Title :
VERDI: A versatile readout ASIC for radiation detectors
Author :
Celani, A. ; Bombelli, L. ; Fiorini, C. ; Frizzi, T. ; Nava, R. ; Pavlick, J. ; Kastner, M. ; Morichi, M. ; Roberson, B. ; Zakrzewski, B. ; Evrard, O. ; Cherukuri, C. ; Assouak, S.
Author_Institution :
Dipt. di Elettron. e Inf., Politec. di Milano, Milan, Italy
fDate :
Oct. 30 2010-Nov. 6 2010
Abstract :
In this work we present the circuit VERDI (VErsatile Readout for Detector Integration), an integrated circuit developed for the readout of different families of radiation detectors, from nitrogen-cooled Ge and Si(Li) detectors, to silicon drift detectors (SDDs), scintillation detectors, photomultipliers tubes and others. The circuit may represent a suitable solution when a compact integration between a multi-element detector and the front-end readout is needed to realize a compact and low-power detection module. The circuit includes 8 channels, each one composed by a charge preamplifier, a shaping amplifier, a gain stage, a baseline holder and a peak stretcher. An on-chip selector provides at the output of each channel the waveform of a specific stage, including an RC integrator for external digital processing of the signal. Alternatively, the 8 channels may be multiplexed on a single output. Different settings, like gain, shaping time, preamplifier compensation and others, may be externally programmed by SPI accordingly to the specific detector in use. Only the input JFET, feedback capacitor and reset device are left external to the ASIC, and must be chosen specifically for each detector. The results of preliminary experimental characterization of the circuit when used with different detectors are presented in this work.
Keywords :
application specific integrated circuits; germanium radiation detectors; photomultipliers; radiation detection; readout electronics; scintillation counters; silicon radiation detectors; JFET; RC integrator; SDD; VERDI; application specific integrated circuits; charge preamplifier; compact integration; external digital processing; feedback capacitor; front-end readout; gain stage; low-power detection module; multielement detector; nitrogen-cooled Ge detector; nitrogen-cooled Si(Li) detector; on-chip selector; photomultipliers tubes; preamplifier compensation; radiation detectors; reset device; scintillation detectors; shaping amplifier; silicon drift detectors; versatile readout ASIC; versatile readout-for-detector integration; waveform; Application specific integrated circuits; Capacitance; Detectors; JFETs; Multiplexing; Preamplifiers; Temperature measurement;
Conference_Titel :
Nuclear Science Symposium Conference Record (NSS/MIC), 2010 IEEE
Conference_Location :
Knoxville, TN
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-9106-3
DOI :
10.1109/NSSMIC.2010.5873997