Title :
A novel compact topology for high-resolution CMOS/BiCMOS spectroscopy amplifiers
Author :
Buzzetti, Siro ; Guazzoni, Chiara
Author_Institution :
Dipt. di Elettronica e Informazione, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Abstract :
In this work, we present the extensive analysis of a new class of current-mode shaping amplifiers that can be realized in CMOS or BiCMOS technology. They are suitable for high-resolution spectroscopy, as we have demonstrated in previous works. The proposed topology is suitable to design shaping amplifiers with a wide range of time constants (∼0.1-10 μs) in a very compact scheme. In particular, we show the results of two fourth-order shapers characterized by 500- and 167-ns shaping time, respectively, realized in 0.8-μm BiCMOS technology. The two prototypes were designed in view of the use with Silicon Drift Detectors for X-ray spectroscopy applications. The measured integral nonlinearity is below ±0.1% and the achieved energy resolution at the Mn Kα line (measured with the proposed spectroscopy amplifier with a 5 mm2 Peltier-cooled Silicon Drift Detector) is 160 eV full width at half maximum (FWHM) with 500-ns shaping time, comparable to the one obtained with a commercial shaping amplifier with the same time constant.
Keywords :
BiCMOS integrated circuits; CMOS integrated circuits; X-ray spectroscopy; amplifiers; nuclear electronics; position sensitive particle detectors; silicon radiation detectors; BiCMOS technology; CMOS technology; Peltier-cooled silicon drift detector; X-ray spectroscopy applications; current-mode shaping amplifiers; fourth-order shapers; full width at half maximum; high-resolution spectroscopy; silicon drift detectors; BiCMOS integrated circuits; CMOS technology; Energy measurement; Prototypes; Silicon; Spectroscopy; Time measurement; Topology; X-ray detection; X-ray detectors; BiCMOS front end; CMOS front end; X-ray spectroscopy; spectroscopy amplifier;
Journal_Title :
Nuclear Science, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TNS.2005.856726
