INNOSYS, INC. — Department of Energy SBIR Phase I: 30a

Description

The detection of individual photons, charged particles, neutrons, and atoms and molecules is the basis of a wide range of commercial and scientific applications, including medical imaging and diagnostics, mass spectroscopy, radiation scanners, reactor monitoring, and many scientific disciplines involving imaging such as nuclear, high-energy, and astro-physics. In many of these applications the time as well as the position of the arrival of a particle is measured. The primary market we are targeting is data acquisition in large scientific experiments in High Energy Physics, Nuclear Physics and Gamma Ray/Particle/Astrophysics; areas which already have substantial experience with large systems of fast waveform sampling. Applications that require timing in the picosecond range are still in need of cost effective, low cost circuits and systems. We propose to design and make commercially available a low-power waveform sampling application- specific integrated circuit that supports a deep buffer for an external trigger latency of over 3 microseconds and has a high analog input bandwidth. The deep buffer and commercial availability can be used in water or scintillator-based neutrino, proton-decay, or double-beta decay experiments; with suitable radiation- hardening in collider experiments; and for societal uses such as time-of flight Positron Emission Tomography and reactor monitoring for national security. These experiments cover at least two out of the five science drivers in the P5 strategic plan recommendations. To make time measurements in the picosecond range requires a fast low-noise sensor. Among the possible options, it has been shown that waveform sampling can provide better timing information than the competing choices of single and multiple threshold, and constant-fraction discriminators. We propose to use waveform sampling which has the additional advantages that it can deal with variable pulse shapes such as might come from medical instrumentation and diagnostics, nuclear physics experiments or a large-area detector. Our proposed solution and approach to address this consists of relatively low cost electrical sub-components that can be implemented in integrated circuits. An important additional benefit of waveform sampling is that, as with an oscilloscope, it allows for the detection and measurement of more complicated events and the ability to filter out background noise or poorly formed pulses and information. Design and implement an application specific integrated circuit and associated hardware, firmware and software. An anticipated public benefit is the ability to further the particle physics knowledge base while also developing a domestic manufacturer and commercial base for low-cost, affordable timing products including, among other products, high bandwidth 2 GHz and higher) waveform sampling application specific integrated circuits and related products including development kits. In addition, the technical, economic, social, and other benefits to the public to be realized from the successful completion of this project are significant and measurable. The proposed waveform sampler, once commercialized, will significantly improve the lower cost high speed and high sampling rate integrated circuits and associated electronics and systems such as low-cost, high-speed in-circuit test and diagnostic systems, communications systems, microprocessors and microcontrollers, data acquisition systems, monitoring and control systems, real-time analysis systems, and medical imaging and diagnostic tools.