Charge Division Readout Research Articles

A diamond double-sided strip detector for alpha-tagging in associated particle imaging

- In associated particle imaging, neutrons from deuterium-tritium fusion are used to interrogate objects of interest. The associated particle imaging technique utilizes an alpha-tagging sensor in the neutron generator to detect the alpha particle that is emitted antiparallel to the neutron, providing neutron birth time and direction. This technique of neutron imaging and induced fission imaging can provide higher contrast image reconstructions and better estimations of fissile material mass than passive measurement techniques. The performance goals of an alpha-tagging sensor in associated particle imaging are a 700-ps timing resolution, a 0.5 mm spatial resolution, high level of radiation hardness, low sensitivity to X-rays, high signal-to-noise ratio, and survivability in the high temperature bake out of the neutron generator. Currently employed YAP scintillators are overwhelmed by the intense X-ray field in the neutron generator, requiring a new alpha tagging sensor design to be developed. We have developed and tested a diamond double-sided strip detector as a proposed sensor for associated particle imaging. Diamond is radiation hard, has a low sensitivity to X-rays, fast timing capabilities, high signal-to-noise ratio, and can withstand the temperatures of bake-out. The spatial resolution can be accomplished with a charge division readout and double-sided strip design. We measured the timing resolution of a single crystal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond with a Cividec C6 charge amplifier readout by measuring the time-of-flight of 241Am alpha particles between a thin plastic scintillator and the diamond. We also fabricated a polycrystalline CVD diamond double-sided strip detector with charge division readout to test the spatial resolution of the design. We found that the detector met both the 700-ps timing resolution and the 0.5 mm spatial resolution goals (both reported as FWHM resolution).

On the Use of Pixelated Plastic Scintillator and Silicon Photomultipliers Array for Coded Aperture Gamma-Neutron Imaging

We report the investigations made on the use of pixelated plastic scintillator (PS) and silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) array applied to coded aperture gamma-neutron imaging. Specifically, verification of the ability of a multiplexing readout to discriminate and localize neutron interactions was studied. In its intended configuration, the gamma-neutron imager design consists of a coded aperture aligned with a matrix of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$12\times12$ </tex-math></inline-formula> PS each coupled to a SiPM. The coded aperture is a rank 7 modified uniformly redundant array (MURA), composed of 1.2 cm of tungsten, with a surface area of 100.4 mm <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\times100.4$ </tex-math></inline-formula> mm and placed at 5 cm from the detector. The pixelated PS is composed of polystyrene and standard fluorophores (20 wt&#x0025; PPO, 0.03 wt&#x0025; POPOP) loaded with a lithium carboxylate (Li <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\alpha $ </tex-math></inline-formula>-valerate), which allows the triple discrimination between thermal neutrons, fast neutrons, and photons. Each pixel of PS has a dimension of 3.6 mm <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\times3.6$ </tex-math></inline-formula> mm <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\times3.6$ </tex-math></inline-formula> mm and they are separated from each other by 0.6 mm of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The photonic and electronic readout consists of the ArrayC-30035-144P SiPM from SensL, Cork, Ireland, connected to the diode coupled charge division readout from AiT. First, this neutron imager design was modeled and simulated using the MCNP6 Monte Carlo code. The encoding capability, field of view, and spatial resolution of the neutron imager were therefore evaluated by simulation. Then, we detailed the experimental setups implemented to demonstrate the feasibility of coupling pixelated PS to SiPM to localize radioactive sources and showed the results obtained. Finally, based on this position-sensitive gamma-neutron detector, a gamma-neutron imager was prototyped and tested.

Performance comparison of two signal multiplexing readouts for SiPM-based pet detector

PET scanners using SiPMs as photodetectors could have tens of thousands of SiPMs. To simplify the readout electronics, analog signal multiplexing readouts are always preferred to be used as early as possible. In this paper, two simple analog signal multiplexing readouts, a capacitive charge-division readout, and a resistive charge-division readout were evaluated and compared using dual-ended readout detectors based on 10 × 10 arrays of SensL MicroFJ-30035 SiPMs coupled to both ends of a 20 × 20 LYSO array with a pitch size of 1.5 mm and a length of 20 mm. The performance of the detectors were evaluated at different bias voltages (from 27.0 V to 30.5 V with an interval of 0.5 V) and a temperature of 22.8 °C. The flood histograms show that all the crystals in the LYSO array were clearly identified, whilst better flood histogram was obtained using the resistive charge-division readout. At a bias voltage of 29.5V, the flood histogram quality, energy resolution, DOI resolution, and timing resolution of the detector obtained using the capacitive charge-division readout were 3.28 ± 0.85, 18.9% ± 6.2%, 1.93 ± 0.20 mm, 1.25 ± 0.11 ns respectively, and those obtained using the resistive charge-division readout were 3.57 ± 0.81, 16.9% ± 6.5%, 1.96 ± 0.23 mm and 1.23 ± 0.07 ns, respectively. Overall, the detector with the resistive charge-division readout provided better performance.

Design and evaluation of a SiPM-based large-area detector module for positron emission imaging

The design and evaluation of a large-area detector module for positron emission imaging applications, is presented. The module features a SensL ArrayC-60035-64P-PCB solid state detector (8×8 array of tileable silicon photomultipliers by SensL, 7.2 mm pitch) covering a total area of 57.4×57.4 mm2. The detector module was formed using a pixelated array of 40×40 lutetium-yttrium oxyorthosilicate (LYSO) scintillator crystal elements with 1.43 mm pitch. A 7 mm thick coupling light guide was used to allow light sharing between adjacent SiPM. A 16-channel symmetric charge division (SCD) readout board was designed to multiplex the number of signals from 64 to 16 (8 columns and 8 rows) and a center-of-gravity algorithm to identify the position. Data acquisition and digitization was accomplished using a custom-made system based on FPGAs boards. Crystal maps were obtained using 18F-positron sources and Voronoi diagrams were used to correct for geometric distortions and to generate a non-uniformity correction matrix. All measurements were taken at a controlled room temperature of 22̂C. The crystal maps showed minor distortion, 90% of the 1600 total crystal elements could be identified, a mean peak-to-valley ratio of 4.3 was obtained and a 10.8% mean energy resolution for 511 keV annihilation photons was determined. The performance of the detector using our own readout board was compared to that using two different commercially readout boards using the same detector module arrangement. We show that these large-area SiPM arrays, combined with a 16-channel SCD readout board, can offer high spatial resolution, excellent energy resolution and detector uniformity and thus, can be used for positron emission imaging applications.

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

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 137Cs 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.

Performance comparison of different readouts for position-sensitive solid-state photomultiplier arrays

A thorough comparison of five different readouts for reading out a 2 × 2 array of 5 mm × 5 mm position-sensitive solid-state photomultipliers (PS-SSPM) was undertaken. The five readouts include reading out the 20 signals (16 position and 4 timing) individually, two signal multiplexing readouts, and two position decoding readouts. Flood histogram quality, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and energy resolution were compared at different bias voltage (27.0– 32.0 V, at 0.5 V intervals) and at a fixed temperature of 0 °C by coupling a 6 × 6 array of 1.3 mm × 1.3 mm × 20 mm polished LSO crystals to the center of the PS-SSPM array. The timing resolution was measured at a bias voltage of 31.0 V (optimal bias voltage in terms of flood histogram quality). The best flood histogram quality value and signal-to-noise were 7.3 ± 1.6 and 33.5 ± 3.1, respectively, and were obtained by shaping and digitizing the 16 position signals individually. The capacitive charge-division readout is the simplest readout among the five evaluated but still resulted in good performance with a flood histogram quality value of 3.3 ± 0.4 and a SNR of 18.3 ± 1.3. The average energy resolution and the average timing resolution were 15.2 ± 1.2% and 8.4 ± 1.6 ns for individual signal readout and 15.9 ± 1.2% and 8.8 ± 1.3 ns by using the capacitive charge-division readout method. These studies show that for an ultra-high spatial resolution applications using the 2 × 2 PS-SSPM array, reading out the 20 signals individually is necessary, whilst the capacitive charge-division readout is a cost-effective readout for less demanding applications.

Two-dimensional solid state gaseous detector based on 10B layer for thermal and cold neutrons

Two-dimensional solid state gaseous detector for thermal and cold neutrons is created. The detector has active area of 128 x 128 mm2, 10B neutron converter, and gas chamber with thin windows. The resistive charge-division readout is applied to determine the neutron position. The detector was tested using W-Be photoneutron source at the Institute for Nuclear Research, Moscow. The detector efficiency is estimated as ∼4% at neutron wavelength λ = 1.82 Å and 8% at λ = 8 Å. The efficiency of the background detection was less than 10-5 of that for thermal neutrons. The resulting pulse height resolution and the spatial resolution are estimated as ∼15% and ∼2.5 mm, respectively.

Electric fields, weighting fields, signals and charge diffusion in detectors including resistive materials

In this report we discuss static and time dependent electric fields in detector geometries with an arbitrary number of parallel layers of a given permittivity and weak conductivity. We derive the Green's functions i.e. the field of a point charge, as well as the weighting fields for readout pads and readout strips in these geometries. The effect of `bulk' resistivity on electric fields and signals is investigated. The spreading of charge on thin resistive layers is also discussed in detail, and the conditions for allowing the effect to be described by the diffusion equation is discussed. We apply the results to derive fields and induced signals in Resistive Plate Chambers, MICROMEGAS detectors including resistive layers for charge spreading and discharge protection as well as detectors using resistive charge division readout like the MicroCAT detector. We also discuss in detail how resistive layers affect signal shapes and increase crosstalk between readout electrodes.

Front-end electronics and data acquisition system for a multi-wire 3D gas tracker

This paper presents the design and implementation of the front-end electronics and the data acquisition (DAQ) system for readout of multi-wire drift chambers (MWDC). Apart of the conventional drift time measurement the system delivers the hit position along the wire utilizing the charge division technique. The system consists of preamplifiers, and analog and digital boards sending data to a back-end computer via an Ethernet interface. The data logging software formats the received data and enables an easy access to the data analysis software. The use of specially designed preamplifiers and peak detectors allows the charge-division readout of the low resistance signal wire. The implication of the charge-division circuitry onto the drift time measurement was studied and the overall performance of the electronic system was evaluated in dedicated off-line tests.

A Simple Capacitive Charge-Division Readout for Position-Sensitive Solid-State Photomultiplier Arrays

A capacitive charge-division readout method for reading out a 2 × 2 array of 5 mm × 5 mm position-sensitive solid-state photomultipliers (PS-SSPM) was designed and evaluated. Using this analog multiplexing method, the 20 signals (16 position, 4 timing) from the PS-SSPM array are reduced to 5 signals (4 position, 1 timing), allowing the PS-SSPM array to be treated as an individual large-area PS-SSPM module. A global positioning approach can now be used, instead of individual positioning for each PS-SSPM in the array, ensuring that the entire light signal is utilized. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and flood histogram quality at different bias voltages (27.5 V to 32.0 V at 0.5 V intervals) and a fixed temperature of 0 °C were evaluated by coupling a 6 × 6 array of 1.3 mm × 1.3 mm × 20 mm polished LSO crystals to the center of the PS-SSPM array. The timing resolution was measured at a fixed bias voltage of 31.0 V and a fixed temperature of 0 °C. All the measurements were evaluated and compared using capacitors with different values and tolerances. Capacitor values ranged from 0.051 nf to 10 nf, and the capacitance tolerance ranged from 1% to 20%. The results show that better performance was achieved using capacitors with smaller values and better capacitance tolerance. Using 0.2 nf capacitors, the SNR, energy resolution and timing resolution were 24.3, 18.2% and 8.8 ns at a bias voltage 31.0 V, respectively. The flood histogram quality was also evaluated by using a 10 × 10 array of 1 mm × 1 mm × 10 mm polished LSO crystals and a 10 × 10 array of 0.7 mm × 0.7 mm × 20 mm unpolished LSO crystals to determine the smallest crystal size resolvable. These studies showed that the high spatial resolution of the PS-SSPM was preserved allowing for 0.7 mm crystals to be identified. These results show that the capacitive charge-division analog signal processing method can significantly reduce the number of electronic channels, from 20 to 5, while retaining the excellent performance of the detector.

Development of a glass GEM

Gas electron multipliers (GEMs) apply the concept of gas amplification inside many tiny holes, realizing robust and high-gain proportional counters. However, the polyimide substrate of GEMs prevents them from being used in sealed detector applications. We have fabricated and tested glass GEMs (G-GEMs) with substrates made of photosensitive glass material from the Hoya Corporation. We fabricated G-GEMs with several different hole diameters and thicknesses and successfully operated test G-GEMs with a 100×100mm2 effective area. The uniformity of our G-GEMs was good, and the energy resolution for 5.9keV X-rays was 18.8% under uniform irradiation of the entire effective area. A gas gain by the G-GEMs of up to 6700 was confirmed with a gas mixture of Ar (70%)+CH4 (30%). X-ray imaging using the charge division readout method was demonstrated.

X-ray imaging detector based on a position sensitive THCOBRA with resistive line

A new X-ray imaging detector based on a 2D-THCOBRA micropatterned structure using a simple position readout is proposed. It consists of a hybrid device that combines the properties of a THGEM and a 2D-MHSP in a single structure, having two charge multiplication stages reaching the demanded gains for the use of charge division readout methods. For position determination, the new 10 × 10 cm2 2D-THCOBRA structure uses two orthogonal resistive lines located at the end of the anode and top electrodes. The charge signal pulses collected at the end of each resistive line are digitized and processed in order to determine the center-of-gravity of the electron avalanche distribution. The detector uses a preamplification stage performed by a THGEM, followed by the 2D-THCOBRA, being operated in Ne/5%CH4 at atmospheric pressure. A characterization of the detector in terms of charge gain was made as a function of the voltage applied to the electrodes of the 2D-THCOBRA structure. The energy resolution of the system was also measured, envisaging Energy Weighting Technique (EWT) applications. The system characterization in terms of spatial resolution is presented together with imaging examples to evaluate its performance in X-ray imaging applications.

High speed imaging using a capacitive division technique

The charge division technique is a simple concept used in photon-counting imaging detectors to determine one or two-dimensional event coordinates by location of the centroid of the charge cloud generated in the detector. Traditional devices, such as the resistive anode and wedge-and-strip anode, utilize resistive and geometric methods respectively to implement this technique, enabling them to achieve reasonably good spatial resolution at moderate event rates using a low electronic channel count.We describe the Capacitive Division Image Readout (C-DIR), a simple method of implementing charge division readout with major performance advantages and which is simple and economical to construct. C-DIR utilizes three elements; (i) a resistive layer providing event charge localization and DC signal current return path, (ii) a dielectric substrate which provides electrical isolation from the detector voltages and capacitively couples the event transient signal to the third element, (iii) an array of capacitively coupled electrodes which divides the signal among several charge measurement nodes. The purely capacitive signal paths have high bandwidth and present a low capacitive load to the preamplifiers, allowing an unprecedented combination of excellent event time and spatial resolution.We present simulations and experimental results demonstrating the performance advantages of the device and discuss various readout design alternatives, optimized electronics and potential applications.

Design Considerations for the Next-Generation MAPMT-Based Monolithic Scintillation Camera.

Multi-anode photomultiplier tubes (MAPMTs) offer high spatial resolution with their small size anodes that may range from 64 to 1024 in number per tube. In order to increase detector size, MAPMT modules can be arranged in arrays and combined in a single modular scintillation camera. However, then the large number of channels that require amplification and digitization become practically not feasible unless signals are combined or reduced in some manner. Conventional approaches use resistive charge division readouts with a centroid algorithm (or a variant of it) for simplicity in the electronic circuitry implementation and fast execution. However, coupling signals from many anodes may cause significant information loss and limit achievable resolution. In this study, a new approach for optimizing readout-electronics design for MAPMTs based on an analysis of information content in the signals is presented. An adaptive read-out scheme to be used with maximum-likelihood estimation methods is proposed. This scheme achieves precision in estimating event parameters that is close to what is achieved by retaining all signals.

Investigation of high resolution compact gamma camera module based on a continuous scintillation crystal using a novel charge division readout method

The objective of this study is to investigate a high performance and lower cost compact gamma camera module for a multi-head small animal SPECT system. A compact camera module was developed using a thin Lutetium Oxyorthosilicate (LSO) scintillation crystal slice coupled to a Hamamatsu H8500 position sensitive photomultiplier tube (PSPMT). A two-stage charge division readout board based on a novel sub-tractive resistive readout with a truncated center-of-gravity (TCOG) positioning method was developed for the camera. The performance of the camera was evaluated using a flood 99mTc source with a four-quadrant bar-mask phantom. The preliminary experimental results show that the image shrinkage problem associated with the conventional resistive readout can be effectively overcome by the novel subtractive resistive readout with an appropriate fraction subtraction factor. The response output area (ROA) of the camera shown in the flood image was improved up to 34%, and an intrinsic spatial resolution better than 2 mm of detector was achieved. In conclusion, the utilization of a continuous scintillation crystal and a flat-panel PSPMT equipped with a novel subtractive resistive readout is a feasible approach for developing a high performance and lower cost compact gamma camera.

A proposal design of a multi-hit two-dimensional position-sensitive energy spectrum detector

A new non-linear comparison method of charge-division readout scheme is conceived and the first design of a multi-hit two-dimensional position-sensitive energy spectrum Si(Au) surface barrier detector with a continuous sensitive area is proposed.

MicroPET II: design, development and initial performance of an improved microPET scanner for small-animal imaging (This work was originally conducted at UCLA, Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, and was continued and completed at UC Davis, Department of Biomedical Engineering.)

MicroPET II is a second-generation animal PET scanner designed for high-resolution imaging of small laboratory rodents. The system consists of 90 scintillation detector modules arranged in three contiguous axial rings with a ring diameter of 16.0 cm and an axial length of 4.9 cm. Each detector module consists of a 14 × 14 array of lutetium oxyorthosilicate (LSO) crystals coupled to a multi-channel photomultiplier tube (MC-PMT) through a coherent optical fibre bundle. Each LSO crystal element measures 0.975 mm × 0.975 mm in cross section by 12.5 mm in length. A barium sulphate reflector material was used between LSO elements leading to a detector pitch of 1.15 mm in both axial and transverse directions. Fused optical fibre bundles were made from 90 µm diameter glass fibres with a numerical aperture of 0.56. Interstitial extramural absorber was added between the fibres to reduce optical cross talk. A charge-division readout circuit was implemented on printed circuit boards to decode the 196 crystals in each array from the outputs of the 64 anode signals of the MC-PMT. Electronics from Concorde Microsystems Inc. (Knoxville, TN) were used for signal amplification, digitization, event qualification, coincidence processing and data capture. Coincidence data were passed to a host PC that recorded events in list mode. Following acquisition, data were sorted into sinograms and reconstructed using Fourier rebinning and filtered backprojection algorithms. Basic evaluation of the system has been completed. The absolute sensitivity of the microPET II scanner was 2.26% at the centre of the field of view (CFOV) for an energy window of 250–750 keV and a timing window of 10 ns. The intrinsic spatial resolution of the detectors in the system averaged 1.21 mm full width at half maximum (FWHM) when measured with a 22Na point source 0.5 mm in diameter. Reconstructed image resolution ranged from 0.83 mm FWHM at the CFOV to 1.47 mm FWHM in the radial direction, 1.17 mm FWHM in the tangential direction and 1.42 mm FWHM in the axial direction at 1 cm offset from the CFOV. These values represent highly significant improvements over our earlier microPET scanner (approximately fourfold sensitivity increase and 25–35% improvement in linear spatial resolution under equivalent operating conditions) and are expected to be further improved when the system is fully optimized.

Maximising position resolution for near-simultaneous events with charge division readouts

The maximum count rate of charge division readouts is fundamentally limited by the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) required from the charge measurement electronics. The traditional charge measurement solution comprises a charge sensitive preamplifier, shaping amplifier and digitizer. The pulse processing time is limited by the shaping time constant required for a given SNR. We present a technique to measure event pulse heights from each readout channel using waveforms captured directly from the preamplifier output. This method uses signal analysis techniques, for example waveform fitting, to measure the charge collected by each readout channel, from several, almost simultaneous events. Given the signal processing requirements, this technique is suitable for applications where near-simultaneous events occur at relatively low-repetition rates. We discuss the signal analysis methods used and measure the achievable SNR ratio. We describe the preliminary experimental set-up, which uses a digital scope for waveform capture, and with data analysis carried out in PC-based software. We discuss the design of a system of dedicated electronics comprising dedicated waveform capture hardware and digital signal processing techniques. We provide estimates of the projected performance characteristics.

Fast imaging readout and electronics—a novel high-speed imaging system for micro-channel plates

The band-width of charge division readout anodes used with micro-channel plates (MCP) is usually limited by the speed of the acquisition electronics. We present a novel charge division anode that does not require analogue to digital conversion. The Fast Imaging Readout and Electronics is a new concept in high-speed imaging using an MCP detector. The imaging system described comprises an MCP intensifier coupled to a charge division image readout using high-speed, multichannel electronics. It has a projected spatial resolution of up to 128×128 pixels, though the image format is inherently flexible, and the potential for rates up to 100 million events per second with nanosecond timing resolution. The readout pattern has a planar electrode structure and the collected charge from each event is shared amongst all electrodes, grouped in pairs. The unique design of the readout obviates the need for charge measurement, usually the dominant process determining the event-processing deadtime. Instead, high-speed signal comparators, each of which act on the signals from an electrode pair, are used to define a binary code from which the position co-ordinate is directly mapped. We describe a proof of the concept of prototype anode and associated electronics using a novel application of very high-speed digital circuitry. We present preliminary results showing signal waveforms measured using a one-dimensional 16-pixel anode pattern.

Operation of sealed microstrip gas chambers at the ILL

Microstrip Gas Counters (MSGCs) were introduced at the ILL as a response to the problem of fabricating the large area neutron detector of the D20 neutron powder diffractometer. This banana-like detector consists of 48 MSGCs, each comprising 32 counting cells. It was in operation during 18 months before being stopped due to the progressive deterioration of the anode strips. In order to increase its lifetime, significant modifications were introduced in the recently assembled new version. Another instrument, D4C, was recently equipped with a modular detector made of nine MSGCs, each of them in an individual gas vessel. Besides the unidimensional individual readout MSGC of D20 and D4C, the ILL has developed bidimensional MSGCs with a charge division readout. All these detectors employ sealed vessels containing a gas mixture at a pressure which can be as high as 15 bar, necessitating very clean conditions. This paper describes the experience acquired at the ILL in the fabrication and operation of these detectors.