science and technology relating to nanostructures continues to receive significant attention for its applications to various fields including microelectronics, nanophotonics, and biotechnology. This book describes the basic quantum mechanical principles underlining this fast developing field. From the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics to nanomaterial properties, from device physics to research and development of new systems, this title is aimed at undergraduates, graduates, postgraduates, and researchers.

Device for monitoring electron-ion ring parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tyutyunnikov, S.I.; Shalyapin, V.N.

1982-01-01

The invention is classified as the method of collective ion acceleration. The device for electron-ion ring parameters monitoring is described. The invention is aimed at increasing functional possibilities of the device at the expense of the enchance in the number of the ring controlled parameters. The device comprises three similar plane mirrors installed over accelerating tube circumference and a mirror manufactured in the form of prism and located in the tube centre, as well as the system of synchrotron radiation recording and processing. Two plane mirrors are installed at an angle of 45 deg to the vertical axis. The angle of the third plane mirror 3 α and that of prismatic mirror 2 α to the vertical axis depend on geometric parameters of the ring and accelerating tube and they are determined by the expression α=arc sin R K /2(R T -L), where R K - ring radius, R T - accelerating tube radius, L - the height of segment, formed by the mirror and inner surface of the accelerating tube. The device suggested permits to determine longitudinal dimensions of the ring, its velocity and the number of electrons and ions in the ring

Orthotic devices for tennis elbow: a systematic review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Struijs, P. A.; Smidt, N.; Arola, H.; van Dijk, C. N.; Buchbinder, R.; Assendelft, W. J.

2001-01-01

Lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow) is af requently reported condition. A wide variety of treatment strategies has been described. Asy et, no optimal strategy has been identified. The aim of this review was to assess the effectiveness of orthotic devices for treatment of tennis elbow. An electronic

The diverse aims of science.

Science.gov (United States)

Potochnik, Angela

2015-10-01

There is increasing attention to the centrality of idealization in science. One common view is that models and other idealized representations are important to science, but that they fall short in one or more ways. On this view, there must be an intermediary step between idealized representation and the traditional aims of science, including truth, explanation, and prediction. Here I develop an alternative interpretation of the relationship between idealized representation and the aims of science. I suggest that continuing, widespread idealization calls into question the idea that science aims for truth. If instead science aims to produce understanding, this would enable idealizations to directly contribute to science's epistemic success. I also use the fact of widespread idealization to motivate the idea that science's wide variety aims, epistemic and non-epistemic, are best served by different kinds of scientific products. Finally, I show how these diverse aims—most rather distant from truth—result in the expanded influence of social values on science. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The potential of medical device industry in technological and economical context.

Science.gov (United States)

Maresova, Petra; Penhaker, Marek; Selamat, Ali; Kuca, Kamil

2015-01-01

The high quality of public health improves not only healthy life expectancy, but also the productivity of labor. The most important part of the health care sector is the medical technology industry. The aim of this study is to analyze the current situation in the medical device industry in Europe, its potential strengths and weaknesses in the context of topical economic and demographic development. The contribution specifies an analysis of the economic state of the medical device industry in the context of demographic development of European Union's macroeconomic indicators and views of experts in the field of medical device development, concerning the opportunities for entities involved in the medical device market. There is fierce competition on the European market. The innovative activity is stable and well regulated by responsible authorities. Worldwide, the medical device market is expected to grow.

Electron beam directed energy device and methods of using same

Science.gov (United States)

Retsky, Michael W.

2007-10-16

A method and apparatus is disclosed for an electron beam directed energy device. The device consists of an electron gun with one or more electron beams. The device includes one or more accelerating plates with holes aligned for beam passage. The plates may be flat or preferably shaped to direct each electron beam to exit the electron gun at a predetermined orientation. In one preferred application, the device is located in outer space with individual beams that are directed to focus at a distant target to be used to impact and destroy missiles. The aimings of the separate beams are designed to overcome Coulomb repulsion. A method is also presented for directing the beams to a target considering the variable terrestrial magnetic field. In another preferred application, the electron beam is directed into the ground to produce a subsurface x-ray source to locate and/or destroy buried or otherwise hidden objects including explosive devices.

Recommendations for blood pressure measuring devices for office/clinic use in low resource settings

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Parati, G.; Mendis, S.; Abegunde, D.; Asmar, R.; Mieke, S.; Murray, A.; Shengelia, B.; Steenvoorden, G.; Montfrans, G. van; O'Brien, E.

2005-01-01

This paper, which summarizes the conclusions of a WHO Expert meeting, is aimed at proposing indications to develop technical specifications for an accurate and affordable blood pressure measuring device for office/ clinic use in low resource settings. Blood pressure measuring devices to be used in

DeviceNet-based device-level control in SSRF

CERN Document Server

Leng Yong Bin; Lu Cheng Meng; Miao Hai Feng; Liu Song Qiang; Shen Guo Bao

2002-01-01

The control system of Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility is an EPICS-based distributed system. One of the key techniques to construct the system is the device-level control. The author describes the design and implementation of the DeviceNet-based device controller. A prototype of the device controller was tested in the experiments of magnet power supply and the result showed a precision of 3 x 10 sup - sup 5

A Self-Provisioning Mechanism in OpenStack for IoT Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Solano

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to introduce a plug-and-play mechanism for an Internet of Things (IoT device to instantiate a Software as a Service (SaaS application in a private cloud, built up with OpenStack. The SaaS application is the digital avatar of a physical object connected to Internet. As a proof of concept, a Vending Machine is retrofitted and connected to Internet with and Arduino Open Hardware device. Once the self-configuration mechanism is completed, it is possible to order a product from a mobile communication device.

THE EVOLUTION OF INTERFACE DESIGN ON MOBILE DEVICES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Atila Isik

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The most typical characteristic of 21. century is the light velocity changing of technology. Dizzily developments in the field of human-robot interaction, mobile communication and education as affect all the fields of life also have an impact on art and design area. Striking increase of interest had been seen for mobile devices which are product of developing technology as tablet and mobile phone. While this increase happening at the present time user interfaces at mobile world and user practices developed as much as dominating design tendency. And became primary impotance for visual designers. This study aims utulizing future options for designers and the oppurtunities and reach a conclusions with examining evolution field of interface design spesific to mobile devices. From Skemorfizm to ordinary design and Google’s recent transition of material design principles were discussed together in this study. And this workout deal with interface design logic of users for working with new computational arificial facts devices as wearable smart objects and devices which able to connect to internet.

COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF CONTINUOUS-FLOW LEFT VENTRICULAR ASSIST DEVICES

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Neyt, Mattias; Van den Bruel, Ann; Smit, Yolba; De Jonge, Nicolaas; Erasmus, Michiel; Van Dijk, Diederik; Vlayen, Joan

Objectives: Mechanical circulatory support through left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) improves survival and quality of life for patients with end-stage heart failure who are ineligible for cardiac transplantation. Our aim was to calculate the cost-effectiveness of continuous-flow LVADs.

Using Personal Portable Devices as Learning Tools in the English Class

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luz Edith Herrera Díaz

2014-10-01

Full Text Available A group of university students used a variety of personal portable devices (cellphones, tablets, laptops, and netbooks which distracted them in English class. This qualitative action research aimed to implement activities entailing the use of such devices and to learn their impact on students’ learning and the use of English in class. Thus, a series of applications was used to promote the use of these devices for the benefit of the English as a Foreign Language class. These applications included a learning management system that resembled a social network, a live interaction application, and an online dictionary. It was found that students were able to productively use these devices as learning tools plus they expressed comfort and interest in using them.

Development of SiPM-based scintillator tile detectors for a multi-layer fast neutron tracker

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jakubek J.

2012-10-01

Full Text Available We are developing thin tile scintillator detectors with silicon photomultiplier (SiPM readout for use in a multi-layer fast-neutron tracker. The tracker is based on interleaved Timepix and plastic scintillator layers. The thin 15 × 15 × 2 mm plastic scintillators require suitable optical readout in order to detect and measure the energy lost by energetic protons that have been recoiled by fast neutrons. Our first prototype used dual SiPMs, coupled to opposite edges of the scintillator tile using light-guides. An alternative readout geometry was designed in an effort to increase the fraction of scintillation light detected by the SiPMs. The new prototype uses a larger SiPM array to cover the entire top face of the tile. This paper details the comparative performance of the two prototype designs. A deuterium-tritium (DT fast-neutron source was used to compare the relative light collection efficiency of the two designs. A collimated UV light source was scanned across the detector face to map the uniformity. The new prototype was found to have 9.5 times better light collection efficiency over the original design. Both prototypes exhibit spatial non-uniformity in their response. Methods of correcting this non-uniformity are discussed.

Terrestrial neutron-induced soft errors in advanced memory devices

CERN Document Server

Nakamura, Takashi; Ibe, Eishi; Yahagi, Yasuo; Kameyama, Hideaki

2008-01-01

Terrestrial neutron-induced soft errors in semiconductor memory devices are currently a major concern in reliability issues. Understanding the mechanism and quantifying soft-error rates are primarily crucial for the design and quality assurance of semiconductor memory devices. This book covers the relevant up-to-date topics in terrestrial neutron-induced soft errors, and aims to provide succinct knowledge on neutron-induced soft errors to the readers by presenting several valuable and unique features. Sample Chapter(s). Chapter 1: Introduction (238 KB). Table A.30 mentioned in Appendix A.6 on

New method for determining avalanche breakdown voltage of silicon photomultipliers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chirikov-Zorin, I.

2017-01-01

The avalanche breakdown and Geiger mode of the silicon p-n junction is considered. A precise physically motivated method is proposed for determining the avalanche breakdown voltage of silicon photomultipliers (SiPM). The method is based on measuring the dependence of the relative photon detection efficiency (PDE rel ) on the bias voltage when one type of carriers (electron or hole) is injected into the avalanche multiplication zone of the p-n junction. The injection of electrons or holes from the base region of the SiPM semiconductor structure is performed using short-wave or long-wave light. At a low overvoltage (1-2 V) the detection efficiency is linearly dependent on the bias voltage; therefore, extrapolation to zero PDE rel value determines the SiPM avalanche breakdown voltage with an accuracy within a few millivolts. [ru

LYSO crystal calorimeter readout with silicon photomultipliers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berra, A., E-mail: alessandro.berra@gmail.com [Università degli Studi dell' Insubria (Italy); INFN sezione di Milano Bicocca (Italy); Bonvicini, V. [INFN sezione di Trieste (Italy); Cecchi, C.; Germani, S. [INFN sezione di Perugia (Italy); Guffanti, D. [Università degli Studi dell' Insubria (Italy); Lietti, D. [Università degli Studi dell' Insubria (Italy); INFN sezione di Milano Bicocca (Italy); Lubrano, P.; Manoni, E. [INFN sezione di Perugia (Italy); Prest, M. [Università degli Studi dell' Insubria (Italy); INFN sezione di Milano Bicocca (Italy); Rossi, A. [INFN sezione di Perugia (Italy); Vallazza, E. [INFN sezione di Trieste (Italy)

2014-11-01

Large area Silicon PhotoMultipliers (SiPMs) are the new frontier of the development of readout systems for scintillating detectors. A SiPM consists of a matrix of parallel-connected silicon micropixels operating in limited Geiger–Muller avalanche mode, and thus working as independent photon counters with a very high gain (∼10{sup 6}). This contribution presents the performance in terms of linearity and energy resolution of an electromagnetic homogeneous calorimeter composed of 9∼18X{sub 0} LYSO crystals. The crystals were readout by 36 4×4 mm{sup 2} SiPMs (4 for each crystal) produced by FBK-irst. This calorimeter was tested at the Beam Test Facility at the INFN laboratories in Frascati with a single- and multi-particle electron beam in the 100–500 MeV energy range.

Cherenkov luminescence measurements with digital silicon photomultipliers: a feasibility study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ciarrocchi, Esther; Belcari, Nicola; Guerra, Alberto Del [Department of Physics, University of Pisa, Pisa (Italy); INFN, section of Pisa, Pisa (Italy); Cherry, Simon R. [Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA (United States); Lehnert, Adrienne; Hunter, William C. J.; McDougald, Wendy; Miyaoka, Robert S.; Kinahan, Paul E. [Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)

2015-11-16

A feasibility study was done to assess the capability of digital silicon photomultipliers to measure the Cherenkov luminescence emitted by a β source. Cherenkov luminescence imaging (CLI) is possible with a charge coupled device (CCD) based technology, but a stand-alone technique for quantitative activity measurements based on Cherenkov luminescence has not yet been developed. Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) are photon counting devices with a fast impulse response and can potentially be used to quantify β-emitting radiotracer distributions by CLI. In this study, a Philips digital photon counting (PDPC) silicon photomultiplier detector was evaluated for measuring Cherenkov luminescence. The PDPC detector is a matrix of avalanche photodiodes, which were read one at a time in a dark count map (DCM) measurement mode (much like a CCD). This reduces the device active area but allows the information from a single avalanche photodiode to be preserved, which is not possible with analog SiPMs. An algorithm to reject the noisiest photodiodes and to correct the measured count rate for the dark current was developed. The results show that, in DCM mode and at (10–13) °C, the PDPC has a dynamic response to different levels of Cherenkov luminescence emitted by a β source and transmitted through an opaque medium. This suggests the potential for this approach to provide quantitative activity measurements. Interestingly, the potential use of the PDPC in DCM mode for direct imaging of Cherenkov luminescence, as a opposed to a scalar measurement device, was also apparent. We showed that a PDPC tile in DCM mode is able to detect and image a β source through its Cherenkov radiation emission. The detector’s dynamic response to different levels of radiation suggests its potential quantitative capabilities, and the DCM mode allows imaging with a better spatial resolution than the conventional event-triggered mode. Finally, the same acquisition procedure and data processing could

Cherenkov luminescence measurements with digital silicon photomultipliers: a feasibility study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ciarrocchi, Esther; Belcari, Nicola; Guerra, Alberto Del; Cherry, Simon R.; Lehnert, Adrienne; Hunter, William C. J.; McDougald, Wendy; Miyaoka, Robert S.; Kinahan, Paul E.

2015-01-01

A feasibility study was done to assess the capability of digital silicon photomultipliers to measure the Cherenkov luminescence emitted by a β source. Cherenkov luminescence imaging (CLI) is possible with a charge coupled device (CCD) based technology, but a stand-alone technique for quantitative activity measurements based on Cherenkov luminescence has not yet been developed. Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) are photon counting devices with a fast impulse response and can potentially be used to quantify β-emitting radiotracer distributions by CLI. In this study, a Philips digital photon counting (PDPC) silicon photomultiplier detector was evaluated for measuring Cherenkov luminescence. The PDPC detector is a matrix of avalanche photodiodes, which were read one at a time in a dark count map (DCM) measurement mode (much like a CCD). This reduces the device active area but allows the information from a single avalanche photodiode to be preserved, which is not possible with analog SiPMs. An algorithm to reject the noisiest photodiodes and to correct the measured count rate for the dark current was developed. The results show that, in DCM mode and at (10–13) °C, the PDPC has a dynamic response to different levels of Cherenkov luminescence emitted by a β source and transmitted through an opaque medium. This suggests the potential for this approach to provide quantitative activity measurements. Interestingly, the potential use of the PDPC in DCM mode for direct imaging of Cherenkov luminescence, as a opposed to a scalar measurement device, was also apparent. We showed that a PDPC tile in DCM mode is able to detect and image a β source through its Cherenkov radiation emission. The detector’s dynamic response to different levels of radiation suggests its potential quantitative capabilities, and the DCM mode allows imaging with a better spatial resolution than the conventional event-triggered mode. Finally, the same acquisition procedure and data processing could

Double-Sided Electrochromic Device Based on Metal-Organic Frameworks.

Science.gov (United States)

Mjejri, Issam; Doherty, Cara M; Rubio-Martinez, Marta; Drisko, Glenna L; Rougier, Aline

2017-11-22

Devices displaying controllably tunable optical properties through an applied voltage are attractive for smart glass, mirrors, and displays. Electrochromic material development aims to decrease power consumption while increasing the variety of attainable colors, their brilliance, and their longevity. We report the first electrochromic device constructed from metal organic frameworks (MOFs). Two MOF films, HKUST-1 and ZnMOF-74, are assembled so that the oxidation of one corresponds to the reduction of the other, allowing the two sides of the device to simultaneously change color. These MOF films exhibit cycling stability unrivaled by other MOFs and a significant optical contrast in a lithium-based electrolyte. HKUST-1 reversibly changed from bright blue to light blue and ZnMOF-74 from yellow to brown. The electrochromic device associates the two MOF films via a PMMA-lithium based electrolyte membrane. The color-switching of these MOFs does not arise from an organic-linker redox reaction, signaling unexplored possibilities for electrochromic MOF-based materials.

[Mandibular advancement devices in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea].

Science.gov (United States)

Korczyński, Piotr; Górska, Katarzyna; Wilk, Krzysztof; Bielicki, Piotr; Byśkiniewicz, Krzysztof; Baczkowski, Tadeusz

2004-12-01

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects approximately 450,000 people in Poland. Use of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) devices and laryngeal surgery are widely accepted OSA treatment methods. In 1995 ASDA approved oral devices for treatment of OSA patients. The aim of the study was to determine efficiency of mandibular advancement devices (MAD) in OSA therapy. The study group included 20 patients with OSA, all of whom did not tolerate nCPAP and did not have indications or did not agree for surgical treatment. Control polysomnography was carried out in 11 patients using MAD. In 64% of patients AHI was lower then 10. No correlation between MAD use and AHI values was found. 45% of patients declared improvement of sleep quality and life comfort. Use of mandibular advancement devices is an important alternative therapy of OSA.

Salt-Doped Polymer Light-Emitting Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Gautier, Bathilde

Polymer Light-Emitting Electrochemical Cells (PLECs) are solid state devices based on the in situ electrochemical doping of the luminescent polymer and the formation of a p-n junction where light is emitted upon the application of a bias current or voltage. PLECs answer the drawbacks of polymer light-emitting diodes as they do not require an ultra-thin active layer nor are they reliant on low work function cathode materials that are air unstable. However, because of the dynamic nature of the doping, they suffer from slow response times and poor stability over time. Frozen-junction PLECs offer a solution to these drawbacks, yet they are impractical due to their sub-ambient operation temperature requirement. Our work presented henceforth aims to achieve room temperature frozen-junction PLECS. In order to do that we removed the ion solvating/transporting polymer from the active layer, resulting in a luminescent polymer combined solely with a salt sandwiched between an ITO electrode and an aluminum electrode. The resulting device was not expected to operate like a PLEC due to the absence of an ion-solvating and ion-transporting medium. However, we discovered that the polymer/salt devices could be activated by applying a large voltage bias, resulting in much higher current and luminance. More important, the activated state is quasi static. Devices based on the well-known orange-emitting polymer MEH-PPV displayed a luminance storage half-life of 150 hours when activated by forward bias (ITO biased positively with respect to the aluminum) and 200 hours when activated by reverse bias. More remarkable yet, devices based on a green co-polymer displayed no notable decay in current density or luminance even after being stored for 1200 hours at room temperature! PL imaging under UV excitation demonstrates the presence of doping. These devices are described herein along with an explanation of their operating mechanisms.

Portable electrocardiogram device using Android smartphone.

Science.gov (United States)

Brucal, S G E; Clamor, G K D; Pasiliao, L A O; Soriano, J P F; Varilla, L P M

2016-08-01

Portable electrocardiogram (ECG) capturing device can be interfaced to a smart phone installed with an android-based application (app). This app processes and analyses the data sent by the device to provide an interpretation of the patient/user's heart current condition (e.g.: beats per minute, heart signal waveform, R-R interval). The ECG recorded by the app is stored in the smart phone's Secure Digital (SD) card and cloud storage which can be accessed remotely by a physician to aid in providing medical diagnosis. The project aims to help patients living at a far distance from hospitals and experience difficulty in consulting their physician for regular check-ups, and assist doctors in regularly monitoring their patient's heart condition. The hardware data acquisition device and software application were subjected to trials in a clinic with volunteer-patients to measure the ECG and heart rate, data saving speed on the SD card, success rate of the saved data and uploaded file. Different ECG tests using the project prototype were done for 12 patients/users and yielded a reading difference of 7.61% in an R-R interval reading and 5.35% in heart rate reading as compared with the cardiologist's conventional 12-electrode ECG machine. Using the developed ECG device, it took less than 5 seconds to save ECG reading using SD card and approximately 2 minutes to upload via cloud.

[Study on the reform and improvement of the medical device registration system in China].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lanming

2012-11-01

Based on the theories of the Government Regulation and Administrative Licensure, aiming at the current situations of medical device registration system in China, some policy suggestions for future reform and improvement were provided as follows. (1) change the concepts of medical device registration administration. (2) perfect the regulations of medical device registration administration. (3) reform the medical device review organizational system. (4) Optimize the procedure of review and approval. (5) set up and maintain a professional team of review and approval staff. (6) reinforce the post-marketing supervision of medical devices. (7) foster and bring into play of the role of non-government organizations.

Accuracy of portable devices in measuring peak cough flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kulnik, Stefan Tino; Kalra, Lalit; MacBean, Victoria; Birring, Surinder Singh; Moxham, John; Rafferty, Gerrard Francis

2015-01-01

Peak cough flow (PCF) measurements can be used as indicators of cough effectiveness. Portable peak flow meters and spirometers have been used to measure PCF, but little is known about their accuracy compared to pneumotachograph systems. The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of four portable devices (Mini–Wright and Assess peak flow meters, SpiroUSB and Microlab spirometers) in measuring PCF with a calibrated laboratory based pneumotachograph system. Twenty healthy volunteers (mean (SD) age 45 (16) years) coughed through a pneumotachograph connected in series with each portable device in turn, and the differences in PCF readings were analysed. In addition, mechanically generated flow waves of constant peak flow were delivered through each device both independently and when connected in series with the pneumotachograph. Agreement between PCF readings obtained with the pneumotachograph and the portable devices was poor. Peak flow readings were on average lower by approximately 50 L min −1 when measured using the portable devices; 95% limits of agreement spanned approximately 150 L min −1 . The findings highlight the potential for inaccuracy when using portable devices for the measurement of PCF. Depending on the measurement instrument used, absolute values of PCF reported in the literature may not be directly comparable. (paper)

Ontology-Driven Instant Messaging-Based Dialogue System for Device Control

KAUST Repository

Noguera-Arnaldos, José Ángel

2015-10-14

The im4Things platform aims to develop a communication interface for devices in the Internet of the Things (IoT) through intelligent dialogue based on written natural language over instant messaging services. This type of communication can be established in different ways such as order sending and, status querying. Also, the devices themselves are responsible for alerting users when a change has been produced in the device’s sensors. The system has been validated and it has obtained promising results.

QoE-Aware Device-to-Device Multimedia Communications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liang ZHOU

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Multimedia services over mobile device-to-device (D2D networks has recently received considerable attention. In this scenario, each device is equipped with a cellular communication interface, as well as a D2D interface over a shared medium. In this work, we study the performance properties of the mobile D2D communications in the framework of user satisfaction, and develop a fully distributed QoE-aware multimedia communication scheme (QAMCS. Specifically, we translate the opportunistic multimedia communications issue into a stochastic optimization problem, which opens up a new degree of performance to exploit. Moreover, QAMCS is designed for a heterogeneous and dynamic environment, in which user demand, device mobility, and transmission fashion may vary across different devices and applications. Importantly, QAMCS is able to maximize the user satisfaction and only needs each device to implement its own scheme individually in the absence of a central controller.

Virtual MIMO Beamforming and Device Pairing Enabled by Device-to-Device Communications for Multidevice Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yeonjin Jeong

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We consider a multidevice network with asymmetric antenna configurations which supports not only communications between an access point and devices but also device-to-device (D2D communications for the Internet of things. For the network, we propose the transmit and receive beamforming with the channel state information (CSI for virtual multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO enabled by D2D receive cooperation. We analyze the sum rate achieved by a device pair in the proposed method and identify the strategies to improve the sum rate of the device pair. We next present a distributed algorithm and its equivalent algorithm for device pairing to maximize the throughput of the multidevice network. Simulation results confirm the advantages of the transmit CSI and D2D cooperation as well as the validity of the distributive algorithm.

Review on microfluidic paper-based analytical devices towards commercialisation.

Science.gov (United States)

Akyazi, Tugce; Basabe-Desmonts, Lourdes; Benito-Lopez, Fernando

2018-02-25

Paper-based analytical devices introduce an innovative platform technology for fluid handling and analysis, with wide range of applications, promoting low cost, ease of fabrication/operation and equipment independence. This review gives a general overview on the fabrication techniques reported to date, revealing and discussing their weak points as well as the newest approaches in order to overtake current mass production limitations and therefore commercialisation. Moreover, this review aims especially to highlight novel technologies appearing in literature for the effective handling and controlling of fluids. The lack of flow control is the main problem of paper-based analytical devices, which generates obstacles for marketing and slows down the transition of paper devices from the laboratory into the consumers' hands. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Release strategies for making transferable semiconductor structures, devices and device components

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, John A; Nuzzo, Ralph G; Meitl, Matthew; Ko, Heung Cho; Yoon, Jongseung; Menard, Etienne; Baca, Alfred J

2014-11-25

Provided are methods for making a device or device component by providing a multilayer structure having a plurality of functional layers and a plurality of release layers and releasing the functional layers from the multilayer structure by separating one or more of the release layers to generate a plurality of transferable structures. The transferable structures are printed onto a device substrate or device component supported by a device substrate. The methods and systems provide means for making high-quality and low-cost photovoltaic devices, transferable semiconductor structures, (opto-)electronic devices and device components.

Developing medical device software in compliance with regulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Zema, M; Rosati, S; Gioia, V; Knaflitz, M; Balestra, G

2015-08-01

In the last decade, the use of information technology (IT) in healthcare has taken a growing role. In fact, the adoption of an increasing number of computer tools has led to several benefits related to the process of patient care and allowed easier access to social and health care resources. At the same time this trend gave rise to new challenges related to the implementation of these new technologies. Software used in healthcare can be classified as medical devices depending on the way they are used and on their functional characteristics. If they are classified as medical devices they must satisfy specific regulations. The aim of this work is to present a software development framework that can allow the production of safe and high quality medical device software and to highlight the correspondence between each software development phase and the appropriate standard and/or regulation.

Tunable multiband ferroelectric devices for reconfigurable RF-frontends

CERN Document Server

Zheng, Yuliang

2013-01-01

Reconfigurable RF-frontends aim to cope with the continuous pursuit of wider frequency coverage, higher efficiency, further compactness and lower cost of ownership. They are expected to lay the foundations of future software defined or cognitive radios. As a potential enabling technology for the frontends, the tunable ferroelectric devices have shown not only enhanced performance but also new functionalities. This book explores the recent developments in the field. It provides a cross-sectional perspective on the interdisciplinary research. With attention to the devices based on ceramic thick-films and crystal thin-films, the book reviews the adapted technologies of material synthesis, film deposition and multilayer circuitry. Next, it highlights the original classes of thin-film ferroelectric devices, including stratified metal-insulator-metal varactors with suppression of acoustic resonance and programmable bi-stable high frequency capacitors. At the end the book analyzes how the frontends can be reformed b...

Reactor operation plan preparing device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sano, Hiroki; Maruyama, Hiromi; Kinoshita, Mitsuo; Fukuzaki, Koji; Banto, Masaru; Fukazawa, Yukihisa.

1993-01-01

The device comprises a means for retrieving a control rod pattern capable of satisfying a thermal limit upon aimed power/minimum flow rate and providing minimum xenon and a control rod pattern maximum xenon. It further comprises a means for selecting a control rod pattern corresponding to a xenon equilibrium condition, and selecting a control rod which provides a greater thermal margin to provide a control rod operation sequence for each of the patterns. Further, the device comprises an outline plan preparing means and a correction means therefor, a simplified sequence table reference means operated along with sequence change, an operation limit region input means, a control rod operation preferential region changing means, a thermal margin evaluation region and an input means. This can automatically prepare the operation plan, decrease the times for preparation of detailed plans by using the outline plan preparing function, thereby enabling to remarkably shorten the time for preparing of an operation plan. (N.H.)

Rational design of metal-organic electronic devices: A computational perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Chilukuri, Bhaskar

Organic and organometallic electronic materials continue to attract considerable attention among researchers due to their cost effectiveness, high flexibility, low temperature processing conditions and the continuous emergence of new semiconducting materials with tailored electronic properties. In addition, organic semiconductors can be used in a variety of important technological devices such as solar cells, field-effect transistors (FETs), flash memory, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, light emitting diodes (LEDs), etc. However, organic materials have thus far not achieved the reliability and carrier mobility obtainable with inorganic silicon-based devices. Hence, there is a need for finding alternative electronic materials other than organic semiconductors to overcome the problems of inferior stability and performance. In this dissertation, I research the development of new transition metal based electronic materials which due to the presence of metal-metal, metal-pi, and pi-pi interactions may give rise to superior electronic and chemical properties versus their organic counterparts. Specifically, I performed computational modeling studies on platinum based charge transfer complexes and d 10 cyclo-[M(mu-L)]3 trimers (M = Ag, Au and L = monoanionic bidentate bridging (C/N~C/N) ligand). The research done is aimed to guide experimental chemists to make rational choices of metals, ligands, substituents in synthesizing novel organometallic electronic materials. Furthermore, the calculations presented here propose novel ways to tune the geometric, electronic, spectroscopic, and conduction properties in semiconducting materials. In addition to novel material development, electronic device performance can be improved by making a judicious choice of device components. I have studied the interfaces of a p-type metal-organic semiconductor viz cyclo-[Au(mu-Pz)] 3 trimer with metal electrodes at atomic and surface levels. This work was aimed to guide the device

Accuracy Enhancements for Positioning of Mobile Devices in Wireless Communication Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Figueiras, Joao

of the physical length of the communication links. Since these solutions do not require integration of additional hardware into the mobile nodes, they are cheap and simple to implement. As a price to pay, accuracy is typically lower in comparison to dedicated positioning systems. Thus, an important challenge...... communication among users, cooperative positioning strategies aim at localizing devices as a group and not as individuals. In order to reach this goal it is necessary to combine measurements from two domains: device-to-device links and cellular links. Since this combination of information......Positioning of mobile devices in wireless communication networks is nowadays being intensively investigated due to the combined benefit of location information and communication. Typical solutions for such scenario rely on robust algorithms that estimate position from indirect measurements...

Wireless device monitoring methods, wireless device monitoring systems, and articles of manufacture

Science.gov (United States)

McCown, Steven H [Rigby, ID; Derr, Kurt W [Idaho Falls, ID; Rohde, Kenneth W [Idaho Falls, ID

2012-05-08

Wireless device monitoring methods, wireless device monitoring systems, and articles of manufacture are described. According to one embodiment, a wireless device monitoring method includes accessing device configuration information of a wireless device present at a secure area, wherein the device configuration information comprises information regarding a configuration of the wireless device, accessing stored information corresponding to the wireless device, wherein the stored information comprises information regarding the configuration of the wireless device, comparing the device configuration information with the stored information, and indicating the wireless device as one of authorized and unauthorized for presence at the secure area using the comparing.

Class 1 devices case studies in medical devices design

CERN Document Server

Ogrodnik, Peter J

2014-01-01

The Case Studies in Medical Devices Design series consists of practical, applied case studies relating to medical device design in industry. These titles complement Ogrodnik's Medical Device Design and will assist engineers with applying the theory in practice. The case studies presented directly relate to Class I, Class IIa, Class IIb and Class III medical devices. Designers and companies who wish to extend their knowledge in a specific discipline related to their respective class of operation will find any or all of these titles a great addition to their library. Class 1 Devices is a companion text to Medical Devices Design: Innovation from Concept to Market. The intention of this book, and its sister books in the series, is to support the concepts presented in Medical Devices Design through case studies. In the context of this book the case studies consider Class I (EU) and 510(k) exempt (FDA) . This book covers classifications, the conceptual and embodiment phase, plus design from idea to PDS. These title...

Biomedical device innovation methodology: applications in biophotonics

Science.gov (United States)

Beswick, Daniel M.; Kaushik, Arjun; Beinart, Dylan; McGarry, Sarah; Yew, Ming Khoon; Kennedy, Brendan F.; Maria, Peter Luke Santa

2018-02-01

The process of medical device innovation involves an iterative method that focuses on designing innovative, device-oriented solutions that address unmet clinical needs. This process has been applied to the field of biophotonics with many notable successes. Device innovation begins with identifying an unmet clinical need and evaluating this need through a variety of lenses, including currently existing solutions for the need, stakeholders who are interested in the need, and the market that will support an innovative solution. Only once the clinical need is understood in detail can the invention process begin. The ideation phase often involves multiple levels of brainstorming and prototyping with the aim of addressing technical and clinical questions early and in a cost-efficient manner. Once potential solutions are found, they are tested against a number of known translational factors, including intellectual property, regulatory, and reimbursement landscapes. Only when the solution matches the clinical need, the next phase of building a "to market" strategy should begin. Most aspects of the innovation process can be conducted relatively quickly and without significant capital expense. This white paper focuses on key points of the medical device innovation method and how the field of biophotonics has been applied within this framework to generate clinical and commercial success.

PRD3000: A novel Personnel Radiation Detector with Radiation Exposure Monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fallu-Labruyere, A.; Micou, C.; Schulcz, F.; Fellinger, J.

2015-01-01

PRD3000 TM is a novel Personal Radiation Detector (PRD) with personnel radiation dose exposure monitoring. It is intended for First Responders, Law Enforcement, Customs Inspectors protecting critical infrastructures for detecting unexpected radioactive sources, who also need real time Hp(10) dose equivalent information. Traditional PRD devices use scintillator materials instrumented through either a photomultiplier tube or a photodiode photodetector. While the former is bulky and sensitive to magnetic fields, the latter has to compromise radiation sensitivity and energy threshold given its current noise per unit of photo-detection surface. Recently, solid state photodetectors (SiPM), based on arrays of Geiger operated diodes, have emerged as a scalable digital photodetector for photon counting. Their strong breakdown voltage temperature dependence (on the order of tens of milli-volts per K) has however limited their use for portable instruments where strong temperature gradients can be experienced, and limited power is available to temperature stabilize. The PRD3000 is based on the industry standard DMC3000 active dosimeter that complies with IEC 61526 Ed. 3 and ANSI 42.20 for direct reading personal dose equivalent meters and active personnel radiation monitors. An extension module is based on a CsI(Tl) scintillator readout by a temperature compensated SiPM. Preliminary nuclear tests combined with a measured continuous operation in excess of 240 hours from a single AAA battery cell indicate that the PRD3000 complies with the IEC 62401 Ed.2 and ANSI 42.32 without sacrificing battery life time. We present a summary of the device test results, starting with performance stability over a temperature range of - 20 deg. C to 50 deg. C, false alarm rates and dynamic response time. (authors)

PRD3000: A novel Personnel Radiation Detector with Radiation Exposure Monitoring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fallu-Labruyere, A.; Micou, C.; Schulcz, F.; Fellinger, J. [Mirion Technologies - MGPI SA (France)

2015-07-01

PRD3000{sup TM} is a novel Personal Radiation Detector (PRD) with personnel radiation dose exposure monitoring. It is intended for First Responders, Law Enforcement, Customs Inspectors protecting critical infrastructures for detecting unexpected radioactive sources, who also need real time Hp(10) dose equivalent information. Traditional PRD devices use scintillator materials instrumented through either a photomultiplier tube or a photodiode photodetector. While the former is bulky and sensitive to magnetic fields, the latter has to compromise radiation sensitivity and energy threshold given its current noise per unit of photo-detection surface. Recently, solid state photodetectors (SiPM), based on arrays of Geiger operated diodes, have emerged as a scalable digital photodetector for photon counting. Their strong breakdown voltage temperature dependence (on the order of tens of milli-volts per K) has however limited their use for portable instruments where strong temperature gradients can be experienced, and limited power is available to temperature stabilize. The PRD3000 is based on the industry standard DMC3000 active dosimeter that complies with IEC 61526 Ed. 3 and ANSI 42.20 for direct reading personal dose equivalent meters and active personnel radiation monitors. An extension module is based on a CsI(Tl) scintillator readout by a temperature compensated SiPM. Preliminary nuclear tests combined with a measured continuous operation in excess of 240 hours from a single AAA battery cell indicate that the PRD3000 complies with the IEC 62401 Ed.2 and ANSI 42.32 without sacrificing battery life time. We present a summary of the device test results, starting with performance stability over a temperature range of - 20 deg. C to 50 deg. C, false alarm rates and dynamic response time. (authors)

Ion suppression from blood collection devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hasselstrøm, Jørgen Bo; Sejr Gothelf, Aase

The aim of the study was to examine the variation in ion suppression in ultra high pressure liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS-MS) methods when using different blood collection devices. Three different methods measuring 18 antidepressants and antipsychotics in total were...... Terumo, S-monovette from Sarstedt, Vacuette from Greiner Bio-One and three BD Vacutainer serum tubes from BD. These seven different blood collection devices were used to withdraw blood from five healthy drug free donors (n=35) in random order. The samples were centrifuged and serum from each sample...... by UHPLC-MS-MS using three different gradients (Group I, II and III). The analytes in group I was measured on an Agilent 6460 mass spectrometer and group II and III were measured on an Agilent 6410 mass spectrometer both utilizing positive electrospray ionization. The experiments demonstrated significant...

Four-layer DOI PET detectors using a multi-pixel photon counter array and the light sharing method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nishikido, Fumihiko, E-mail: funis@nirs.go.jp; Inadama, Naoko; Yoshida, Eiji; Murayama, Hideo; Yamaya, Taiga

2013-11-21

Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) provide many advantages for PET detectors, such as their high internal gain, high photon detection efficiency and insensitivity to magnetic fields. The number of detectable scintillation photons of SiPMs, however, is limited by the number of microcells. Therefore, pulse height of PET detectors using SiPMs is saturated when large numbers of scintillation photons enter the SiPM pixels. On the other hand, we previously presented a depth-of-interaction (DOI) encoding method that is based on the light sharing method. Since our encoding method detects scintillation photons with multiple readout pixels, the saturation effect can be suppressed. We constructed two prototype four-layer DOI detectors using a SiPM array and evaluated their performances. The two prototype detectors consisted of four layers of a 6×6 array of Lu{sub 2(1−x)}Y{sub 2x}SiO{sub 5} (LYSO) crystals and a SiPM (multi-pixel photon detector, MPPC, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K.) array of 4×4 pixels. The size of each LYSO crystal element was 1.46 mm×1.46 mm×4.5 mm and all surfaces of the crystal elements were chemically etched. We used two types of MPPCs. The first one had 3600 microcells and high photon detection efficiency (PDE). The other one had 14,400 microcells and lower PDE. In the evaluation experiment, all the crystals of the detector using the MPPC which had the high PDE were clearly identified. The respective energy and timing resolutions of lower than 15% and 1.0 ns were achieved for each crystal element. No saturation of output signals was observed in the 511 keV energy region due to suppression of the saturation effect by detecting scintillation photons with several MPPC pixels by the light sharing method. -- Highlights: •We constructed and evaluated four-layer DOI detectors by the light sharing method using a MPPC array. •The detectors using two types of the MPPC array were compared. •The energy and timing resolutions of lower than 15% and 1.0 ns were

Four-layer DOI PET detectors using a multi-pixel photon counter array and the light sharing method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishikido, Fumihiko; Inadama, Naoko; Yoshida, Eiji; Murayama, Hideo; Yamaya, Taiga

2013-01-01

Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) provide many advantages for PET detectors, such as their high internal gain, high photon detection efficiency and insensitivity to magnetic fields. The number of detectable scintillation photons of SiPMs, however, is limited by the number of microcells. Therefore, pulse height of PET detectors using SiPMs is saturated when large numbers of scintillation photons enter the SiPM pixels. On the other hand, we previously presented a depth-of-interaction (DOI) encoding method that is based on the light sharing method. Since our encoding method detects scintillation photons with multiple readout pixels, the saturation effect can be suppressed. We constructed two prototype four-layer DOI detectors using a SiPM array and evaluated their performances. The two prototype detectors consisted of four layers of a 6×6 array of Lu 2(1−x) Y 2x SiO 5 (LYSO) crystals and a SiPM (multi-pixel photon detector, MPPC, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K.) array of 4×4 pixels. The size of each LYSO crystal element was 1.46 mm×1.46 mm×4.5 mm and all surfaces of the crystal elements were chemically etched. We used two types of MPPCs. The first one had 3600 microcells and high photon detection efficiency (PDE). The other one had 14,400 microcells and lower PDE. In the evaluation experiment, all the crystals of the detector using the MPPC which had the high PDE were clearly identified. The respective energy and timing resolutions of lower than 15% and 1.0 ns were achieved for each crystal element. No saturation of output signals was observed in the 511 keV energy region due to suppression of the saturation effect by detecting scintillation photons with several MPPC pixels by the light sharing method. -- Highlights: •We constructed and evaluated four-layer DOI detectors by the light sharing method using a MPPC array. •The detectors using two types of the MPPC array were compared. •The energy and timing resolutions of lower than 15% and 1.0 ns were achieved for

Nano devices and circuit techniques for low-energy applications and energy harvesting

CERN Document Server

2016-01-01

This book describes the development of core technologies to address two of the most challenging issues in research for future IT platform development, namely innovative device design and reduction of energy consumption. Three key devices, the FinFET, the TunnelFET, and the electromechanical nanoswitch are described with extensive details of use for practical applications. Energy issues are also covered in a tutorial fashion from material physics, through device technology, to innovative circuit design. The strength of this book lies in its holistic approach dealing with material trends, state-of-the-art of key devices, new examples of circuits and systems applications.    This is the first of three books based on the Integrated Smart Sensors research project, which describe the development of innovative devices, circuits, and system-level enabling technologies.  The aim of the project was to develop common platforms on which various devices and sensors can be loaded, and to create systems offering signific...

Noninvasive recording of electrocardiogram in conscious rat: A new device.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Pradeep; Srivastava, Pooja; Gupta, Ankit; Bajpai, Manish

2017-01-01

Electrocardiogram (ECG) is an important tool for the study of cardiac electrophysiology both in human beings and experimental animals. Existing methods of ECG recording in small animals like rat have several limitations and ECG recordings of the anesthetized rat lack validity for heart rate (HR) variability analysis. The aim of the present study was to validate the ECG data from new device with ECG of anesthetized rat. The ECG was recorded on student's physiograph (BioDevice, Ambala) and suitable coupler and electrodes in six animals first by the newly developed device in conscious state and second in anesthetized state (stabilized technique). The data obtained were analyzed using unpaired t -test showed no significant difference ( P < 0.05) in QTc, QRS, and HR recorded by new device and established device in rats. No previous study describes a similar ECG recording in conscious state of rats. Thus, the present method may be a most physiological and inexpensive alternative to other methods. In this study, the animals were not restrained; they were just secured and represent a potential strength of the study.

Ontology-Driven Instant Messaging-Based Dialogue System for Device Control

KAUST Repository

Noguera-Arnaldos, José Á ngel; Rodriguez-Garcia, Miguel Angel; Ochoa, José Luis; Paredes-Valverde, Mario André s; Alcaraz-Má rmol, Gema; Valencia-Garcí a, Rafael

2015-01-01

The im4Things platform aims to develop a communication interface for devices in the Internet of the Things (IoT) through intelligent dialogue based on written natural language over instant messaging services. This type of communication can

Introduction of assistive devices: home nurses' practices and beliefs.

Science.gov (United States)

Roelands, Marc; Van Oost, Paulette; Depoorter, Anne Marie; Buysse, Ann; Stevens, Veerle

2006-04-01

This paper reports a study describing home nurses' intention and current practices regarding introducing assistive devices, and investigating whether their practice is related to social cognitive factors (attitudes, subjective norms and self-efficacy). Home nurses not only care for patients in particular medical domains, but also educate and guide them towards more independence. Patients with age-related disabilities in mobility and self-care might benefit from the use of assistive devices. A home nurse might be the first and only person to discuss the disability and use of an assistive device. Therefore, home nurses' beliefs about the introduction of assistive devices could affect their daily practices. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a convenience sample of 64 home nurses chosen from a random sample of home nursing departments. The home nurses completed a self-administered questionnaire. The Theory of Planned Behaviour framework was used to develop the social cognitive measures regarding each of the six steps distinguished in the introduction of assistive devices. Home nurses had positive attitudes and high levels of intention, subjective norm and self-efficacy towards most steps of the decision process to introduce assistive devices. In a multiple linear regression analysis, attitude and self-efficacy predicted intention to introduce assistive devices to older clients with disabilities. Intention was correlated to home nurses' current practices. The findings suggest that conditions are present to involve home nurses more explicitly in the introduction of assistive devices to their patients. Social cognitive factors should be taken into account when developing interventions that aim to support home nurses to do this.

Reactor power control method and device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fushimi, Atsushi; Ishii, Yoshihiko; Miyamoto, Yoshiyuki; Ishii, Kazuhiko; Kiyoharu, Norihiko; Aizawa, Yuko.

1997-01-01

The present invention provides a method and a device suitable to rise the temperature and increase the pressure of the reactor to an aimed pressure in accordance with an aimed value for a reactor water temperature changing rate in the course of rising temperature and increasing pressure of the reactor upon start up of a BWR type power plant. Namely, neutron fluxes in the reactor and the temperature of reactor water are detected respectively. The maximum value among the detected values for the neutron fluxes is detected. The reactor water temperature changing rate is calculated based on the detected values of the reactor water temperature, from which the maximum value of the reactor water temperature changing rate is detected. An aimed value for the neutron flux is calculated in accordance with both detected maximum values and the aimed value of the reactor water temperature changing rate. The position of control rods is adjusted in accordance with the aimed value for the calculated neutron flux. Then, an aimed value for the neutron flux for realizing the aimed value for the reactor water temperature changing rate can be obtained accurately with no influence of the sensitivity of the detected values of the neutron fluxes and the time delay of the reactor water temperature changing rate. (I.S.)

AIM Data Services

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Scholz

2016-05-01

Full Text Available AIM Data Services as a virtual facility provides virtual 3D reference tracks for simulation applications in the domain of automotive and railway systems. It offers tools for management and analysis of experiment data and a platform for survey and processing of vehicle data in the public transport domain. Collected spatial data is bundled in a database cluster and published through common web mapping interfaces.

An Educational Kit Based On a Modular Silicon Photomultiplier System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caccia, Massimo; Chmill, Valery; Ebolese, Amedeo; Martemyanov, Alexander; Risigo, Fabio; Santoro, Romualdo; Locatelli, Marco; Pieracci, Maura; Tintori, Carlo

2013-06-01

Silicon Photo-Multipliers (SiPM) are state of the art light detectors with unprecedented single photon sensitivity and photon number resolving capability, representing a breakthrough in several fundamental and applied Science domains. An educational experiment based on a SiPM set-up is proposed in this article, guiding the student towards a comprehensive knowledge of this sensor technology while experiencing the quantum nature of light and exploring the statistical properties of the light pulses emitted by a LED. (authors)

LHCb Upgrade: Scintillating Fibre Tracker

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tobin, Mark

2016-01-01

The LHCb detector will be upgraded during the Long Shutdown 2 (LS2) of the LHC in order to cope with higher instantaneous luminosities and to read out the data at 40 MHz using a trigger-less read-out system. All front-end electronics will be replaced and several sub-detectors must be redesigned to cope with higher occupancy. The current tracking detectors downstream of the LHCb dipole magnet will be replaced by the Scintillating Fibre (SciFi) Tracker. The SciFi Tracker will use scintillating fibres read out by Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs). State-of-the-art multi-channel SiPM arrays are being developed to read out the fibres and a custom ASIC will be used to digitise the signals from the SiPMs. The evolution of the design since the Technical Design Report in 2014 and the latest R & D results are presented.

Quality index of radiological devices: results of one year of use.

Science.gov (United States)

Tofani, Alessandro; Imbordino, Patrizia; Lecci, Antonio; Bonannini, Claudia; Del Corona, Alberto; Pizzi, Stefano

2003-01-01

The physical quality index (QI) of radiological devices summarises in a single numerical value between 0 and 1 the results of constancy tests. The aim of this paper is to illustrate the results of the use of such an index on all public radiological devices in the Livorno province over one year. The quality index was calculated for 82 radiological devices of a wide range of types by implementing its algorithm in a spreadsheet-based software for the automatic handling of quality control data. The distribution of quality index values was computed together with the associated statistical quantities. This distribution is strongly asymmetrical, with a sharp peak near the highest QI values. The mean quality index values for the different types of device show some inhomogeneity: in particular, mammography and panoramic dental radiography devices show far lower quality than other devices. In addition, our analysis has identified the parameters that most frequently do not pass the quality tests for each type of device. Finally, we sought some correlation between quality and age of the device, but this was poorly significant. The quality index proved to be a useful tool providing an overview of the physical conditions of radiological devices. By selecting adequate QI threshold values for, it also helps to decide whether a given device should be upgraded or replaced. The identification of critical parameters for each type of device may be used to improve the definition of the QI by attributing greater weights to critical parameters, so as to better address the maintenance of radiological devices.

HairMax LaserComb laser phototherapy device in the treatment of male androgenetic alopecia: A randomized, double-blind, sham device-controlled, multicentre trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Leavitt, Matt; Charles, Glenn; Heyman, Eugene; Michaels, David

2009-01-01

The use of low levels of visible or near infrared light for reducing pain, inflammation and oedema, promoting healing of wounds, deeper tissue and nerves, and preventing tissue damage has been known for almost 40 years since the invention of lasers. The HairMax LaserComb is a hand-held Class 3R lower level laser therapy device that contains a single laser module that emulates 9 beams at a wavelength of 655 nm (+/-5%). The device uses a technique of parting the user's hair by combs that are attached to the device. This improves delivery of distributed laser light to the scalp. The combs are designed so that each of the teeth on the combs aligns with a laser beam. By aligning the teeth with the laser beams, the hair can be parted and the laser energy delivered to the scalp of the user without obstruction by the individual hairs on the scalp. The primary aim of the study was to assess the safety and effectiveness of the HairMax LaserComb laser phototherapy device in the promotion of hair growth and in the cessation of hair loss in males diagnosed with androgenetic alopecia (AGA). This double-blind, sham device-controlled, multicentre, 26-week trial randomized male patients with Norwood-Hamilton classes IIa-V AGA to treatment with the HairMax LaserComb or the sham device (2 : 1). The sham device used in the study was identical to the active device except that the laser light was replaced by a non-active incandescent light source. Of the 110 patients who completed the study, subjects in the HairMax LaserComb treatment group exhibited a significantly greater increase in mean terminal hair density than subjects in the sham device group (p laser phototherapy device for the treatment of AGA in males.

Development of an angled Si-PM-based detector unit for positron emission mammography (PEM) system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakanishi, Kouhei, E-mail: nakanishi.kouhei@c.mbox.nagoya-u.ac.jp; Yamamoto, Seiichi

2016-11-21

Positron emission mammography (PEM) systems have higher sensitivity than clinical whole body PET systems because they have a smaller ring diameter. However, the spatial resolution of PEM systems is not high enough to detect early stage breast cancer. To solve this problem, we developed a silicon photomultiplier (Si-PM) based detector unit for the development of a PEM system. Since a Si-PM's channel is small, Si-PM can resolve small scintillator pixels to improve the spatial resolution. Also Si-PM based detectors have inherently high timing resolution and are able to reduce the random coincidence events by reducing the time window. We used 1.5×1.9×15 mm LGSO scintillation pixels and arranged them in an 8×24 matrix to form scintillator blocks. Four scintillator blocks were optically coupled to Si-PM arrays with an angled light guide to form a detector unit. Since the light guide has angles of 5.625°, we can arrange 64 scintillator blocks in a nearly circular shape (a regular 64-sided polygon) using 16 detector units. We clearly resolved the pixels of the scintillator blocks in a 2-dimensional position histogram where the averages of the peak-to-valley ratios (P/Vs) were 3.7±0.3 and 5.7±0.8 in the transverse and axial directions, respectively. The average energy resolution was 14.2±2.1% full-width at half-maximum (FWHM). By including the temperature dependent gain control electronics, the photo-peak channel shifts were controlled within ±1.5% with the temperature from 23 °C to 28 °C. With these results, in addition to the potential high timing performance of Si-PM based detectors, our developed detector unit is promising for the development of a high-resolution PEM system.

Pulse shape discrimination based on fast signals from silicon photomultipliers

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Junhao; Wei, Zhiyong; Fang, Meihua; Zhang, Zixia; Cheng, Can; Wang, Yi; Su, Huiwen; Ran, Youquan; Zhu, Qingwei; Zhang, He; Duan, Kai; Chen, Ming; Liu, Meng

2018-06-01

Recent developments in organic plastic scintillators capable of pulse shape discrimination (PSD) enable a breakthrough in discrimination between neutrons and gammas. Plastic scintillator detectors coupled with silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) offer many advantages, such as lower power consumption, smaller volume, and especially insensitivity to magnetic fields, compared with conventional photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). A SensL SiPM has two outputs: a standard output and a fast output. It is known that the charge injected into the fast output electrode is typically approximately 2% of the total charge generated during the avalanche, whereas the charge injected into the standard output electrode is nearly 98% of the total. Fast signals from SiPMs exhibit better performance in terms of timing and time-correlated measurements compared with standard signals. The pulse duration of a standard signal is on the order of hundreds of nanoseconds, whereas the pulse duration of the main monopole waveform of a fast signal is a few tens of nanoseconds. Fast signals are traditionally thought to be suitable for photon counting at very high speeds but unsuitable for PSD due to the partial charge collection. Meanwhile, the standard outputs of SiPMs coupled with discriminating scintillators have yielded nice PSD performances, but there have been no reports on PSD using fast signals. Our analysis shows that fast signals can also provide discrimination if the rate of charge injection into the fast output electrode is fixed for each event, even though only a portion of the charge is collected. In this work, we achieved successful PSD using fast signals; meanwhile, using a coincidence timing window of less 3 nanoseconds between the readouts from both ends of the detector reduced the influence of the high SiPM dark current. We experimentally achieved good timing performance and PSD capability simultaneously.

ENTERPRISE RESTRUCTURING AIM AND TYPES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. P. Baranenko

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Enterprise restructuring is aimed at adapting it to market conditions and improving its competitiveness through selection of most effective model of using material, technical, technological, organizational, commercial, economical, financial, tax-related and other resources with due account of the demand. Restructuring classification signs and types as well as restructuring aims specific for industrial enterprises are provided for.

Driving from Chicago to Buenos Aires: instrumentation courses during a road trip across the Americas

Science.gov (United States)

Izraelevitch, Federico

2017-01-01

The Escaramujo Project (www.escaramujo.net) was a series of hands-on laboratory courses on High Energy Physics and Astroparticle Instrumentation, in eight Latinamerican Institutions. The Physicist Federico Izraelevitch traveled on a van with his wife and dogs from Chicago to Buenos Aires teaching these courses. During these sessions, groups of advanced undergraduate and graduate students built a modern cosmic ray detector based on plastic scintillators and SiPMs, specifically designed for this project. With the detector as a common thread, they were able to understand the designing principles and the underlying Physics involved, build the device, start it up, characterize it, acquire data and analyze it, in the way of real particle Physics experiment. After the five-days courses, a functional detector remained at each institution to train future students and to support and enable local research activities. About a hundred talented and highly motivated students were reached out with the initiative. Besides the aims to awaken vocations in science, technology and engineering, The Escaramujo Project was an effort to strengthen the integration of academic institutions in Latin America within the international scientific community.

Virtual worlds are an innovative tool for medical device training in a simulated environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Vishal; Lee, Henry; Taylor, Dave; Aggarwal, Rajesh; Kinross, James; Darzi, Ara

2012-01-01

Medical infusion devices are an integral component within the delivery of healthcare management. The aim of this study was to develop a training simulation in the virtual world of Second Life for the management of adverse events associated with infusion devices. Forty nurses were subsequently recruited to participate within the simulation and assess its feasibility.

Making Markets for Low-Cost Schooling: The Devices and Investments behind Bridge International Academies

Science.gov (United States)

Riep, Curtis B.

2017-01-01

This paper explores the market-making devices behind Bridge International Academies: a for-profit education company aiming to school millions of nursery and primary aged-students living on less than $2 per day. A wide variety of devices are utilised by Bridge International Academies to construct mass markets for low-cost schooling, including GPS…

Investigation of surge protective devices operation of a wind generator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dimitrov, D.; Vasileva, M.

2008-01-01

The interest to the investments in a wind energetics increases in the last years. The wind energetics is the fastest developing direction in the energetics in global scale. The wind energy is more attractive because its prices are lower in comparison of the other technologies for generating energy. The right choice of the surge protective devices has the important meaning on building and exploitation of the wind generators. The aim of this paper is investigation of the surge protective devices operation when they are installation to a wind generator. (authors)

Learning English Using Children's Stories in Mobile Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Cavus, Nadire; Ibrahim, Dogan

2017-01-01

The topic of this paper is to describe the development of an interactive application that can be used in teaching English as a second language using children's stories in mobile devices. The aim of this experimental study has been to find out the potential of using the developed interactive mobile application in improving the learning skills such…

Replacement of a photomultiplier tube in a 2-inch thallium-doped sodium iodide gamma spectrometer with silicon photomultipliers and a light guide

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chankyu Kim

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The thallium-doped sodium iodide [NaI(Tl] scintillation detector is preferred as a gamma spectrometer in many fields because of its general advantages. A silicon photomultiplier (SiPM has recently been developed and its application area has been expanded as an alternative to photomultiplier tubes (PMTs. It has merits such as a low operating voltage, compact size, cheap production cost, and magnetic resonance compatibility. In this study, an array of SiPMs is used to develop an NaI(Tl gamma spectrometer. To maintain detection efficiency, a commercial NaI(Tl 2′ × 2′ scintillator is used, and a light guide is used for the transport and collection of generated photons from the scintillator to the SiPMs without loss. The test light guides were fabricated with polymethyl methacrylate and reflective materials. The gamma spectrometer systems were set up and included light guides. Through a series of measurements, the characteristics of the light guides and the proposed gamma spectrometer were evaluated. Simulation of the light collection was accomplished using the DETECT 97 code (A. Levin, E. Hoskinson, and C. Moison, University of Michigan, USA to analyze the measurement results. The system, which included SiPMs and the light guide, achieved 14.11% full width at half maximum energy resolution at 662 keV.

A new challenge for advertising on mobile devices: Social TV

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalia Quintas-Froufe

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Mobile device advertising is a rapidly growing market due to the penetration of mobile devices in Spanish society. Advertising communication in this digital ecosystem continually poses new challenges. One of these - the subject of this proposal - is the link-up between mobile advertising with social TV. It opens up new possibilities for the development of advertising strategies on mobile devices.The aim of this paper is to describe the challenges faced by the Spanish advertising industry with the recent introduction of Social TV. Spain has one of the most developed Social TV sectors in Europe. It will provide a global overview of this new reality and uncover the new possibilities and main challenges for the development of advertising strategies for mobile devices. To this end we propose an examination of the perception of two of Spain’s major broadcasting empires, Atresmedia and Mediaset España, of this phenomenon.

Act to keep patients safe: device-related adverse event reporting.

Science.gov (United States)

Schoem, Scott R; Shah, Udayan K

2010-05-01

Primum non nocere- "Above all do no harm." Since the first year of medical school, we have all heard and spoken this dictum countless times. Translating this dictum into action may present challenges in our daily practice. Every day, clinicians must distinguish between scientific evidence, clinical experience, and marketing claims by industry vendors of improved efficacy and safety regarding medical devices. Adverse event reporting and device failure notification are generally laid out well in hospital practice settings. Reporting beyond the local level takes on a new dimension for most surgeons. Perceived stigma from peers and corporations, lack of confidentiality, and cynicism regarding protective actions for patients should not limit one from "raising the alarm" when concerns arise about device safety or performance. This commentary aims to explain the process for reporting device-related adverse events. Copyright 2010 American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Worldwide Experience with Erosion of the Magnetic Sphincter Augmentation Device.

Science.gov (United States)

Alicuben, Evan T; Bell, Reginald C W; Jobe, Blair A; Buckley, F P; Daniel Smith, C; Graybeal, Casey J; Lipham, John C

2018-04-17

The magnetic sphincter augmentation device continues to become a more common antireflux surgical option with low complication rates. Erosion into the esophagus is an important complication to recognize and is reported to occur at very low incidences (0.1-0.15%). Characterization of this complication remains limited. We aim to describe the worldwide experience with erosion of the magnetic sphincter augmentation device including presentation, techniques for removal, and possible risk factors. We reviewed data obtained from the device manufacturer Torax Medical, Inc., as well as the Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE) database. The study period was from February 2007 through July 2017 and included all devices placed worldwide. In total, 9453 devices were placed and there were 29 reported cases of erosions. The median time to presentation of an erosion was 26 months with most occurring between 1 and 4 years after placement. The risk of erosion was 0.3% at 4 years after device implantation. Most patients experienced new-onset dysphagia prompting evaluation. Devices were successfully removed in all patients most commonly via an endoscopic removal of the eroded portion followed by a delayed laparoscopic removal of the remaining beads. At a median follow-up of 58 days post-removal, there were no complications and 24 patients have returned to baseline. Four patients reported ongoing mild dysphagia. Erosion of the LINX device is an important but rare complication to recognize that has been safely managed via minimally invasive approaches without long-term consequences.

PLASMA DEVICE

Science.gov (United States)

Gow, J.D.; Wilcox, J.M.

1961-12-26

A device is designed for producing and confining highenergy plasma from which neutrons are generated in copious quantities. A rotating sheath of electrons is established in a radial electric field and axial magnetic field produced within the device. The electron sheath serves as a strong ionizing medium to gas introdueed thereto and also functions as an extremely effective heating mechanism to the resulting plasma. In addition, improved confinement of the plasma is obtained by ring magnetic mirror fields produced at the ends of the device. Such ring mirror fields are defined by the magnetic field lines at the ends of the device diverging radially outward from the axis of the device and thereafter converging at spatial annular surfaces disposed concentrically thereabout. (AFC)

Practical microwave electron devices

CERN Document Server

Meurant, Gerard

2013-01-01

Practical Microwave Electron Devices provides an understanding of microwave electron devices and their applications. All areas of microwave electron devices are covered. These include microwave solid-state devices, including popular microwave transistors and both passive and active diodes; quantum electron devices; thermionic devices (including relativistic thermionic devices); and ferrimagnetic electron devices. The design of each of these devices is discussed as well as their applications, including oscillation, amplification, switching, modulation, demodulation, and parametric interactions.

Reduced Order Models for Dynamic Behavior of Elastomer Damping Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Morin, B.; Legay, A.; Deü, J.-F.

2016-09-01

In the context of passive damping, various mechanical systems from the space industry use elastomer components (shock absorbers, silent blocks, flexible joints...). The material of these devices has frequency, temperature and amplitude dependent characteristics. The associated numerical models, using viscoelastic and hyperelastic constitutive behaviour, may become computationally too expensive during a design process. The aim of this work is to propose efficient reduced viscoelastic models of rubber devices. The first step is to choose an accurate material model that represent the viscoelasticity. The second step is to reduce the rubber device finite element model to a super-element that keeps the frequency dependence. This reduced model is first built by taking into account the fact that the device's interfaces are much more rigid than the rubber core. To make use of this difference, kinematical constraints enforce the rigid body motion of these interfaces reducing the rubber device model to twelve dofs only on the interfaces (three rotations and three translations per face). Then, the superelement is built by using a component mode synthesis method. As an application, the dynamic behavior of a structure supported by four hourglass shaped rubber devices under harmonic loads is analysed to show the efficiency of the proposed approach.

Photonic Crystals Towards Nanoscale Photonic Devices

CERN Document Server

Lourtioz, Jean-Michel; Berger, Vincent; Gérard, Jean-Michel; Maystre, Daniel; Tchelnokov, Alexei; Pagnoux, Dominique

2008-01-01

Just like the periodical crystalline potential in solid state crystals determines their properties for the conduction of electrons, the periodical structuring of photonic crystals leads to envisioning the possibility of achieving a control of the photon flux in dielectric and metallic materials. The use of photonic crystals as cages for storing, filtering or guiding light at the wavelength scale paves the way to the realization of optical and optoelectronic devices with ultimate properties and dimensions. This will contribute towards meeting the demands for greater miniaturization imposed by the processing of an ever increasing number of data. Photonic Crystals will provide students and researchers from different fields with the theoretical background required for modelling photonic crystals and their optical properties, while at the same time presenting the large variety of devices, ranging from optics to microwaves, where photonic crystals have found application. As such, it aims at building bridges between...

Photonic Crystals Towards Nanoscale Photonic Devices

CERN Document Server

Lourtioz, Jean-Michel; Berger, Vincent; Gérard, Jean-Michel; Maystre, Daniel; Tchelnokov, Alexis

2005-01-01

Just like the periodical crystalline potential in solid-state crystals determines their properties for the conduction of electrons, the periodical structuring of photonic crystals leads to envisioning the possibility of achieving a control of the photon flux in dielectric and metallic materials. The use of photonic crystals as a cage for storing, filtering or guiding light at the wavelength scale thus paves the way to the realisation of optical and optoelectronic devices with ultimate properties and dimensions. This should contribute toward meeting the demands for a greater miniaturisation that the processing of an ever increasing number of data requires. Photonic Crystals intends at providing students and researchers from different fields with the theoretical background needed for modelling photonic crystals and their optical properties, while at the same time presenting the large variety of devices, from optics to microwaves, where photonic crystals have found applications. As such, it aims at building brid...

Temperature measurement with industrial color camera devices

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidradler, Dieter J.; Berndorfer, Thomas; van Dyck, Walter; Pretschuh, Juergen

1999-05-01

This paper discusses color camera based temperature measurement. Usually, visual imaging and infrared image sensing are treated as two separate disciplines. We will show, that a well selected color camera device might be a cheaper, more robust and more sophisticated solution for optical temperature measurement in several cases. Herein, only implementation fragments and important restrictions for the sensing element will be discussed. Our aim is to draw the readers attention to the use of visual image sensors for measuring thermal radiation and temperature and to give reasons for the need of improved technologies for infrared camera devices. With AVL-List, our partner of industry, we successfully used the proposed sensor to perform temperature measurement for flames inside the combustion chamber of diesel engines which finally led to the presented insights.

Addition of cholesterol-loaded cyclodextrins to the thawing extender: effects on boar sperm quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomás, C; Gómez-Fernández, J; Gómez-Izquierdo, E; Mocé, E; de Mercado, E

2014-06-01

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect that the addition of cholesterol-loaded cyclodextrins (CLC) to the thawing extender has on the quality of frozen-thawed boar sperm. Pooled semen (n = 5) from three boars was used for the experiments. The semen was cryopreserved with an egg-yolk-based extender, it was diluted after thawing in Beltsville thawing solution (BTS) supplemented with different concentrations of CLC (0, 12.5, 25, 50 or 100 mg/500 × 10(6) sperm), and these samples were incubated at 37°C for 150 min. The following parameters of sperm quality were evaluated 30 and 150 min after incubation: sperm with intact plasma membrane (SIPM; %), sperm with normal acrosomal ridge (NAR; %), total motile sperm (TMS; %), progressively motile sperm (PMS; %) and kinetic parameters. Both SIPM and NAR increased (p extender was supplemented with 12.5, 25 and 50 mg CLC/500 × 10(6) sperm. Nevertheless, motility decreased (p extenders with CLC improves sperm viability and reduces acrosome damage after freezing/thawing. © 2014 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Medical Devices; General Hospital and Personal Use Devices; Classification of the Ultraviolet Radiation Chamber Disinfection Device. Final order.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-11-20

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or the Agency) is classifying the ultraviolet (UV) radiation chamber disinfection device into class II (special controls). The special controls that will apply to the device are identified in this order and will be part of the codified language for the UV radiation chamber disinfection device classification. The Agency is classifying the device into class II (special controls) in order to provide a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness of the device.

Strategies for shortening the output pulse of silicon photomultipliers

OpenAIRE

Antoranz Canales, Pedro; Miranda Pantoja, José Miguel; Yebras Rivera, José Manuel

2012-01-01

In this work, three strategies for shortening the output pulse of a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) are reported. The first strategy is passive filtering, where band-pass filtering removes the lowest frequency components in the signal, getting a noticeable reduction in pulse width (a compression ratio of 10: 1 was obtained). In the second place, a reflectometric scheme is proposed where the amplified signal coming from the SiPM is injected into a signal splitter with one of its stubs connected...

Application of CMOS Technology to Silicon Photomultiplier Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

D’Ascenzo, Nicola; Zhang, Xi; Xie, Qingguo

2017-01-01

We use the 180 nm GLOBALFOUNDRIES (GF) BCDLite CMOS process for the production of a silicon photomultiplier prototype. We study the main characteristics of the developed sensor in comparison with commercial SiPMs obtained in custom technologies and other SiPMs developed with CMOS-compatible processes. We support our discussion with a transient modeling of the detection process of the silicon photomultiplier as well as with a series of static and dynamic experimental measurements in dark and illuminated environments. PMID:28946675

A magnetorheological clutch for efficient automotive auxiliary device actuation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Bucchi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper the results of a project funded by Regione Toscana aimed at reducing the power absorption of auxiliary devices in vehicles are presented. In particular the design, testing and application of a magnetorheological clutch (MR is proposed, aimed at disengaging the vacuum pump, which draws in air from the power-brake booster chamber, in order to reduce the device power absorption. Several clutch preliminary studies done to choose the clutch geometry and the magnetic field supply are illustrated. The final choice consisted in an MR clutch with permanent magnet, which satisfied size, torque and fail-safe specifications. The clutch characteristics, in terms of torque versus slip, were obtained experimentally for three different clutch prototypes on an ad-hoc developed test bench.As result of a preliminary simulation, a comparison between the power absorption of a current production vacuum pump, an innovative vacuum pump and both vacuum pumps coupled with the MR clutch is presented. The New European Driving Cycle is considered for simulating the vacuum pump operation both in urban and highway driving. Results show that the use of the innovative vacuum pump reduces the device consumption of about 35%, whereas the use of MR clutch coupled with the innovative vacuum pump reduces it up to about 44% in urban driving and 50% in highway driving.

Microstructure devices for process intensification: Influence of manufacturing tolerances and design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brandner, Juergen J.

2013-01-01

Process intensification by miniaturization is a common task for several fields of technology. Starting from manufacturing of electronic devices, miniaturization with the accompanying opportunities and problems gained also interest in chemistry and chemical process engineering. While the integration of enhanced functions, e.g. integrated sensors and actuators, is still under consideration, miniaturization itself has been realized in all material classes, namely metals, ceramics and polymers. First devices have been manufactured by scaling down macro-scale devices. However, manufacturing tolerances, material properties and design show much larger influence to the process than in macro scale. Many of the devices generated alike the macro ones work properly, but possibly could be optimized to a certain extend by adjusting the design and manufacturing tolerances to the special demands of miniaturization. Thus, some considerations on the design and production of devices for micro process engineering should be made to provide devices which show reproducible and controllable process behavior. The aim of the following publication is to show the importance of considerations in manufacturing tolerances and dimensions as well as design of microstructures to avoid negative influences and optimize the process characteristics of miniaturized devices. Some examples will be shown to explain the considerations presented here

Photovoltaic device

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reese, Jason A; Keenihan, James R; Gaston, Ryan S; Kauffmann, Keith L; Langmaid, Joseph A; Lopez, Leonardo; Maak, Kevin D; Mills, Michael E; Ramesh, Narayan; Teli, Samar R

2017-03-21

The present invention is premised upon an improved photovoltaic device ("PV device"), more particularly to an improved photovoltaic device with a multilayered photovoltaic cell assembly and a body portion joined at an interface region and including an intermediate layer, at least one interconnecting structural member, relieving feature, unique component geometry, or any combination thereof.

Photovoltaic device

Science.gov (United States)

Reese, Jason A.; Keenihan, James R.; Gaston, Ryan S.; Kauffmann, Keith L.; Langmaid, Joseph A.; Lopez, Leonardo C.; Maak, Kevin D.; Mills, Michael E.; Ramesh, Narayan; Teli, Samar R.

2015-06-02

The present invention is premised upon an improved photovoltaic device ("PV device"), more particularly to an improved photovoltaic device with a multilayered photovoltaic cell assembly and a body portion joined at an interface region and including an intermediate layer, at least one interconnecting structural member, relieving feature, unique component geometry, or any combination thereof.

High voltage semiconductor devices and methods of making the devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matocha, Kevin; Chatty, Kiran; Banerjee, Sujit

2018-01-23

A multi-cell MOSFET device including a MOSFET cell with an integrated Schottky diode is provided. The MOSFET includes n-type source regions formed in p-type well regions which are formed in an n-type drift layer. A p-type body contact region is formed on the periphery of the MOSFET. The source metallization of the device forms a Schottky contact with an n-type semiconductor region adjacent the p-type body contact region of the device. Vias can be formed through a dielectric material covering the source ohmic contacts and/or Schottky region of the device and the source metallization can be formed in the vias. The n-type semiconductor region forming the Schottky contact and/or the n-type source regions can be a single continuous region or a plurality of discontinuous regions alternating with discontinuous p-type body contact regions. The device can be a SiC device. Methods of making the device are also provided.

Process control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayashi, Toshifumi; Kobayashi, Hiroshi.

1994-01-01

A process control device comprises a memory device for memorizing a plant operation target, a plant state or a state of equipments related with each other as control data, a read-only memory device for storing programs, a plant instrumentation control device or other process control devices, an input/output device for performing input/output with an operator, and a processing device which conducts processing in accordance with the program and sends a control demand or a display demand to the input/output device. The program reads out control data relative to a predetermined operation target, compares and verify them with actual values to read out control data to be a practice premise condition which is further to be a practice premise condition if necessary, thereby automatically controlling the plant or requiring or displaying input. Practice presuming conditions for the operation target can be examined succesively in accordance with the program without constituting complicated logical figures and AND/OR graphs. (N.H.)

Development of an ergonomics device for maintenance of hydraulic generators of Tucuruí hydropower plant.

Science.gov (United States)

Batista, I C; Gomes, G J C; Teles, C S; Oliveira, P F; Santos, R M; Sassi, A C; Sá, B; V, B; Pardauil, A A

2012-01-01

This paper aims to present an ergonomic device to assist in the maintenance of the units of Tucuruí Hydropower Plant. The development of this ergonomic device made possible to reduce maintenance time, reduce losses caused by billing, improve performance and reduce the physical strain for labors during the execution of services.

Characterisation and Control of a Prototype HTS SMES Device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hawley, C J; Cuiuri, D; Cook, C D; Gower, S A; Beales, T P

2006-01-01

A 2.79 kJ prototype high transition temperature Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) device has been constructed. The coil for the prototype has been wound using High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) BSCCO-2223 tape. The refrigeration system is a gaseous helium cold head cryocooler used to maintain the SMES coil at a temperature of 30 K, improving the I c characteristic of the coil by a factor of 4.7 compared to that at 77 K. The SMES device is capable of supplying a 3-phase load during power interruptions, and has been constructed during a program to develop a larger 20 kJ system aimed at industrial applications

"Real life" longevity of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Manolis, Antonis S; Maounis, Themistoklis; Koulouris, Spyridon; Vassilikos, Vassilios

2017-09-01

Manufacturers of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) promise a 5- to 9-year projected longevity; however, real-life data indicate otherwise. The aim of the present study was to assess ICD longevity among 685 consecutive patients over the last 20 years. Real-life longevity of ICDs may differ from that stated by the manufacturers. The study included 601 men and 84 women (mean age, 63.1 ± 13.3 years). The underlying disease was coronary (n = 396) or valvular (n = 15) disease, cardiomyopathy (n = 220), or electrical disease (n = 54). The mean ejection fraction was 35%. Devices were implanted for secondary (n = 562) or primary (n = 123) prevention. Single- (n = 292) or dual-chamber (n = 269) or cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices (n = 124) were implanted in the abdomen (n = 17) or chest (n = 668). Over 20 years, ICD pulse generator replacements were performed in 238 patients (209 men; age 63.7 ± 13.9 years; ejection fraction, 37.7% ± 14.0%) who had an ICD for secondary (n = 210) or primary (n = 28) prevention. The mean ICD longevity was 58.3 ± 18.7 months. In 20 (8.4%) patients, devices exhibited premature battery depletion within 36 months. Most (94%) patients had none, minor, or modest use of ICD therapy. Longevity was longest for single-chamber devices and shortest for CRT devices. Latest-generation devices replaced over the second decade lasted longer compared with devices replaced during the first decade. When analyzed by manufacturer, Medtronic devices appeared to have longer longevity by 13 to 18 months. ICDs continue to have limited longevity of 4.9 ± 1.6 years, and 8% demonstrate premature battery depletion by 3 years. CRT devices have the shortest longevity (mean, 3.8 years) by 13 to 17 months, compared with other ICD devices. These findings have important implications, particularly in view of the high expense involved with this type of electrical

Improvised explosive devices: pathophysiology, injury profiles and current medical management.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramasamy, A; Hill, A M; Clasper, J C

2009-12-01

The improvised explosive device (IED), in all its forms, has become the most significant threat to troops operating in Afghanistan and Iraq. These devices range from rudimentary home made explosives to sophisticated weapon systems containing high-grade explosives. Within this broad definition they may be classified as roadside explosives and blast mines, explosive formed pojectile (EFP) devices and suicide bombings. Each of these groups causeinjury through a number of different mechanisms and can result in vastly different injury profiles. The "Global War on Terror" has meant that incidents which were previously exclusively seen in conflict areas, can occur anywhere, and clinicians who are involved in emergency trauma care may be required to manage casualties from similar terrorist attacks. An understanding of the types of devices and their pathophysiological effects is necessary to allow proper planning of mass casualty events and to allow appropriate management of the complex poly-trauma casualties they invariably cause. The aim of this review article is to firstly describe the physics and injury profile from these different devices and secondly to present the current clinical evidence that underpins their medical management.

Challenges of arbitrary waveform signal detection by Silicon Photomultipliers as readout for Cherenkov fibre based beam loss monitoring systems

CERN Document Server

Vinogradov, Sergey; Nebot del Busto, Eduardo; Kastriotou, Maria; Welsch, Carsten P

2016-01-01

Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are well recognised as very competitive photodetectors due to their exceptional photon number and time resolution, room-temperature low-voltage operation, insensitivity to magnetic fields, compactness, and robustness. Detection of weak light pulses of nanosecond time scale appears to be the best area for SiPM applications because in this case most of the SiPM drawbacks have a rather limited effect on its performance. In contrast to the more typical scintillation and Cherenkov detection applications, which demand information on the number of photons and/or the arrival time of the light pulse only, beam loss monitoring (BLM) systems utilising Cherenkov fibres with photodetector readout have to precisely reconstruct the temporal profile of the light pulse. This is a rather challenging task for any photon detector especially taking into account the high dynamic range of incident signals (100K – 1M) from a few photons to a few percents of destructive losses in a beam line and pre...

Silicon photomultiplier readout of a monolithic 270 x 5 x 5 cm{sup 3} plastic scintillator bar for time of flight applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roeder, Marko; Bemmerer, Daniel; Heidel, Klaus; Stach, Daniel; Wagner, Andreas; Weinberger, David [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Dresden (Germany); Cowan, Thomas E.; Gohl, Stefan; Reinicke, Stefan [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Dresden (Germany); TU Dresden (Germany); Reinhardt, Tobias P.; Zuber, Kai [TU Dresden (Germany); Collaboration: R3B-Collaboration

2016-07-01

The detection of 200-1000 MeV neutrons requires large amounts of detector material because of the long nuclear interaction length of these particles. In the example of the NeuLAND neutron time-of-flight detector at FAIR, this is accomplished by using 3000 scintillator bars of 270 x 5 x 5 cm{sup 3} size made of the fast plastic polyvinyltoluene. In the present work, we investigated whether silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) photosensors can replace fast timing photomultiplier tubes. The response of the system consisting of scintillator, SiPM, and preamplifier was studied using 30 MeV single electrons provided by the ELBE superconducting electron linac. The results were interpreted by a simple Monte Carlo simulation, and the time resolution was found to obey an inverse-square-root scaling law with the number of fired pixels. In the electron beam tests, a time resolution of σ{sub t}=136 ps was reached with a pure SiPM readout, well within the design parameters for NeuLAND.

Hip supporting device

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2011-01-01

The present invention relates to a device for limiting movements in one or more anatomical joints, such as a device for limiting movement in the human hip joint after hip replacement surgery. This is provided by a device for limiting movement in the human hip joint, said device comprising: at least...

Cooling device in thermonuclear device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Honda, Tsutomu.

1988-01-01

Purpose: To prevent loss of cooling effect over the entire torus structure directly after accidental toubles in a cooling device of a thermonuclear device. Constitution: Coolant recycling means of a cooling device comprises two systems, which are alternately connected with in-flow pipeways and exit pipeways of adjacent modules. The modules are cooled by way of the in-flow pipeways and the exist pipeways connected to the respective modules by means of the coolant recycling means corresponding to the respective modules. So long as one of the coolant recycling means is kept operative, since every one other modules of the torus structure is still kept cooled, the heat generated from the module put therebetween, for which the coolant recycling is interrupted, is removed by means of heat conduction or radiation from the module for which the cooling is kept continued. No back-up emergency cooling system is required and it can provide high economic reliability. (Kamimura, M.)

[The role of mobile communication devices in the spread of infections].

Science.gov (United States)

Morvai, Júlia; Szabó, Rita

2015-05-17

Mobile communication devices have an invaluable feature of communication within hospital, and they may support certain aspects of clinical diagnosis and education. However, there may be a risk for contamination of these devices with various pathogens. The aim of the authors was to perform a systematic review on the potential role of mobile communication devices in the dissemination of pathogens and to identify effective prevention measures. A detailed literature search was conducted using PubMed and ScienceDirect databases for papers published in English between January, 2004 and August, 2014. With the use of specific search term combinations 30 of the 216 articles met the inclusion criteria. It was found that only 8% of healthcare workers routinely cleaned their mobile communication devices resulting in a high rate of contamination (40-100%). Coagulase-negative Staphylococci and Staphylococcus aureus were the most commonly identified bacteria and most of them were methicillin resistant (10-95.3%). This systematic review identified effective interventions to reduce bacterial contamination risks including staff education, hand hygiene and regular decontamination of mobile communication devices.

Radioactive liquid waste processing device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murakami, Susumu; Kuroda, Noriko; Matsumoto, Hiroyo.

1991-01-01

The present device comprises a radioactive liquid wastes concentration means for circulating radioactive liquid wastes between each of the tank, a pump and a film evaporator thereby obtaining liquid concentrates and a distilled water recovery means for condensing steams separated by the film evaporator by means of a condenser. It further comprises a cyclizing means for circulating the resultant distilled water to the upstream after the concentration of the liquid concentrates exceeds a predetermined value or the quality of the distilled water reaches a predetermined level. Further, a film evaporator having hydrophilic and homogeneous films is used as a film evaporator. Then, the quality of the distilled water discharged from the present device to the downstream can always satisfy the predetermined conditions. Further, by conducting operation at high concentration while interrupting the supply of the processing liquids, high concentration up to the aimed concentration can be attained. Further, since the hydrophilic homogeneous films are used, carry over of the radioactive material accompanying the evaporation is eliminated to reduce the working ratio of the vacuum pump. (T.M.)

Photovoltaic device

Science.gov (United States)

Reese, Jason A.; Keenihan, James R.; Gaston, Ryan S.; Kauffmann, Keith L.; Langmaid, Joseph A.; Lopez, Leonardo C.; Maak, Kevin D.; Mills, Michael E.; Ramesh, Narayan; Teli, Samar R.

2015-09-01

The present invention is premised upon an improved photovoltaic device ("PV device"), more particularly to an improved photovoltaic device (10) with a multilayered photovoltaic cell assembly (100) and a body portion (200) joined at an interface region (410) and including an intermediate layer (500), at least one interconnecting structural member (1500), relieving feature (2500), unique component geometry, or any combination thereof.

[Status of diagnosis and treatment devices of acupuncture based on SooPAT and bibliometrics in China].

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Lin; Ren, Yulan; Guo, Taipin; Chen, Lin; Zhou, Yumei; Feng, Shuwei; Li, Ji; Liang, Fanrong

2016-11-12

To perform a bibliometrics analysis on patent literature regarding diagnosis and treatment devices of acupuncture in China, aiming to provide references for the development of diagnosis and treatment devices of acupuncture. Based on SooPAT, a patent database, the patent literature regarding diagnosis and treatment devices of acupuncture in China was collected. With bibliometrics methods, the annual distribution of type, quantity, classification and content of diagnosis and treatment devices of acupuncture were analyzed. The number of acupuncture diagnosis and treatment devices reached its peak in 2012 and 2013 in China. The A61N in patent and utility model patent were the most, which were mainly related to electrotherapy, magnetic therapy, radioactive therapy and ultrasound therapy, etc. The main content was acupuncture treatment devices and meridian treatment devices. The 24-01 in design patent was the most, involving fixation devices used by doctors, hospitals and laboratories, etc. Currently the majority of diagnosis and treatment devices of acupuncture is therapeutic apparatus, while the acupuncture diagnosis devices are needed.

78 FR 68714 - Medical Devices; Ophthalmic Devices; Classification of the Scleral Plug

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-15

... amendments), as ``preamendments devices.'' FDA classifies these devices after the Agency takes the following.... FDA-2012-N-1238] Medical Devices; Ophthalmic Devices; Classification of the Scleral Plug AGENCY: Food... scleral plugs in order to provide a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness of the device. The...

CPAP Devices for Emergency Prehospital Use: A Bench Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Brusasco, Claudia; Corradi, Francesco; De Ferrari, Alessandra; Ball, Lorenzo; Kacmarek, Robert M; Pelosi, Paolo

2015-12-01

CPAP is frequently used in prehospital and emergency settings. An air-flow output minimum of 60 L/min and a constant positive pressure are 2 important features for a successful CPAP device. Unlike hospital CPAP devices, which require electricity, CPAP devices for ambulance use need only an oxygen source to function. The aim of the study was to evaluate and compare on a bench model the performance of 3 orofacial mask devices (Ventumask, EasyVent, and Boussignac CPAP system) and 2 helmets (Ventukit and EVE Coulisse) used to apply CPAP in the prehospital setting. A static test evaluated air-flow output, positive pressure applied, and FIO2 delivered by each device. A dynamic test assessed airway pressure stability during simulated ventilation. Efficiency of devices was compared based on oxygen flow needed to generate a minimum air flow of 60 L/min at each CPAP setting. The EasyVent and EVE Coulisse devices delivered significantly higher mean air-flow outputs compared with the Ventumask and Ventukit under all CPAP conditions tested. The Boussignac CPAP system never reached an air-flow output of 60 L/min. The EasyVent had significantly lower pressure excursion than the Ventumask at all CPAP levels, and the EVE Coulisse had lower pressure excursion than the Ventukit at 5, 15, and 20 cm H2O, whereas at 10 cm H2O, no significant difference was observed between the 2 devices. Estimated oxygen consumption was lower for the EasyVent and EVE Coulisse compared with the Ventumask and Ventukit. Air-flow output, pressure applied, FIO2 delivered, device oxygen consumption, and ability to maintain air flow at 60 L/min differed significantly among the CPAP devices tested. Only the EasyVent and EVE Coulisse achieved the required minimum level of air-flow output needed to ensure an effective therapy under all CPAP conditions. Copyright © 2015 by Daedalus Enterprises.

Development of an elution device for ViroCap virus filters.

Science.gov (United States)

Fagnant, Christine Susan; Toles, Matthew; Zhou, Nicolette Angela; Powell, Jacob; Adolphsen, John; Guan, Yifei; Ockerman, Byron; Shirai, Jeffry Hiroshi; Boyle, David S; Novosselov, Igor; Meschke, John Scott

2017-10-19

Environmental surveillance of waterborne pathogens is vital for monitoring the spread of diseases, and electropositive filters are frequently used for sampling wastewater and wastewater-impacted surface water. Viruses adsorbed to electropositive filters require elution prior to detection or quantification. Elution is typically facilitated by a peristaltic pump, although this requires a significant startup cost and does not include biosafety or cross-contamination considerations. These factors may pose a barrier for low-resource laboratories that aim to conduct environmental surveillance of viruses. The objective of this study was to develop a biologically enclosed, manually powered, low-cost device for effectively eluting from electropositive ViroCap™ virus filters. The elution device described here utilizes a non-electric bilge pump, instead of an electric peristaltic pump or a positive pressure vessel. The elution device also fully encloses liquids and aerosols that could contain biological organisms, thereby increasing biosafety. Moreover, all elution device components that are used in the biosafety cabinet are autoclavable, reducing cross-contamination potential. This device reduces costs of materials while maintaining convenience in terms of size and weight. With this new device, there is little sample volume loss due to device inefficiency, similar virus yields were demonstrated during seeded studies with poliovirus type 1, and the time to elute filters is similar to that required with the peristaltic pump. The efforts described here resulted in a novel, low-cost, manually powered elution device that can facilitate environmental surveillance of pathogens through effective virus recovery from ViroCap filters while maintaining the potential for adaptability to other cartridge filters.

Sustained prevention of biofilm formation on a novel silicone matrix suitable for medical devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Steffensen, Søren Langer; Merete H., Vestergaard,; Jensen, Minna Grønning

2015-01-01

Bacterial colonization and biofilm formation on medical devices constitute major challenges in clinical long-term use of e.g. catheters due to the risk of (re)infection of patients, which would result in additional use of antibiotics risking bacterial resistance development. The aim of the present...... in the range of 1–20 mg/mL. Devices containing 25% (w/w) hydrogel and loaded with ciprofloxacin displayed a strong antibacterial effect against Staphylococcus aureus bacterial colonization and subsequent biofilm formation on the device material was inhibited for 29 days. In conclusion, the hydrogel...

21 CFR 864.9195 - Blood mixing devices and blood weighing devices.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Blood mixing devices and blood weighing devices. 864.9195 Section 864.9195 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES HEMATOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY DEVICES Products Used In Establishments That...

Emulating Dynamic Radio Channels for Radiated Testing of Massive MIMO Devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kyösti, Pekka; Hentilä, Lassi; Kyröläinen, Jukka

2018-01-01

This paper discusses a multi-probe anechoic chamber based (MPAC) setup, capable of reconstructing non-stationary radio propagation environments for testing of mm-wave and massive MIMO devices. The test setup is aimed for evaluation of end to end performance of devices, including hybrid beamforming...... operations of antenna arrays and base band processing, in highly time variant channel conditions. In this work we present simulated comparison of an ideal reference radio channel model and corresponding model implemented with limited resources of MPAC components. We give a qualitative analysis of the results...... with non-line of sight (NLOS) channel models, without quantitative evaluation. The example device under test (DUT) is a 8x8 planar array with half wavelength inter-element spacing....

Optimized fabrication protocols of microfluidic devices for X-ray analysis

KAUST Repository

Catalano, Rossella

2014-07-01

Microfluidics combined with X-ray scattering techniques allows probing conformational changes or assembly processes of biological materials. Our aim was to develop a highly X-ray transparent microfluidic cell for detecting small variations of X-ray scattering involved in such processes. We describe the fabrication of a polyimide microfluidic device based on a simple, reliable and inexpensive lamination process. The implemented microstructured features result in windows with optimized X-ray transmission. The microfluidic device was characterized by X-ray microbeam scattering at the ID13 beamline of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sealing device

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia-Crespo, Andres Jose

2013-12-10

A sealing device for sealing a gap between a dovetail of a bucket assembly and a rotor wheel is disclosed. The sealing device includes a cover plate configured to cover the gap and a retention member protruding from the cover plate and configured to engage the dovetail. The sealing device provides a seal against the gap when the bucket assemply is subjected to a centrifugal force.

Microfluidic Device

Science.gov (United States)

Tai, Yu-Chong (Inventor); Zheng, Siyang (Inventor); Lin, Jeffrey Chun-Hui (Inventor); Kasdan, Harvey L. (Inventor)

2017-01-01

Described herein are particular embodiments relating to a microfluidic device that may be utilized for cell sensing, counting, and/or sorting. Particular aspects relate to a microfabricated device that is capable of differentiating single cell types from dense cell populations. One particular embodiment relates a device and methods of using the same for sensing, counting, and/or sorting leukocytes from whole, undiluted blood samples.

Models and Simulations of Carrier Transport in Novel Nanoelectronic Devices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rondoni, D.

2009-01-01

Nanotechnology is the field of applied science and technology that aims to manipulate, test and produce devices and systems which have dimensions comparable to the atomic and molecular scale, that is few tens of nanometers and smaller. Amongst the wide range of fields touched by nanotechnology,

Understanding and meeting the needs of those using growth hormone injection devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Parker Dorothy

2006-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Recombinant human growth hormone (r-hGH is used to treat: growth hormone deficiency in children and adults; children born small for gestational age; Turner's syndrome; and chronic renal failure. r-hGH is administered by daily subcutaneous injection and may be given using a number of different administration devices. The aim of this survey was, firstly, to identify which attributes of an r-hGH administration device are considered most important to physicians, teenage patients, parents of young children requiring GH and nurses who have experience of r-hGH administration, and, secondly, to determine how they rate existing devices in each of these key attributes. Methods The opinions of 67 individuals with experience in r-hGH administration were captured in discussion sessions. Parents, physicians and nurses were asked to rate 19 device attributes by completing a questionnaire, and to rank four different r-hGH administration devices (including a conceptual electronic device in order of preference. Results Reliability, ease of use, lack of pain during injection, safety in use, storage, and number of steps in preparation before use, during use and after were considered to be the five most desirable attributes of an r-hGH administration device. An electronic device was preferred to an automatic, multi-dose injection device, a needle-free injection device or a manual, ready-to-use, disposable injection device. Conclusion In the opinion of physicians, nurses and parents using r-hGH injection devices, an ideal device must combine reliability with simplicity, while delivering treatment with minimal pain. An electronic device, which combines many of the most useful features of existing devices with novel functions, was the preferred option for r-hGH administration.

Real-life characteristics of asthma inhaler device use in South Korea

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wan Yau Ming, S.; Rhee, C.K.; Park, H.Y.; Yoo, K.H.; Kim, D.K.; Van Boven, J.F.; Price, D.; Park, H.S.

2016-01-01

Background and Aims: Historically, dry powder inhalers (DPIs) were considered to provide better airway distribution, easier identification of empty devices, and easier handling when compared to pressurized metered dose inhalers (pMDIs). Prior research into the major handling errors with inhaler

Smart Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices with Self-Protection and Self-Adaptation Abilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yun; Yu, Dandan; Wang, Hua; Guo, Lin

2017-12-01

Currently, with booming development and worldwide usage of rechargeable electrochemical energy storage devices, their safety issues, operation stability, service life, and user experience are garnering special attention. Smart and intelligent energy storage devices with self-protection and self-adaptation abilities aiming to address these challenges are being developed with great urgency. In this Progress Report, we highlight recent achievements in the field of smart energy storage systems that could early-detect incoming internal short circuits and self-protect against thermal runaway. Moreover, intelligent devices that are able to take actions and self-adapt in response to external mechanical disruption or deformation, i.e., exhibiting self-healing or shape-memory behaviors, are discussed. Finally, insights into the future development of smart rechargeable energy storage devices are provided. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Cooling device of superconducting coils. Dispositif de refroidissement de bobinages supraconducteurs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Duthil, R; Lottin, J C

1985-08-30

This device is rotating around an horizontal axis. The superconducting coils are contained in a cryogenic enclosure feeded in liquid helium forced circulation. They are related to an electric generator by electric mains each of them comprising a gas exchanger, and an exchanger-evaporator set between the cryogenic device and those exchangers. The exchanger-evaporator is aimed at dissipating the heat arriving by conductors connected to the superconducting coils. According to the invention, the invention includes an annular canalization with horizontal axis in which the connection conductors bathe in liquid helium.

High Resolution Tracking Devices Based on Capillaries Filled with Liquid Scintillator

CERN Multimedia

Bonekamper, D; Vassiltchenko, V; Wolff, T

2002-01-01

%RD46 %title\\\\ \\\\The aim of the project is to develop high resolution tracking devices based on thin glass capillary arrays filled with liquid scintillator. This technique provides high hit densities and a position resolution better than 20 $\\mu$m. Further, their radiation hardness makes them superior to other types of tracking devices with comparable performance. Therefore, the technique is attractive for inner tracking in collider experiments, microvertex devices, or active targets for short-lived particle detection. High integration levels in the read-out based on the use of multi-pixel photon detectors and the possibility of optical multiplexing allow to reduce considerably the number of output channels, and, thus, the cost for the detector.\\\\ \\\\New optoelectronic devices have been developed and tested: the megapixel Electron Bombarded CCD (EBCCD), a high resolution image-detector having an outstanding capability of single photo-electron detection; the Vacuum Image Pipeline (VIP), a high-speed gateable pi...

Undergraduate nurses' preferred use of mobile devices in healthcare settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Mather, Carey; Cummings, Elizabeth; Allen, Penny

2015-01-01

The growth of digital technology has created challenges for appropriate and safe use of mobile or portable devices in healthcare environments. There is perceived risk that the use of mobile technology for learning may distract from provision of patient care if used by undergraduate students during work-integrated learning. This paper reports on a study that aimed to identify differences in preferred behavior of student nurses in their use of mobile technology during and away from the clinical practice environment. A previously validated online survey was administered to students during a period of work integrated learning in a range of healthcare settings in two Australian states. Respondents agreed that mobile devices could be beneficial to patient care. Overall, students proposed they would use mobile devices for accessing information, during work integrated learning, less than when away from the workplace. The development of policy to guide the use of mobile devices, in situ, is important to the provision of safe and competent care and improved health outcomes for patients.

A scoping review on smart mobile devices and physical strain.

Science.gov (United States)

Tegtmeier, Patricia

2018-01-01

Smart mobile devices gain increasing importance at work. Integrating these smart mobile devices into the workplace creates new opportunities and challenges for occupational health and safety. Therefore the aim of the following scoping review was to identify ergonomic challenges with the use of smart mobile devices at work with respect to physical problems. A review of 36 papers based on literature including January 2016 was conducted. Biomechanical measures in the reviewed studies demonstrated i.e., head flexion angles exceeding 20° in 20 out of 26 different conditions described. Furthermore, laterally deviated wrists were frequently noted and thumb and finger flexor muscle activities generally greater than 5% MVC were reported. The reviewed literature indicated an elevated biomechanical risk, especially for the neck, the wrists and thumb. This was due to poor posture, ongoing and intermitted muscle tension, and/or repetitive movements. Papers addressing specific risks for smartphone and tablet use in different work environments are scarce. As the technology, as well as the use of smart mobile devices is rapidly changing, further research, especially for prolonged periods in the workplace is needed.

Electronic cigarette devices and oro-facial trauma (Literature review)

Science.gov (United States)

Ghazali, A. F.; Ismail, A. F.; Daud, A.

2017-08-01

Detrimental effects of cigarette smoking have been well described and recognized globally. With recent advancement of technology, electronic cigarette has been introduced and gained its popularity and became a global trend, especially among young adults. However, the safety of the electronic devices remains debatable. This paper aimed to compile and review the reported cases of oro-facial trauma related to the usage of electronic cigarette devices. A literature search was conducted using PubMed/Medline in December 2016. The search terms used were a combination of “oral trauma”, “dental trauma”, “oral injury” and “electronic cigarette”. The search included all abstract published from the inception of the database until December 2016. Abstract that was written in English, case report, letter to editors, clinical and human studies were included for analysis. All selected abstract were searched for full articles. A total of 8 articles were included for review. All of the articles were published in 2016 with mostly case reports. The sample size of the studies ranged from 1 to 15 patients. Seven of the included articles are from United States of America and one from Mexico. Our review concluded that the use of electronic cigarette devices posed not only a safety concern but also that the devices were mostly unregulated. There should be a recognized authority body to regulate the safety and standard of the electronic devices.

Radioactive waste processing device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inaguma, Masahiko; Takahara, Nobuaki; Hara, Satomi.

1996-01-01

In a processing device for filtering laundry liquid wastes and shower drains incorporated with radioactive materials, a fiber filtration device is disposed and an activated carbon filtration device is also disposed subsequent to the fiber filtration device. In addition, a centrifugal dewatering device is disposed for dewatering spent granular activated carbon in the activated carbon filtration device, and a minute filtering device is disposed for filtering the separated dewatering liquid. Filtrates filtered by the minute filtration device are recovered in a collecting tank. Namely, at first, suspended solid materials in laundry liquid wastes and shower drains are captured, and then, ingredients concerning COD are adsorbed in the activated carbon filtration device. The radioactive liquid wastes of spent granular activated carbon in the activated carbon filtration device are reduced by dewatering them by the centrifugal dewatering device, and then the granular activated carbon is subjected to an additional processing. Further, it is separated by filtration using the minute filtration device and removed as cakes. Since the filtrates are recovered to the collecting tank and filtered again, the water quality of the drains is not degraded. (N.H.)

A welding device for a socket in a hard-to-get-to circular pipe connection piece

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deschamps, J.P.

1995-01-01

The welding device allows for the assembly of a socket inside the collection piece of an auxiliary pipe at the bottom of a dissolver tube; the device comprises a support around which is mounted a rotating welding head with a gear motor. Clamping of the socket around the head is achieved by the means of pneumatically driven clamping sections. A pulley and gutter tension device is aimed at securing the electric and metal supply cables. 9 refs., 3 figs

Young-Elderly Travellers as Potential Users and Actual Users of Internet with Mobile Devices During Trips

OpenAIRE

Eriksson , Niklas; Fabricius , Susanna

2015-01-01

Part 2: Adoption; International audience; The population is rapidly ageing in countries such as Finland. However, little research has been conducted to better understand older travellers’ use of Internet and mobile devices. This qualitative study aims at exploring young-elderly (aged 60–75) travellers as potential users and actual users of the Internet with mobile device during trips. The results identify a range of possible drivers and barriers for the use of Internet with mobile devices and...

High heat flux device of thermonuclear device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tachikawa, Nobuo.

1994-01-01

The present invention provides an equipments for high heat flux device (divertor) of a thermonuclear device, which absorbs thermal deformation during operation, has a high installation accuracy, and sufficiently withstands for thermal stresses. Namely, a heat sink member is joined to a structural base. Armour tiles are joined on the heat sink member. Cooling pipes are disposed between the heat sink member and the armour tiles. With such a constitution, the heat sink member using a highly heat conductive material having ductility, such as oxygen free copper, the cooling pipes using a material having excellent high temperature resistance and excellent elongation, such as aluminum-dispersed reinforced copper, and the armour tiles are completely joined on the structural base. Therefore, when thermal deformation tends to cause in the high heat flux device such as a divertor, cooling pipes cause no plastic deformation because of their high temperature resistance, but the heat sink member such as a oxygen free copper causes plastic deformation to absorb thermal deformation. As a result, the high heat flux device such as a divertor causes no deformation. (I.S.)

Repairing method and device for thermonuclear device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakurai, Akiko; Masumoto, Hiroshi; Tachikawa, Nobuo.

1995-01-01

The present invention provides a method of and a device for repairing a first wall and a divertor disposed in a vacuum vessel of a thermonuclear device. Namely, an armour tile of the divertor secured, by a brazing material, in a vacuum vessel of the thermonuclear device in which high temperature plasmas of deuterium and tritium are confined to cause fusion reaction is induction-heated or heated by microwaves to melt the brazing material. Only the armour tile is thus exchanged by its attachment/detachment. This device comprises, in the vacuum vessel, an armour tile attaching/detaching manipulator and a repairing manipulator comprising a heating manipulator having induction heating coils at the top end thereof. Induction heating coils are connected to an AC power source. According to the present invention, the armour tile is exchanged without taking the divertor out of the vacuum vessel. Therefore, cutting of a divertor cooling tube for taking the divertor out of the vacuum vessel and re-welding of the divertor for attaching it to the vacuum vessel again are no more necessary. (I.S.)

Medical Device Safety

Science.gov (United States)

A medical device is any product used to diagnose, cure, or treat a condition, or to prevent disease. They ... may need one in a hospital. To use medical devices safely Know how your device works. Keep ...

Comparison of two systems for rigidly connecting 2.0-mm bone screws to an implantable device : in vitro stability testing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Loon, JP; de Bont, LGM; Verkerke, GJ

The stability of a screw-fixed implantable device can be improved by eliminating the freedom of movement between the screws and the device. Two systems have been developed for rigidly connecting 2.0-mm bone screws to an implantable device, and the aim of this study was to test and compare the

Radiation dose distributions due to sudden ejection of cobalt device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdelhady, Amr

2016-01-01

The evaluation of the radiation dose during accident in a nuclear reactor is of great concern from the viewpoint of safety. One of important accident must be analyzed and may be occurred in open pool type reactor is the rejection of cobalt device. The study is evaluating the dose rate levels resulting from upset withdrawal of co device especially the radiation dose received by the operator in the control room. Study of indirect radiation exposure to the environment due to skyshine effect is also taken into consideration in order to evaluate the radiation dose levels around the reactor during the ejection trip. Microshield, SHLDUTIL, and MCSky codes were used in this study to calculate the radiation dose profiles during cobalt device ejection trip inside and outside the reactor building. - Highlights: • This study aims to calculate the dose rate profiles after cobalt device ejection from open-pool-type reactor core. • MicroShield code was used to evaluate the dose rates inside the reactor control room. • McSKY code was used to evaluate the dose rates outside the reactor building. • The calculated dose rates for workers are higher than the permissible limits after 18 s from device ejection.

Remote controlled stud bolt handling device for reactor pressure vessel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shindo, Takenori; Shigehiro, Katsuya; Ito, Morio; Okada, Kenji

1988-01-01

In nuclear power stations, at the time of regular inspection, the works of opening and fixing the upper covers of reactor pressure vessels are carried out for inspecting the inside of reactor pressure vessels and exchanging fuel rods. These upper covers are fastened with many stud bolts, therefore, the works of opening and fixing require a large amount of labor, and are done under the restricted condition of wearing protective clothings and masks. Babcock Hitachi K.K. has completed the development of a remotely controlled automatic bolt tightenig device for this purpose, therefore, its outline is reported. The conventional method of these works and the problems in it are described. The design of the new device aimed at the parallel execution of cleaning screw threads, loosening and tightening nuts, and taking off and putting on nuts and washers, thus contributing to the shortening of regular inspection period, the reduction of the radiation exposure of workers, and the decrease of the number of workers. The function, reliability and endurance of the new device were confirmed by the verifying test using a device made for trial. The device is composed of a stand, a rail and four stations each with a cleaning unit, a stud tensioner and a nut handling unit. (K.I.)

Position measuring device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maeda, Kazuyuki; Takahashi, Shuichi; Maruyama, Mayumi

1998-01-01

The present invention provides a device capable of measuring accurate position and distance easily even at places where operator can not easily access, such as cell facilities for vitrifying radioactive wastes. Referring to a case of the vitrifying cell, an objective equipment settled in the cell is photographed by a photographing device. The image is stored in a position measuring device by way of an image input device. After several years, when the objective equipment is exchanged, a new objective equipment is photographed by a photographing device. The image is also stored in the position measuring device. The position measuring device compares the data of both of the images on the basis of pixel unit. Based on the image of the equipment before the exchange as a reference, extent of the displacement of the installation position of the equipment on the image after the exchange caused by installation error and manufacturing error is determined to decide the position of the equipment after exchange relative to the equipment before exchange. (I.S.)

78 FR 34669 - Certain Electronic Devices, Including Wireless Communication Devices, Portable Music and Data...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-06-10

..., Including Wireless Communication Devices, Portable Music and Data Processing Devices, and Tablet Computers... importing wireless communication devices, portable music and data processing devices, and tablet computers... certain electronic devices, including wireless communication devices, portable music and data processing...

Novel Concepts for Device to Device Communication using Network Coding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pahlevani, Peyman; Hundebøll, Martin; Pedersen, Morten Videbæk

2014-01-01

Device-to-device communication is currently a hot research topic within 3GPP. Even though D2D communication has been part of previous ad hoc, meshed and sensor networks proposals, the main contribution by 3GPP is that the direct communication among two devices is carried out over a dynamically as...

Device configuration-management system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nowell, D.M.

1981-01-01

The Fusion Chamber System, a major component of the Magnetic Fusion Test Facility, contains several hundred devices which report status to the Supervisory Control and Diagnostic System for control and monitoring purposes. To manage the large number of diversity of devices represented, a device configuration management system was required and developed. Key components of this software tool include the MFTF Data Base; a configuration editor; and a tree structure defining the relationships between the subsystem devices. This paper will describe how the configuration system easily accomodates recognizing new devices, restructuring existing devices, and modifying device profile information

The ambiguity of standing in standing devices: a qualitative interview study concerning children and parents experiences of the use of standing devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Nordström, Birgitta; Näslund, Annika; Ekenberg, Lilly; Zingmark, Karin

2014-10-01

The aim of this study was to describe children's and parents' experiences of the significance of standing in a standing device. Individual interviews were performed with six children/teenagers (aged 7-19 years) and 14 parents. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using a qualitative content analysis. The analysis resulted in the major theme, the duality of uprightness and the related themes: (1) the instrumental dimension of standing; (2) the social dimension of standing; and (3) the ambivalent dimension of standing. Each of the themes comprised several subthemes. There is an inherent duality related to the use of a standing device. Standing in a standing device was seen as a treatment of body structures and functions, as well as a possible source of pain. Standing was considered to influence freedom in activities and participation both positively and negatively. The parents experienced that standing influenced other peoples' views of their child, while the children experienced standing as a way to extend the body and as something that gave them benefits in some activities. Physiotherapists working with children should take into account both the social and physical dimensions of using a standing device and consider both the child's and the parents' views.

Using handheld devices for real-time wireless teleconsultation.

Science.gov (United States)

Banitsas, K A; Georgiadis, P; Tachakra, S; Cavouras, D

2004-01-01

Recent advances in the hardware of handheld devices, opened up the way for newer applications in the healthcare sector, and more specifically, in the teleconsultation field. Out of these devices, this paper focuses on the services that personal digital assistants and smartphones can provide to improve the speed, quality and ease of delivering a medical opinion from a distance and laying the ground for an all-wireless hospital. In that manner, PDAs were used to wirelessly support the viewing of digital imaging and communication in medicine (DICOM) images and to allow for mobile videoconferencing while within the hospital. Smartphones were also used to carry still images, multiframes and live video outside the hospital. Both of these applications aimed at increasing the mobility of the consultant while improving the healthcare service.

Acute effects of the use of external instability generating devices on neuromuscular performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guillermo Peña García-Orea

2016-02-01

Full Text Available DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/1980-0037.2016v18n6p722   Physical training with the use of instability generator devices has become popular in the health area, in sport training and clinical practice (mainly in the prevention and treatment of injuries. To understand how the process of using these devices occurs and the results of their acute effects is important to guide professionals in choosing the appropriate device. The aim of this review was to present the main features of instability devices and analyze their acute effects on core muscle activation, neuromuscular performance and activation of lower and upper limbs. Studies have shown that the main acute effects of exercises performed with these devices are: 1 increased activation / muscular recruitment (especially in the middle zone or core; 2 greater co-activation of antagonist muscles (trunk, upper and lower limbs, with increased stiffness and joint stability; 3 lower force output, power and speed in extremities.

Automatic ingestion monitor: a novel wearable device for monitoring of ingestive behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Fontana, Juan M; Farooq, Muhammad; Sazonov, Edward

2014-06-01

Objective monitoring of food intake and ingestive behavior in a free-living environment remains an open problem that has significant implications in study and treatment of obesity and eating disorders. In this paper, a novel wearable sensor system (automatic ingestion monitor, AIM) is presented for objective monitoring of ingestive behavior in free living. The proposed device integrates three sensor modalities that wirelessly interface to a smartphone: a jaw motion sensor, a hand gesture sensor, and an accelerometer. A novel sensor fusion and pattern recognition method was developed for subject-independent food intake recognition. The device and the methodology were validated with data collected from 12 subjects wearing AIM during the course of 24 h in which both the daily activities and the food intake of the subjects were not restricted in any way. Results showed that the system was able to detect food intake with an average accuracy of 89.8%, which suggests that AIM can potentially be used as an instrument to monitor ingestive behavior in free-living individuals.