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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

A Sub-Electron-Noise Multi-Channel Cryogenic Skipper-CCD Readout ASIC

The MIDNA application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) is a skipper-CCD readout chip fabricated in a 65 nm LP-CMOS process that is capable of working at cryogenic temperatures. The chip integrates four front-end channels that process the skipper-CCD signal and performs differential averaging using a dual slope integration (DSI) circuit. Each readout channel contains a pre-amplifier, a DC restorer, and a dual-slope integrator with chopping capability. The integrator chopping is a key system design element in order to mitigate the effect of low-frequency noise produced by the integrator itself, and it is not often required with standard CCDs. Each channel consumes 4.5 mW of power, occupies 0.156 mm${^2}$ area and has an input referred noise of 2.7${\mu\nu}_{rms}$. It is demonstrated experimentally to achieve sub-electron noise when coupled with a skipper-CCD by means of averaging samples of each pixel. Here, sub-electron noise is shown in three different acquisition approaches. The signal range is 6000 electrons. The readout system achieves 0.2${e^{-}}$ RMS by averaging 1000 samples with MIDNA both at room temperature and at 180 Kelvin.

1/f noise↗
DOE OSTI2022

The CMS Barrel Calorimeter Processor demonstrator (BCPv1) board evaluation

For the CERN LHC phase 2, the barrel region of the CMS electromagnetic (ECAL EB) and hadronic calorimeters (HCAL HB) require new back-end electronics for their readout. To this purpose, a first version of the ATCA-based blade, the Barrel Calorimeter Processor (BCPv1), has been developed. The performance of the optical links as well as clock distribution are also presented here. Here, the BCPv1 has been tested together with front-end and trigger boards, as well as with the new DAQ and TCDS Hub (DTH) [1], to demonstrate that the BCPv1 meets the required specifications.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Enhancing EV Charging Station Resilience with Multifunctional Converter Leg Integration

In this paper, a multifunctional converter leg is integrated into an EV charger’s power circuit to enhance EV charging station resilience under power electronics converter device faults and grid outages. In the event of a device fault, it substitutes the failed converter leg, maintaining operation. During a grid outage, it assists the system as a fourth leg to the front-end converter, enabling grid-forming capability to supply power to the charging station critical loads while allowing limited power vehicle charging. The proposed approach’s effectiveness under both front-end power converter device faults and grid outage scenarios are validated through simulation and controller hardware-in-the-loop results.

Pereira Pinto, Joao [ORNL]↗
DOE OSTI2021

Highly Selective Acetylene Semihydrogenation Catalyst with an Operation Window Exceeding 150 °C

The operating window (OW) is a primary performance criterion for the selective hydrogenation of acetylene in excess ethylene. Currently, most state-of-the-art catalyst systems have an OW of less than 50 °C in front-end processes. Selective acetylene hydrogenation catalysts with an OW wider than 100 °C are rare. Here, we demonstrate a facile stepwise chemical method to synthesize calcite-supported PdBi intermetallic compounds (PdBi/Calcite) that feature isolated and electron-rich Pd atoms as active sites for acetylene hydrogenation. Beneficial from the extremely weak ethylene absorption abilities and the stable structures against the formation of β-PdH x , PdBi/Calcite exhibit >99% selectivity to C 2 H 4 in the whole temperature range tested (50–300 °C) and ~100% C 2 H 2 conversion from 150 to 300 °C. Finally, as a result, an operation window exceeding 150 °C has been achieved.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Grafting nanometer metal/oxide interface towards enhanced low-temperature acetylene semi-hydrogenation

Metal/oxide interface is of fundamental significance to heterogeneous catalysis because the seemingly “inert” oxide support can modulate the morphology, atomic and electronic structures of the metal catalyst through the interface. The interfacial effects are well studied over a bulk oxide support but remain elusive for nanometer-sized systems like clusters, arising from the challenges associated with chemical synthesis and structural elucidation of such hybrid clusters. We hereby demonstrate the essential catalytic roles of a nanometer metal/oxide interface constructed by a hybrid Pd/Bi 2 O 3 cluster ensemble, which is fabricated by a facile stepwise photochemical method. The Pd/Bi 2 O 3 cluster, of which the hybrid structure is elucidated by combined electron microscopy and microanalysis, features a small Pd-Pd coordination number and more importantly a Pd-Bi spatial correlation ascribed to the heterografting between Pd and Bi terminated Bi 2 O 3 clusters. The intra-cluster electron transfer towards Pd across the as-formed nanometer metal/oxide interface significantly weakens the ethylene adsorption without compromising the hydrogen activation. As a result, a 91% selectivity of ethylene and 90% conversion of acetylene can be achieved in a front-end hydrogenation process with a temperature as low as 44 °C.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Design of microwave broadband CMOS transmitter and receiver circuits for MIR and ECEI plasma diagnostics

To efficiently determine the plasma electron density fluctuations using the MIR diagnostic technique, a 55–75 GHz 65 nm-CMOS transmitter has been developed where four separate intermediate frequency (IF) signals are up-converted, amplified, and then combined to generate an 8-tone RF output; a broadband 90 nm-CMOS receiver has also been constructed, which consists of an RF-low noise amplifier (LNA), mixer, and IF amplifier. The circuits and their corresponding modules will soon be deployed on the DIII-D and NSTX-U fusion devices. A 110–140 GHz 65 nm-CMOS receiver has also been designed, which is suitable for measuring the deep-core temperature fluctuations in the DIII-D tokamak using the electron cyclotron emission imaging diagnostic system. In addition to the RF-LNA/balun, mixer, and IF amplifier, an LO balun/tripler and driving amplifier are now included in this highly integrated circuit chip. By adopting the microwave and millimeterwave system-on-chip concept in the front-end system design, this paper demonstrates that compact transmitter and receiver modules can be easily built, which, in turn, facilitates array implementation and maintenance.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

A first look at AS-ROC: a Si-Ge integrated chip readout for fast timing

Abstract Advances in timing detector technology require new specialized readout electronics. Applications demand below 10 ps time of arrival resolution and low power for a low repetition rate. A possible path to achieve O(10 ps) time resolution is an integrated chip using Silicon Germanium (SiGe) technology. Using DoE SBIR funding, Anadyne, Inc., in collaboration with UC Santa Cruz, has developed a prototype SiGe front-end readout chip optimized for low power and timing resolution. Two versions of the chip were produced with performance in simulation: a more power version with 10 ps resolution at 5 fC with 1.1 mW/channel, and a less power version with 10 ps resolution at 8 fC with 0.6 mW/channel.The chip was produced at Tower Semiconductor with 350 nm technology. The ASIC from the prototype run shows good performance: a rise time of 0.7–1 ns and 25 mV per fC response with RMS noise <1 mV. Simulation and results from the prototype will be reported in this paper.

Instruments & Instrumentation↗
DOE OSTI2026

Design and Testing of the Endcap Concentrator ASICs for the CMS High-Granularity Calorimeter Upgrade

A major upgrade of the High-Granularity Calorimeter (HGCAL) in the CMS detector is planned for Long-Shutdown 3 (LS3), currently expected to start in 2026. This upgrade will contain over 6 million channels and the electronics will be required to be low power and to withstand a radiation environment with a High-Energy Hadron flux of 3x10**6 particles per square centimeter per second. The solution to this significant challenge is the two Endcap Concentrator (ECON) ASICs, ECON-T and ECON-D, working in tandem with the HGCROC front-end ASIC. The two ECON ASICs provide critical on-detector data reduction for both the 40 MHz trigger path (ECON-T) and 750 kHz data acquisition path (ECON-D) of the HGCAL. The ASICs are fabricated in 65nm CMOS. They are rad-tolerant to 600 Mrad with low power consumption (<2.5 mW/channel). This presentation will be a comprehensive description of each ECON design, including the infrastructure that they share as well as the elements that make each unique. The presentation will also include functionality and radiation tests for both ASICs, and the first high statistics characterization results from the full production of 75k ECON-D and ECON-T ASICs.

Hoff, James R. [Fermilab] (ORCID:0000000163514592)↗
DOE OSTI2024

Centralized Interactive Phenomics Resource: an integrated online phenomics knowledgebase for health data users

Development of clinical phenotypes from electronic health records (EHRs) can be resource intensive. Several phenotype libraries have been created to facilitate reuse of definitions. However, these platforms vary in target audience and utility. Here, we describe the development of the Centralized Interactive Phenomics Resource (CIPHER) knowledgebase, a comprehensive public-facing phenotype library, which aims to facilitate clinical and health services research. The platform was designed to collect and catalog EHR-based computable phenotype algorithms from any healthcare system, scale metadata management, facilitate phenotype discovery, and allow for integration of tools and user workflows. Phenomics experts were engaged in the development and testing of the site. The knowledgebase stores phenotype metadata using the CIPHER standard, and definitions are accessible through complex searching. Phenotypes are contributed to the knowledgebase via webform, allowing metadata validation. Data visualization tools linking to the knowledgebase enhance user interaction with content and accelerate phenotype development. The CIPHER knowledgebase was developed in the largest healthcare system in the United States and piloted with external partners. The design of the CIPHER website supports a variety of front-end tools and features to facilitate phenotype development and reuse. Health data users are encouraged to contribute their algorithms to the knowledgebase for wider dissemination to the research community, and to use the platform as a springboard for phenotyping. CIPHER is a public resource for all health data users available at https://phenomics.va.ornl.gov/ which facilitates phenotype reuse, development, and dissemination of phenotyping knowledge.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

ATLAS toward the High Luminosity era: challenges on electronic systems

To maximize the physics reach, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) plans to increase its instantaneous luminosity to $7.5×10^{34} cm^{-2} s^{-1}$ and deliver $3 - 4 ab^{-1}$ of data at a center-of-mass energy of 14 TeV. To profit from this high-luminosity LHC operation with a pile-up up to 200 inelastic collisions per bunch crossing, performance of the ATLAS detector needs to be maintained and in many systems, improved. The upgraded detector will have an unprecedented output data rate of up to 200 TB/s. Real-time processing of this large data volume in a short time period is extremely challenging. New sets of both front-end and back-end electronics are required for all sub-detectors. The large number of detector channels, huge volumes of input and output data, short time available to process and transmit data, harsh radiation environment, and the need of low power consumption all impose great challenges on the designs of electronic systems.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Cryogenic Front-End ASICs for Low-Noise Readout of Charge Signals

This paper presents design details and measurement results of LArASIC, a front-end application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designed for low-noise readout of charge signals generated in neutrino study experiments within liquid argon time projection chambers. LArASIC comprises of 16-channels of programmable charge amplification and pulse shaping stages that provide a voltage readout proportional to the input charge and was optimized for operation at liquid argon temperature, i.e., 89 K. The chip was fabricated in a 180 nm CMOS process. Measurements at liquid nitrogen temperature, i.e., 77 K, indicate that the channel outputs have high linearity (INL < 0.1%) within the operating range, an equivalent noise charge of 534 electrons for a peaking time of 1 µs and a detector capacitance of 150 pF, and a worst-case inter-channel cross-talk of 0.35%. The paper also presents design choices made in the process of migrating LArASIC to CHARMS, an ASIC to be fabricated in a 65 nm process that includes all features provided by LArASIC, along with additional digital programmability for improved robustness and flexibility. CHARMS is intended for use in future high-energy physics experiments that require high-resolution charge or light readout with shorter pulse peaking times.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2024

High-Power Oak Ridge Converter (ORC) for Extreme Fast Charging Applications

This project report presents a novel power converter system called Oak Ridge Converter (ORC), a patented technology developed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for XFC wireless EV charging systems. ORC integrates the grid interface converter (also known as the active front-end rectifier with power factor correction) with the high-frequency inverter stage, promoting size and cost-effective charging technology with reduced infrastructure costs. The integration of the front-end rectifier with the high-frequency inverter truly eliminates one power conversion stage and achieves more than 33% size, weight, volume, and cost reduction on the wireless charging systems. Furthermore, ORC eliminates the primary side direct current (DC) bus bulk capacitors that are usually aluminum electrolytic capacitors and replaces them with very small, cost-effective, highly reliable, and high-temperature operation-capable alternate current (AC) film capacitors. ORC is also applicable to both single-phase and poly-phase couplers. When used with polyphase couplers, ORC further improves the power density of the overall system with higher power density power electronics. Moreover, ORC is inherently bidirectional and allows the system to provide power back to the grid for grid ancillary or grid support services. The ORC, based on a patented ORNL technology, is an excellent approach to resolving the high-power charging problems as described above, which directly converts the 60 hertz (Hz) line frequency into high frequency (i.e., 85 kilohertz (kHz)) to use with a high-frequency isolation transformer or wireless charging coils while eliminating the primary side number of power conversion stages from two to one. The result of the project is a prototype and reference design for a high-power wireless charging system—including power electronics, magnetics, and thermal—serving as a baseline for product development. The proposed system results are demonstrated for 270 kW of output power, with the system's overall efficiency of 92% from the AC grid, achieving less than 3% current total harmonic distortion (THD) and around 0.99 power factor (PF).

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Front-End Design for SiPM-Based Monolithic Neutron Double Scatter Imagers

Neutron double scatter imaging exploits the kinematics of neutron elastic scattering to enable emission imaging of neutron sources. Due to the relatively low coincidence detection efficiency of fast neutrons in organic scintillator arrays, imaging efficiency for double scatter cameras can also be low. One method to realize significant gains in neutron coincidence detection efficiency is to develop neutron double scatter detectors which employ monolithic blocks of organic scintillator, instrumented with photosensor arrays on multiple faces to enable 3D position and multi-interaction time pickoff. Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) have several advantageous characteristics for this approach, including high photon detection efficiency (PDE), good single photon time resolution (SPTR), high gain that translates to single photon counting capabilities, and ability to be tiled into large arrays with high packing fraction and photosensitive area fill factor. However, they also have a tradeoff in high uncorrelated and correlated noise rates (dark counts from thermionic emissions and optical photon crosstalk generated during avalanche) which may complicate event positioning algorithms. We have evaluated the noise characteristics and SPTR of Hamamatsu S13360-6075 SiPMs with low noise, fast electronic readout for integration into a monolithic neutron scatter camera prototype. The sensors and electronic readout were implemented in a small-scale prototype detector in order to estimate expected noise performance for a monolithic neutron scatter camera and perform proof-of-concept measurements for scintillation photon counting and three-dimensional event positioning.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2025

The CMS Phase-2 Fast Beam Condition Monitor prototype test with beam

The Fast Beam Condition Monitor (FBCM) is a standalone luminometer for the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) program of the CMS Experiment at CERN. The detector is under development and features a new, radiation-hard, front-end application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designed for beam monitoring applications. The achieved timing resolution of a few nanoseconds enables the measurement of both the luminosity and the beam-induced background. The ASIC, called FBCM23, features six channels with adjustable shaping times, enabling in-field fine-tuning. Each ASIC channel outputs a single binary asynchronous signal encoding time-of-arrival and time-over-threshold information. The FBCM is based on silicon-pad sensors, with two sensor designs presently being considered. This paper presents the results of tests of the FBCM detector prototype using both types of silicon sensors with hadron, muon, and electron beams. Irradiated FBCM23 ASICs and silicon-pad sensors were also tested to simulate the expected conditions near the end of the detector's lifetime in the HL-LHC radiation environment. Based on test results, direct bonding between the sensor and ASIC was chosen, and an optimal bias voltage and ASIC threshold for FBCM operation were proposed. The current design of the front-end test board was validated following the beam test and is now being used for the first front-end module, which is expected to be produced in summer 2025. These results represent a major step forward in validating the FBCM concept, first version of the firmware and establishing a reliable design path for the final detector.

Beam-line instrumentation (beam position and profi↗
DOE OSTI2021

Beam Profile Measurements Utilizing an Amplitude Modulated Pulsed Fiber Laser at PIP2IT

Fermilab is undertaking the development of a new 800 MeV superconducting RF linac to replace its present normal conducting 400 MeV linac. The PIP-II linac consists of a warm front-end generating 2 mA of 2.1 MeV H⁻ followed immediately by a series of superconducting RF cryomodules to 800 MeV. To limit the potential damage to the superconducting RF cavities, PIP-II will utilize laser-based monitors to obtain beam profiles via photoionization. This paper will present the results of transverse and longitudinal beam profile measurements using a prototype profile monitor that was tested with 2.1 MeV H⁻ beam at the PIP-II Injector Test (PIP2IT) accelerator. This prototype profile monitor utilizes a high repetition rate fiber laser and fiber optic transport into the PIP2IT enclosure. In addition, results will be shown of narrow-band electron detection from amplitude modulated laser pulses.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Enhancements and Deployment of the TDAQ System for the Mu2e Experiment

The Real Time Processing Systems Division at Fermilab has deployed new features to the Off-The-Shelf Data Acquisition framework (otsdaq) for the Mu2e experiment. The Mu2e experiment will search for the coherent neutrino-less conversion of a muon into an electron in the field of an aluminum nucleus with a sensitivity improvement of 10,000 times over existing limits. Such a charged lepton flavor-violating reaction probes new physics at a scale unavailable at present or planned high-energy colliders. The Mu2e Trigger and Data Acquisition (TDAQ) system uses otsdaq as its online Data Acquisition System (DAQ) framework. otsdaq integrates the artdaq and art frameworks for event transfer, filtering, and processing. otsdaq is a web-based DAQ software suite focusing on flexibility and scalability and provides a multi-user interface accessible through a web browser. artdaq handles the entire data stream, which is read over the peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) bus to a software filter algorithm that selects events combined with the data flux coming from a cosmic-ray veto (CRV) system. Detector front-ends are configured through the PCIe bus by customized otsdaq plugins. The otsdaq slow controls infrastructure has been further developed using the experimental physics and industrial control system (EPICS) open-source platform for monitoring, controlling, alarming, and archiving. The detector control system (DCS) for Mu2e has been integrated into otsdaq. The production TDAQ and DCS system has been deployed at the experimental hall and is being debugged and optimized for experiment operations. We report on the feature enhancements and deployment of otsdaq for Mu2e.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Rate-capability of the VMM3a front-end in the RD51 Scalable Readout System

The VMM3a is an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), specifically developed for the readout of gaseous detectors. Originally developed within the ATLAS New Small Wheel (NSW) upgrade, it has been successfully integrated into the Scalable Readout System (SRS) of the RD51 collaboration. This allows, to use the VMM3a also in small laboratory set-ups and mid-scale experiments, which make use of Micro-Pattern Gaseous Detectors (MPGDs). As part of the integration of the VMM3a into the SRS, the readout and data transfer scheme was optimised to reach a high rate-capability of the entire readout system and profit from the VMM3a's high single-channel rate-capability of 3.6Mhits/s. The optimisation focused mainly on the handling of the data output stream of the VMM3a, but also on the development of a trigger-logic between the front-end cards and the DAQ computer. In this article, two firmware implementations of the non-ATLAS continuous readout mode are presented, as well as the implementation of the trigger-logic. Afterwards, a short overview on X-ray imaging results is presented, to illustrate the high rate-capability from an application point-of-view.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Event-driven readout development: testing of the EDWARD65P1 chip with integrated event generators

Building on a prototype readout integrated circuit for segmented silicon sensors with the EDWARD event-driven readout architecture, the front-end in each pixel was replaced by a hardware generator to verify readout performance, ensuring no data loss, consistent priority handling, and speed verification. Here, this generator produces Poisson-distributed readout requests with individually tunable rates per pixel via a digitally controlled oscillator. The resulting EDWARD65P1 test ASIC is a 32×32 pixel matrix with a 100 μm pitch, equipped with digital event generators simulating radiation hits at user-defined rates. Test results for this new design are presented.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗