109071938
Development of a fast readout circuit for matrices of binary pixel sensors
A fast digital readout circuit for binary pixel sensors is presented. The architecture is designed to cope with matrices of the order of ten thousands of pixels and it can be involved proficiently for sparse single-particle detection at variable frame-rates, with an upper-bound of 1 Mfps in case the sensed flux is lower than few tens of pixel per frame. These characteristics make the architecture suitable for a black and white imaging sensor in a weak source environment where accurate timing and extremely high frame rates are required. In this work we describe the key features of the architecture, then we present an application case where the readout implemented in a CMOS pixel detector has been used in an electron interference experiment.
124742096
THE ELECTROMAGNETIC CALORIMETER OF THE HERA-B EXPERIMENT
54034724
The HERA-B electromagnetic calorimeter pre-trigger system
SummaryIn this document the pretrigger system developed for the electromagnetic calorimeter of the HERA-B experiment is described. The system owns a lot of frontier features for calorimetry-based triggers and its design performances are such that some possible implementations of it can be foreseen for the future high-energy collider experiments.
109210110
Advances in the development of pixel detector for the SuperB Silicon Vertex Tracker
The latest advances in the design and characterization of several pixel sensors developed to satisfy the very demanding requirements of the innermost layer of the SuperB Silicon Vertex Tracker will be presented in this paper. The SuperB machine is an electron positron collider operating at the ϒ(4S)ϒ(4S) peak to be built in the very near future by the Cabibbo Lab consortium. A pixel detector based on extremely thin, radiation hard devices able to cope with rate in the tens of MHz/cm^2 range will be the optimal solution for the upgrade of the inner layer of the SuperB tracking system. At present several options with different levels of maturity are being investigated to understand advantages and potential issues of the different technologies: thin hybrid pixels, Deep N-Well CMOS MAPS, INMAPS CMOS MAPS featuring a quadruple well and high resistivity substrates and CMOS MAPS realized with Vertical Integration technology. The newest results from beam test, the outcomes of the radiation damage studies and the laboratory characterization of the latest prototypes will be reported.
108445039
Development of deep N-well monolithic active pixel sensors in a 0.13 mu m CMOS technology
Abstract By exploiting the triple-well option available in a deep-submicron CMOS process, we developed monolithic active pixel sensors (MAPS) with the unique features of full analog signal processing and digital functionality implemented at the pixel level. After briefly reviewing the results achieved with the first prototype chip, we report on the extensive measurements on the second prototype, containing both single-channel sensors, with an improved noise figure, and an 8 × 8 pixel array. For the pixel having a collecting electrode area of 900 μ m 2 we measured an equivalent noise charge of about 40 electrons. Using the Fe 55 5.9 keV line, we obtained a Signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio of about 30. The pixel matrix ( 50 × 50 μ m 2 ) has been successfully readout up to 30 MHz. Through noise scans, an expected significant threshold dispersion has been measured. The measurements presented in this paper confirm the capability of our MAPS, based on the deep n-well concept, to be operated as ionizing radiation detectors and suggest a series of improvements we are already implementing in the design of the next prototype chip.
55332577
THE HERA-B ELECTRON PRETRIGGER SYSTEM
In this paper the pretrigger system designed for the electromagnetic calorimeter of the HERA-B experiment is described. This system will provide the electron candidates to the first-level trigger. The first results obtained with a whole readout and pretrigger prototype chain are also described. ( 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
15634517
Progress on large area GEMs
In 2008, a triple GEM detector prototype with an area of ~ 2000 cm2 has been constructed, based on foils of 66 × 66 cm. GEMs of such dimensions had not been made before, and innovations to the existing technology were introduced to build this detector. This paper discusses these innovations and presents further work on large area GEM development. A single-mask technique overcomes the cumbersome practice of alignment of two masks, which limits the achievable lateral size. The holes obtained with this technique are conical, and have a so-called rim, a small insulating clearance around the hole in the substrate. Further refinements of this technique allow greater control over the shape of holes and the size of rims. Also, an improvement in homogeneity over large areas is expected. Simulation studies have been done to examine the effect of hole shape on the behavior of GEMs. Such studies can help understanding how to use new enhancements of the technique to optimize performance. Many potential applications for large area GEMs foresee large production volumes. Production issues have been studied, and single-mask GEMs turn out to be much more suitable for large scale production than standard GEMs.