The European Spallation Source (ESS), currently under construction in Lund, Sweden has the goal to become the world’s leading neutron source for the study of materials. Fifteen neutron instruments are currently being built as part of the construction project, which started in 2013 with the completion of the Technical Design Report (TDR).
These instruments present numerous challenges for...
Fast neutron detection is often based on the neutron-proton elastic scattering reaction: the ionization caused by recoil protons in a hydrogenous material constitutes the basic information for the design and development of a class of neutron detectors. Although experimental techniques have continuously improved, proton-recoil track imaging remains still at the frontier of n-detection systems,...
The J- PET detector, which consists of inexpensive plastic scintillators, has demonstrated its potential in the studies of fundamental symmetries [1,2] and in applications to medical physics [3,4]. In recent years, a prototype with 192 plastic scintillators arranged in 3 layers has been optimized to register the multiple annihilation photons emitted in the decays of positronium atoms (Ps) [5]....
Hyperspectral X-ray systems such as those based on the HEXITEC[1] ASIC typically employ high readout framerates in order to capture single photon events. Each of these frames is also fully digitized using ADCs, rather than comparators and counters, which provides a full wideband deposited energy measurement for each pixel in each frame. The HEXITEC specifically has 80 × 80 pixels at 250 µm...
I will discuss fast optical cameras based on the back-illuminated silicon sensor and Timepix3 data driven readout. The intensified version of the camera is single photon sensitive and since recently has been used for a variety of quantum imaging and other applications. I will talk about recent results and new ideas, focusing on topics of quantum-assisted astronomical interferometers. I will...
The development of direct pixelated detectors has played a key role in the resolution revolution in which structures of macromolecular complexes are obtained at near-atomic resolution by cryo-EM [1]. Monolithic active pixel sensor (MAPS) detectors are currently widely applied for cryo-EM, however, they have their best performance at 300 keV and have relatively low readout speed. The Timepix3,...
The possibility to implement the beneficial outcomes of FLASH effect in clinical practice lately has been object of extensive research activity. From the experimental point of view a significant challenge is related to the monitoring at FLASH intensities of therapeutic beams, since conventional monitors are affected by saturation effects and discharges due to the extremely high instantaneous...
Cancer treatments have been performed with X-rays and ions (e.g., protons and carbon ions) over the years. The high dose conformity that allows better sparing of healthy tissue is a demonstrated advantage of carbon ions over x-rays [1]. This dose conformity can be impacted by to anatomical changes between treatment fractions, which can lead to an increase of the dose to healthy tissue and to a...
Hybrid pixel detectors with spectral imaging capability have multiple energy bins in each pixel capable of creating ‘colour’ images of an incoming polychromatic X-ray beam. The energy information, which is extracted for each incoming photon, can be used for image contrast enhancement, improved material identification or reduction of beam hardening artifacts in Computed Tomography. One...
A single arm beam telescope based on the recently developed Timepix4 ASIC was built in order to perform first tests of synchronous multiple-detector readout and track reconstruction. The Timepix4 is a hybrid pixel detector readout ASIC designed to record time-of-arrival (TOA) and time-over-threshold (TOT) simultaneously in each pixel. It has a 448x512 pixel matrix with square pixels at a 55...
The FASER experiment at the LHC is designed to look for new, long-lived fundamental particles. To extend its discovery potential, a W-Si preshower detector is currently under construction, with the objective of enabling the discrimination of photon pairs with O(TeV) energies and separation down to 200 µm. The detector will be based on a new monolithic silicon pixel sensor in 130nm SiGe BiCMOS...
We present a new C++ software for the configuration and read-out of Timepix4, a
large 4-side buttable ASIC developed by the Medipix Collaboration for high-rate
radiation imaging with improved energy and time resolution.
The software is organized in a structure of classes that allows to configure and
manage both the Timepix4 ASIC and the Control Board for data-handling and
interface with...
The full volume of the inner tracker of the ATLAS experiment will be replaced with new all-Silicon detectors for HL-LHC. The strip detectors, in the radial extent of 40 to 100 cm, are made of four layers of cylindrical-structures in the barrel and six layers of disk-structures in the endcap section with 2 layers of strip sensors for stereo-viewing in each layer-structure. The corresponding...
The successful pre-production delivery of strip sensors for the new Inner Tracker (ITk) for the upgraded ATLAS detector at the High Luminosity LHC CERN has completed and based on their performance full production has commenced. The overall delivery period is anticipated to last 4 years to complete the approximately 22000 sensors required for the ITk. For Quality Assurance (QA), a number of...
In recent years, digital X-ray imaging detectors with indirect detection technology have been widely used in dental digital radiography such as intra-oral, panorama and dental CT. These indirect X-ray imaging detectors are based on the combination of a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) array with various high-resolution scintillating screens such as CsI, GOS materials. Currently,...
The evolution of radiation in medicine is one of the major breakthroughs recorded in medical sciences. Advanced techniques in the diagnostic and therapeutic radiation are the reasons for successes in researches, industries and in nuclear medicine. Medical radiation is considered as a field that focuses on human health and the application of advanced radiation techniques to solve health...
This contribution will cover the novel field of silicon detectors with resistive read-out. Resistive read-out is a well-known technique, extensively used, for example, in gas detectors. Its application to silicon sensors requires the development of new sensor designs, where a resistive cathode shares the signal among several read-out pads. Measurements performed on first prototypes have...
To realize the non-proliferation and security of nuclear material, the international atomic energy agency (IAEA) considers a tomographic image acquisition technique of spent fuel assemblies as a promising technique to accurately verify rod-by-rod spent fuel conditions stored in a water pool. Our previous research developed and experimentally validated a highly sensitive single-photon emission...
A current renaissance of lunar exploration enables to search for lunar water deposits directly on the surface of the Moon with robotic rovers like those onboard the planned EL3 Polar Explorer. IEAP CTU is participating on ESA study to trade-off possible mobile instruments and develop preliminary payload design for neutron spectrometer serving as the water ice detector. We developed a miniature...
In X-ray transmission measurements, scattered X-rays distort X-ray images. Medical doctors will overcome such distortion with their experience in reading images of an X-ray film and a flat panel detector. Computed tomography (CT), however, gives images after processing digital data given by transmission measurements, and sometimes results in wrong images. Hardware and software have been...
At domestic ports and airports, an X-ray security scanner based on dual-energy transmission imaging has been operated to prevent the importation of contraband articles including weapons, narcotics, and explosives. Korea Customs Service (KCS) also conducts X-ray screening for all baggage and express shipments. Security scanners operated by KCS use a fixed tube voltage (i.e., 160 kVp); hence, it...
Adaptive radiation therapy (ART) enables an accurate targeting of tumors by accounting for ongoing changes in the patient’s anatomy and/or physiology during the course of treatment. Currently, the ART technique is quickly evolving owing to the development of diverse deep learning methods and their application to medical imaging techniques. Even though the high dose rate brachytherapy technique...
Since the neutron activation analysis (NAA) technique is capable of non-destructive material analysis, it can be used in various areas including the detection of drugs and explosives that require the analysis of hazardous substances not specified in shape. In this study, we carried out various NAA experiments for several substances and obtain energy spectra of the gamma-ray emitted from the...
Ion-beam therapy has become a well-established method to treat deep-seated malignant tumors. Typically, the treatment planning is based on an x-ray computed tomography (CT) scan, which is performed prior to irradiation. However, in the planning process, the Hounsfield units (HU) that are obtained from the x-ray CT scan have to be converted to relative stopping powers (RSPs), which describe the...
In this study, we proposed a deep-learning based algorithm for discriminating positron/gamma-ray in a phoswich detector (two-layer scintillator). However, both Compton scattered gamma rays and positrons can deposit energy in both layers. Therefore, conventional pulse shape discrimination (PSD) algorithms incorrectly identified Compton scattered gamma-ray as positron. Compton scattered...
Security screening is conducted at national borders and high-security facilities to block the importation of illegal goods. Currently, Korea Customs Service conducts a transmission X-ray security screening using fixed energy. However, with the current system, the detection efficiency of drugs or explosives composed of organic substances is rather low. The backscatter X-ray detection system is...
Therapeutic proton beams generate secondary-electron-bremsstrahlung (SEB) x-rays along the beam passing through the patient body. Yamaguchi et al. have successfully imaged beam trajectories in water during proton beam irradiation by measuring the SEB x-rays using a low-energy dedicated x-ray camera. Unfortunately, the measured x-ray images contain neutron background as well as the SEB x-rays...
Particle beam therapy is recognized as an excellent method for cancer treatment. On the other hand, due to their high dose localization, deviation of the irradiated area from the planned has a significant adverse effect on surrounding normal tissues. Non-invasive visualization of the therapeutic beam is required to optimize the treatment effect. The objective of this study is to establish a...
Beam-imaging methods in particle therapies are expected to eliminate deviations of the irradiation areas and to improve treatment results. Recently, we proposed a beam-imaging method by measuring secondary electron bremsstrahlung using imaging plates (IP) and confirmed that high-resolution therapeutic carbon-ion beam images could be acquired using an imaging device combining an IP and...
It is well known that cancer is one of the deadliest diseases worldwide, accounting for nearly ten million deaths in 2020 [1]. There are various treatment methods proposed and one of the most frequently used is radiation therapy. This method requires precise knowledge of radiation dose distribution to limit damage to the surrounding healthy tissues. To address this complex problem, we present...
In pulp & paper industry, even small improvements in efficiency can generate significant decrease in energy consumption and also reduction in the environmental impact. One key parameter during Chemical Thermo Mechanical Pulp (CTMP) impregnation is even distribution of sodium sulphite (Na2SO3) [1]. This study aims at deciding the necessary XRF image quality for a laboratory setup capable of...
The 4H-SiC is a wide band gap semiconductor, the detector structures made of which are capable of operation at higher temperatures. In this article, we present an experimental result of 4H-SiC detectors operating at temperatures up to 500 °C. The polytype 4H-SiC has the band gap energy of 3.23 eV at room temperature. Moreover, this material has excellent physical and chemical stability and...
Gain Suppression has been observed [1-5] and dramatic reduction in gain in LGAD is observed after ion beam has been injected, Fig 1. Also, the degradation of gain in LGAD is the highest at normal incidence. Significant reductions in the degradation rates are observed at beam tilting angles. This observation could be examined from different perspectives than it was given until now (charge space...
The ATLAS ITk Strip Detector System for the Phase-II LHC Upgrade
The High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) is expected to provide an integrated luminosity of 4000 fb-1, that will allow to perform precise measurements in the Higgs sector and improve searches of new physics at the TeV scale.
The HL-LHC higher particle fluences and will requested radiation hardness, the increased...
The MIMOSIS CPS will equip the Micro Vertex Detector of the Compressed Baryonic Matter experiment at FAIR. It is to combine a 5µs/5µm space and time resolution with a peak rate capability of 80 MHz/cm² and a tolerance to > 5 MRad and 1e14 neq/cm². A first full size prototype, MIMOSIS-1 has been produced by IPHC Strasbourg, Goethe University Frankfurt and GSI.
The in-beam performance of...
Image quality evaluation and optimization of different scintillators-coupled DSLR X-ray imaging detector
The High Luminosity Phase of CERN Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) will require an extensive upgrade of CMS tracker system, requiring, for the Inner Tracking system, high radiation tolerant silicon pixel sensors capable of withstanding fluences up to 1.9E16 neq/cm2 (1MeV equivalent neutrons). Thin planar and 3D pixel sensors have been recently chosen by CMS to be installed in the upgraded pixel...
Semi-insulating (SI) GaAs is a wide band gap (1.42 eV) semiconductor material suitable for preparation of detectors of ionizing radiation operating at room temperature. The radiation hardness, which affects detector lifetime, has been studied utilizing degradation by various types of radiation. It was shown that GaAs detectors are radiation hard against a few MGy of high-energy (MeV)...
Pixel detectors with low noise, fast speed, and small pixel size are necessary for many X-ray imaging and many diffraction experiments at synchrotron facilities. For X-ray imaging, photon-counting hybrid technologies have significant advantages. The PIMEGA detector line, which employs Medipix3RX chips, delivers 55 x 55 mm² pixel size, with high frame rates, and noise-free detection, satisfying...
Synchrotron and Free Electron Laser sources have enabled powerful imaging techniques with high impact research applications. Techniques like Computed Tomography (CT), X-ray Ptychography, and Coherent Diffraction Imaging (CDI) have a strong computational component due to their reconstruction algorithms [1] but also have high requirements from their detectors and electronics [2]. Those detector...
The LumiTracker is a newly proposed detector upstream of the LHCb interaction point. It consists of a compact telescope design, composed of six consecutive planes, each one based on hybrid silicon pixel detectors. The main goal is to provide a real-time luminosity estimate by reconstructing tracks. Two construction phases are already envisioned: an initial demonstrator using 200 μm n-on-p...
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV, drones), equipped with compact radiation detectors, are becoming an essential tool in environment monitoring. Most of the commercially available platforms enable simple pre-planned trajectories to be followed without the need for a dedicated pilot. However, systematic mapping of large areas requires a lot of time, making it an inefficient strategy for...
THCOBRA Detector Operating in Mixtures of Kr/Xe
L. F. N. D. Carramate*, R. Nunes, A. L. M. Silva, C. D. Azevedo, P. M. S. Carvalho, F. Leite, J. F. C. A. Veloso
I3N, Physics Dept, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 – Aveiro, Portugal
* Corresponding author, laracarramate@ua.pt
THCOBRA based detectors have been studied during the past years aiming to improve the performance for X-ray...
In recent years, an effort has been done by major sensor compagnies to increase the performances of 2D CMOS sensors. Principally, the development of thin Back Side Illuminated CMOS sensors (CMOS-BSI) has achieved a high detection efficiency in visible and relatively good in UV, a high frame rate and a good signal to noise ratio. One example of this development is the performant and cost...
The CYGNO experiment aims at the development of a large gaseous TPC with GEM-based
amplification and an optical readout for the directional detection of rare events such as Dark Matter and solar neutrino interactions. The 3D reconstruction of electronic and nuclear recoils is made possible by the combined use of high-granularity sCMOS cameras and PMTs. This technique provides an accurate...
This work discusses how to properly evaluate the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of measurements taken with counting detectors, and how it is impacted detrimentally by the non-linearity of the detector response associated to pulse pile-up effects. This study is relevant for detection systems operating at high count rate regimes, where pile-up may be not negligible. Those cases can be managed in...
Semiconductor strip sensors applied as solid-state radiation or particle detectors can be used in radiation detection and measurement for various applications in particle physics experiments, X-ray imaging (e.g. medical), or material science. The X-ray imaging devices with spectroscopic and position resolution features are a very important research topic at many research institutes and...
Single photon detection of X-rays in the energy range from 250 eV to 1 keV for hybrid detectors is difficult due to two main reasons, namely the low quantum efficiency (QE) and the low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Combining LGADs technology, which will increase the SNR, with an optimized entrance window (EW) technology for soft X-rays will allow hybrid detectors to become a useful tool also...
For gaseous detectors in high energy physics experiments the Ion-Backflow (IBF) into the drift space is often an unwanted feature, especially for large Time Projection Chambers (TPC) that are used for example in the ALICE experiment at LHC or the STAR experiment at RHIC. Both use Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) technology for their readout chambers. The IBF can be minimized using a stack of GEM...
A Timepix3 [1] quad module (262,144 pixels, pixel pitch 55 µm) was developed for application in the penetrating particle analyser (PAN), i.e. a magnetic spectrometer for the measurement of galactic cosmic ray fluxes, their kinetic energies and to study the antimatter content in deep space [2]. The pixel detector therein provides accurate measurement of particle position and the energy left in...
Single-photon counting Hybrid Pixel Detectors (HPD) become increasingly popular in various 2-D X-ray imaging techniques and scientific experiments, mainly in solid-state physics, material science and medicine. Current research and development of HPDs are following several different directions [1] and one of them is the possibility of operation with high intensity of X-ray beam [2]. This paper...
The rapid development of very intense X-ray sources and faster detectors make it possible to perform entirely new experiments, such as studying very fast processes in biology and materials science. However, this also leads to increasing volumes of data that need to be stored and processed; for example, a 4 megapixel detector taking images at 100,000 frames per second will produce around 800...
MÖNCH (Micropixel with enhanced pOsition rEsolution usiNg CHarge integration) is a 25 µm pixel pitch charge integrating hybrid pixel detector with analogue readout designed at the Paul Scherrer Institut to explore the limits of the technology for high-resolution imaging at synchrotrons and XFELs (X-ray Free Electron Lasers) [1]. The latest prototype, MÖNCH04, features an array of 400 x 400...
Recently, research on Gamma-Ultrasound(γ-US) probe has been conducted. The Gamma-Ultrasound(γ-US) probe is a dual modality probe that can obtain anatomical structure and molecular information. In this system, the ultrasonic and the gamma signals can be obtained in one readout channel by summing the both signals.
In the previous studies, The combined signal was separated by using FIR filter....
Despite being used in many X-ray applications, hybrid single photon counting detectors are limited in spatial resolution due to the diffusion of the charge produced by single photons between neighbouring electronic channels, also called charge sharing.
In this work, we demonstrate that interpolation can be used to increase the number of virtual channels and improve the effective spatial...
Hybrid pixel detectors are segmented devices used for X-ray detection, consisting of a sensor attached to readout electronics. Detectors working in single-photon counting mode process each incoming photon individually, have essentially infinite dynamic range and by applying energy discrimination they provide noiseless imaging [1].
To improve the resolution of the detector and allow operation...
We use atomic layer deposition (ALD) to create a layer of aluminium oxide (Al$_2$O$_3$) on single, semi-insulating CdTe crystals. The ALD process, particularly the choice of the oxygen precursor, can affect the charge and interface properties of the Al$_2$O$_3$ layer.
To study the impact of the ALD layer we used scanning laser Transient Current Technique. This provides us with data of the...
In the framework of the Avatar X project, we developed sub-millimetre CdZnTe linear arrays for high-flux spectroscopic X-ray imaging up to 150 keV. As widely demonstrated, CdZnTe (CZT) is one of the key materials for the development of room temperature X-ray and gamma ray detectors and great efforts have been made on both the device and the crystal growth technologies. In this work, we will...
Pixel detectors allow for the measurement of position and energy of the incident particles. Readout chips of hybrid pixel detectors can be bump-bonded to pixelated sensors made of different materials. The R&D has made fine pitch pixelated CdTe/ CdZnTe sensors commercially available in the last decades. These sensors are used in medical imaging applications due to their high absorption...
Silicon carbide belongs to wide band gap semiconductor materials. The 4H-SiC polytype is very perspective for radiation detector fabrication. Nowadays, the high-quality material of 4H-SiC is commercially available. The 4H-SiC has the band gap energy of 3.23 eV at room temperature, breakdown voltage of 3-5×10E6 Vcm-1, carriers saturation velocity of 2×10E7 cms-1 and excellent physical and...
Future particle physics experiments are motivated by the increase in luminosity and thus the need for intelligent tracking detectors providing fast track and momentum information to select events of interest. The next-generation tracking detectors are mostly all silicon-based detectors, thus they will cover large areas and therefore be the main cost driver. The currently used silicon sensors...
Metal halide perovskite (MHP) nanomaterials show large potential as scintillators for X-ray imaging. They have a high light yield and micrometer spatial resolution. Compared to 2d imaging, tomography requires excellent stability of the scintillator, since many projections with identical flat field images are necessary to reconstruct artefact-free 3d volumes. To provide this stability is...
In this study, we propose an alpha-particle imaging device in conjunction with a super-resolution technique. A high-resolution image is recovered using the four images obtained by moving the device along the x- and y-directions. The results show that, using the device with a pre-defined pixel resolution, the proposed technique produces the images of alpha-particles with an improved resolution...
K-edge Subtraction (KES) X-ray imaging is used to single out and quantify the presence of a contrast agent embedded in a biological matrix, and its most well-known application is in the field of cardiovascular imaging [1]. KES exploits the sudden increase of the linear attenuation coefficient of the contrast material corresponding to its k-shell electrons binding energies that, for commonly...
The calorimeter is the most important device in the field of particle detection. In recent years, the research of SiPM as the sensor of the calorimeter has attracted a lot of attention. There are two ways of traditional SiPM readout circuit, one is multi-channel readout, setting readout paths with different gains, the disadvantage is that the power consumption is high and the layout area is...
For homeland and aviation security applications, two-dimensional (2D) x-ray inspection systems have been widely used, but they have limitations in recognizing 3D shape of the hidden objects. Hence, there has been increasing demand for x-ray computed tomography (CT) scanner for carry-on baggage screening. In a previous study [1], SSTLabs developed a prototype stationary CT baggage scanner with...
Abstract—Deserializer is used to convert the high-speed serial data into a low-speed parallel data in the downlink direction of data transmission system in high-energy physics experiments. The 2.5Gbps rate can fully meet the downlink data transmission requirements of the current experimental equipment. But as the experimental equipment is upgraded, the amount of data will be greatly increased....
We present a novel methodology for application to neutron imaging detectors equipped with boron layers. State of the art boron coated neutron detectors are equipped with 10B films deposited on substrate plates with combined thickness larger than the range of the fission fragments emitted upon a neutron capture reaction. Since these fission fragments are emitted back-to-back, one of them (at...
In the last decades, brain positron emission tomography (PET) imaging has become highly demanding for better diagnosis and staging in brain cancer and other brain disorders. The performance of a PET system is majorly described by its overall image quality where it depends on many factors including the selection of the radiation detection medium. Previously, we simulated novel transparent...
We are going to present the prospects of the Xray-CMOS project (recently funded as Progetto di Ricerca di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale PRIN 2020), for the development of a TPC for wide field of view X-ray polarimetry, in which no requirement is imposed to the orientation of the incoming X-ray with respect to the drift field. This could open a new window of observation on the Universe through...
Modern hybrid pixel X-Ray detectors produce more and more data, exceeding tens of GB/s, and so the communication with the detector becomes an important issue. One way to manage the issue of increased amount of data being produce by the detector, is the information extraction on the sensor level, before sending them to the control system. The information can be extracted with certain, fixed...
Hybrid pixel detectors (HPD) of Timepix [1,2] technology have become increasingly interesting for space applications. While up to date, common space radiation monitors rely on silicon diodes, achieving particle (mainly electron and proton) separation by pulse-height analysis, detector stacking, shielding or electron removal by a magnetic field, the key advantage of HPDs is that, in addition to...
We present a spectroscopic detection module with position sensitivity based on the largest monolithic array of Silicon Drift Detectors (SDD) ever reported. It consists of 166 pixels of 3 mm diameter with integrated JFET. This module has been developed within the TRISTAN project, aiming at investigating the existence of the sterile neutrino in the keV mass range by beta spectroscopy [1]. The...
The DSSC camera [1] was developed for photon science applications in the energy range 0.25-6 keV at the European XFEL in Germany. The first 1-Megapixel DSSC camera is available and is successfully used for scientific experiments at the “Spectroscopy and Coherent Scattering” and the “Small Quantum System” instruments. The detector is currently the fastest existing 2D camera for soft...
A novel design of the Depleted P-Channel Field Effect Transistor (DEPFET) with non-linear response is at the heart of the 1 Mpixel DSSC camera (DEPFET Sensor with Signal Compression) currently being developed for ultra-fast imaging of soft X-rays at the European XFEL. The simultaneous requirement of single-photon detection down to 0.5 keV and dynamic range up to 104 photons/pixel/pulse is here...
Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are Geiger-mode photodetectors largely used in scientific experiments of high energy physics as well as in medical imaging. Recently, SiPMs are also being considered the detectors of choice for autonomous driving based on light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems [1].
In the last few years, Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK) has been working on the development...
We have been developing silicon-on-insulator pixel detectors with a pinned depleted diode structure, named ``XRPIX'', for X-ray astronomy. XRPIX, using a reverse-biased p-type substrate, has a pinned, undepleted p-well at the back-gate surface under the buried oxide layer and a depleted n-well underneath the p-well. The latter has two important roles: one is to prevent leakage current from...
The MIMOSIS CPS will equip the Micro Vertex Detector of the Compressed Baryonic Matter experiment at FAIR. It is to combine a 5µs/5µm space and time resolution with a peak rate capability of 80 MHz/cm² and a tolerance to > 5 MRad and 1e14 neq/cm². Moreover, it is to tolerate ~ 1 kHz relativistic Au-ions from the beam halo. A first full size prototype, MIMOSIS-1, has been produced by IPHC...
The PERCIVAL soft X-ray 2-Megapixel CMOS imager has been developed by a collaboration of light sources and RAL to meet experimental needs at todays Synchrotron and FEL soft X-ray sources. Systems have been in operation at two collaboration facilities, and are currently under commissioning at two more.
First user experiments at FLASH and Petra III’s soft X-ray beamline P04 have demonstrated...
Development of Low Noise Pixels and Readout Architectures for Scientific Applications in a 180nm CMOS Image Sensor Process
I Sedgwick S Benhammadi, B Marsh, N Guerrini
Progress in the performance of CMOS Image Sensors (CIS) in recent years has been extremely rapid, especially in the area of low noise, where values below 1e- have been reported [1] [2] and are even commercially...
The latest iteration of the HEXITEC ASIC, HEXITEC$_{MHz}$ has utilised on-chip digitisation to accelerate frame rates by two orders of magnitude over its analog-readout based predecessor, now with 1 MHz continuous readout [1]. This advancement places significant demand on the capabilities of the accompanying readout hardware; an 80x80 pixel array with 12-bit resolution results in a continuous...
Spectral and phase-contrast imaging techniques have been widely exploited at synchrotron radiation facilities. Their implementation requires in many cases the use of crystals either to prepare or to analyze the X-ray beam. For instance, energy dispersive spectral systems make use of multiple or bent crystal monochromators to spatially resolve different energy components at the detector...
New generation of synchrotron and plasma accelerators will produce coherent radiation with extremely high brightness. Photon beams from these machines will greatly extend the present research capabilities and will reveal new opportunities in imaging, spectroscopy, structural and dynamic studies, and other applications. Development of beam diagnostic instrumentation with high precision becomes...
Established methods for high-resolution X-ray structure determination are based on far-field coherent diffractive imaging (CDI). However, in the interaction of light with matter incoherent processes occur, that are sometimes predominant over the coherent ones. They are considered detrimental in the CDI approach. The approach called incoherent diffractive imaging (IDI) opens up fundamentally...
Gallium arsenide has noticeable advantages over silicon for radiation detector manufacturing. There is particularly a higher electron mobility (8000 vs 1400 cm2/(V·s)), bigger average atomic number (31.5 vs 14) and wider bandgap (1.43 vs 1.12 eV). These advantages result in a better charge collection, higher radiation absorption efficiency, superior radiation hardness and lower noise.
In...
In hard-X-ray applications that require high detection efficiency and short response times, III/V compound semiconductors offer some advantages over the Si-based technologies traditionally used in solid-state photodetectors. Amongst them, GaAs is one of the most valuable materials thanks to its outstanding properties. At the same time, implementing charge-multiplication mechanisms within the...
Neutron detection has historically been achieved using $^3$He or BF$_3$ gas detectors. The scarcity of $^3$He, and the toxicity of BF$_3$, have driven detector research into finding new solutions for efficient neutron detection. For applications in neutron imaging with thermal neutrons, planar silicon detectors coated with neutron converting materials ($^{10}$B and $^6$Li) have shown promising...
We present a novel scalable graphene-silicon hybrid photodiode that enables deep UV imaging. We have a created a photodiode with a reduced dead layer entrance window. Existing photodiodes are limited in sensitivity for low wavelengths due to the low penetration depth of photons of < 400 nm. Typical photodiodes have a junction implant which causes the low penetrating photons to be recombined in...
Inner trackers in high-energy experiments of the next generation must cope with unprecedented high rates and track densities. This poses the need for precise timing information at the pixel level (below 50 ps per hit), high readout frequency (several hundreds of kHz per pixel) and radiation hardness (more than 1 Grad on electronics and more than 1016 1-MeV equivalent neutrons per cm2 on...
LHCb has recently submitted a physics case for an Upgrade II detector to begin operation in 2031. The upcoming upgrade is designed to run at instantaneous luminosities of $1.5\times10^{34}cm^{−2}s^{−1}$, to accumulate a sample of more than 300 fb$^{−1}$. The LHCb physics programme relies on an efficient and precise vertex detector (VELO). Compared to Upgrade I, the data output rates, radiation...
In the high-luminosity era of the Large Hadron Collider, the instantaneous luminosity is expected to reach unprecedented values, resulting in up to 200 proton-proton interactions in a typical bunch crossing. To cope with the resulting increase in occupancy, bandwidth and radiation damage, the ATLAS Inner Detector will be replaced by an all-silicon system, the Inner Tracker (ITk). The innermost...
The LHC machine will be upgraded to increase its peak luminosity ( $5-7.5x10^{34} cm^{-2}s^{-1}$) and to possibly reach an integrated luminosity of $3000-4000\;$fb$^{-1}$, with an average number of pileup events of 140-200. The CMS experiment is called for an upgrade to keep up with the new challenges such as unprecedented radiation environment, bringing to high resilience needs, and increased...
During the second long shutdown of the LHC, the ALICE Inner Tracking System (ITS) has been replaced with a full-pixel detector entirely built with CMOS monolithic active pixel sensors (ITS2).
The ITS2 consists of three inner layers with 50 um thick sensors and four outer layers with 100 um thick sensors. The entire tracker covers 10 m^2 and includes approximately 12.5 billion pixels with a...
Photon counting detectors can enable increased spatial resolution and improved contrast and/or lower radiation dose. In particular, lower concentrations of iodine can potentially be detected and quantified, which is important in angiography or perfusion imaging. Moreover, beam hardening artefacts will disappear with material base decomposition in the projection domain. Electronic noise can be...
A novel irradiation platform for pre-clinical proton therapy studies foresees proton imaging for positioning and accurate treatment planning [1]. While proton imaging at synchrocyclotron-based proton therapy centers is challenging in single particle tracking mode due to high instantaneous particle fluxes, it is feasible in integration mode. Large-area CMOS sensors allow the determination of a...
Background and purpose: In-beam Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is one of the modalities that can be used for in-vivo non-invasive treatment monitoring in proton therapy. The INSIDE system, installed at the National Center of Oncological Hadron therapy (CNAO), has acquired in-beam PET data during several patient proton therapy treatments. Despite the fact that PET treatment monitoring...
Proton and ion beams are commonly used worldwide for radiation therapy, offering advantageous dose distribution and increased relative biological effectiveness (RBE) compared to photons. While the RBE is assumed to vary with linear energy transfer (LET) of particles, currently only the constant RBE is taken into account in treatment planning due to a lack of tools for its experimental...
To study the 'proton Computed Tomography' (pCT) technique the INFN-Prima collaboration has built and successfully tested a 20x5cm2 field of view system based on a silicon microstrip tracker and a YAG:Ce scintillating calorimeter. This apparatus has demonstrated the feasibility of the pCT for objects with size suitable for pre-clinical studies [1]. Recently a possible clinical application of...
Soft X-ray applications at synchrotrons and FELs are limited by the performance of the currently available detectors using silicon sensors. The main issues are their low quantum efficiency (QE) due to the photon absorption in the entrance window of the sensor, and their difficulties in achieving single photon resolution, since the small amount of charge generated by the low energy X-rays is...
The MONOLITH ERC Advanced project aims at producing a monolithic silicon pixel ASIC with picosecond-level time stamping by using fast SiGe BiCMOS electronics and a novel sensor concept, the Picosecond Avalanche Detector (PicoAD).
The PicoAD uses a multi-PN junction to engineer the electric field and produce a continuous gain layer deep in the sensor volume. The result is an ultra-fast current...
The ALICE experiment is planning next upgrade of the Inner Tracking System (ITS3) during the LHC Long Shutdown 3 (LS3) in 2025 – 2028. The main aim of this upgrade is to reduce material budget of the three innermost layers from 0.3% X$_0$ to 0.05% X$_0$ per layer. Such a significant improvement is within the reach if segmented layers of the current detector would be replaced with truly...
The ARCADIA collaboration is developing fully-depleted (FD) Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS) in a 110nm CMOS process in collaboration with LFoundry. The sensor design incorporates an n+ collection node within a highly doped n-type epi-layer on top of a n-type substrate and p+ backside. Thus, the pn-junction sits on the backside and through an applied backside bias, the full substrate...
The high luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider, scheduled to become operational in 2029, requires the replacement of the ATLAS Inner Detector with a new all-silicon Inner Tracker (ITk). Radiation hard n+-in-p micro-strip silicon sensors were developed by the ATLAS ITk strip collaboration and are produced by Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. Production of the total amount of 22 000 ITk strip...
In this study, we evaluated an indirect X-ray detector having an organic active layer blended with two-dimensional (2D) cadmium selenide (CdSe) nanoplatelets (NPLs). Figure 1 shows the active layer was composed of poly[N-90-heptadecanyl-,7-carbazole-alt-5,5-(40,70-di-2-thienyl-20,10,30-benzothiadiazo-le)] (PCDTBT), phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM), and CdSe NPLs. The PCDTBT and...
In general, superior spatial resolution is expected from the direct detection type, in which Ion-chamber-type detectors and Si diodes based on the radiation–ionization phenomenon are used for high-energy dose detection. However, because the ion chamber has a high work function, the speed for collecting electrons and holes is slow, and thus, the dose-detection characteristic deteriorates. In...
Long-drift position-sensitive virtual Frisch-grid CdZnTe detectors for gamma ray imaging and spectroscopy
A. Bolotnikov1,*, G. Carini1, A. Dellapenna1, J. Fried1, G. Deptuch1, J. Haupt1, S. Herrmann1,
A. Moiseev2, G. Pinarolia1 M. Sasaki2, L. Smith2, E. Yates2
- Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11793, USA
- CRESST/NASA/GSFC and University of Maryland, College Park, MD...
IEAP CTU developed miniaturized Timepix-based radiation environment monitors onboard ISS and numerous satellite missions. For example, SATRAM onboard ESA Proba-V satellite is characterizing radiation environment in LEO for 9 years. The new generation of our radiation monitors HardPix is equipped with the newest Timepix3 and Timepix2 pixelated chips developed within the CERN Medipix...
The purpose of this study is to distinguish and characterize breast microcalcification types (benign and malignant) non-invasively using a mass ratio based on the dual-energy method. In this study, a photon-counting spectral mammography system was simulated and dual-energy images were acquired using two energy bins. Two types of microcalcification were embedded in the breast phantom. Calcium...
In recent years, digital X-ray imaging detectors with indirect detection technology have been widely used in many medical imaging applications such as radiography, fluoroscopy and cone-beam CT. These indirect X-ray imaging detectors are based on the combination of a thin film transistor (TFT) array with different scintillating screens such as typical CsI, GOS materials. Currently, a large area...
Sterile neutrinos are a natural extension of the Standard Model of particle physics. If their mass is in the keV range, they are a viable dark matter candidate. One way to search for sterile neutrinos in a laboratory-based experiment is via tritium beta decay. A sterile neutrino with a mass up to 18.6 keV would manifest itself in the decay spectrum as a kink-like distortion. The objective of...
X-ray phase contrast imaging is a well-established technique for the non-destructive visualization of low-density samples with applications ranging from biomedical to material sciences [1]. Although originally restricted to synchrotron radiation, extensive efforts have been made to adapt interferometric and non-interferometric methods to non-coherent laboratory X-ray sources [2,3], even for CT...
Double Photon Emission Computed Tomography (DPECT) is an imaging method using radionuclides that emit two cascade photons. It can be applied to ring Compton camera system. Two Compton cones are generated per DPECT coincidence event and the intersection can be taken as system matrix component. It was reported that DPECT in Compton imaging reduces background and improves spatial resolution in...
X-ray fluorescence surface mapping is a technique that enables non-invasive material identification of selected area on investigated specimen with just single exposure. The sample is excited at once with the primary cone-beam X ray source and fluorescent X-rays emitted from the surface are recorded through coded-aperture with position- and energy-sensitive detector. This approach eliminates...
The main advantage of proton therapy over conventional radiotherapy is the scheme of dose deposition: unlike X-rays, protons are fully stopped in patient’s tissues with a distinct maximum at the end of their range: the Bragg peak. Such a distribution allows for a precise coverage of a tumor volume while sparing the nearby healthy tissues. However, accurate control of the proton beam range is...
Radiation dose reconstruction is crucial for the success and safety of radiation therapy in cancer patients. In this paper, a modular data acquisition system (DAQ) for a novel reconfigurable Dose-3D detector intended for a full spatial therapeutic dose reconstruction to improve radiotherapy treatment planning by providing a breakthrough detector with active voxels is presented. The...
Grid-based phase-contrast x-ray imaging technique (gPCXI) is capable of acquiring the absorption, refraction and scattering information of an object in a single exposure using the Fourier processing [1]. One of the important issues is that the use of anti-scatter grid causes the aliasing artifacts in the image domain. Previously the size of the x-ray source with magnification was only...
X-ray phase-contrast imaging (XPCI) techniques give access to phase and small-angle-scattering signals, which are inaccessible to conventional absorption X-ray imaging. Among XPCI techniques, differential phase techniques are based on the measurement of the refraction induced by the sample, which is proportional to the gradient of the phase shift (differential-phase image). By integrating the...
We have successfully developed multi module version of the XSPA detector series. XSPA detector is one of the fastest solution for time resolved X-ray and electron experiments. it has maximum of 56 kfps sustainable framerate and 970 kfps burst mode framerate. XSPA module is designed based on UFXC readout chip designed at AGH University [1].
Conventional multi module detectors have lower...
The Ring-Imaging Cherenkov (RICH) system is an essential element of the LHCb experiment: it consists of an upstream detector (RICH1), located close to the interaction point, and a downstream detector (RICH2), placed after the tracking system, and has the task of identifying charged hadrons over the momentum range 2-100 GeV/c.
Currently the LHCb experiment is completing an upgrade phase to...
Fragmentation cross sections in beam-tissue nuclear interactions are crucial for clinical treatment-planning systems in hadron therapy. The FOOT experiment will fill the gap in differential cross- section measurements for the production of secondary fragments in such interactions with beam energies up to 400 MeV/u. Extending this range up to 800 MeV/u it will also be indispensable for...
Positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) is an outstanding technique to study defects in material science such as polymer, semiconductor and irradiated material. Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) which measures the lifetime of positrons specialized in analyzing defects of materials among various PAS technique. [1]. DRS4 evaluation board are widely used for PALS system and...
Coincidence timing measurement has a wide range of applications in the detection of high energy physics, material science, and medical device. A scintillator detector is commonly used for the aforementioned applications due to its favorable physical properties including high energy resolution and brilliant timing resolution.
Unlike positron emission tomography (PET), which measures...
An analytical model for Fluorescent and Scattering X-ray Beam Monitor designing
Elio Sacchetti1,, Kewin Desjardins1
1SOLEIL Synchrotron, Detectors Group, l’Orme des Merisiers, France
elio.sacchetti@synchrotron-soleil.fr
At modern light-sources facilities, a majority of synchrotron beamlines are equipped with Xray Beam Intensity/Position Monitors (XBPM). Among those monitors, a...
The JUNGFRAU detector is a now established hybrid pixel detector developed at Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), featuring 75 µm pixel pitch with a charge integrating dynamic gain switching architecture [1] designed for FEL applications [2]. Optionally, the dynamic gain switching mechanism can be bypassed, and the detector can operate with a fixed feedback capacitor in the pre-amplifier....
Production of large-size Gaseous Electron Multiplier (GEM) [1] foils, relay on the multiple sectorization of the electrode for the High Voltage distribution; typically, with sector size of about 100 cm2.
The GEM sectorization allow for reduction of the capacitance between the two side of the foil, quenching consequently the energy released in the discharge events, moreover even in the extreme...
Many studies have been conducted to reduce the number of SiPM readout channels in the nuclear medicine systems. We recently proposed a shaping resistive network using artificial neural network, which can reduce the output channels to one channel. This method generates output signals with different decay time and combines them into a single output. The single output is separated back into their...
Space radiation presents a risk to both unmanned spacecraft systems and human exploration of the Solar System. Thanks to advances in semiconductor technologies, it is possible to design and manufacture low-power pixel detector ASICs with backside pulse digitization, which allows a large dynamic range. The SpacePix2 is a radiation detection ASIC designed for radiation sensing in an aerospace...
Electrons are emerging as a strong complement to X-rays for diffraction based studies. In this paper we investigate the performance of a JUNGFRAU [1] detector with 320 um thick silicon sensor at a pulsed electron source [2]. Originally developed for X-ray detection at free electron lasers, JUNGFRAU features a dynamic range of 120 MeV/pixel (implemented with in-pixel gain switching) which...
This paper describes the development of safeguards implement equipment for spent nuclear fuel of heavy water reactor stored in a wet interim storage facility. OFPS (Fig. 1 (Left)) is one of the safeguards equipment for the nuclear nonproliferation. It has been using in PIV, Physical Inventory Verification, of the PHWR spent nuclear fuel in wet interim storage.
It compensated for...
The CirPAD (Circular Pixel Detector Array) is a unique hybrid pixel detector with a circular shape that has been developed by the DiffAbs beamline, the Detectors and Design and Engineering teams at Synchrotron SOLEIL, in collaboration with the Cegitek company [1]. The unique geometry combined with a very good characteristics of the XPAD3.2 readout chip results in a very versatile detector that...
In this work we compare the traditional correlation process of a Coded Aperture device to estimate the spatial coordinates of γ-emitters with a different approach: We have developed machine learning algorithms based on Gradient Boosted Decision Trees (BDTG) and Deep Neural Networks (DNN). The algorithms have been trained using 18000 shadowgrams created with simulation. A custom fast simulation...
Hybrid pixel detectors- Timepix are very promising detectors considering their advantages getting simultaneously information about the position, energy, and time of arrival of a particle hitting the detector. These types of multi-parameter detectors can be effectively used to study and/or reinvestigate some fission processes such as the rare fission modes (ternary, quaternary, quinary), which...
The development of nuclear technologies, the production and active use of radioisotopes, and the production of other radioactive materials are increasing every year. Therefore, the importance of ensuring the safety of highly active isotopes, as well as providing the necessary instruments for measuring and identifying radioactive materials, must be taken into account. Modern equipment such as...
Hybrid single-photon counting pixel detectors have recently been widely used for X-ray and ionizing particle detection in medicine, high-energy physics, and material science. Many different chips have been developed for the readout of semiconductor pixel sensor [1,2]. Usually, developed ASICs have very limited digital logic and do not provide substantial data processing.
In this article,...
Unlike x-ray imaging which can display images according to the degree of absorption of x-rays by the objects, neutron activation analysis can be used for the detection of explosives because it can be used for determining the presence of unknown elements in the objects. Also, since neutrons are able to penetrate through some heavy metals and they significantly interact with some light and...
An increase in the radiation levels during high-luminosity operation of the LHC and future colliders calls for the development of silicon based pixel detectors used for particle tracking and vertex reconstruction. Capacitively coupled (AC-coupled) detectors are anticipated to be in operation in future collider experiments as they provide an enhanced isolation between pixel areas due to...
In view of the LHC Phase-2, the CMS experiment is being upgraded with three stations of triple-GEM detectors (GE1/1, GE2/1 and ME0) to maintain the excellent trigger pT resolution of its muon spectrometer in the high-luminosity LHC environment and extending its coverage to the very-forward pseudorapidity region 2.4<|η|<2.8. The challenges faced for adapting the triple-GEM technology to a...
The hybrid silicon pixel detector JUNGFRAU has found widespread use at free-electron laser (FEL) and synchrotron facilities worldwide. Its charge-integrating architecture combines three dynamically switching gains per pixel and allows single photon resolution down to 1.5 keV while, simultaneously, providing a dynamic range of $10^4 $photons at 12 keV. Although JUNGFRAU initially targeted...
Hybrid pixel detectors require a reliable and cost-effective interconnect technology adapted to the pitch and die sizes of the respective applications. During the ASIC and sensor R&D phase, moreover for small-scale applications, such interconnect technologies need to be suitable for the assembly of single dies, typically available from Multi-Project-Wafer submissions. Within the CERN EP R&D...
The current trends in particle detector design are increasing pixel resolution and readout rates. Therefore, new requirements for the readout systems and their bandwidths have arisen. Fast differential serial communication is mainly used for its robustness against external interference and better electromagnetic compatibility than the legacy serial-parallel communication. However, its...
Monolithic pixel detectors allow integration of sensing diode together with the pixel front-end electronics to fit in tens of micrometers pixel pitch. The high granularity of such detectors makes it difficult to measure the total energy deposition by high energy particles [1]. Especially heavy ion interactions are not detectable due to the saturation of charge sensing amplifier of individual...
In this paper, we present a precise and fast reset circuit that restores the charge sensitive amplifier (CSA) output baseline voltage from a pulse level. The circuit is self-clocking, and its operation speed can be adjusted with the delay line configuration. This method is especially promising for wide-energy range CMOS detectors, as it adapts the discharge speed to the pulse amplitude....
We present the design of the integrated circuit named SMAUG_ND_1 which implements the prototype of the method of indirect voltage measurement by measuring the noise distribution curve [1]. The IC is designed in a CMOS 28nm process. The die size is 1x1mm2 and contains a 7x7 matrix with 68 µm pixel pitch. The chip allows testing of the prototype method in coincidence with the CDS...
The construction of a cylindrical hybrid spectrometer for the measurement of angular correlations in electron-positron emissions from nuclear internal pair creations is on going at the Van de Graaff accelerator of the Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics of Czech Technical University in Prague. Each module of the spectrometer consists of three different detection layers, formed by a...
With the rise of 4th Generation Synchrotron Light Sources such as the Extremely Brilliant Source (EBS) of the ESRF[1], the need for direct X-ray detection under high photon flux with moderate to high energies (30-100keV range) has increased. One of the candidate materials for this application is Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CdZnTe or CZT). In particular, the novel CZT material developed by Redlen...
The response study of Timepix3 [1] (256 x 256 pixels, pixel pitch 55 µm) with 300 μm and 500 μm thick HR GaAs:Cr [2] sensors was continued with particle beams at the Danish Centre for Particle Therapy in Aarhus, Denmark and at Super-Proton Synchrotron at CERN. The detectors were irradiated at different angles with protons and pions of energies ~200 MeV and 120 GeV/c, respectively.
By...
The Electron-ion collider in China (EicC) is a future high-energy nuclear physics project. It will be constructed based on an upgraded heavy-ion accelerator, High-Intensity heavy-ion Accelerator Facility (HIAF), which is currently under construction, together with a new electron ring. Due to its high spatial resolution, low material budget, and fast readout speed, the Monolithic Active Pixel...
Position and directional-sensitive spectrometry of energetic charged particles can be performed with high resolution and wide dynamic range with the hybrid semiconductor pixel detectors Timepix/Timepix3 [1]. The choice of semiconductor sensor material, thickness and properties such as the reverse bias voltage greatly determined the sensitivity and resolving power for spectrometry and particle...
Within the RD50 Collaboration, a large and dedicated R&D program has been underway for more than two decades across experimental boundaries to develop silicon sensors with high radiation tolerance for Phase-II LHC trackers. Based on the success of this R&D, these trackers are now entering their construction phase. RD50 is continuing its mission to study silicon sensors for particle tracking,...
The High Luminosity upgrade of LHC (HL-LHC) is envisioned to reach an ultimate luminosity of 7.5×10^34 cm-2s-1 (integrated luminosity up to 4000 fb-1) and an average 200 pp collision per bunch crossing [1]. Such a challenging environment in terms of high particle rate, hit occupancy, and associated radiation damage has pushed the design of a new generation of small-pitch, and thin 3D Si pixel...
The material properties of Silicon-Carbide (SiC) make it a promising candidate for application as a particle detector at high beam rates. In comparison to Silicon (Si), the increase in charge carrier saturation velocity and breakdown voltage allows for high intrinsic time resolution while mitigating pile-ups. A larger bandgap and higher atomic displacement threshold energy suppresses dark...
After ten years of massive success, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN is going for an upgrade to the next phase, The High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) which is planned to start its operation in 2029. This is expected to have a fine boost to its performance, with an instantaneous luminosity of 5.0×1034 cm-2s -1 (ultimate value 7.5×1034 cm-2s -1) with 200 average interactions...
Duo to the small size, high gain, high time resolution, low operating voltage, and insensitivity to magnetic fields of the SiPM, the research of SiPM as the sensor of the calorimeter has attracted a lot of attention. This work has designed 8-channel readout chips SICC0 and SICC1, which can simultaneously record the hit time and the energy information of particles. Each channel uses the...
Abstract—High speed optical links with high bandwidth and large data capacity have been widely used in detector front-end readout. There are NRZ (Non Return to Zero) and PAM4 (4-level Pulse-Amplitude Modulation) signal modulation formats in optical link, the NRZ also known as PAM2 has been used for decades, but PAM4 is attracting more and more attention for its doubled bandwidth efficiency...
To classify dangerous materials for homeland security, the structure of baggage can be identified through X-ray images, which are non-destructive testing (NDT). When an X-ray image and a neutron image are used together, various materials can be distinguished by the difference in the reaction mechanism of X-rays and neutrons in the material. It is intended to measure neutrons and X-rays through...
We present the design and simulation results of an intelligent pixel consisting of an analogue front-end, Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) and an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for in-pixel data pre-processing. The source of signals is a silicon X-ray sensor connected to the front-end optimized for 4 keV - 12 keV. The low-noise operation in the order of 60 el. rms. allows for precise signal...
The bi-directional serial optical data transceiver system is employed between the front-end and the back-end in the detector readout electronics. The low jitter clock data recovery (CDR) ASIC is one of the key components in the high-speed serial down link direction. It receives a pair of high-speed serial input data, recovers the clock signal from the data and resamples the input data at the...
At 40 years from its invention, this presentation would like to remember the history of the Semiconductor Drift Detector (SDD) since its conception by E. Gatti and P. Rehak, the technological efforts and studies done in Brookhaven, Milan and Munich to develop the first prototypes, the many different device topologies conceived, the theoretical studies and the many applications in which SDDs...
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN will be upgraded to the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) until 2029. In order to fully exploit the physics potential of the high luminosity era the experiments must undergo major upgrades. In the context of the upgrade of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) Experiment the silicon tracker will be fully replaced. The outer part of the new tracker (Outer Tracker)...
ITk detector, the new ATLAS tracking system at High Luminosity LHC, will be equipped with 3D pixel sensor modules in the innermost layer (L0). The pixel cell dimensions will be either 25x100 µm2 (barrel) or 50x50 µm2 (endcap), with one read-out electrode at the centre of a pixel and four bias electrodes at the corners. Sensors from pre-production wafers (50x50 µm2) produced by FBK have been...
We present the experimental characterization of a fast spectroscopic imager for real-time room-temperature detection of low-density contaminants in food production lines. The presented imager is part of XSpectra®, an innovative inspection technology which combines a fast X-ray detection hardware and neural network processing techniques to improve the current limits in detection systems for...
In this work the properties of 200 μm thick highly pixelated LGAD sensors bonded to a Timepix3 readout ASIC were characterised for the first time. Recent advances in the control of the LGAD fabrication process by Micron Semiconductor Ltd has allowed the manufacture of highly segmented devices where each pixel has an internal gain. Devices with 55 μm pixel with 5 μm Junction Termination Element...
We are going to present the R&D developed within the CYGNO/INITIUM projects towards innovative means of operation of optical readout Time Projection Chamber (TPC) for lower energy threshold and improved tracking performances. CYGNO goal is to develop an high precision TPC with an He:CF4 gas mixture at atmospheric pressure readout by scientific CMOS cameras and PMT, in order to achieve 3D...
High Voltage-CMOS (HV-CMOS) sensors can offer a thin, cost effective, and radiation tolerant solution to future experiments using current manufacturing capabilities. At present HV-CMOS sensors are not capable of reaching the time resolution, pixel size, and radiation tolerances specified for the next generation of high luminosity colliders, such as the Future Circular Collider (FCC), or...
The MALTA family of DMAPS produced in Tower 180 nm CMOS technology target radiation hard applications for the HL-LHC and beyond. Several process modifications and front-end improvements have resulted in radiation hardness up to 2e15 n/cm2 and time resolution below 2 ns, with uniform charge collection efficiency across the Pixel of size 36.4 x 36.4 um2 with a 3...
Collider experiments as the upcoming Phase II-LHC or the future circular collider (FCC) will increase the demands of the detectors used for tracking. In the FCC hadron collider , sensors will not only face fluences up to to $1×10^{17}~ n_\mathrm{eq}/\mathrm{cm}^2$, but also high pile-up scenarios. Therefore, sensors will be required that not only have a good spatial resolution and a very high...
Future collider experiments operating at very high instantaneous luminosity will greatly benefit in using detectors with excellent time resolution to facilitate event reconstruction. In the case of the LHCb Upgrade2 at CERN, when the experiment will operate at 1.5x10^34/cm/s, 2000 tracks from 40 proton-proton interactions will cross the vertex detector at each bunch crossing. To properly...
