In this work, we present a sixteen-channel, ultra low-voltage (≤ 0.1 V analog supply) current DAC designed in 22nm FDSOI technology for biasing SQUIDs. The ASIC integrates eight 6-bit DACs and eight 8-bit DACs, programmed through a simple serial interface. It operates effectively across a wide temperature range, from 300K to 4K, by using the back-gate bias to counteract threshold voltage...
The next-generation Cosmic Microwave Background Stage 4 (CMB-S4) survey aims to map the Cosmic Microwave Background with unprecedented sensitivity, probing key areas of fundamental physics such as inflation, exotic light relics, and dark energy. To meet these ambitious objectives, the experiment will deploy approximately 500,000 photon-noise-limited superconducting transition edge sensors...
Quantum computing (QC) applications require the manipulation and readout of thousands or even millions of quantum bits (qubits) to execute quantum algorithms. Utility-scale quantum systems rely on classical control and readout cryo-electronics, which must be tightly integrated with the qubits in the same environment. This integration reduces the connections between the cryogenic plane and room...
We present the design and performance of the DILVERT time-to-digital (TDC) readout chip developed for room temperature and 4K cryogenic operations. The chip simultaneously achieves very low power and picosecond timing resolution when operated in a cryogenic (4K) environment. It features configurable time bins and is an enabling technology for precision timing applications including 4D tracking...
In this talk we will present CHARMS250 and CHARMS10, next-generation cryogenic front-end application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) designed in a 65 nm process for low-noise readout of charge or light signals generated within noble liquid time projection chambers (TPCs). Both ASICs are designed for operation at temperatures ranging from room temperature down to liquid nitrogen...
Silicon photonics is a game-changing readout technology for detectors, including those required for next-generation collider experiments, combining extremely high throughput and low power with immunity to crosstalk and a low heat load for cryogenic detectors. We will present early results from a Lab-Directed Research & Development program which aims to demonstrate a practical Silicon-Photonic...
Q-Pix is an innovative approach for measuring ionization and, potentially, scintillation signals in large liquid argon Time Projection Chambers (LArTPCs). At its core is a self-triggering "Charge Integrate/Reset" circuit, where a charge-sensitive amplifier continuously integrates incoming current on a feedback capacitor. When the signal reaches a preset threshold, a ‘reset’ transition is...
In future high energy physics (HEP) experiments, proposed approaches to tracking the spatiotemporal information of charged particle trajectories on layers of detectors require FPGA clusters to process hit information and compute track parameters. For example, track triggering for the HL-LHC project requires processing of data volumes estimated up to 30 Tbits/s using 15K input combinatorics...
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...
We introduce a smart pixel prototype readout integrated circuit (ROIC) fabricated using a 28 nm bulk CMOS process, which integrates a machine learning (ML) algorithm for data filtering directly within the pixel region. This prototype serves as a proof-of-concept for a potential Phase III pixel detector upgrade of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)....
4D trackers with ~10ps timing will be transformative at future collider experiments. Timing is crucial for reducing the combinatorial challenge of track reconstruction at extremely high pileup densities, it offers completely new handles to detect and trigger on long-lived particles (LLP), expands the reach to search for new phenomena, and enables particle-ID capabilities at low transverse...
FoCal, a high-granularity forward calorimeter, is one of the ALICE detector upgrade projects for Run 4 at the CERN LHC, scheduled to collect data starting in 2029, after the Long Shutdown 3. The calorimeter has two main subsystems: a highly granular silicon-tungsten electromagnetic calorimeter (FoCal-E), and a conventional sampling hadronic calorimeter (FoCal-H). FoCal is designed to cover a...
We present the design and performance of the multi-channel Fermilab CFD ASIC (FCFD v1) developed for front-end readout of detectors with fast signals such as LGAD. The FCDF is a candidate readout ASIC for the barrel TOF detector of the ePIC experiment. It includes a specially designed discriminator that makes its response robust against amplitude variations of the signal. The application of...
Detectors at future colliders will require timing precision on the order of 10 ps. Towards this goal, we’ve developed a low-power, high-speed prototype ASIC named MetaRock. MetaRock is an evolution of the Pebbles ASIC. As compared to its predecessor, MetaRock has improvements in the layout of the Pebbles analog front-end to reduce parasitic capacitances and enhance timing resolution. An on...
LArPix is an end-to-end pixelated charge readout system for 3D imaging at the millimeter-scale in multi-tonne liquid argon time-projection chambers (LArTPCs). Leveraging large-scale commercial fabrication techniques, the system is designed to be highly scalable and robust, enabling low-cost quick-turn system production at industry standard. The system is based on the LArPix ASIC, a...
We report on progress with GAMPix (Grid-Activated Multi-scale Pixel readout), a novel charge readout system for TPCs. GAMPix is designed to enhance electron track reconstruction accuracy to the sub-millimeter level while ensuring high energy reconstruction accuracy with low power consumption. The GAMPix system uses coarse induction electrodes paired with pixel planes. Signals from the...
We present the room temperature I-V characterization of the MOSFETs embedded in a device fabricated from the open source Skywater 130 nanometer (SKY130) Process Design Kit (PDK). Using a vibration isolated device in a class 100 clean room we are able to obtain the output characteristics, transfer characteristics and gate capacitance of MOSFETs over a wide range of device sizes (lengths and...
A muon collider is envisioned as one of the future high energy physics particle colliders and due to the short-lived nature of muons a challenging beam induced background (BIB) is driving many of the detector requirements. A Pixel detector at a muon collider will have to withstand a unique set of challenges created by the BIB and are an opportunity to be explored in an early detector R&D...
Extreme edge-AI systems, such as those in readout ASICs for radiation detection, must operate under stringent hardware constraints such a micron-level dimensions, sub-milliwatt power, and nanosecond-scale speed while providing clear accuracy advantages over traditional architectures. Finding ideal solutions means identifying optimal AI and ASIC design choices from a design space that has...
To address the challenges of future collider experiment environments, machine learning (ML) in readout electronics can be leveraged for smart detector designs, enabling intelligent inference and data reduction at-source. Autoencoders offer a variety of benefits for front-end readout; an on-sensor encoder can perform efficient lossy data compression while simultaneously providing a latent space...
Embedded Field Programmable Gate Array (eFPGA) technology enables the integration of reconfigurable logic within an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). This methodology combines the low power consumption and efficiency of ASICs with the flexibility of FPGA configuration, making it particularly useful for machine learning applications in the data processing pipeline of future...
Silicon photonics provides a scalable platform for fiber optic communication applied to detector readout because it shares the same manufacturing processes and hardening efforts as mature Si CMOS electronics. Single mode fiber links are far superior to multimode fiber optics or electrical cabling, primarily due to the potential for much higher aggregate bandwidth. High spectral efficiency...
