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We present the design and test results of two optical data transmission ASICs for the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) experiments. These ASICs include a two-channel serializer (LOCs2) and a single-channel Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) driver (LOCld1V2). Both ASICs are fabricated in a commercial 0.25-um Silicon-on-Sapphire (SoS) CMOS technology and operate at a data rate up to 8 Gbps per channel. The power consumption of LOCs2 and LOCld1V2 are 1.25 W and 0.27 W at 8-Gbps data rate, respectively. LOCld1V2 has been verified meeting the radiation-tolerance requirements for HL-LHC experiments., Comment: 9 pages, 12 figures

Pulse timing is an important topic in nuclear instrumentation, with far-reaching applications from high energy physics to radiation imaging. While high-speed analog-to-digital converters become more and more developed and accessible, their potential uses and merits in nuclear detector signal processing are still uncertain, partially due to associated timing algorithms which are not fully understood and utilized. In this paper, we propose a novel method based on deep learning for timing analysis of modularized detectors without explicit needs of labelling event data. By taking advantage of the intrinsic time correlations, a label-free loss function with a specially designed regularizer is formed to supervise the training of neural networks towards a meaningful and accurate mapping function. We mathematically demonstrate the existence of the optimal function desired by the method, and give a systematic algorithm for training and calibration of the model. The proposed method is validated on two experimental datasets based on silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) as main transducers. In the toy experiment, the neural network model achieves the single-channel time resolution of 8.8 ps and exhibits robustness against concept drift in the dataset. In the electromagnetic calorimeter experiment, several neural network models (FC, CNN and LSTM) are tested to show their conformance to the underlying physical constraint and to judge their performance against traditional methods. In total, the proposed method works well in either ideal or noisy experimental condition and recovers the time information from waveform samples successfully and precisely., Comment: 26 pages, 12 figures

High-resolution dynamic X-ray detector is crucial for time-resolved digital radiography (DR) imaging and fast 3D medical computed tomography (CT) imaging. Recently, perovskites have become promising alternatives to conventional semi-conductor materials, e.g., Si, a-Se and CdTe, for direct X-ray detection. However, the feasibility of their combination with high-speed pixelated complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) arrays remains unknown. This work originally reports an innovative direct-conversion X-ray detector fabricated with 300 micrometer thick inorganic perovskite film printed on a tailored CMOS array. In-house measurements demonstrate that the CsPbBr3 film has excellent optoelectric properties of an electron mobility-lifetime product of 3.40x10$^{-5}$ cm$^2$ V$^{-1}$, and the X-ray detector exhibits high sensitivity of 9341uC Gy$_{\rm air}^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$, and low detection limit of 588 nGy$_{\rm air}^{-1}$. This CMOS X-ray imaging detector achieves a high spatial resolution up to 5.5 lp/mm (close to the resolution limit of 6.0 lp/mm), and >300 frame per second (fps) readout speed. DR image of a resolution pattern phantom and a anesthesia mice, CT images of a biological specimen are acquired for the first time.

The Topmetal-M is a large area pixel sensor (18 mm * 23 mm) prototype fabricated in a new 130 nm high-resistivity CMOS process in 2019. It contains 400 rows * 512 columns square pixels with the pitch of 40 {\mu}m. In Topmetal-M, a novel charge collection method combing the Monolithic Active Pixel Sensor (MAPS) and the Topmetal sensor has been proposed for the first time. Both the ionized charge deposited by the particle in the sensor and along the track over the sensor can be collected. The in-pixel circuit mainly consists of a low-noise charge sensitive amplifier to establish the signal for the energy reconstruction, and a discriminator with a Time-to-Amplitude Converter (TAC) for the Time of Arrival (TOA) measurement. With this mechanism, the trajectory, particle hit position, energy and arrival time of the particle can be measured. The analog signal from each pixel is accessible through time-shared multiplexing over the entire pixel array. This paper will discuss the design and preliminary test results of the Topmetal-M sensor.

We present the design and test results of a Time-to-Digital-Converter (TDC). The TDC will be a part of the readout ASIC, called ETROC, to read out Low-Gain Avalanche Detectors (LGADs) for the CMS Endcap Timing Layer (ETL) of High-Luminosity LHC upgrade. One of the challenges of the ETROC design is that the TDC is required to consume less than 200 W for each pixel at the nominal hit occupancy of 1%. To meet the low-power requirement, we use a single delay line for both the Time of Arrival (TOA) and the Time over Threshold (TOT) measurements without delay control. A double-strobe self-calibration scheme is used to compensate for process variation, temperature, and power supply voltage. The TDC is fabricated in a 65 nm CMOS technology. The overall performances of the TDC have been evaluated. The TOA has a bin size of 17.8 ps within its effective dynamic range of 11.6 ns. The effective measurement precision of the TOA is 5.6 ps and 9.9 ps with and without the nonlinearity correction, respectively. The TDC block consumes 97 W at the hit occupancy of 1%. Over a temperature range from 23 C to 78 C and a power supply voltage range from 1.05 V to 1.35 V (the nominal value of 1.20 V), the self-calibrated bin size of the TOA varies within 0.4%. The measured TDC performances meet the requirements except that more tests will be performed in the future to verify that the TDC complies with the radiation-tolerance specifications., Comment: 8 pages, 16 figures. 22nd IEEE Real Time Conference

We present the design principle and test results of a data transmitting ASIC, GBS20, for particle physics experiments. The goal of GBS20 will be an ASIC that employs two serializers each from the 10.24 Gbps lpGBT SerDes, sharing the PLL also from lpGBT. A PAM4 encoder plus a VCSEL driver will be implemented in the same die to use the same clock system, eliminating the need of CDRs in the PAM4 encoder. This way the transmitter module, GBT20, developed using the GBS20 ASIC, will have the exact lpGBT data interface and transmission protocol, with an output up to 20.48 Gbps over one fiber. With PAM4 embedded FPGAs at the receiving end, GBT20 will halve the fibers needed in a system and better use the input bandwidth of the FPGA. A prototype, GBS20v0 is fabricated using a commercial 65 nm CMOS technology. This prototype has two serializers and a PAM4 encoder sharing the lpGBT PLL, but no user data input. An internal PRBS generator provides data to the serializers. GBS20v0 is tested barely up to 20.48 Gbps. With lessons learned from this prototype, we are designing the second prototype, GBS20v1, that will have 16 user data input channels each at 1.28 Gbps. We present the design concept of the GBS20 ASIC and the GBT20 module, the preliminary test results, and lessons learned from GBS20v0 and the design of GBS20v1 which will be not only a test chip but also a user chip with 16 input data channels., Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures,22nd IEEE Real Time Conference

We propose a novel charge sensing concept for high-pressure Time Projection Chamber (TPC) to search for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay (NLDBD) with ton-scale isotope mass and beyond. A meter-sized plane, tiled with an array of CMOS integrated sensors called Topmetal that directly collect charge without gas avalanche gain, is to be deployed into a high-pressure gaseous TPC with working gases containing suitable NLDBD candidate isotopes such as Xe-136 and Se-82. The Topmetal sensor has an electronic noise <30 e- per pixel, which allows the detector to reach <1% FWHM energy resolution at the NLDBD Q-value for both Xe-136 and 82SeF6 gases by measuring ionization charges alone. The elimination of charge avalanche gain allows the direct sensing of slow-drifting ions, which enables the use of highly electronegative gas SeF6 in which free electrons do not exist. It supports the swapping of working gases without hardware modification, which is a unique way to validate signals against radioactive backgrounds. Since the sensor manufacturing and plane assembling could leverage unaltered industrial mass-production processes, stability, uniformity, scalability, and cost-effectiveness that are required for ton-scale experiments could all be reached. The strengths of TPC such as 3D ionization tracking and decay daughter tagging are retained. This development could lead to a competitive NLDBD experiment at and above ton-scale. The conceptual considerations, simulations, and initial prototyping are discussed.

In this paper, we present the design and test results of LOCx2, a transmitter ASIC for the ATLAS Liquid Argon Calorimeter trigger upgrade. LOCx2 consists of two channels and each channel encodes ADC data with an overhead of 14.3% and transmits serial data at 5.12 Gbps with a latency of less than 27.2 ns. LOCx2 is fabricated with a commercial 0.25-um Silicon-on-Sapphire CMOS technology and is packaged in a 100-pin QFN package. The power consumption of LOCx2 is about 843 mW.

A Liquid-argon Trigger Digitizer Board (LTDB) is being developed to upgrade the ATLAS Liquid Argon Calorimeter Phase-I trigger electronics. The LTDB located at the front end needs to obtain the clock signals and be configured and monitored remotely from the back end. A clock and control system is being developed for the LTDB and the major functions of the system have been evaluated. The design and evaluation of the clock and control system are presented in this paper.

We report the development of a mid-board, TOSA and ROSA based miniature dual channel optical transmitter (MTx) and a transceiver (MTRx). The design transmission data rate is 5.12 Gbps per channel and receiving data rate 4.8 Gbps. MTx and MTRx are only 6 mm tall and are electrically and optically pluggable. Although the fiber TOSA/ROSA coupling is through a custom latch, the fiber uses the standard LC ferrule, flange and spring. Light coupling is ensured by the TOSA and ROSA with the LC coupling mechanism. With the dual channel serializer LOCx2 sits under MTx, one achieves high data transmission with a small PCB footprint, and enjoys the reliability of the hermetically packaged TOSA. MTx and MTRx are designed for detector front-end readout of the ATLAS Liquid Argon Calorimeter (LAr) trigger upgrade.

In this paper, we present a dual-channel serializer ASIC, LOCx2, and its pin-compatible backup, LOCx2-130, for detector front-end readout. LOCx2 is fabricated in a 0.25-um Silicon-on-Sapphire CMOS process and each channel operates at 5.12 Gbps, while LOCx2-130 is fabricated in a 130-nm bulk CMOS process and each channel operates at 4.8 Gbps. The power consumption and the transmission latency are 900 mW and 27 ns for LOCx2 and the corresponding simulation result of LOCx2-130 are 386 mW and 38 ns, respectively., Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures

A multi-species reactive transport model based on the sequential non-iterative approach is employed to investigate two major stages involved in artificial pit experiments of stainless steel: I. Stable pitting under a salt film and II. Film-free dissolution that transitions to repassivation. Data of current density and electrical potential obtained from rapid polarization scans of pits with different depths are utilized to calibrate the elapsed time and the electrode kinetics of each stage. The local chemistry near the base of pits at different temperature and bulk concentrations is simulated to determine several critical electrochemical factors at saturation and repassivation.

Accurate measuring the location and orientation of individual particles in a beam monitoring system is of particular interest to researchers in multiple disciplines. Among feasible methods, gaseous drift chambers with hybrid pixel sensors have the great potential to realize long-term stable measurement with considerable precision. In this paper, we introduce deep learning to analyze patterns in the beam projection image to facilitate three-dimensional reconstruction of particle tracks. We propose an end-to-end neural network based on segmentation and fitting for feature extraction and regression. Two segmentation branches, named binary segmentation and semantic segmentation, perform initial track determination and pixel-track association. Then pixels are assigned to multiple tracks, and a weighted least squares fitting is implemented with full back-propagation. Besides, we introduce a center-angle measure to judge the precision of location and orientation by combining two separate factors. The initial position resolution achieves 8.8 $\mu m$ for the single track and 11.4 $\mu m$ (15.2 $\mu m$) for the 1-3 tracks (1-5 tracks), and the angle resolution achieves 0.15$^{\circ}$ and 0.21$^{\circ}$ (0.29$^{\circ}$) respectively. These results show a significant improvement in accuracy and multi-track compatibility compared to traditional methods., Comment: 39 pages, 15 figures

This article presents the readout electronics of a novel beam monitoring system for ion research facility accelerator. The readout electronics are divided into Front-end Card (FEC) and Readout Control Unit (RCU). FEC uses Topmetal II minus to processes the energy of the hitting particles and convert it into a voltage signal. The main function of RCU is to digitize the analog output signal of FEC and format the raw data. On the other hand, the RCU also processes the control commands from the host and distributes the commands according to the mapping. The readout electronic has been characterized and calibrated in the laboratory, and have been installed with the detector. Implementation and testing of readout electronics have been discussed.

We present the design and the test results of a dual-channel Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL) driver ASIC LOCld65 for detector front-end readout. LOCld65 is designed in a commercial 65-nm CMOS technology with a power supply of 1.2 V. LOCld65 contains two separate channels with the same structure and the two channels share an I2C slave. Each channel consists of an input amplifier, four stages of limiting amplifiers (LAs), a high-current output driver, and a bias-current generator. In order to extend the bandwidth, the input amplifier uses an inductive peaking technique and the LAs use a shared inductive peaking technique. The input amplifier and the output driver each utilize a Continuous-Time Linear Equalizer (CTLE). The LAs employ active feedback. The modulation current, the bias current, the peaking strength of the CTLEs, and the feedback strength of LAs are programmable through an I2C interface. In order to protect from the radiation damage, the I2C slave is implemented with triple modular redundancy. Each channel of LOCld65 is tested to operate up to 14 Gbps with typical power dissipations (the VCSEL included) of 68.3 mW/channel and 62.1 mW/channel at the VCSEL voltages of 3.3 V and 2.5 V, respectively. LOCld65 survives 4.9 kGy(SiO2). LOCld65 is an excellent match for the serializer-deserializer ASIC lpGBT in single- or dual-channel optical transmitters in HL-LHC upgrade applications., Comment: 8 pages, 12 figures, presented at 21st IEEE Real Time Conference, Colonial Williamsburg, VA, USA, 9-15 June 2018

This paper presents development and characterization of a 3.2 Gb/s serial link transmitter for CMOS image sensors. The transmitter incorporates Reed-Solomon code to achieve low error rate in the harsh environment of subatomic physics experiments. Pre-emphasis is implemented in the transmitter, allowing data transmission over low-mass cables. It is fabricated in a 0.18 $\mu m$ CMOS image process as a standalone chip to characterize its performance, with the core area of 1.8 $mm^2$. A frame data rate of $3\cdot10^{-12}$ with a confidence level of 94.5$\%$ was measured through an FPGA based receiver. The measured nominal power consumption is 135 mW. The transmitter functions normally after irradiated with 4.5 Mrad TID.

In the search for neutrinoless double-beta decay, the high-pressure gaseous Time Projection Chamber has a distinct advantage, because the ionization charge tracks produced by particle interactions are extended and the detector captures the full three-dimensional charge distribution with appropriate charge readout systems. Such information of tracks provides a crucial extra-handle for discriminating signal events against backgrounds. In this paper, we constructed a toy model to demonstrate where the discrimination power comes from and how much of it the neural network models have already harnessed. Then we adapted 3-dimensional convolutional and residual neural networks on the simulated double-beta and background charge tracks and tested their capabilities in classifying these two types of events. We show that both the 3D structure and the overall depth of the neural networks significantly improve the accuracy of the classifier and lead to results better than previous works. We also studied their performance under various spatial granularities as well as different diffusion and noise conditions. The results indicate that the methods are stable and generalize well despite varying experimental conditions., Comment: 27 pages, 13 figures, 5 tables

In this paper, we study how pixel size influences energy resolution for a proposed pixelated detector---a high sensitivity, low cost, and real-time radon monitor based on \textit{Topmetal-${II}^-$} time projection chamber (TPC). Using \textit{Topmetal-${II}^-$} sensors assembled by 0.35 $\mu$m CMOS Integrated Circuit process, this monitor is designed to improve the spatial resolution of detecting radon alpha particles. Concerning small pixel size might has a side effect of worsening energy resolution due to lower signal to noise ratio, a Great4-based simulation is used to figure out energy resolution dependence on pixel size ranging from 60 $\mu$m to 600 $\mu$m. A non-monotonic trend in this region shows a combination effect of pixel size with threshold on pixel, and is analyzed by introducing an empirical expression. Noise on pixel contributes 50 keV Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) energy resolution for 400 $\mu$m pixel size at 1 $\sim$ 4 $\sigma$ threshold, which is comparable to the energy resolution caused by energy fluctuation in ionization process of TPC ($\sim$ 20 keV). The total energy resolution after combining both factors is estimated to be 54 keV for 400 $\mu$m pixel size at 1 $\sim$ 4 $\sigma$ threshold. The analysis presented in this paper is helpful to choosing suitable pixel size for future pixelated detectors., Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures

The PiXeL detector (PXL) for the Heavy Flavor Tracker (HFT) of the STAR experiment at RHIC is the first application of the state-of-the-art thin Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS) technology in a collider environment. Custom built pixel sensors, their readout electronics and the detector mechanical structure are described in detail. Selected detector design aspects and production steps are presented. The detector operations during the three years of data taking (2014-2016) and the overall performance exceeding the design specifications are discussed in the conclusive sections of this paper.

We report the design and test results of a beam monitor developed for online monitoring in hadron therapy. The beam monitor uses eight silicon pixel sensors, \textit{Topmetal-${II}^-$}, as the anode array. \textit{Topmetal-${II}^-$} is a charge sensor designed in a CMOS 0.35 $\mu$m technology. Each \textit{Topmetal-${II}^-$} sensor has $72\times72$ pixels and the pixel size is $83\times83$ $\mu$m$^2$. In our design, the beam passes through the beam monitor without hitting the electrodes, making the beam monitor especially suitable for monitoring heavy ion beams. This design also reduces radiation damage to the beam monitor itself. The beam monitor is tested with a carbon ion beam at the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL). Results indicate that the beam monitor can measure position, incidence angle and intensity of the beam with a position resolution better than 20 $\mu$m, angular resolution about 0.5$^\circ$ and intensity statistical accuracy better than 2$\%$.

\textit{Topmetal-${II}^-$} is a low noise CMOS pixel direct charge sensor with a pitch of 83$\mu m$. CdZnTe is an excellent semiconductor material for radiation detection. The combination of CdZnTe and the sensor makes it possible to build a detector with high spatial resolution. In our experiments, an epoxy adhesive is used as the conductive medium to connect the sensor and Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CdZnTe). The diffusion coefficient and charge efficiency of electrons are measured at a low bias voltage of -2 Volts, and the image of a single alpha is clear with a reasonable spatial resolution. The detector of such structure has the potential to be applied in X-ray imaging systems with a further improvements of the sensor., Comment: 4 pages,6 figures

Searching for the Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay (NLDBD) is now regarded as the topmost promising technique to explore the nature of neutrinos after the discovery of neutrino masses in oscillation experiments. PandaX-III (Particle And Astrophysical Xenon Experiment III) will search for the NLDBD of $^{136}$Xe at the China Jin Ping underground Laboratory (CJPL). In the first phase of the experiment, a high pressure gas Time Projection Chamber (TPC) will contain 200 kg, 90% $^{136}$Xe enriched gas operated at 10 bar. Fine pitch micro-pattern gas detector (Microbulk Micromegas) will be used at both ends of the TPC for the charge readout with a cathode in the middle. Charge signals can be used to reconstruct tracks of NLDBD events and provide good energy and spatial resolution. The detector will be immersed in a large water tank to ensure $\sim$5 m of water shielding in all directions. The second phase, a ton-scale experiment, will consist of five TPCs in the same water tank, with improved energy resolution and better control over backgrounds.

We present the detailed study of the digital readout of Topmetal-II- CMOS pixel direct charge sensor. Topmetal-II- is an integrated sensor with an array of 72X72 pixels each capable of directly collecting external charge through exposed metal electrodes in the topmost metal layer. In addition to the time-shared multiplexing readout of the analog output from Charge Sensitive Amplifiers in each pixel, hits are also generated through comparators with individually DAC settable thresholds in each pixel. The hits are read out via a column-based priority logic structure, retaining both hit location and time information. The in-array column-based priority logic is fully combinational hence there is no clock distributed in the pixel array. Sequential logic and clock are placed on the peripheral of the array. We studied the detailed working behavior and performance of this readout, and demonstrated its potential in imaging applications.

\textit{Topmetal-${II}^-$} is a highly pixelated direct charge sensor that contains a 72${\times}$72 pixel array of 83${\mu}$m pitch size. The key feature of \textit{Topmetal-${II}^-$} is that it can directly collect charges via metal nodes of each pixel to form two-dimensional images of charge cloud distributions. \textit{Topmetal-${II}^-$} was proved to measure charged particles without amplification at room temperature. To measure its performance at cryogenic temperature, a \textit{Topmetal-${II}^-$} sensor is embedded into a liquid nitrogen dewar. The results presented in this paper show that \textit{Topmetal-${II}^-$} can also operate well at this low temperature with a noise (ENC) of 12 e$^-$ lower than that at room temperature (13 e$^-$). From the noise perspective, \textit{Topmetal-${II}^-$} is a promising candidate for the next generation readout of liquid argon and xenon Time Projection Chamber (TPC) used in experiments searching for neutrinoless double beta decay and dark matter., Comment: 5 pages

We report the design and characterization of a CMOS pixel direct charge sensor, Topmetal-II-, fabricated in a standard 0.35um CMOS Integrated Circuit process. The sensor utilizes exposed metal patches on top of each pixel to directly collect charge. Each pixel contains a low-noise charge-sensitive preamplifier to establish the analog signal and a discriminator with tunable threshold to generate hits. The analog signal from each pixel is accessible through time-shared multiplexing over the entire array. Hits are read out digitally through a column-based priority logic structure. Tests show that the sensor achieved a <15e- analog noise and a 200e- minimum threshold for digital readout per pixel. The sensor is capable of detecting both electrons and ions drifting in gas. These characteristics enable its use as the charge readout device in future Time Projection Chambers without gaseous gain mechanism, which has unique advantages in low background and low rate-density experiments.