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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 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

White Rabbit Time Synchronization for Radiation Detector Readout Electronics

As radiation detector arrays in nuclear physics applications become larger and physically more separated, the time synchronization and trigger distribution between many channels of detector readout electronics become more challenging. Clocks and triggers are traditionally distributed through dedicated cabling, but newer methods such as the IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol and White Rabbit allow clock synchronization through the exchange of timing messages over Ethernet. Consequently, we report here the use of White Rabbit in a new detector readout module, the Pixie-Net XL. Herein, the White Rabbit core, data capture from multiple digitizing channels, and subsequent pulse processing for pulse height and constant fraction timing are implemented in a Kintex 7 FPGA. The detector data records include White Rabbit time stamps and are transmitted to storage through the White Rabbit core's gigabit Ethernet data path or a slower diagnostic/control link using an embedded Zynq processor. The performance is characterized by time-of-flight style measurements and by time correlation of high energy background events from cosmic showers in detectors separated by longer distances. Software for the Zynq processor can implement "software triggering", for example to limit recording of data to events where a minimum number of channels from multiple modules detect radiation at the same time.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Characterization of a gigabit transceiver for the ATLAS inner tracker pixel detector readout upgrade

We present a gigabit transceiver prototype Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), GBCR, for the ATLAS Inner Tracker (ITk) Pixel detector readout upgrade. GBCR is designed in a 65-nm CMOS technology and consists of four upstream receiver channels, a downstream transmitter channel, and an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) slave. The upstream channels receive the data at 5.12 Gbps passing through 5-meter 34-American Wire Gauge (AWG) Twin-axial (Twinax) cables, equalize and retime them with a recovered clock, and then drive an optical transmitter. The downstream channel receives the data at 2.56 Gbps from an optical receiver and drives the cable as same as the upstream channels. The jitter of the upstream channel output is measured to be 35 ps (peak-peak) when the Clock-Data Recovery (CDR) module is turned on and the jitter of the downstream channel output after the cable is 138 ps (peak-peak). The power consumption of each upstream channel is 72 mW when the CDR module is turned on and the downstream channel consumes 27 mW. GBCR survives the total ionizing dose of 200 kGy.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Embedded FPGA developments in 130 nm and 28 nm CMOS for machine learning in particle detector readout

Embedded field programmable gate array (eFPGA) technology allows the implementation of reconfigurable logic within the design of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). This approach offers the low power and efficiency of an ASIC along with the ease of FPGA configuration, particularly beneficial for the use case of machine learning in the data pipeline of next-generation collider experiments. An open-source framework called "FABulous" was used to design eFPGAs using 130 nm and 28 nm CMOS technology nodes, which were subsequently fabricated and verified through testing. The capability of an eFPGA to act as a front-end readout chip was assessed using simulation of high energy particles passing through a silicon pixel sensor. A machine learning-based classifier, designed for reduction of sensor data at the source, was synthesized and configured onto the eFPGA. A successful proof-of-concept was demonstrated through reproduction of the expected algorithm result on the eFPGA with perfect accuracy. Finally, further development of the eFPGA technology and its application to collider detector readout is discussed.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2018

Quest for a Top Quark Partner and Upgrade of the Pixel Detector Readout Chain at the CMS

After the observation of a new particle at CERN experiments, which is consistent with being the Higgs boson, the partner of the top quark is the most anticipated candidate to be discovered next. In many extensions of the standard model of particle physics the principle of naturalness dictates that the top quark partner should exist and be relatively light, at or below the TeV scale. It is hence expected to be accessible at energies and luminosities provided by the LHC machine within the next years of running. This proposal calls for supporting the effort targeting the searches for the top quark partner at the CMS experiment. We focus on scenarios and techniques that have not yet been fully explored at CMS, and that carry a large potential for new physics discovery in the immediate future. The second part of the proposal focuses on the R&D effort aiming for continuing high-quality physics program at the CMS at the high instantaneous luminosities. We propose to take one of the leading roles in the forthcoming upgrade of the Pixel detector at the CMS, and upgrade the data acquisition readout chain that would increase the data volume throughput for the new detector.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Comparing Thermal Neutron Scintillators for Use With SiPM-Readout Detectors

Scintillator-based thermal neutron detectors for scientific scattering facilities offer an effective combination of large-area coverage and good spatial resolution. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, silicon photomultiplier (SiPM)-readout Anger cameras using 6 Li glass scintillators have been developed, but the spatial resolution of these detectors is limited by the relatively low light yield of the glass. Recently, several brighter scintillator compositions with sufficient 6 Li concentration have emerged as promising candidates for higher-resolution imaging. Here, in this work, we evaluate five scintillator materials: GS20, LiF/ZnS:Ag, LiF/ZnO:Zn, LiI:Eu, and Cs 2 LiYCl 6 :Ce, each mounted on a SiPM Anger camera. For each scintillator, the neutron detection efficiency, spatial resolution, and count rate capabilities were measured and compared. Each of the new compositions achieved a spatial resolution better than 0.5 mm, compared to 0.66 mm for GS20, with LiI:Eu reaching the best value of 0.32 mm. Although these compositions improve the spatial resolution of the Anger camera, their longer pulse decay times limit their use in high count rate applications, and the camera’s hardware must be optimized for the different properties of the new scintillators.

Neutron detectors↗
DOE OSTI2020

Evaluation & Development of Algorithms & Techniques for Streaming Detector Readout

The advancement in microelectronics capabilities, computing, and data science in the last decade has been remarkable. With the start of the 12 GeV Science Program at Jefferson Lab (JLab) and the conceptual detector design for the upcoming Ion Collider (EIC) in mind, we have evaluated and developed the possibility of evolving and improving the existing nuclear science research workflow based on these advances. Specifically, we have prototyped components of streaming readout.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Characterization of the First Prototype of the L1K65n Differential-Output Charge-Sensitive Preamplifier ASIC for High-Performance, Low-Background HPGe Detector Readout

Next-generation neutrinoless double-beta (0νββ) decay searches require a large detector/isotope mass and very low radioactive backgrounds. The upcoming LEGEND-1000 experiment (Large Enriched Germanium Experiment for Neutrinoless double-beta Decay) constitute a ton-scale array of several hundred high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors enriched in 76Ge, the isotope of interest. It aims to reach a sensitivity beyond 10 28 years on the 0νββ decay half-life of 76Ge, necessitating an order of magnitude reduction in background with respect to the state of the art. This will require the implementation of a dedicated application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) preamplifier that will significantly lower background contribution compared to the conventional low-mass front end (LMFE) employed in the Majorana Demonstrator and LEGEND-200 experiments while maintaining or improving energy resolution and other performance parameters. Features include a high (9 MeV) dynamic range with noise low enough to achieve a trigger threshold of <1 keV, a single power supply to reduce background-inducing cabling, and a differential output to maintain signal integrity over several meters of transmission line. The chip would be optimized to operate in liquid argon (87 K) and be able to do so reliably for ten years. Following on from an earlier 180-nm prototype, we have developed a differential-output charge-sensitive preamplifier ASIC fabricated in a 65-nm process, 1×2 mm in size, that addresses these needs. Here, we present recent results from the successful testing and characterization of the first version of this device.

ASIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

Testing the limits of ITkPixV2: the ATLAS inner tracker pixel detector readout chip

The ITkPixV2 chip is the final production readout chip for the ATLAS Phase 2 Inner Tracker (ITk) upgrade at the upcoming High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC). Due to the extraordinarily high peak luminosity at the HL-LHC of 5 × 1034 cm-1 s-1, ITkPixV2 must meet significant increases in nearly all design requirements compared to the current ATLAS Inner Detector (ID), including a 10× increase in trigger rate, a 7.5× increase in hit rate, a 3× increase in radiation tolerance, and a 12.5× decrease in pixel current draw per unit area, all while maintaining a similar power per unit area as present pixel detectors. Here we present the first measurements of the ITkPixV2 chip operated at the limits of the full chip design requirements, including in particular a measurement of the activity-induced current of the chip as a function of increasing hit rate.

Le Pottier, L↗
DOE OSTI2018

Evaluation and Development of Algorithms and Techniques for Streaming Detector Readout

On the time scale of the Electron Ion Collider, streaming readout will be a reality. Developing now an integrated start to end system from DAQ through analysis will give Jefferson Lab core competency in streaming readout and will facilitate a seamless transition from 12 GeV physics to EIC. While many existing NP experiments are updating to a streaming readout model, none of them have so far an integrated system from DAQ through analysis. The R&D being presented will help to remove the DAQ-analysis separation altogether in order to build the next generation NP research model.

Diefenthaler, Markus↗
DOE OSTI2022

Conceptual design of the modular detector and readout system for the CMB-S4 survey experiment

We present the conceptual design of the modular detector and readout system for the Cosmic Microwave Background – Stage four (CMB-S4) ground-based survey experiment. CMB-S4 will map the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and the millimeter-wave sky to unprecedented sensitivity, using 500,000 superconducting detectors observing from Chile and Antarctica to map over 60% of the sky. The fundamental building block of the detector and readout system is a detector module package operated at 100 mK, which is connected to a readout and amplification chain that carries signals out to room temperature. It uses arrays of feedhorn-coupled orthomode transducers (OMT) that collect optical power from the sky onto dc-voltage-biased transition-edge sensor (TES) bolometers. The resulting current signal in the TESs is then amplified by a two-stage cryogenic Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) system with a time-division multiplexer to reduce wire count, and matching room-temperature electronics to condition and transmit signals to the data acquisition system. Sensitivity and systematics requirements are being developed for the detector and readout system over wide range of observing bands (20 to 300 GHz) and optical powers to accomplish CMB-S4’s science goals. While the design incorporates the successes of previous generations of CMB instruments, CMB-S4 requires an order of magnitude more detectors than any prior experiment. This requires fabrication of complex superconducting circuits on over 10 m2 of silicon, as well as significant amounts of precision wiring, assembly and cryogenic testing

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2019

A Low Power, High Speed Readout for Pixel Detectors Based on an Arbitration Tree

A low-power, high-speed arbitration tree for pixel detector readout is presented. The synchronized, binary tree priority encoder establishes a position dependent priority list at the start of every time frame. Pixels that indicate the presence of data for readout, are sequentially granted access to a shared bus for data transfer to the periphery, without the use of an additional global strobe signal. It can be used for either full frame imaging or zero-suppressed readout, in which case it can simultaneously generate the pixel address. To increase the readout frame rate, the pixel array is subdivided into two halves, which allows interleaved latching of data at the output serializer. The design was implemented in a 65 nm LP-CMOS process for the readout of a 64 x 64 pixel array. Measurement results demonstrate a deadtime-less, full frame imaging rate of ~50 kfps, achieved with a dedicated output for every (32 x 32) 1024 pixels and for a pixel data packet of 11 bits, with no bit errors detected over 1000 frames. The measured energy per bit is 0.94 pJ.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2024

Radiation-Hard Smart-Pixel Detector ASIC ReadOut with Digital AI in 28nm

Detectors at future high energy colliders will face enormous technical challenges. Disentangling the unprecedented numbers of particles expected in each event will require highly granular silicon pixel detectors with billions of readout channels. With event rates as high as 40 MHz, these detectors will generate petabytes of data per second. To enable discovery within strict bandwidth and latency constraints, future trackers must be capable of fast, power efficient, and radiation hard data-reduction at the source. This effort is pursuing the co-design development of high-performance readout smart pixel ASICs for a future Phase III High Luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider. A 1.6mm2 ASIC prototype was designed by Fermilab in CMOS 28 nm bulk process and submitted for manufacturing in February 2024. It leverages the analog front-end pixel design of a previous prototype fabricated and tested in 2023, which achieved a simulated detection level of ~400e- with 30fF input capacitance. The ROIC consists of two matrices of 16×16 smart pixels, each 25×25 μm2 in size. Each smart pixel contains a charge-sensitive preamplifier with leakage current compensation and three auto-zero comparators for a 2-bit flash-type ADC. There is digital space for the integration of our fully combinatorial AI that performs momentum classification at the bunch crossing rate. The total power consumption is ∼6μW per pixel, which corresponds to ~1mW/cm2. The ASIC incorporates programmable front-end charge injection circuitry to generate pixel cluster charges during characterization. The cluster profile will be generated to duplicate hit characteristics of various momentum (pT). We will present early results from chip testing.

Parpillon, Benjamin↗
DOE OSTI2018

A Novel, Fast Readout, Gamma Detector System for Nuclear Fingerprinting - 18083

Decommissioning or cleanup of a nuclear facility or after a nuclear accident requires detailed knowledge of the type, distribution and amount of nuclear isotopes. Gamma spectroscopy is a technique that can provide this information in situ, using the energy deposited by incident photons into the spectrometer. However, the high precision needed limits the speed of measurement. In this work, we present a novel technique to achieve fast, precise measurements, employing a multi-detector system with a fast readout which is suitable for high radiation environments. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2018

The EBEX Balloon-borne Experiment—Detectors and Readout

EBEX was a long-duration balloon-borne experiment to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background. The experiment had three frequency bands centered at 150, 250, and 410 GHz and was the first to use a kilopixel array of transition edge sensor bolometers aboard a balloon platform. We determine the design and characterization of the array and the readout system. From the lowest to highest frequency, the median measured detectors' average thermal conductances were 39, 53, and 63 pW/K, the medians of transition temperatures were 0.45, 0.48, and 0.47 K, and the medians of normal resistances were 1.9, 1.5, and 1.4 Ω; moreover, we give the measured distributions. With the exception of the thermal conductance at 150 GHz, all measured values are within 30% of their design. We measure median low-loop-gain time constants τ 0 = 88, 46, and 57 ms. Two measurements of bolometer absorption efficiency gave results consistent within 10% and showing high (~0.9) efficiency at 150 GHz and medium (~0.35 and ~0.25) efficiency at the two higher bands. We calculate a median total optical power absorbed of 3.6, 5.3, and 5.0 pW. EBEX pioneered the use of the digital version of the frequency domain multiplexing system. We multiplexed the bias and readout of 16 bolometers onto two wires. The median per-detector noise-equivalent temperatures are 400, 920, and 14,500 $\mu {{\rm{K}}}_{{\rm{cmb}}}\sqrt{{\rm{s}}}$. We compare these values to our preflight predictions and to a previous balloon payload. We report on the sources of excess noise and the path for a future payload to make full use of the balloon environment.

instrumentation: polarimeters↗