Speaker
Description
PSD_CHIP is an ASIC developed jointly by UC Davis and LBNL
for reading out SiPM arrays. Each channel of the chip, besides providing
a fast trigger out pulse and a voltage level proportional to the total
area of the pulse, also performs an analog pulse shape discrimination
(PSD) function, based on a metric derived from partial and total
integrals of the input pulse. A single PSD bit is sent out. The time
windows for the two integrals are fully programmable in order to
accommodate the decay times of various scintillators. The front end
input is selectable for the polarity of the incoming pulse. Limited
programmability for the gain is also provided to optimize the dynamic
range for expected signal sizes. A 4-channel version of the chip was fabricated in the TSMC 180 nm process. The design and results from testing of the chip will be presented. This chip serves as the analog front-end of a larger design - the next version will also feature a digital back-end consisting of digitization and data processing blocks.
