QIE10: a new front-end custom integrated circuit for high-rate experiments

Abstract

We present results on a new version of the QIE (Charge Integrator and Encoder), a custom Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) designed at Fermilab. Developed specifically for the measurement of charge from photo-detectors in high-rate environments, this most recent addition to the QIE family features 3 fC sensitivity, 17-bits of dynamic range with logarithmic response, a Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC) with sub-nanosecond resolution, and internal charge injection. The device is capable of dead-timeless operation at 40 MHz, making it ideal for calorimetry at the Large hadron Collider (LHC). We present bench measurements and integration studies that characterize the performance, radiation tolerance measurements, and plans for deployment in the Atlas and CMS detectors as part of the Phase 1 and Phase 2 upgrades.