Toward VIP-PIX: A Low Noise Readout ASIC for Pixelated CdTe Gamma-Ray Detectors for Use in the Next Generation of PET Scanners

VIP-PIX will be a low noise and low power pixel readout electronics with digital output for pixelated Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) detectors. The proposed pixel will be part of a 2D pixel-array detector for various types of nuclear medicine imaging devices such as positron-emission tomography (PET) scanners, Compton gamma cameras, and positron-emission mammography (PEM) scanners. Each pixel will include a SAR ADC that provides the energy deposited with 10-bit resolution. Simultaneously, the self-triggered pixel which will be connected to a global time-to-digital converter (TDC) with 1 ns resolution will provide the event´s time stamp. The analog part of the readout chain and the ADC have been fabricated with TSMC 0.25 μm mixed-signal CMOS technology and characterized with an external test pulse. The power consumption of these parts is 200 μW from a 2.5 V supply. It offers 4 switchable gains from ± 10 mV/fC to ± 40 mV/fC and an input charge dynamic range of up to ± 70 fC for the minimum gain for both polarities. Based on noise measurements, the expected equivalent noise charge (ENC) is 65 e^- RMS at room temperature.