Application Specific Integrated Circuits for High Resolution X and Gamma Ray Semiconductor Detectors

Filippo Mele

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-85918-3_3

Abstract

AbstractThe increasing demand for performance improvements in radiation detectors, driven by cutting-edge research in nuclear physics, astrophysics and medical imaging, is causing not only a proliferation in the variety of the radiation sensors, but also a growing necessity of tailored solutions for the front-end readout electronics. Within this work, novel solutions for application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) adopted in high-resolution X and $$\upgamma $$ γ ray spectroscopy applications are studied. In the first part of this work, an ultra-low noise charge sensitive amplifier (CSA) is presented, with specific focus on sub-microsecond filtering, addressing the growing interest in high-luminosity experiments. The CSA demonstrated excellent results with Silicon Drift Detectors (SDDs), and with room temperature Cadmium-Telluride (CdTe) detectors, recording a state-of-the-art noise performance. The integration of the CSA within two full-custom radiation detection instruments realized for the ELETTRA (Trieste, Italy) and SESAME (Allan, Jordan) synchrotrons is also presented. In the second part of this work, an ASIC constellation designed for X-Gamma imaging spectrometer (XGIS) onboard of the THESEUS space mission is described. The presented readout ASIC has a highly customized distributed architecture, and integrates a complete on-chip signal filtering, acquisition and digitization with an ultra-low power consumption.

Highlights

Semiconductor radiation detectors (SRDs) are indispensable elements in a large variety of scientific, industrial and medical instruments
Since 1980 they have experienced a rapid development as part of large-scale high-energy physics experiments and in space missions aimed at universe observation for astrophysics studies, and in multidisciplinary facilities, such as synchrotron light sources, pushing the frontier of the research in a multitude of areas, especially in material and
This charge is collected by the front-end electronics (FEE) or readout electronics, and converted into a voltage or a current signal, which constitutes the second functional block in the radiation detection chain; since its invention in 1955 [1], the charge sensitive amplifier (CSA) is the most used solution for the realization of the first amplification stage of charge signals generated by the sensor, which basically consists of a low-noise amplifier operated with a capacitive negative feedback

Summary

Introduction

Semiconductor radiation detectors (SRDs) are indispensable elements in a large variety of scientific, industrial and medical instruments. Despite the diversification of the design focus required in each application, one can always identify three main functional blocks in a radiation detection system; the sensor, or the detector, is the first element, where the radiation physically undergoes an interaction that will produce an electric charge Q proportional to the photon deposited energy This charge is collected by the front-end electronics (FEE) or readout electronics, and converted into a voltage or a current signal, which constitutes the second functional block in the radiation detection chain; since its invention in 1955 [1], the charge sensitive amplifier (CSA) is the most used solution for the realization of the first amplification stage of charge signals generated by the sensor, which basically consists of a low-noise amplifier operated with a capacitive negative feedback. Within this text we will refer to the BEE as the electronics that can be considered to be more robust to noise issues—thanks to the beneficial processing of the FEE—and typically more relaxed in terms of area occupation, signal routing and power consumption, so that the BEE will be more likely to be placed further from the detection plane

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