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CZT & ASIC developmentThe principal technology challenge is the development of the very large array of CZT imaging detectors. The small pixels on a single CZT crystal allow more efficient detector and readout connections to a single multi-pixel readout ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), which provides charge preamp, shaping and peak detect on each pixel above a programmable threshold. The CZT-ASIC readout must allow for an inter-connect and packaging system that permits tiling of the CZT-ASIC modules in a semi-infinite detector plane without (significant) gaps to achieve maximum packing efficiency without dead spaces on a motherboard for interface to a digital data system. Over the past year of our current SRT program, we have carried out an extensive test program for the detector and RADNET ASIC module for the prototype module of 2 x 2 CZT crystals and ASICS for ProtoEXIST1. Many of the features of this ASIC (approximate gain, and particularly its multi-pixel readout capability) are appropriate for ProtoEXIST1. Thus, we employ the RADNET detector packaging architecture to be fundamental detector module - a Detector Crystal Module (DCM) consisting of a 20 x 20 x 5mm CZT crystal with 8 x 8 pixel anodes connected through an Interposer Board (IPB) to the ASIC underneath the IPB. The figure shows views of the DCM (yellow - IPB and pink - RADNET ASIC), and the photo shows the actual modules.
This has been in close collaboration with LLNL and
Caltech, who have developed a 64 channel ASIC derived from the
Caltech-HEFT design (Cook et al 1998) that was optimized for higher
energy range (~100-1000 keV) for Homeland Security application as a
cellphone-based radiation detector (RADNET).
The DCM mounts to a motherboard via a pingrid
array and 4 such DCMs will be mounted to a
common Detector Crystal Array (DCA) board containing the FPGA to
control and readout the 4 ASICs.
We combine 4 x 4 DCAs onto a Detector Module (DM,
256 cm2) and 4 DMs complete the detector plane
(10242cm) for ProtoEXIST1.
2. ProtoEXIST2 |