Analog electro-optical readout of SiPMs achieves fast timing required for time-of-flight PET/MR

PubMed Central

Bieniosek, MF

2015-01-01

The design of combined positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance (PET/MR) systems presents a number of challenges to engineers, as it forces the PET system to acquire data in space constrained environment that is sensitive to electro-magnetic interference and contains high static, radio frequency (RF) and gradient fields. In this work we validate fast timing performance of a PET scintillation detector using a potentially very compact, very low power, and MR compatible readout method in which analog silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) signals are transmitted optically away from the MR bore with little or even no additional readout electronics. This analog ‘electro-optial’ method could reduce the entire PET readout in the MR bore to two compact, low power components (SiPMs and lasers). Our experiments show fast timing performance from analog electro-optical readout with and without pre-amplification. With 3mm × 3mm × 20mm lutetium-yttrium oxyorthosilicate (LYSO) crystals and Excelitas SiPMs the best two-sided fwhm coincident timing resolution achieved was 220 +/- 3ps in electrical mode, 230 +/- 2ps in electro-optical with preamp mode, and 253 +/- 2ps in electro-optical without preamp mode. Timing measurements were also performed with Hamamatsu SiPMs and 3mm × 3mm × 5mm crystals. In the future the timing degradation seen can be further reduced with lower laser noise or improvements SiPM rise time or gain. PMID:25905626

Comparing SiGe HBT Amplifier Circuits for Fast Single-shot Spin Readout

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

England, Troy; Curry, Matthew; Carr, Stephen; Mounce, Andrew; Jock, Ryan; Sharma, Peter; Bureau-Oxton, Chloe; Rudolph, Martin; Hardin, Terry; Carroll, Malcolm

Fast, low-power quantum state readout is one of many challenges facing quantum information processing. Single electron transistors (SETs) are potentially fast, sensitive detectors for performing spin readout. From a circuit perspective, however, their output impedance and nonlinear conductance are ill suited to drive the parasitic capacitance of coaxial conductors used in cryogenic environments, necessitating a cryogenic amplification stage. We will compare two amplifiers based on single-transistor circuits implemented with silicon germanium heterojunction bipolar transistors. Both amplifiers provide gain at low power levels, but the dynamics of each circuit vary significantly. We will explore the gain mechanisms, linearity, and noise of each circuit and explain the situations in which each amplifier is best used. This work was performed, in part, at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, a U.S. DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences user facility. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed-Martin Company, for the U. S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC04-94AL85000.

Towards a heralded eigenstate-preserving measurement of multi-qubit parity in circuit QED

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huembeli, Patrick; Nigg, Simon E.

2017-07-01

Eigenstate-preserving multi-qubit parity measurements lie at the heart of stabilizer quantum error correction, which is a promising approach to mitigate the problem of decoherence in quantum computers. In this work we explore a high-fidelity, eigenstate-preserving parity readout for superconducting qubits dispersively coupled to a microwave resonator, where the parity bit is encoded in the amplitude of a coherent state of the resonator. Detecting photons emitted by the resonator via a current biased Josephson junction yields information about the parity bit. We analyze theoretically the measurement back action in the limit of a strongly coupled fast detector and show that in general such a parity measurement, while approximately quantum nondemolition is not eigenstate preserving. To remediate this shortcoming we propose a simple dynamical decoupling technique during photon detection, which greatly reduces decoherence within a given parity subspace. Furthermore, by applying a sequence of fast displacement operations interleaved with the dynamical decoupling pulses, the natural bias of this binary detector can be efficiently suppressed. Finally, we introduce the concept of a heralded parity measurement, where a detector click guarantees successful multi-qubit parity detection even for finite detection efficiency.

Room temperature 1040fps, 1 megapixel photon-counting image sensor with 1.1um pixel pitch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masoodian, S.; Ma, J.; Starkey, D.; Wang, T. J.; Yamashita, Y.; Fossum, E. R.

2017-05-01

A 1Mjot single-bit quanta image sensor (QIS) implemented in a stacked backside-illuminated (BSI) process is presented. This is the first work to report a megapixel photon-counting CMOS-type image sensor to the best of our knowledge. A QIS with 1.1μm pitch tapered-pump-gate jots is implemented with cluster-parallel readout, where each cluster of jots is associated with its own dedicated readout electronics stacked under the cluster. Power dissipation is reduced with this cluster readout because of the reduced column bus parasitic capacitance, which is important for the development of 1Gjot arrays. The QIS functions at 1040fps with binary readout and dissipates only 17.6mW, including I/O pads. The readout signal chain uses a fully differential charge-transfer amplifier (CTA) gain stage before a 1b-ADC to achieve an energy/bit FOM of 16.1pJ/b and 6.9pJ/b for the whole sensor and gain stage+ADC, respectively. Analog outputs with on-chip gain are implemented for pixel characterization purposes.

New Fast Beam Conditions Monitoring (BCM1F) system for CMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zagozdzinska, A. A.; Bell, A. J.; Dabrowski, A. E.; Hempel, M.; Henschel, H. M.; Karacheban, O.; Przyborowski, D.; Leonard, J. L.; Penno, M.; Pozniak, K. T.; Miraglia, M.; Lange, W.; Lohmann, W.; Ryjov, V.; Lokhovitskiy, A.; Stickland, D.; Walsh, R.

2016-01-01

The CMS Beam Radiation Instrumentation and Luminosity (BRIL) project is composed of several systems providing the experiment protection from adverse beam conditions while also measuring the online luminosity and beam background. Although the readout bandwidth of the Fast Beam Conditions Monitoring system (BCM1F—one of the faster monitoring systems of the CMS BRIL), was sufficient for the initial LHC conditions, the foreseen enhancement of the beams parameters after the LHC Long Shutdown-1 (LS1) imposed the upgrade of the system. This paper presents the new BCM1F, which is designed to provide real-time fast diagnosis of beam conditions and instantaneous luminosity with readout able to resolve the 25 ns bunch structure.

75 FR 82372 - Application(s) for Duty-Free Entry of Scientific Instruments

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-30

..., Argonne LLC, 9700 South Cass Ave., Lemont, IL 60439. Instrument: Pilatus 100K Pixel Detector System... efficiency (no readout noise and direct detection scheme), high dynamic range (20-bits), and fast readout.... Instrument: Pilatus 300K Pixel Detector System. Manufacturer: Dectris Ltd., Switzerland. Intended Use: The...

Measurement, modeling, and simulation of cryogenic SiGe HBT amplifier circuits for fast single spin readout

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

England, Troy; Curry, Matthew; Carr, Steve; Swartzentruber, Brian; Lilly, Michael; Bishop, Nathan; Carrol, Malcolm

2015-03-01

Fast, low-power quantum state readout is one of many challenges facing quantum information processing. Single electron transistors (SETs) are potentially fast, sensitive detectors for performing spin readout of electrons bound to Si:P donors. From a circuit perspective, however, their output impedance and nonlinear conductance are ill suited to drive the parasitic capacitance typical of coaxial conductors used in cryogenic environments, necessitating a cryogenic amplification stage. We will discuss calibration data, as well as modeling and simulation of cryogenic silicon-germanium (SiGe) heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) circuits connected to a silicon SET and operating at 4 K. We find a continuum of solutions from simple, single-HBT amplifiers to more complex, multi-HBT circuits suitable for integration, with varying noise levels and power vs. bandwidth tradeoffs. This work was performed, in part, at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, a U.S. DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences user facility. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed-Martin Company, for the U. S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC04-94AL85000.

MuTRiG: a mixed signal Silicon Photomultiplier readout ASIC with high timing resolution and gigabit data link

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, H.; Briggl, K.; Eckert, P.; Harion, T.; Munwes, Y.; Shen, W.; Stankova, V.; Schultz-Coulon, H. C.

2017-01-01

MuTRiG is a mixed signal Silicon Photomultiplier readout ASIC designed in UMC 180 nm CMOS technology for precise timing and high event rate applications in high energy physics experiments and medical imaging. It is dedicated to the readout of the scintillating fiber detector and the scintillating tile detector of the Mu3e experiment. The MuTRiG chip extends the excellent timing performance of the STiCv3 chip with a fast digital readout for high rate applications. The high timing performance of the fully differential SiPM readout channels and 50 ps time binning TDCs are complemented by an upgraded digital readout logic and a 1.28 Gbps LVDS serial data link. The design of the chip and the characterization results of the analog front-end, TDC and the LVDS data link are presented.

Feasibility study using MRI and two optical CT scanners for readout of polymer gel and PresageTM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Svensson, H.; Skyt, P. S.; Ceberg, S.; Doran, S.; Muren, L. P.; Balling, P.; Petersen, J. B. B.; Bäck, S. Å. J.

2013-06-01

The aim of this study was to compare the conventional combination of three-dimensional dosimeter (nPAG gel) and readout method (MRI) with other combinations of three-dimensional dosimeters (nPAG gel/PresageTM) and readout methods (optical CT scanners). In the first experiment, the dose readout of a gel irradiated with a four field-box technique was performed with both an Octopus IQ scanner and MRI. It was seen that the MRI readout agreed slightly better to the TPS. In another experiment, a gel and a PresageTM sample were irradiated with a VMAT field and read out using MRI and a fast laser scanner, respectively. A comparison between the TPS and the volumes revealed that the MRI/gel readout had closer resemblance to the TPS than the optical CT/PresageTM readout. There are clearly potential in the evaluated optical CT scanners, but more time has to be invested in the particular scanning scenario than was possible in this study.

Fast, high-resolution 3D dosimetry utilizing a novel optical-CT scanner incorporating tertiary telecentric collimation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sakhalkar, H. S.; Oldham, M.

2008-01-15

This study introduces a charge coupled device (CCD) area detector based optical-computed tomography (optical-CT) scanner for comprehensive verification of radiation dose distributions recorded in nonscattering radiochromic dosimeters. Defining characteristics include: (i) a very fast scanning time of {approx}5 min to acquire a complete three-dimensional (3D) dataset, (ii) improved image formation through the use of custom telecentric optics, which ensures accurate projection images and minimizes artifacts from scattered and stray-light sources, and (iii) high resolution (potentially 50 {mu}m) isotropic 3D dose readout. The performance of the CCD scanner for 3D dose readout was evaluated by comparison with independent 3D readout frommore » the single laser beam OCTOPUS-scanner for the same PRESAGE dosimeters. The OCTOPUS scanner was considered the 'gold standard' technique in light of prior studies demonstrating its accuracy. Additional comparisons were made against calculated dose distributions from the ECLIPSE treatment-planning system. Dose readout for the following treatments were investigated: (i) a single rectangular beam irradiation to investigate small field and very steep dose gradient dosimetry away from edge effects, (ii) a 2-field open beam parallel-opposed irradiation to investigate dosimetry along steep dose gradients, and (iii) a 7-field intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) irradiation to investigate dosimetry for complex treatment delivery involving modulation of fluence and for dosimetry along moderate dose gradients. Dose profiles, dose-difference plots, and gamma maps were employed to evaluate quantitative estimates of agreement between independently measured and calculated dose distributions. Results indicated that dose readout from the CCD scanner was in agreement with independent gold-standard readout from the OCTOPUS-scanner as well as the calculated ECLIPSE dose distribution for all treatments, except in regions within a few millimeters of the edge of the dosimeter, where edge artifact is predominant. Agreement of line profiles was observed, even along steep dose gradients. Dose difference plots indicated that the CCD scanner dose readout differed from the OCTOPUSscanner readout and ECLIPSE calculations by {approx}10% along steep dose gradients and by {approx}5% along moderate dose gradients. Gamma maps (3% dose-difference and 3 mm distance-to-agreement acceptance criteria) revealed agreement, except for regions within 5 mm of the edge of the dosimeter where the edge artifact occurs. In summary, the data demonstrate feasibility of using the fast, high-resolution CCD scanner for comprehensive 3D dosimetry in all applications, except where dose readout is required close to the edges of the dosimeter. Further work is ongoing to reduce this artifact.« less

A Binary Offset Effect in CCD Readout and Its Impact on Astronomical Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boone, K.; Aldering, G.; Copin, Y.; Dixon, S.; Domagalski, R. S.; Gangler, E.; Pecontal, E.; Perlmutter, S.

2018-06-01

We have discovered an anomalous behavior of CCD readout electronics that affects their use in many astronomical applications. An offset in the digitization of the CCD output voltage that depends on the binary encoding of one pixel is added to pixels that are read out one, two, and/or three pixels later. One result of this effect is the introduction of a differential offset in the background when comparing regions with and without flux from science targets. Conventional data reduction methods do not correct for this offset. We find this effect in 16 of 22 instruments investigated, covering a variety of telescopes and many different front-end electronics systems. The affected instruments include LRIS and DEIMOS on the Keck telescopes, WFC3 UVIS and STIS on HST, MegaCam on CFHT, SNIFS on the UH88 telescope, GMOS on the Gemini telescopes, HSC on Subaru, and FORS on VLT. The amplitude of the introduced offset is up to 4.5 ADU per pixel, and it is not directly proportional to the measured ADU level. We have developed a model that can be used to detect this “binary offset effect” in data, and correct for it. Understanding how data are affected and applying a correction for the effect is essential for precise astronomical measurements.

Time and position sensitive single photon detector for scintillator read-out

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schössler, S.; Bromberger, B.; Brandis, M.; Schmidt, L. Ph H.; Tittelmeier, K.; Czasch, A.; Dangendorf, V.; Jagutzki, O.

2012-02-01

We have developed a photon counting detector system for combined neutron and γ radiography which can determine position, time and intensity of a secondary photon flash created by a high-energy particle or photon within a scintillator screen. The system is based on a micro-channel plate photomultiplier concept utilizing image charge coupling to a position- and time-sensitive read-out anode placed outside the vacuum tube in air, aided by a standard photomultiplier and very fast pulse-height analyzing electronics. Due to the low dead time of all system components it can cope with the high throughput demands of a proposed combined fast neutron and dual discrete energy γ radiography method (FNDDER). We show tests with different types of delay-line read-out anodes and present a novel pulse-height-to-time converter circuit with its potential to discriminate γ energies for the projected FNDDER devices for an automated cargo container inspection system (ACCIS).

Optical tomographic memories: algorithms for the efficient information readout

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pantelic, Dejan V.

1990-07-01

Tomographic alogithms are modified in order to reconstruct the inf ormation previously stored by focusing laser radiation in a volume of photosensitive media. Apriori information about the position of bits of inf ormation is used. 1. THE PRINCIPLES OF TOMOGRAPHIC MEMORIES Tomographic principles can be used to store and reconstruct the inf ormation artificially stored in a bulk of a photosensitive media 1 The information is stored by changing some characteristics of a memory material (e. g. refractive index). Radiation from the two independent light sources (e. g. lasers) is f ocused inside the memory material. In this way the intensity of the light is above the threshold only in the localized point where the light rays intersect. By scanning the material the information can be stored in binary or nary format. When the information is stored it can be read by tomographic methods. However the situation is quite different from the classical tomographic problem. Here a lot of apriori information is present regarding the p0- sitions of the bits of information profile representing single bit and a mode of operation (binary or n-ary). 2. ALGORITHMS FOR THE READOUT OF THE TOMOGRAPHIC MEMORIES Apriori information enables efficient reconstruction of the memory contents. In this paper a few methods for the information readout together with the simulation results will be presented. Special attention will be given to the noise considerations. Two different

Reverse Fluorescence Enhancement and Colorimetric Bimodal Signal Readout Immunochromatography Test Strip for Ultrasensitive Large-Scale Screening and Postoperative Monitoring.

PubMed

Yao, Yingyi; Guo, Weisheng; Zhang, Jian; Wu, Yudong; Fu, Weihua; Liu, Tingting; Wu, Xiaoli; Wang, Hanjie; Gong, Xiaoqun; Liang, Xing-Jie; Chang, Jin

2016-09-07

Ultrasensitive and quantitative fast screening of cancer biomarkers by immunochromatography test strip (ICTS) is still challenging in clinic. The gold nanoparticles (NPs) based ICTS with colorimetric readout enables a quick spectrum screening but suffers from nonquantitative performance; although ICTS with fluorescence readout (FICTS) allows quantitative detection, its sensitivity still deserves more efforts and attentions. In this work, by taking advantages of colorimetric ICTS and FICTS, we described a reverse fluorescence enhancement ICTS (rFICTS) with bimodal signal readout for ultrasensitive and quantitative fast screening of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). In the presence of target, gold NPs aggregation in T line induced colorimetric readout, allowing on-the-spot spectrum screening in 10 min by naked eye. Meanwhile, the reverse fluorescence enhancement signal enabled more accurately quantitative detection with better sensitivity (5.89 pg/mL for CEA), which is more than 2 orders of magnitude lower than that of the conventional FICTS. The accuracy and stability of the rFICTS were investigated with more than 100 clinical serum samples for large-scale screening. Furthermore, this rFICTS also realized postoperative monitoring by detecting CEA in a patient with colon cancer and comparing with CT imaging diagnosis. These results indicated this rFICTS is particularly suitable for point-of-care (POC) diagnostics in both resource-rich and resource-limited settings.

High-voltage pixel sensors for ATLAS upgrade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perić, I.; Kreidl, C.; Fischer, P.; Bompard, F.; Breugnon, P.; Clemens, J.-C.; Fougeron, D.; Liu, J.; Pangaud, P.; Rozanov, A.; Barbero, M.; Feigl, S.; Capeans, M.; Ferrere, D.; Pernegger, H.; Ristic, B.; Muenstermann, D.; Gonzalez Sevilla, S.; La Rosa, A.; Miucci, A.; Nessi, M.; Iacobucci, G.; Backhaus, M.; Hügging, Fabian; Krüger, H.; Hemperek, T.; Obermann, T.; Wermes, N.; Garcia-Sciveres, M.; Quadt, A.; Weingarten, J.; George, M.; Grosse-Knetter, J.; Rieger, J.; Bates, R.; Blue, A.; Buttar, C.; Hynds, D.

2014-11-01

The high-voltage (HV-) CMOS pixel sensors offer several good properties: a fast charge collection by drift, the possibility to implement relatively complex CMOS in-pixel electronics and the compatibility with commercial processes. The sensor element is a deep n-well diode in a p-type substrate. The n-well contains CMOS pixel electronics. The main charge collection mechanism is drift in a shallow, high field region, which leads to a fast charge collection and a high radiation tolerance. We are currently evaluating the use of the high-voltage detectors implemented in 180 nm HV-CMOS technology for the high-luminosity ATLAS upgrade. Our approach is replacing the existing pixel and strip sensors with the CMOS sensors while keeping the presently used readout ASICs. By intelligence we mean the ability of the sensor to recognize a particle hit and generate the address information. In this way we could benefit from the advantages of the HV sensor technology such as lower cost, lower mass, lower operating voltage, smaller pitch, smaller clusters at high incidence angles. Additionally we expect to achieve a radiation hardness necessary for ATLAS upgrade. In order to test the concept, we have designed two HV-CMOS prototypes that can be readout in two ways: using pixel and strip readout chips. In the case of the pixel readout, the connection between HV-CMOS sensor and the readout ASIC can be established capacitively.

Depleted fully monolithic CMOS pixel detectors using a column based readout architecture for the ATLAS Inner Tracker upgrade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, T.; Barbero, M.; Berdalovic, I.; Bespin, C.; Bhat, S.; Breugnon, P.; Caicedo, I.; Cardella, R.; Chen, Z.; Degerli, Y.; Egidos, N.; Godiot, S.; Guilloux, F.; Hemperek, T.; Hirono, T.; Krüger, H.; Kugathasan, T.; Hügging, F.; Marin Tobon, C. A.; Moustakas, K.; Pangaud, P.; Schwemling, P.; Pernegger, H.; Pohl, D.-L.; Rozanov, A.; Rymaszewski, P.; Snoeys, W.; Wermes, N.

2018-03-01

Depleted monolithic active pixel sensors (DMAPS), which exploit high voltage and/or high resistivity add-ons of modern CMOS technologies to achieve substantial depletion in the sensing volume, have proven to have high radiation tolerance towards the requirements of ATLAS in the high-luminosity LHC era. DMAPS integrating fast readout architectures are currently being developed as promising candidates for the outer pixel layers of the future ATLAS Inner Tracker, which will be installed during the phase II upgrade of ATLAS around year 2025. In this work, two DMAPS prototype designs, named LF-Monopix and TJ-Monopix, are presented. LF-Monopix was fabricated in the LFoundry 150 nm CMOS technology, and TJ-Monopix has been designed in the TowerJazz 180 nm CMOS technology. Both chips employ the same readout architecture, i.e. the column drain architecture, whereas different sensor implementation concepts are pursued. The paper makes a joint description of the two prototypes, so that their technical differences and challenges can be addressed in direct comparison. First measurement results for LF-Monopix will also be shown, demonstrating for the first time a fully functional fast readout DMAPS prototype implemented in the LFoundry technology.

Image charge multi-role and function detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milnes, James; Lapington, Jon S.; Jagutzki, Ottmar; Howorth, Jon

2009-06-01

The image charge technique used with microchannel plate imaging tubes provides several operational and practical benefits by serving to isolate the electronic image readout from the detector. The simple dielectric interface between detector and readout provides vacuum isolation and no vacuum electrical feed-throughs are required. Since the readout is mechanically separate from the detector, an image tube of generic design can be simply optimised for various applications by attaching it to different readout devices and electronics. We present imaging performance results using a single image tube with a variety of readout devices suited to differing applications: (a) A four electrode charge division tetra wedge anode, optimised for best spatial resolution in photon counting mode. (b) A cross delay line anode, enabling higher count rate, and the possibility of discriminating near co-incident events, and an event timing resolution of better than 1 ns. (c) A multi-anode readout connected, either to a multi-channel oscilloscope for analogue measurements of fast optical pulses, or alternately, to a multi-channel time correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) card.

SCOUT: A Fast Monte-Carlo Modeling Tool of Scintillation Camera Output

PubMed Central

Hunter, William C. J.; Barrett, Harrison H.; Lewellen, Thomas K.; Miyaoka, Robert S.; Muzi, John P.; Li, Xiaoli; McDougald, Wendy; MacDonald, Lawrence R.

2011-01-01

We have developed a Monte-Carlo photon-tracking and readout simulator called SCOUT to study the stochastic behavior of signals output from a simplified rectangular scintillation-camera design. SCOUT models the salient processes affecting signal generation, transport, and readout. Presently, we compare output signal statistics from SCOUT to experimental results for both a discrete and a monolithic camera. We also benchmark the speed of this simulation tool and compare it to existing simulation tools. We find this modeling tool to be relatively fast and predictive of experimental results. Depending on the modeled camera geometry, we found SCOUT to be 4 to 140 times faster than other modeling tools. PMID:22072297

SCOUT: a fast Monte-Carlo modeling tool of scintillation camera output†

PubMed Central

Hunter, William C J; Barrett, Harrison H.; Muzi, John P.; McDougald, Wendy; MacDonald, Lawrence R.; Miyaoka, Robert S.; Lewellen, Thomas K.

2013-01-01

We have developed a Monte-Carlo photon-tracking and readout simulator called SCOUT to study the stochastic behavior of signals output from a simplified rectangular scintillation-camera design. SCOUT models the salient processes affecting signal generation, transport, and readout of a scintillation camera. Presently, we compare output signal statistics from SCOUT to experimental results for both a discrete and a monolithic camera. We also benchmark the speed of this simulation tool and compare it to existing simulation tools. We find this modeling tool to be relatively fast and predictive of experimental results. Depending on the modeled camera geometry, we found SCOUT to be 4 to 140 times faster than other modeling tools. PMID:23640136

Learning to assign binary weights to binary descriptor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Zhoudi; Wei, Zhenzhong; Zhang, Guangjun

2016-10-01

Constructing robust binary local feature descriptors are receiving increasing interest due to their binary nature, which can enable fast processing while requiring significantly less memory than their floating-point competitors. To bridge the performance gap between the binary and floating-point descriptors without increasing the computational cost of computing and matching, optimal binary weights are learning to assign to binary descriptor for considering each bit might contribute differently to the distinctiveness and robustness. Technically, a large-scale regularized optimization method is applied to learn float weights for each bit of the binary descriptor. Furthermore, binary approximation for the float weights is performed by utilizing an efficient alternatively greedy strategy, which can significantly improve the discriminative power while preserve fast matching advantage. Extensive experimental results on two challenging datasets (Brown dataset and Oxford dataset) demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method.

RF Single Electron Transistor Readout Amplifiers for Superconducting Astronomical Detectors for X-Ray to Sub-mm Wavelengths

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stevenson, Thomas; Aassime, Abdelhanin; Delsing, Per; Frunzio, Luigi; Li, Li-Qun; Prober, Daniel; Schoelkopf, Robert; Segall, Ken; Wilson, Chris; Stahle, Carl

2000-01-01

We report progress on using a new type of amplifier, the Radio-Frequency Single-Electron Transistor (RF-SET), to develop multi-channel sensor readout systems for fast and sensitive readout of high impedance cryogenic photodetectors such as Superconducting Tunnel Junctions and Single Quasiparticle Photon Counters. Although cryogenic, these detectors are desirable because of capabilities not other-wise attainable. However, high impedances and low output levels make low-noise, high-speed readouts challenging, and large format arrays would be facilitated by compact, low-power, on-chip integrated amplifiers. Well-suited for this application are RF-SETs, very high performance electrometers which use an rf readout technique to provide 100 MHz bandwidth. Small size, low power, and cryogenic operation allow direct integration with detectors, and using multiple rf carrier frequencies permits simultaneous readout of 20-50 amplifiers with a common electrical connection. We describe both the first 2-channel demonstration of this wavelength division multiplexing technique for RF-SETs, and Charge-Locked-Loop operation with 100 kHz of closed-loop bandwidth.

Fast Low-Cost Multiple Sensor Readout System

DOEpatents

Carter-Lewis, David; Krennich, Frank; Le Bohec, Stephane; Petry, Dirk; Sleege, Gary

2004-04-06

A low resolution data acquisition system is presented. The data acquisition system has a plurality of readout modules serially connected to a controller. Each readout module has a FPGA in communication with analog to digital (A/D) converters, which are connected to sensors. The A/D converter has eight bit or lower resolution. The FPGA detects when a command is addressed to it and commands the A/D converters to convert analog sensor data into digital data. The digital data is sent on a high speed serial communication bus to the controller. A graphical display is used in one embodiment to indicate if a sensor reading is outside of a predetermined range.

Wireless data transmission for high energy physics applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dittmeier, Sebastian; Brenner, Richard; Dancila, Dragos; Dehos, Cedric; De Lurgio, Patrick; Djurcic, Zelimir; Drake, Gary; Gonzalez Gimenez, Jose Luis; Gustafsson, Leif; Kim, Do-Won; Locci, Elizabeth; Pfeiffer, Ullrich; Röhrich, Dieter; Rydberg, Anders; Schöning, André; Siligaris, Alexandre; Soltveit, Hans Kristian; Ullaland, Kjetil; Vincent, Pierre; Rodriguez Vazquez, Pedro; Wiedner, Dirk; Yang, Shiming

2017-08-01

Silicon tracking detectors operated at high luminosity collider experiments pose a challenge for current and future readout systems regarding bandwidth, radiation, space and power constraints. With the latest developments in wireless communications, wireless readout systems might be an attractive alternative to commonly used wired optical and copper based readout architectures. The WADAPT group (Wireless Allowing Data and Power Transmission) has been formed to study the feasibility of wireless data transmission for future tracking detectors. These proceedings cover current developments focused on communication in the 60 GHz band. This frequency band offers a high bandwidth, a small form factor and an already mature technology. Motivation for wireless data transmission for high energy physics application and the developments towards a demonstrator prototype are summarized. Feasibility studies concerning the construction and operation of a wireless transceiver system have been performed. Data transmission tests with a transceiver prototype operating at even higher frequencies in the 240 GHz band are described. Data transmission at rates up to 10 Gb/s have been obtained successfully using binary phase shift keying.

Josephson parametric phase-locked oscillator and its application to dispersive readout of superconducting qubits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Z. R.; Inomata, K.; Koshino, K.; Oliver, W. D.; Nakamura, Y.; Tsai, J. S.; Yamamoto, T.

2014-07-01

The parametric phase-locked oscillator (PPLO) is a class of frequency-conversion device, originally based on a nonlinear element such as a ferrite ring, that served as a fundamental logic element for digital computers more than 50 years ago. Although it has long since been overtaken by the transistor, there have been numerous efforts more recently to realize PPLOs in different physical systems such as optical photons, trapped atoms, and electromechanical resonators. This renewed interest is based not only on the fundamental physics of nonlinear systems, but also on the realization of new, high-performance computing devices with unprecedented capabilities. Here we realize a PPLO with Josephson-junction circuitry and operate it as a sensitive phase detector. Using a PPLO, we demonstrate the demodulation of a weak binary phase-shift keying microwave signal of the order of a femtowatt. We apply PPLO to dispersive readout of a superconducting qubit, and achieved high-fidelity, single-shot and non-destructive readout with Rabi-oscillation contrast exceeding 90%.

Room-temperature ferroelectric resistive switching in ultrathin Pb(Zr 0.2 Ti 0.8)O3 films.

PubMed

Pantel, Daniel; Goetze, Silvana; Hesse, Dietrich; Alexe, Marin

2011-07-26

Spontaneous polarization of ferroelectric materials has been for a long time proposed as binary information support, but it suffers so far from destructive readout. A nondestructive resistive readout of the ferroelectric polarization state in a metal-ferroelectric-metal capacitor would thus be advantageous for data storage applications. Combing conducting force microscopy and piezoelectric force microscopy, we unambiguously show that ferroelectric polarization direction and resistance state are correlated for epitaxial ferroelectric Pb(Zr(0.2)Ti(0.8))O(3) nanoscale capacitors prepared by self-assembly methods. For intermediate ferroelectric layer thickness (∼9 nm) sandwiched between copper and La(0.7)Sr(0.3)MnO(3) electrodes we achieved giant electroresistance with a resistance ratio of >1500 and high switching current densities (>10 A/cm(2)) necessary for effective resistive readout. The present approach uses metal-ferroelectric-metal devices at room temperature and, therefore, significantly advances the use of ferroelectric-based resistive switching.

Design of fast signal processing readout front-end electronics implemented in CMOS 40 nm technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kleczek, Rafal

2016-12-01

The author presents considerations on the design of fast readout front-end electronics implemented in a CMOS 40 nm technology with an emphasis on the system dead time, noise performance and power dissipation. The designed processing channel consists of a charge sensitive amplifier with different feedback types (Krummenacher, resistive and constant current blocks), a threshold setting block, a discriminator and a counter with logic circuitry. The results of schematic and post-layout simulations with randomly generated input pulses in a time domain according to the Poisson distribution are presented and analyzed. Dead time below 20 ns is possible while keeping noise ENC ≈ 90 e- for a detector capacitance CDET = 160 fF.

Recent developments for the upgrade of the LHCb readout system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cachemiche, J. P.; Y Duval, P.; Hachon, F.; Le Gac, R.; Réthoré, F.

2013-02-01

The upgraded LHCb readout system aims at a trigger-free readout of the entire detector at the bunch-crossing rate. This implies a major architectural change for the readout system that must capture the data at 40 MHz instead of 1 MHz. One of the key components of this upgrade system is the readout board. The LHCb collaboration has chosen to evaluate the ATCA architecture as form-factor for the readout board. The readout system architecture relies on a unique board able to satisfy all the requirements for data transmission, timing and fast control as well as experiment control system. A generic ATCA carrier board has been developped. It is equipped with four dense AMC mezzanines able to interface a total of 144 bidirectional optical links at up to 10 Gbits/s. This board embeds 4 high end Stratix V GX devices for data processing and a programmable set of commutation functions allowing to reconfigure the connectivity of the system in a flexible way. The overall architecture will be presented and how the cards map over each functionality. First results and measurements will be described in particular those related to the use of new highly integrated optical devices. At last we will present the incremental development methodology used in this project.

Catch-Disperse-Release Readout for Superconducting Qubits

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-01

adiabatic, a fast high-fidelity qubit readout is possible even in the strongly nonlinear dispersive regime. Interestingly, the Jaynes - Cummings nonlinearity...will be included later) and describe the system by the Jaynes - Cummings (JC) Hamiltonian [7] with a microwave drive (we use ~ = 1) H = ωq(t)σ+σ− + ωra...λeff,0 rotates on the phase plane faster than in the two-level approximation , while λeff,1 rotates slower (some- times even in the opposite

Rotation invariant deep binary hashing for fast image retrieval

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Lai; Liu, Jianming; Jiang, Aiwen

2017-07-01

In this paper, we study how to compactly represent image's characteristics for fast image retrieval. We propose supervised rotation invariant compact discriminative binary descriptors through combining convolutional neural network with hashing. In the proposed network, binary codes are learned by employing a hidden layer for representing latent concepts that dominate on class labels. A loss function is proposed to minimize the difference between binary descriptors that describe reference image and the rotated one. Compared with some other supervised methods, the proposed network doesn't have to require pair-wised inputs for binary code learning. Experimental results show that our method is effective and achieves state-of-the-art results on the CIFAR-10 and MNIST datasets.

Single-shot readout of accumulation mode Si/SiGe spin qubits using RF reflectometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Volk, Christian; Martins, Frederico; Malinowski, Filip; Marcus, Charles M.; Kuemmeth, Ferdinand

Spin qubits based on gate-defined quantum dots are promising systems for realizing quantum computation. Due to their low concentration of nuclear-spin-carrying isotopes, Si/SiGe heterostructures are of particular interest. While high fidelities have been reported for single-qubit and two-qubit gate operations, qubit initialization and measurement times are relatively slow. In order to develop fast read-out techniques compatible with the operation of spin qubits, we characterize double and triple quantum dots confined in undoped Si/Si0.7Ge0.3 heterostructures using accumulation and depletion gates and a nearby RF charge sensor dot. We implement a RF reflectometry technique that allows single-shot charge read-out at integration times on the order of a few μs. We show our recent advancement towards implementing spin qubits in these structures, including spin-selective single-shot read-out.

Fast modular data acquisition system for GEM-2D detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kasprowicz, G.; Byszuk, Adrian; Wojeński, A.; Zienkiewicz, P.; Czarski, T.; Chernyshova, M.; Poźniak, K.; Rzadkiewicz, J.; Zabolotny, W.; Juszczyk, B.

2014-11-01

A novel approach to two dimensional Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detector readout is presented. Unlike commonly used methods, based on discriminators and analogue FIFOs, the method developed uses simulta- neously sampling high speed ADCs with fast hybrid integrator and advanced FPGA-based processing logic to estimate the energy of every single photon. Such a method is applied to every GEM strip / pixel signal. It is especially useful in case of crystal-based spectrometers for soft X-rays, 2D imaging for plasma tomography and all these applications where energy resolution of every single photon is required. For the purpose of the detector readout, a novel, highly modular and extendable conception of the measurement platform was developed. It is evolution of already deployed measurement system for JET Spectrometer.

VIPRAM_L1CMS: a 2-Tier 3D Architecture for Pattern Recognition for Track Finding

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hoff, J. R.; Joshi, Joshi,S.; Liu, Liu,

In HEP tracking trigger applications, flagging an individual detector hit is not important. Rather, the path of a charged particle through many detector layers is what must be found. Moreover, given the increased luminosity projected for future LHC experiments, this type of track finding will be required within the Level 1 Trigger system. This means that future LHC experiments require not just a chip capable of high-speed track finding but also one with a high-speed readout architecture. VIPRAM_L1CMS is 2-Tier Vertically Integrated chip designed to fulfill these requirements. It is a complete pipelined Pattern Recognition Associative Memory (PRAM) architecture includingmore » pattern recognition, result sparsification, and readout for Level 1 trigger applications in CMS with 15-bit wide detector addresses and eight detector layers included in the track finding. Pattern recognition is based on classic Content Addressable Memories with a Current Race Scheme to reduce timing complexity and a 4-bit Selective Precharge to minimize power consumption. VIPRAM_L1CMS uses a pipelined set of priority-encoded binary readout structures to sparsify and readout active road flags at frequencies of at least 100MHz. VIPRAM_L1CMS is designed to work directly with the Pulsar2b Architecture.« less

Fast wire per wire X-ray data acquisition system for time-resolved small angle scattering experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Epstein, A.; Briquet-Laugier, F.; Sheldon, S.; Boulin, C.

2000-04-01

Most of the X-ray multi-wire gas detectors used at the EMBL Hamburg outstation for time-resolved studies of biological samples are readout, using the delay line method. The main disadvantage of such readout systems is their event rate limitation introduced by the delay line and the required time to digital conversion step. They also lack the possibility to deal with multiple events. To overcome these limitations, a new approach for the complete readout system was introduced. The new linear detection system is based on the wire per wire approach where each individual wire is associated to preamplifier/discriminator/counter electronics channel. High-density, front-end electronics were designed around a fast current sensitive preamplifier. An eight-channel board was designed to include the preamplifiers-discriminators and the differential ECL drivers output stages. The detector front-end consists of 25 boards directly mounted inside the detector assembly. To achieve a time framing resolution as short as 10 /spl mu/s, very fast histogramming is required. The only way to implement this for a high number of channels (200 in our case) is by using a distributed system. The digital part of the system consists of a crate controller, up to 16 acquisition boards (capable of handling fast histogramming for up to 32-channels each) and an optical-link board (based on the Cypress "Hot-Link" chip set). Both the crate controller and the acquisition boards are based on a standard RISC microcontroller (IDT R3081) plug-in board. At present, a dedicated CAMAC module which we developed is used to interface the digital front-end acquisition crate to the host via the optical link.

CCD detector development projects by the Beamline Technical Support Group at the Advanced Photon Source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, John H.; Fernandez, Patricia; Madden, Tim; Molitsky, Michael; Weizeorick, John

2007-11-01

This paper will describe two ongoing detector projects being developed by the Beamline Technical Support Group at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). The first project is the design and construction of two detectors: a single-CCD system and a two-by-two Mosaic CCD camera for Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS). Both of these systems utilize the Kodak KAF-4320E CCD coupled to fiber optic tapers, custom mechanical hardware, electronics, and software developed at ANL. The second project is a Fast-CCD (FCCD) detector being developed in a collaboration between ANL and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). This detector will use ANL-designed readout electronics and a custom LBNL-designed CCD, with 480×480 pixels and 96 outputs, giving very fast readout.

Optical delay encoding for fast timing and detector signal multiplexing in PET

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grant, Alexander M.; Levin, Craig S., E-mail: cslevin@stanford.edu; Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford

2015-08-15

Purpose: The large number of detector channels in modern positron emission tomography (PET) scanners poses a challenge in terms of readout electronics complexity. Multiplexing schemes are typically implemented to reduce the number of physical readout channels, but often result in performance degradation. Novel methods of multiplexing in PET must be developed to avoid this data degradation. The preservation of fast timing information is especially important for time-of-flight PET. Methods: A new multiplexing scheme based on encoding detector interaction events with a series of extremely fast overlapping optical pulses with precise delays is demonstrated in this work. Encoding events in thismore » way potentially allows many detector channels to be simultaneously encoded onto a single optical fiber that is then read out by a single digitizer. A two channel silicon photomultiplier-based prototype utilizing this optical delay encoding technique along with dual threshold time-over-threshold is demonstrated. Results: The optical encoding and multiplexing prototype achieves a coincidence time resolution of 160 ps full width at half maximum (FWHM) and an energy resolution of 13.1% FWHM at 511 keV with 3 × 3 × 5 mm{sup 3} LYSO crystals. All interaction information for both detectors, including timing, energy, and channel identification, is encoded onto a single optical fiber with little degradation. Conclusions: Optical delay encoding and multiplexing technology could lead to time-of-flight PET scanners with fewer readout channels and simplified data acquisition systems.« less

Fast transient X-rays from flare stars and RS CVn binaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rao, A. R.; Vahia, M. N.

1987-12-01

The authors have studied the fast transient X-ray (FTX) observations of the Ariel V satellite. They find that the FTX have characteristics very similar to the stellar flares detected in flare stars and RS CVn binaries by other satellites. It is found that, of the possible candidate objects, only the flare stars and RS CVn binaries can be associated with the Ariel V observations. 11 new flare stars and RS CVn binaries are associated with the FTX. This brings the total number of identifications with the flare stars and RS CVn binaries to 17. The authors further study the flare properties and correlate the peak X-ray luminosity of these Ariel V sources with the bolometric luminosity of the candidate stars. They discuss a solar flare model and show that the observed correlation can be explained under the assumption of constant temperature loops of binary sizes.

The disruption of multiplanet systems through resonance with a binary orbit.

PubMed

Touma, Jihad R; Sridhar, S

2015-08-27

Most exoplanetary systems in binary stars are of S-type, and consist of one or more planets orbiting a primary star with a wide binary stellar companion. Planetary eccentricities and mutual inclinations can be large, perhaps forced gravitationally by the binary companion. Earlier work on single planet systems appealed to the Kozai-Lidov instability wherein a sufficiently inclined binary orbit excites large-amplitude oscillations in the planet's eccentricity and inclination. The instability, however, can be quenched by many agents that induce fast orbital precession, including mutual gravitational forces in a multiplanet system. Here we report that orbital precession, which inhibits Kozai-Lidov cycling in a multiplanet system, can become fast enough to resonate with the orbital motion of a distant binary companion. Resonant binary forcing results in dramatic outcomes ranging from the excitation of large planetary eccentricities and mutual inclinations to total disruption. Processes such as planetary migration can bring an initially non-resonant system into resonance. As it does not require special physical or initial conditions, binary resonant driving is generic and may have altered the architecture of many multiplanet systems. It can also weaken the multiplanet occurrence rate in wide binaries, and affect planet formation in close binaries.

Calibration of the Advanced LIGO detectors for the discovery of the binary black-hole merger GW150914

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T. D.; Abernathy, M. R.; Ackley, K.; Adams, C.; Addesso, P.; Adhikari, R. X.; Adya, V. B.; Affeldt, C.; Aggarwal, N.; Aguiar, O. D.; Ain, A.; Ajith, P.; Allen, B.; Altin, P. A.; Amariutei, D. V.; Anderson, S. B.; Anderson, W. G.; Arai, K.; Araya, M. C.; Arceneaux, C. C.; Areeda, J. S.; Arun, K. G.; Ashton, G.; Ast, M.; Aston, S. M.; Aufmuth, P.; Aulbert, C.; Babak, S.; Baker, P. T.; Ballmer, S. W.; Barayoga, J. C.; Barclay, S. E.; Barish, B. C.; Barker, D.; Barr, B.; Barsotti, L.; Bartlett, J.; Bartos, I.; Bassiri, R.; Batch, J. C.; Baune, C.; Behnke, B.; Bell, A. S.; Bell, C. J.; Berger, B. K.; Bergman, J.; Bergmann, G.; Berry, C. P. L.; Betzwieser, J.; Bhagwat, S.; Bhandare, R.; Bilenko, I. A.; Billingsley, G.; Birch, J.; Birney, R.; Biscans, S.; Bisht, A.; Biwer, C.; Blackburn, J. K.; Blair, C. D.; Blair, D.; Blair, R. M.; Bock, O.; Bodiya, T. P.; Bogan, C.; Bohe, A.; Bojtos, P.; Bond, C.; Bork, R.; Bose, S.; Brady, P. R.; Braginsky, V. B.; Brau, J. E.; Brinkmann, M.; Brockill, P.; Brooks, A. F.; Brown, D. A.; Brown, D. D.; Brown, N. M.; Buchanan, C. C.; Buikema, A.; Buonanno, A.; Byer, R. L.; Cadonati, L.; Cahillane, C.; Calderón Bustillo, J.; Callister, T.; Camp, J. B.; Cannon, K. C.; Cao, J.; Capano, C. D.; Caride, S.; Caudill, S.; Cavaglià, M.; Cepeda, C.; Chakraborty, R.; Chalermsongsak, T.; Chamberlin, S. J.; Chan, M.; Chao, S.; Charlton, P.; Chen, H. Y.; Chen, Y.; Cheng, C.; Cho, H. S.; Cho, M.; Chow, J. H.; Christensen, N.; Chu, Q.; Chung, S.; Ciani, G.; Clara, F.; Clark, J. A.; Collette, C. G.; Cominsky, L.; Constancio, M.; Cook, D.; Corbitt, T. R.; Cornish, N.; Corsi, A.; Costa, C. A.; Coughlin, M. W.; Coughlin, S. B.; Countryman, S. T.; Couvares, P.; Coward, D. M.; Cowart, M. J.; Coyne, D. C.; Coyne, R.; Craig, K.; Creighton, J. D. E.; Cripe, J.; Crowder, S. G.; Cumming, A.; Cunningham, L.; Dal Canton, T.; Danilishin, S. L.; Danzmann, K.; Darman, N. S.; Dave, I.; Daveloza, H. P.; Davies, G. S.; Daw, E. J.; DeBra, D.; Del Pozzo, W.; Denker, T.; Dent, T.; Dergachev, V.; DeRosa, R.; DeSalvo, R.; Dhurandhar, S.; Díaz, M. C.; Di Palma, I.; Dojcinoski, G.; Donovan, F.; Dooley, K. L.; Doravari, S.; Douglas, R.; Downes, T. P.; Drago, M.; Drever, R. W. P.; Driggers, J. C.; Du, Z.; Dwyer, S. E.; Edo, T. B.; Edwards, M. C.; Effler, A.; Eggenstein, H.-B.; Ehrens, P.; Eichholz, J.; Eikenberry, S. S.; Engels, W.; Essick, R. C.; Etzel, T.; Evans, M.; Evans, T. M.; Everett, R.; Factourovich, M.; Fair, H.; Fairhurst, S.; Fan, X.; Fang, Q.; Farr, B.; Farr, W. M.; Favata, M.; Fays, M.; Fehrmann, H.; Fejer, M. M.; Ferreira, E. C.; Fisher, R. P.; Fletcher, M.; Frei, Z.; Freise, A.; Frey, R.; Fricke, T. T.; Fritschel, P.; Frolov, V. V.; Fulda, P.; Fyffe, M.; Gabbard, H. A. G.; Gair, J. R.; Gaonkar, S. G.; Gaur, G.; Gehrels, N.; George, J.; Gergely, L.; Ghosh, A.; Giaime, J. A.; Giardina, K. D.; Gill, K.; Glaefke, A.; Goetz, E.; Goetz, R.; Gondan, L.; González, G.; Gopakumar, A.; Gordon, N. A.; Gorodetsky, M. L.; Gossan, S. E.; Graef, C.; Graff, P. B.; Grant, A.; Gras, S.; Gray, C.; Green, A. C.; Grote, H.; Grunewald, S.; Guo, X.; Gupta, A.; Gupta, M. K.; Gushwa, K. E.; Gustafson, E. K.; Gustafson, R.; Hacker, J. J.; Hall, B. R.; Hall, E. D.; Hammond, G.; Haney, M.; Hanke, M. M.; Hanks, J.; Hanna, C.; Hannam, M. D.; Hanson, J.; Hardwick, T.; Harry, G. M.; Harry, I. W.; Hart, M. J.; Hartman, M. T.; Haster, C.-J.; Haughian, K.; Heintze, M. C.; Hendry, M.; Heng, I. S.; Hennig, J.; Heptonstall, A. W.; Heurs, M.; Hild, S.; Hoak, D.; Hodge, K. A.; Hollitt, S. E.; Holt, K.; Holz, D. E.; Hopkins, P.; Hosken, D. J.; Hough, J.; Houston, E. A.; Howell, E. J.; Hu, Y. M.; Huang, S.; Huerta, E. A.; Hughey, B.; Husa, S.; Huttner, S. H.; Huynh-Dinh, T.; Idrisy, A.; Indik, N.; Ingram, D. R.; Inta, R.; Isa, H. N.; Isi, M.; Islas, G.; Isogai, T.; Iyer, B. R.; Izumi, K.; Jang, H.; Jani, K.; Jawahar, S.; Jiménez-Forteza, F.; Johnson, W. W.; Jones, D. I.; Jones, R.; Ju, L.; Haris, K.; Kalaghatgi, C. V.; Kalogera, V.; Kandhasamy, S.; Kang, G.; Kanner, J. B.; Karki, S.; Kasprzack, M.; Katsavounidis, E.; Katzman, W.; Kaufer, S.; Kaur, T.; Kawabe, K.; Kawazoe, F.; Kehl, M. S.; Keitel, D.; Kelley, D. B.; Kells, W.; Kennedy, R.; Key, J. S.; Khalaidovski, A.; Khalili, F. Y.; Khan, S.; Khan, Z.; Khazanov, E. A.; Kijbunchoo, N.; Kim, C.; Kim, J.; Kim, K.; Kim, N.; Kim, N.; Kim, Y.-M.; King, E. J.; King, P. J.; Kinzel, D. L.; Kissel, J. S.; Kleybolte, L.; Klimenko, S.; Koehlenbeck, S. M.; Kokeyama, K.; Kondrashov, V.; Kontos, A.; Korobko, M.; Korth, W. Z.; Kozak, D. B.; Kringel, V.; Krueger, C.; Kuehn, G.; Kumar, P.; Kuo, L.; Lackey, B. D.; Landry, M.; Lange, J.; Lantz, B.; Lasky, P. D.; Lazzarini, A.; Lazzaro, C.; Leaci, P.; Leavey, S.; Lebigot, E. O.; Lee, C. H.; Lee, H. K.; Lee, H. M.; Lee, K.; Lenon, A.; Leong, J. R.; Levin, Y.; Levine, B. M.; Li, T. G. F.; Libson, A.; Littenberg, T. B.; Lockerbie, N. A.; Logue, J.; Lombardi, A. L.; Lord, J. E.; Lormand, M.; Lough, J. D.; Lück, H.; Lundgren, A. P.; Luo, J.; Lynch, R.; Ma, Y.; MacDonald, T.; Machenschalk, B.; MacInnis, M.; Macleod, D. M.; Magaña-Sandoval, F.; Magee, R. M.; Mageswaran, M.; Mandel, I.; Mandic, V.; Mangano, V.; Mansell, G. L.; Manske, M.; Márka, S.; Márka, Z.; Markosyan, A. S.; Maros, E.; Martin, I. W.; Martin, R. M.; Martynov, D. V.; Marx, J. N.; Mason, K.; Massinger, T. J.; Masso-Reid, M.; Matichard, F.; Matone, L.; Mavalvala, N.; Mazumder, N.; Mazzolo, G.; McCarthy, R.; McClelland, D. E.; McCormick, S.; McGuire, S. C.; McIntyre, G.; McIver, J.; McManus, D. J.; McWilliams, S. T.; Meadors, G. D.; Melatos, A.; Mendell, G.; Mendoza-Gandara, D.; Mercer, R. A.; Merilh, E.; Meshkov, S.; Messenger, C.; Messick, C.; Meyers, P. M.; Miao, H.; Middleton, H.; Mikhailov, E. E.; Mukund, K. N.; Miller, J.; Millhouse, M.; Ming, J.; Mirshekari, S.; Mishra, C.; Mitra, S.; Mitrofanov, V. P.; Mitselmakher, G.; Mittleman, R.; Mohapatra, S. R. P.; Moore, B. C.; Moore, C. J.; Moraru, D.; Moreno, G.; Morriss, S. R.; Mossavi, K.; Mow-Lowry, C. M.; Mueller, C. L.; Mueller, G.; Muir, A. W.; Mukherjee, Arunava; Mukherjee, D.; Mukherjee, S.; Mullavey, A.; Munch, J.; Murphy, D. J.; Murray, P. G.; Mytidis, A.; Nayak, R. K.; Necula, V.; Nedkova, K.; Neunzert, A.; Newton, G.; Nguyen, T. T.; Nielsen, A. B.; Nitz, A.; Nolting, D.; Normandin, M. E. N.; Nuttall, L. K.; Oberling, J.; Ochsner, E.; O'Dell, J.; Oelker, E.; Ogin, G. H.; Oh, J. J.; Oh, S. H.; Ohme, F.; Oliver, M.; Oppermann, P.; Oram, Richard J.; O'Reilly, B.; O'Shaughnessy, R.; Ott, C. D.; Ottaway, D. J.; Ottens, R. S.; Overmier, H.; Owen, B. J.; Pai, A.; Pai, S. A.; Palamos, J. R.; Palashov, O.; Pal-Singh, A.; Pan, H.; Pankow, C.; Pannarale, F.; Pant, B. C.; Papa, M. A.; Paris, H. R.; Parker, W.; Pascucci, D.; Patrick, Z.; Pearlstone, B. L.; Pedraza, M.; Pekowsky, L.; Pele, A.; Penn, S.; Pereira, R.; Perreca, A.; Phelps, M.; Pierro, V.; Pinto, I. M.; Pitkin, M.; Post, A.; Powell, J.; Prasad, J.; Predoi, V.; Premachandra, S. S.; Prestegard, T.; Price, L. R.; Principe, M.; Privitera, S.; Prokhorov, L.; Puncken, O.; Pürrer, M.; Qi, H.; Qin, J.; Quetschke, V.; Quintero, E. A.; Quitzow-James, R.; Raab, F. J.; Rabeling, D. S.; Radkins, H.; Raffai, P.; Raja, S.; Rakhmanov, M.; Raymond, V.; Read, J.; Reed, C. M.; Reid, S.; Reitze, D. H.; Rew, H.; Riles, K.; Robertson, N. A.; Robie, R.; Rollins, J. G.; Roma, V. J.; Romanov, G.; Romie, J. H.; Rowan, S.; Rüdiger, A.; Ryan, K.; Sachdev, S.; Sadecki, T.; Sadeghian, L.; Saleem, M.; Salemi, F.; Samajdar, A.; Sammut, L.; Sanchez, E. J.; Sandberg, V.; Sandeen, B.; Sanders, J. R.; Sathyaprakash, B. S.; Saulson, P. R.; Sauter, O.; Savage, R. L.; Sawadsky, A.; Schale, P.; Schilling, R.; Schmidt, J.; Schmidt, P.; Schnabel, R.; Schofield, R. M. S.; Schönbeck, A.; Schreiber, E.; Schuette, D.; Schutz, B. F.; Scott, J.; Scott, S. M.; Sellers, D.; Sergeev, A.; Serna, G.; Sevigny, A.; Shaddock, D. A.; Shahriar, M. S.; Shaltev, M.; Shao, Z.; Shapiro, B.; Shawhan, P.; Sheperd, A.; Shoemaker, D. H.; Shoemaker, D. M.; Siemens, X.; Sigg, D.; Silva, A. D.; Simakov, D.; Singer, A.; Singer, L. P.; Singh, A.; Singh, R.; Sintes, A. M.; Slagmolen, B. J. J.; Smith, J. R.; Smith, N. D.; Smith, R. J. E.; Son, E. J.; Sorazu, B.; Souradeep, T.; Srivastava, A. K.; Staley, A.; Steinke, M.; Steinlechner, J.; Steinlechner, S.; Steinmeyer, D.; Stephens, B. C.; Stone, R.; Strain, K. A.; Strauss, N. A.; Strigin, S.; Sturani, R.; Stuver, A. L.; Summerscales, T. Z.; Sun, L.; Sutton, P. J.; Szczepańczyk, M. J.; Talukder, D.; Tanner, D. B.; Tápai, M.; Tarabrin, S. P.; Taracchini, A.; Taylor, R.; Theeg, T.; Thirugnanasambandam, M. P.; Thomas, E. G.; Thomas, M.; Thomas, P.; Thorne, K. A.; Thorne, K. S.; Thrane, E.; Tiwari, V.; Tokmakov, K. V.; Tomlinson, C.; Torres, C. V.; Torrie, C. I.; Töyrä, D.; Traylor, G.; Trifirò, D.; Tse, M.; Tuyenbayev, D.; Ugolini, D.; Unnikrishnan, C. S.; Urban, A. L.; Usman, S. A.; Vahlbruch, H.; Vajente, G.; Valdes, G.; Vander-Hyde, D. C.; van Veggel, A. A.; Vass, S.; Vaulin, R.; Vecchio, A.; Veitch, J.; Veitch, P. J.; Venkateswara, K.; Vinciguerra, S.; Vine, D. J.; Vitale, S.; Vo, T.; Vorvick, C.; Vousden, W. D.; Vyatchanin, S. P.; Wade, A. R.; Wade, L. E.; Wade, M.; Walker, M.; Wallace, L.; Walsh, S.; Wang, H.; Wang, M.; Wang, X.; Wang, Y.; Ward, R. L.; Warner, J.; Weaver, B.; Weinert, M.; Weinstein, A. J.; Weiss, R.; Welborn, T.; Wen, L.; Weßels, P.; Westphal, T.; Wette, K.; Whelan, J. T.; White, D. J.; Whiting, B. F.; Williams, R. D.; Williamson, A. R.; Willis, J. L.; Willke, B.; Wimmer, M. H.; Winkler, W.; Wipf, C. C.; Wittel, H.; Woan, G.; Worden, J.; Wright, J. L.; Wu, G.; Yablon, J.; Yam, W.; Yamamoto, H.; Yancey, C. C.; Yap, M. J.; Yu, H.; Zanolin, M.; Zevin, M.; Zhang, F.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, M.; Zhang, Y.; Zhao, C.; Zhou, M.; Zhou, Z.; Zhu, X. J.; Zucker, M. E.; Zuraw, S. E.; Zweizig, J.; LIGO Scientific Collaboration

2017-03-01

In Advanced LIGO, detection and astrophysical source parameter estimation of the binary black hole merger GW150914 requires a calibrated estimate of the gravitational-wave strain sensed by the detectors. Producing an estimate from each detector's differential arm length control loop readout signals requires applying time domain filters, which are designed from a frequency domain model of the detector's gravitational-wave response. The gravitational-wave response model is determined by the detector's opto-mechanical response and the properties of its feedback control system. The measurements used to validate the model and characterize its uncertainty are derived primarily from a dedicated photon radiation pressure actuator, with cross-checks provided by optical and radio frequency references. We describe how the gravitational-wave readout signal is calibrated into equivalent gravitational-wave-induced strain and how the statistical uncertainties and systematic errors are assessed. Detector data collected over 38 calendar days, from September 12 to October 20, 2015, contain the event GW150914 and approximately 16 days of coincident data used to estimate the event false alarm probability. The calibration uncertainty is less than 10% in magnitude and 10° in phase across the relevant frequency band, 20 Hz to 1 kHz.

Investigating the Binary Offset Effect in the STIS CCD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Debes, John H.; Lockwood, Sean A.

2018-05-01

Recently, Boone et al., (2018) presented the "Binary Offset Effect" for the SNIFS instrument, which uses a CCD detector. The source of this uncertainty is related to the analog-to-digital readout process, which converts the analog electronic signal of the detector into a digital number as represented by binary bits. The Binary Offset Effect is due to cross-talk between the digital conversion process for a source or driver pixel and pixels read out after the driver. In the course of Boone et al.'s experimentation with this effect they identified a similar effect with the STIS CCD. The STIS team has independently investigated the Binary Offset Effect for a range of bias images currently used for scientific observations, broadly confirming that the effect exists. However, our preliminary investigation suggests that the impact is smaller than reported in Boone et al. (2018) for biases taken with Amplifier=D and GAIN=1, and a lesser effect exists for Amplifier=D and GAIN=4. There is a hint that the effect is time variable for the detector. We broadly assess the potential impact of this effect and make recommendations both for users and future directions of investigation.

Performance of the NOνA Data Acquisition and Trigger Systems for the full 14 kT Far Detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Norman, A.; Davies, G. S.; Ding, P. F.; Dukes, E. C.; Duyan, H.; Frank, M. J.; R. C. Group; Habig, A.; Henderson, W.; Niner, E.; Mina, R.; Moren, A.; Mualem, L.; Oksuzian, Y.; Rebel, B.; Shanahan, P.; Sheshukov, A.; Tamsett, M.; Tomsen, K.; Vinton, L.; Wang, Z.; Zamorano, B.; Zirnstien, J.

2015-12-01

The NOvA experiment uses a continuous, free-running, dead-timeless data acquisition system to collect data from the 14 kT far detector. The DAQ system readouts the more than 344,000 detector channels and assembles the information into an raw unfiltered high bandwidth data stream. The NOvA trigger systems operate in parallel to the readout and asynchronously to the primary DAQ readout/event building chain. The data driven triggering systems for NOvA are unique in that they examine long contiguous time windows of the high resolution readout data and enable the detector to be sensitive to a wide range of physics interactions from those with fast, nanosecond scale signals up to processes with long delayed coincidences between hits which occur at the tens of milliseconds time scale. The trigger system is able to achieve a true 100% live time for the detector, making it sensitive to both beam spill related and off-spill physics.

EXPERIMENTAL AND RESEARCH WORK IN NEUTRON DOSIMETRY. Final Summary Report for the Period May 15, 1959-June 15, 1960

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gorton, H.C.; Mengali, O.J.; Zacaroli, A.R.

A practical, prototype silicon p-n junction fast-neutron dosimeter, sensitive in the same range as human tissue, was developed, together with sn associated read-out circuit to facilitate the accurate measurement of accumulated dose. From both theoretical and experimental considerations, it was demonstrated that the dosimeter is essentially insensitive to the gamma and thermal components of a uranium fission spectrum. It was shown that accumulated damage effects appear to be environmentally stable up to an ambient temperature of 100 C. A rather raarked reversible temperature dependence of the read-out parameters requires either control of the read-out temperature or temperature compensation in themore » read-out device. A high degree of reproducibility of dosimeter characteristics from one device to another was not achieved. The lack of reproducibility was attributed to uncontrolled variables in the bulk silicon from which the devices are fabricated, and in the production procedure. (auth)« less

Microwave SQUID Multiplexing of Metallic Magnetic Calorimeters: Status of Multiplexer Performance and Room-Temperature Readout Electronics Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wegner, M.; Karcher, N.; Krömer, O.; Richter, D.; Ahrens, F.; Sander, O.; Kempf, S.; Weber, M.; Enss, C.

2018-02-01

To our present best knowledge, microwave SQUID multiplexing (μ MUXing) is the most suitable technique for reading out large-scale low-temperature microcalorimeter arrays that consist of hundreds or thousands of individual pixels which require a large readout bandwidth per pixel. For this reason, the present readout strategy for metallic magnetic calorimeter (MMC) arrays combining an intrinsic fast signal rise time, an excellent energy resolution, a large energy dynamic range, a quantum efficiency close to 100% as well as a highly linear detector response is based on μ MUXing. Within this paper, we summarize the state of the art in MMC μ MUXing and discuss the most recent results. This particularly includes the discussion of the performance of a 64-pixel detector array with integrated, on-chip microwave SQUID multiplexer, the progress in flux ramp modulation of MMCs as well as the status of the development of a software-defined radio-based room-temperature electronics which is specifically optimized for MMC readout.

Engineering of a genetically encodable fluorescent voltage sensor exploiting fast Ci-VSP voltage-sensing movements.

PubMed

Lundby, Alicia; Mutoh, Hiroki; Dimitrov, Dimitar; Akemann, Walther; Knöpfel, Thomas

2008-06-25

Ci-VSP contains a voltage-sensing domain (VSD) homologous to that of voltage-gated potassium channels. Using charge displacement ('gating' current) measurements we show that voltage-sensing movements of this VSD can occur within 1 ms in mammalian membranes. Our analysis lead to development of a genetically encodable fluorescent protein voltage sensor (VSFP) in which the fast, voltage-dependent conformational changes of the Ci-VSP voltage sensor are transduced to similarly fast fluorescence read-outs.

Integrated readout electronics for Belle II pixel detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blanco, R.; Leys, R.; Perić, I.

2018-03-01

This paper describes the readout components for Belle II that have been designed as integrated circuits. The ICs are connected to DEPFET sensor by bump bonding. Three types of ICs have been developed: SWITCHER for pixel matrix control, DCD for readout and digitizing of sensor signals and DHP for digital data processing. The ICs are radiation tolerant and use several novel features, such as the multiple-input differential amplifiers and the fast and radiation hard high-voltage drivers. SWITCHER and DCD have been developed at University of Heidelberg, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and DHP at Bonn University. The IC-development started in 2009 and was accomplished in 2016 with the submissions of final designs. The final ICs for Belle II pixel detector and the related measurement results will be presented in this contribution.

Optically readout write once read many memory with single active organic layer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nguyen, Viet Cuong; Lee, Pooi See, E-mail: pslee@ntu.edu.sg

An optically readable write once read many memory (WORM) in Ag/Poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MEH PPV)/ITO is demonstrated in this work. Utilising characteristics of the organic light emitting diode structure of Ag/MEH PPV/ITO and electrochemical metallization of Ag, a WORM with light emitting capability can be realised. The simple fabrication process and multifunction capability of the device can be useful for future wearable optoelectronics and photomemory applications, where fast and parallel readout can be achieved by photons.

Optimization of high count rate event counting detector with Microchannel Plates and quad Timepix readout

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tremsin, A. S.; Vallerga, J. V.; McPhate, J. B.; Siegmund, O. H. W.

2015-07-01

Many high resolution event counting devices process one event at a time and cannot register simultaneous events. In this article a frame-based readout event counting detector consisting of a pair of Microchannel Plates and a quad Timepix readout is described. More than 104 simultaneous events can be detected with a spatial resolution of 55 μm, while >103 simultaneous events can be detected with <10 μm spatial resolution when event centroiding is implemented. The fast readout electronics is capable of processing >1200 frames/sec, while the global count rate of the detector can exceed 5×108 particles/s when no timing information on every particle is required. For the first generation Timepix readout, the timing resolution is limited by the Timepix clock to 10-20 ns. Optimization of the MCP gain, rear field voltage and Timepix threshold levels are crucial for the device performance and that is the main subject of this article. These devices can be very attractive for applications where the photon/electron/ion/neutron counting with high spatial and temporal resolution is required, such as energy resolved neutron imaging, Time of Flight experiments in lidar applications, experiments on photoelectron spectroscopy and many others.

The design, status and performance of the ZEUS central tracking detector electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cussans, D. G.; Fawcett, H. F.; Foster, B.; Gilmore, R. S.; Heath, G. P.; Llewellyn, T. J.; Malos, J.; Morgado, C. J. S.; Tapper, R. J.; Gingrich, D. M.; Harnew, N.; Hallam-Baker, P.; Nash, J.; Khatri, T.; Shield, P. D.; McArthur, I.; Topp-Jorgensen, S.; Wilson, F. F.; Allen, D.; Baird, S. A.; Carter, R.; Galagardera, S.; Gibson, M. D.; Hatley, R. S.; Jeffs, M.; Milborrow, R.; Morissey, M.; Quinton, S. P. H.; White, D. J.; Lane, J.; Nixon, G.; Postranecky, M.; Jamdagni, A. K.; Marcou, C.; Miller, D. B.; Toudup, L.

1992-05-01

The readout system developed for the ZEUS central trackign detector (CDT) is described. The CTD is required to provide an accurate measurement of the sagitta and energy loss of charged particles as well as provide fast trigger information. This must be carried out in the HERA environment in which beams cross every 96 ns. The first two aims are achieved by digitizing chamber pulses using a pipelined 104 MHz FADC system. The trigger uses a fast determination of the difference in the arrival times of a pulse at each end of the CTD. It processes this data and gives information to the ZEUS global first level trigger. The modules are housed in custom-built racks and crates and read out using a DAQ system based on Transputer readout controllers. These also monitor data quality and produce data for the ZEUS second level Trigger.

EMCCD calibration for astronomical imaging: Wide FastCam at the Telescopio Carlos Sánchez

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Velasco, S.; Oscoz, A.; López, R. L.; Puga, M.; Pérez-Garrido, A.; Pallé, E.; Ricci, D.; Ayuso, I.; Hernández-Sánchez, M.; Vázquez-Martín, S.; Protasio, C.; Béjar, V.; Truant, N.

2017-03-01

The evident benefits of Electron Multiplying CCDs (EMCCDs) -speed, high sensitivity, low noise and their capability of detecting single photon events whilst maintaining high quantum efficiency- are bringing these kinds of detectors to many state-of-the-art astronomical instruments (Velasco et al. 2016; Oscoz et al. 2008). The EMCCDs are the perfect answer to the need for great sensitivity levels as they are not limited by the readout noise of the output amplifier, while conventional CCDs are, even when operated at high readout frame rates. Here we present a quantitative on-sky method to calibrate EMCCD detectors dedicated to astronomical imaging, developed during the commissioning process (Velasco et al. 2016) and first observations (Ricci et al. 2016, in prep.) with Wide FastCam (Marga et al. 2014) at Telescopio Carlos Sánchez (TCS) in the Observatorio del Teide.

r-Process Nucleosynthesis in the Early Universe Through Fast Mergers of Compact Binaries in Triple Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonetti, Matteo; Perego, Albino; Capelo, Pedro R.; Dotti, Massimo; Miller, M. Coleman

2018-05-01

Surface abundance observations of halo stars hint at the occurrence of r-process nucleosynthesis at low metallicity ([Fe/H] < -3), possibly within the first 108 yr after the formation of the first stars. Possible loci of early-Universe r-process nucleosynthesis are the ejecta of either black hole-neutron star or neutron star-neutron star binary mergers. Here, we study the effect of the inclination-eccentricity oscillations raised by a tertiary (e.g. a star) on the coalescence time-scale of the inner compact object binaries. Our results are highly sensitive to the assumed initial distribution of the inner binary semi-major axes. Distributions with mostly wide compact object binaries are most affected by the third object, resulting in a strong increase (by more than a factor of 2) in the fraction of fast coalescences. If instead the distribution preferentially populates very close compact binaries, general relativistic precession prevents the third body from increasing the inner binary eccentricity to very high values. In this last case, the fraction of coalescing binaries is increased much less by tertiaries, but the fraction of binaries that would coalesce within 108 yr even without a third object is already high. Our results provide additional support to the compact-binary merger scenario for r-process nucleosynthesis.

A fast and reliable readout method for quantitative analysis of surface-enhanced Raman scattering nanoprobes on chip surface

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chang, Hyejin; Jeong, Sinyoung; Ko, Eunbyeol

2015-05-15

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering techniques have been widely used for bioanalysis due to its high sensitivity and multiplex capacity. However, the point-scanning method using a micro-Raman system, which is the most common method in the literature, has a disadvantage of extremely long measurement time for on-chip immunoassay adopting a large chip area of approximately 1-mm scale and confocal beam point of ca. 1-μm size. Alternative methods such as sampled spot scan with high confocality and large-area scan method with enlarged field of view and low confocality have been utilized in order to minimize the measurement time practically. In this study, wemore » analyzed the two methods in respect of signal-to-noise ratio and sampling-led signal fluctuations to obtain insights into a fast and reliable readout strategy. On this basis, we proposed a methodology for fast and reliable quantitative measurement of the whole chip area. The proposed method adopted a raster scan covering a full area of 100 μm × 100 μm region as a proof-of-concept experiment while accumulating signals in the CCD detector for single spectrum per frame. One single scan with 10 s over 100 μm × 100 μm area yielded much higher sensitivity compared to sampled spot scanning measurements and no signal fluctuations attributed to sampled spot scan. This readout method is able to serve as one of key technologies that will bring quantitative multiplexed detection and analysis into practice.« less

Radio-frequency measurement in semiconductor quantum computation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, TianYi; Chen, MingBo; Cao, Gang; Li, HaiOu; Xiao, Ming; Guo, GuoPing

2017-05-01

Semiconductor quantum dots have attracted wide interest for the potential realization of quantum computation. To realize efficient quantum computation, fast manipulation and the corresponding readout are necessary. In the past few decades, considerable progress of quantum manipulation has been achieved experimentally. To meet the requirements of high-speed readout, radio-frequency (RF) measurement has been developed in recent years, such as RF-QPC (radio-frequency quantum point contact) and RF-DGS (radio-frequency dispersive gate sensor). Here we specifically demonstrate the principle of the radio-frequency reflectometry, then review the development and applications of RF measurement, which provides a feasible way to achieve high-bandwidth readout in quantum coherent control and also enriches the methods to study these artificial mesoscopic quantum systems. Finally, we prospect the future usage of radio-frequency reflectometry in scaling-up of the quantum computing models.

Binary CMOS image sensor with a gate/body-tied MOSFET-type photodetector for high-speed operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Byoung-Soo; Jo, Sung-Hyun; Bae, Myunghan; Kim, Sang-Hwan; Shin, Jang-Kyoo

2016-05-01

In this paper, a binary complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor with a gate/body-tied (GBT) metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET)-type photodetector is presented. The sensitivity of the GBT MOSFET-type photodetector, which was fabricated using the standard CMOS 0.35-μm process, is higher than the sensitivity of the p-n junction photodiode, because the output signal of the photodetector is amplified by the MOSFET. A binary image sensor becomes more efficient when using this photodetector. Lower power consumptions and higher speeds of operation are possible, compared to the conventional image sensors using multi-bit analog to digital converters (ADCs). The frame rate of the proposed image sensor is over 2000 frames per second, which is higher than those of the conventional CMOS image sensors. The output signal of an active pixel sensor is applied to a comparator and compared with a reference level. The 1-bit output data of the binary process is determined by this level. To obtain a video signal, the 1-bit output data is stored in the memory and is read out by horizontal scanning. The proposed chip is composed of a GBT pixel array (144 × 100), binary-process circuit, vertical scanner, horizontal scanner, and readout circuit. The operation mode can be selected from between binary mode and multi-bit mode.

Fast ADC based multichannel acquisition system for the GEM detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kasprowicz, G.; Czarski, T.; Chernyshova, M.; Dominik, W.; Jakubowska, K.; Karpinski, L.; Kierzkowski, K.; Pozniak, K.; Rzadkiewicz, J.; Scholz, M.; Zabolotny, W.

2012-05-01

A novel approach to the Gas Electron Multiplier1 (GEM) detector readout is presented. Unlike commonly used methods, based on discriminators, and analogue FIFOs,[ the method developed uses simultaneously sampling high speed ADCs and advanced FPGA-based processing logic to estimate the energy of every single photon. Such method is applied to every GEM strip signal. It is especially useful in case of crystal-based spectrometers for soft X-rays, where higher order reflections need to be identified and rejected. For the purpose of the detector readout, a novel conception of the measurement platform was developed.

Resonance Frequency Readout Circuit for a 900 MHz SAW Device

PubMed Central

Liu, Heng; Zhang, Chun; Weng, Zhaoyang; Guo, Yanshu; Wang, Zhihua

2017-01-01

A monolithic resonance frequency readout circuit with high resolution and short measurement time is presented for a 900 MHz RF surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor. The readout circuit is composed of a fractional-N phase-locked loop (PLL) as the stimulus source to the SAW device and a phase-based resonance frequency detecting circuit using successive approximation (SAR). A new resonance frequency searching strategy has been proposed based on the fact that the SAW device phase-frequency response crosses zero monotonically around the resonance frequency. A dedicated instant phase difference detecting circuit is adopted to facilitate the fast SAR operation for resonance frequency searching. The readout circuit has been implemented in 180 nm CMOS technology with a core area of 3.24 mm2. In the experiment, it works with a 900 MHz SAW resonator with a quality factor of Q = 130. Experimental results show that the readout circuit consumes 7 mW power from 1.6 V supply. The frequency resolution is 733 Hz, and the relative accuracy is 0.82 ppm, and it takes 0.48 ms to complete one measurement. Compared to the previous results in the literature, this work has achieved the shortest measurement time with a trade-off between measurement accuracy and measurement time. PMID:28914799

Resonance Frequency Readout Circuit for a 900 MHz SAW Device.

PubMed

Liu, Heng; Zhang, Chun; Weng, Zhaoyang; Guo, Yanshu; Wang, Zhihua

2017-09-15

A monolithic resonance frequency readout circuit with high resolution and short measurement time is presented for a 900 MHz RF surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor. The readout circuit is composed of a fractional-N phase-locked loop (PLL) as the stimulus source to the SAW device and a phase-based resonance frequency detecting circuit using successive approximation (SAR). A new resonance frequency searching strategy has been proposed based on the fact that the SAW device phase-frequency response crosses zero monotonically around the resonance frequency. A dedicated instant phase difference detecting circuit is adopted to facilitate the fast SAR operation for resonance frequency searching. The readout circuit has been implemented in 180 nm CMOS technology with a core area of 3.24 mm². In the experiment, it works with a 900 MHz SAW resonator with a quality factor of Q = 130. Experimental results show that the readout circuit consumes 7 mW power from 1.6 V supply. The frequency resolution is 733 Hz, and the relative accuracy is 0.82 ppm, and it takes 0.48 ms to complete one measurement. Compared to the previous results in the literature, this work has achieved the shortest measurement time with a trade-off between measurement accuracy and measurement time.

Distributed Adaptive Binary Quantization for Fast Nearest Neighbor Search.

PubMed

Xianglong Liu; Zhujin Li; Cheng Deng; Dacheng Tao

2017-11-01

Hashing has been proved an attractive technique for fast nearest neighbor search over big data. Compared with the projection based hashing methods, prototype-based ones own stronger power to generate discriminative binary codes for the data with complex intrinsic structure. However, existing prototype-based methods, such as spherical hashing and K-means hashing, still suffer from the ineffective coding that utilizes the complete binary codes in a hypercube. To address this problem, we propose an adaptive binary quantization (ABQ) method that learns a discriminative hash function with prototypes associated with small unique binary codes. Our alternating optimization adaptively discovers the prototype set and the code set of a varying size in an efficient way, which together robustly approximate the data relations. Our method can be naturally generalized to the product space for long hash codes, and enjoys the fast training linear to the number of the training data. We further devise a distributed framework for the large-scale learning, which can significantly speed up the training of ABQ in the distributed environment that has been widely deployed in many areas nowadays. The extensive experiments on four large-scale (up to 80 million) data sets demonstrate that our method significantly outperforms state-of-the-art hashing methods, with up to 58.84% performance gains relatively.

The heat-transfer method: a versatile low-cost, label-free, fast, and user-friendly readout platform for biosensor applications.

PubMed

van Grinsven, Bart; Eersels, Kasper; Peeters, Marloes; Losada-Pérez, Patricia; Vandenryt, Thijs; Cleij, Thomas J; Wagner, Patrick

2014-08-27

In recent years, biosensors have become increasingly important in various scientific domains including medicine, biology, and pharmacology, resulting in an increased demand for fast and effective readout techniques. In this Spotlight on Applications, we report on the recently developed heat-transfer method (HTM) and illustrate the use of the technique by zooming in on four established bio(mimetic) sensor applications: (i) mutation analysis in DNA sequences, (ii) cancer cell identification through surface-imprinted polymers, (iii) detection of neurotransmitters with molecularly imprinted polymers, and (iv) phase-transition analysis in lipid vesicle layers. The methodology is based on changes in heat-transfer resistance at a functionalized solid-liquid interface. To this extent, the device applies a temperature gradient over this interface and monitors the temperature underneath and above the functionalized chip in time. The heat-transfer resistance can be obtained by dividing this temperature gradient by the power needed to achieve a programmed temperature. The low-cost, fast, label-free and user-friendly nature of the technology in combination with a high degree of specificity, selectivity, and sensitivity makes HTM a promising sensor technology.

Electronics design of the RPC system for the OPERA muon spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Acquafredda, R.; Ambrosio, M.; Balsamo, E.; Barichello, G.; Bergnoli, A.; Consiglio, L.; Corradi, G.; dal Corso, F.; Felici, G.; Manea, C.; Masone, V.; Parascandolo, P.; Sorrentino, G.

2004-09-01

The present document describes the front-end electronics of the RPC system that instruments the magnet muon spectrometer of the OPERA experiment. The main task of the OPERA spectrometer is to provide particle tracking information for muon identification and simplify the matching between the Precision Trackers. As no trigger has been foreseen for the experiment, the spectrometer electronics must be self-triggered with single-plane readout capability. Moreover, precision time information must be added within each event frame for off-line reconstruction. The read-out electronics is made of three different stages: the Front-End Boards (FEBs) system, the Controller Boards (CBs) system and the Trigger Boards (TBs) system. The FEB system provides discrimination of the strip incoming signals; a FAST-OR output of the input signals is also available for trigger plane signal generation. FEB signals are acquired by the CB system that provides the zero suppression and manages the communication to the DAQ and Slow Control. A Trigger Board allows to operate in both self-trigger mode (the FEB's FAST-OR signal starts the plane acquisition) or in external-trigger mode (different conditions can be set on the FAST-OR signals generated from different planes).

Monte Carlo calculations of PET coincidence timing: single and double-ended readout

PubMed Central

Derenzo, Stephen E; Choong, Woon-Seng; Moses, William W

2016-01-01

We present Monte Carlo computational methods for estimating the coincidence resolving time (CRT) of scintillator detector pairs in positron emission tomography (PET) and present results for Lu2SiO5 : Ce (LSO), LaBr3 : Ce, and a hypothetical ultra-fast scintillator with a 1 ns decay time. The calculations were applied to both single-ended and double-ended photodetector readout with constant-fraction triggering. They explicitly include (1) the intrinsic scintillator properties (luminosity, rise time, decay time, and index of refraction), (2) the exponentially distributed depths of interaction, (3) the optical photon transport efficiency, delay, and time dispersion, (4) the photodetector properties (fill factor, quantum efficiency, transit time jitter, and single electron response), and (5) the determination of the constant fraction trigger level that minimizes the CRT. The calculations for single-ended readout include the delayed photons from the opposite reflective surface. The calculations for double-ended readout include (1) the simple average of the two photodetector trigger times, (2) more accurate estimators of the annihilation photon entrance time using the pulse height ratio to estimate the depth of interaction and correct for annihilation photon, optical photon, and trigger delays, and (3) the statistical lower bound for interactions at the center of the crystal. For time-of-flight (TOF) PET we combine stopping power and TOF information in a figure of merit equal to the sensitivity gain relative to whole-body non-TOF PET using LSO. For LSO crystals 3 mm × 3 mm × 30 mm, a decay time of 37 ns, a total photoelectron count of 4000, and a photodetector with 0.2 ns full-width at half-maximum (fwhm) timing jitter, single-ended readout has a CRT of 0.16 ns fwhm and double-ended readout has a CRT of 0.111 ns fwhm. For LaBr3 : Ce crystals 3 mm × 3 mm × 30 mm, a rise time of 0.2 ns, a decay time of 18 ns, and a total of 7600 photoelectrons the CRT numbers are 0.14 ns and 0.072 ns fwhm, respectively. For a hypothetical ultra-fast scintillator 3 mm × 3 mm × 30 mm, a decay time of 1 ns, and a total of 4000 photoelectrons, the CRT numbers are 0.070 and 0.020 ns fwhm, respectively. Over a range of examples, values for double-ended readout are about 10% larger than the statistical lower bound. PMID:26350162

Two Improved Access Methods on Compact Binary (CB) Trees.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shishibori, Masami; Koyama, Masafumi; Okada, Makoto; Aoe, Jun-ichi

2000-01-01

Discusses information retrieval and the use of binary trees as a fast access method for search strategies such as hashing. Proposes new methods based on compact binary trees that provide faster access and more compact storage, explains the theoretical basis, and confirms the validity of the methods through empirical observations. (LRW)

The SUrvey for Pulsars and Extragalactic Radio Bursts - I. Survey description and overview

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keane, E. F.; Barr, E. D.; Jameson, A.; Morello, V.; Caleb, M.; Bhandari, S.; Petroff, E.; Possenti, A.; Burgay, M.; Tiburzi, C.; Bailes, M.; Bhat, N. D. R.; Burke-Spolaor, S.; Eatough, R. P.; Flynn, C.; Jankowski, F.; Johnston, S.; Kramer, M.; Levin, L.; Ng, C.; van Straten, W.; Krishnan, V. Venkatraman

2018-01-01

We describe the Survey for Pulsars and Extragalactic Radio Bursts (SUPERB), an ongoing pulsar and fast transient survey using the Parkes radio telescope. SUPERB involves real-time acceleration searches for pulsars and single-pulse searches for pulsars and fast radio bursts. We report on the observational set-up, data analysis, multiwavelength/messenger connections, survey sensitivities to pulsars and fast radio bursts and the impact of radio frequency interference. We further report on the first 10 pulsars discovered in the project. Among these is PSR J1306-40, a millisecond pulsar in a binary system where it appears to be eclipsed for a large fraction of the orbit. PSR J1421-4407 is another binary millisecond pulsar; its orbital period is 30.7 d. This orbital period is in a range where only highly eccentric binaries are known, and expected by theory; despite this its orbit has an eccentricity of 10-5.

Transcending binary logic by gating three coupled quantum dots.

PubMed

Klein, Michael; Rogge, S; Remacle, F; Levine, R D

2007-09-01

Physical considerations supported by numerical solution of the quantum dynamics including electron repulsion show that three weakly coupled quantum dots can robustly execute a complete set of logic gates for computing using three valued inputs and outputs. Input is coded as gating (up, unchanged, or down) of the terminal dots. A nanosecond time scale switching of the gate voltage requires careful numerical propagation of the dynamics. Readout is the charge (0, 1, or 2 electrons) on the central dot.

NECTAR: New electronics for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naumann, Christopher Lindsay; Bolmont, J.; Corona, P.; Delagnes, E.; Dzahini, D.; Feinstein, F.; Gascon, D.; Glicenstein, J.-F.; Nayman, P.; Rarbi, F.; Ribo, M.; Sanuy, A.; Siero, X.; Tavernet, J.-P.; Toussenel, F.; Vincent, P.; Vorobiov, S.

2012-12-01

The international CTA consortium is currently in the preparatory phase for the development of the next-generation Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA [1]), based on the return of experience from the three major current-generation arrays H.E.S.S., MAGIC and VERITAS. To achieve an unprecedented sensitivity and energy range for TeV gamma rays, a new kind of flexible and powerful yet inexpensive front-end hardware will be required for the order of 105 channels of photodetectors in up to 100 telescopes. One possible solution is the NECTAr (New Electronics for the Cherenkov Telescope Array) system, based on the integration of as much as possible of the front-end electronics (amplifiers, fast analogue samplers, memory and ADCs) into a single ASIC for very fast readout performance and a significant reduction of the cost and the lower consumption per channel, while offering a high degree of flexibility both for the triggering and the readout of the telescope. The current status of its development is presented, along with newest results from measurements and simulation studies.

Readout Strategy of an Electro-optical Coupled PET Detector for Time-of-Flight PET/MRI

PubMed Central

Bieniosek, M F; Olcott, P D; Levin, C S

2013-01-01

Combining PET with MRI in a single system provides clinicians with complementary molecular and anatomical information. However, existing integrated PET/MRI systems do not have time-of-flight PET capabilities. This work describes an MRI-compatible front-end electronic system with ToF capabilities. The approach employs a fast arrival-time pickoff comparator to digitize the timing information, and a laser diode to drive a 10m fiber-optic cable to optically transmit asynchronous timing information to a photodiode receiver readout system. The comparator and this electo-optical link show a combined 11.5ps fwhm jitter in response to a fast digital pulse. When configured with LYSO scintillation crystals and Hamamatsu MPPC silicon photo-multipliers the comparator and electro-optical link achieved a 511keV coincidence time resolution of 254.7ps +/− 8.0ps fwhm with 3×3×20mm crystals and 166.5 +/− 2.5ps fwhm with 3×3×5mm crystals. PMID:24061218

The OPERA muon spectrometer tracking electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ambrosio, M.; Barichello, G.; Brugnera, R.; Carrara, E.; Consiglio, L.; Corradi, A.; Dal Corso, F.; Dusini, S.; Felici, G.; Garfagnini, A.; Manea, C.; Masone, V.; Paoloni, A.; Paoluzzi, G.; Papalino, G.; Parascandolo, P.; Sorrentino, G.; Spinetti, M.; Stanco, L.; Terranova, F.; Votano, L.

2004-11-01

The document describes the front-end electronics that instrument the spectrometer of the OPERA experiment. The spectrometer is made of two separate modules. Each module consists of 22 RPC planes equipped with horizontal and vertical strips readout for a total amount of about 25,000 digital channels. The front end electronics is self-triggered and has single plane readout capability. It is made of three different stages: the Front End Boards (FEBs) system, the Controller Boards (CBs) system and the Timing Boards (TBs) system. The FEB system provides discrimination of the strip incoming signals; a FAST OR output of the input signals is also available for trigger plane signal generation. FEBs discriminated signals are acquired by the CBs system that manages also the communication to the experiment DAQ and Slow Control interface. A Trigger Board allows to operate in both self-trigger (the FEB FAST OR signal starts the plane acquisition) or external-trigger (different conditions can be set on the OR signals generated from different planes) modes.

Submillisecond X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy from a pixel array detector with fast dual gating and no readout dead-time

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Qingteng; Dufresne, Eric M.; Grybos, Pawel; ...

2016-04-19

Small-angle scattering X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) studies were performed using a novel photon-counting pixel array detector with dual counters for each pixel. Each counter can be read out independently from the other to ensure there is no readout dead-time between the neighboring frames. A maximum frame rate of 11.8 kHz was achieved. Results on test samples show good agreement with simple diffusion. Lastly, the potential of extending the time resolution of XPCS beyond the limit set by the detector frame rate using dual counters is also discussed.

Submillisecond X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy from a pixel array detector with fast dual gating and no readout dead-time

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Qingteng; Dufresne, Eric M.; Grybos, Pawel

Small-angle scattering X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) studies were performed using a novel photon-counting pixel array detector with dual counters for each pixel. Each counter can be read out independently from the other to ensure there is no readout dead-time between the neighboring frames. A maximum frame rate of 11.8 kHz was achieved. Results on test samples show good agreement with simple diffusion. Lastly, the potential of extending the time resolution of XPCS beyond the limit set by the detector frame rate using dual counters is also discussed.

Using resistive readout to probe ultrafast dynamics of a plasmonic sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheney, Alec; Chen, Borui; Cartwright, Alexander; Thomay, Tim

2018-02-01

Surface plasmons in a DC current lead to an increase in scattering processes, resulting in a measurable increase in electrical resistance of a plasmonic nano-grating. This enables a purely electronic readout of plasmonically mediated optical absorption. We show that there is a time-dependence in these resistance changes on the order of 100ps that we attribute to electron-phonon and phonon-phonon scattering processes in the metal of the nano-gratings. Since plasmonic responses are strongly structurally dependent, an appropriately designed plasmoelectronic detector could potentially offer an extremely fast response at communication wavelengths in a fully CMOS compatible system.

Submillisecond X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy from a pixel array detector with fast dual gating and no readout dead-time.

PubMed

Zhang, Qingteng; Dufresne, Eric M; Grybos, Pawel; Kmon, Piotr; Maj, Piotr; Narayanan, Suresh; Deptuch, Grzegorz W; Szczygiel, Robert; Sandy, Alec

2016-05-01

Small-angle scattering X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) studies were performed using a novel photon-counting pixel array detector with dual counters for each pixel. Each counter can be read out independently from the other to ensure there is no readout dead-time between the neighboring frames. A maximum frame rate of 11.8 kHz was achieved. Results on test samples show good agreement with simple diffusion. The potential of extending the time resolution of XPCS beyond the limit set by the detector frame rate using dual counters is also discussed.

Central FPGA-based destination and load control in the LHCb MHz event readout

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobsson, R.

2012-10-01

The readout strategy of the LHCb experiment is based on complete event readout at 1 MHz. A set of 320 sub-detector readout boards transmit event fragments at total rate of 24.6 MHz at a bandwidth usage of up to 70 GB/s over a commercial switching network based on Gigabit Ethernet to a distributed event building and high-level trigger processing farm with 1470 individual multi-core computer nodes. In the original specifications, the readout was based on a pure push protocol. This paper describes the proposal, implementation, and experience of a non-conventional mixture of a push and a pull protocol, akin to credit-based flow control. An FPGA-based central master module, partly operating at the LHC bunch clock frequency of 40.08 MHz and partly at a double clock speed, is in charge of the entire trigger and readout control from the front-end electronics up to the high-level trigger farm. One FPGA is dedicated to controlling the event fragment packing in the readout boards, the assignment of the farm node destination for each event, and controls the farm load based on an asynchronous pull mechanism from each farm node. This dynamic readout scheme relies on generic event requests and the concept of node credit allowing load control and trigger rate regulation as a function of the global farm load. It also allows the vital task of fast central monitoring and automatic recovery in-flight of failing nodes while maintaining dead-time and event loss at a minimum. This paper demonstrates the strength and suitability of implementing this real-time task for a very large distributed system in an FPGA where no random delays are introduced, and where extreme reliability and accurate event accounting are fundamental requirements. It was in use during the entire commissioning phase of LHCb and has been in faultless operation during the first two years of physics luminosity data taking.

A Circumbinary Disk Model for the Rapid Orbital Shrinkage in Black Hole Low-mass X-Ray Binaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Xiao-Tian; Li, Xiang-Dong

2018-05-01

Several black hole low-mass X-ray binaries (BHLMXBs) show very fast orbital shrinkage, which is difficult to understand in the standard picture of the LMXB evolution. Based on the possible detection of a circumbinary (CB) disk in A0620-00 and XTE J1118+480, we investigate the influence of the interaction between a CB disk and the inner binary and calculate the evolution of the binary using the Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics. We consider two cases for the CB disk formation in which it is fed by mass loss during single outburst or successive outbursts in the LMXB. We show that when taking reasonable values of the initial mass and the dissipating time of the disk, it is possible to explain the fast orbital shrinkage in the BHLMXBs without invoking a high-mass transfer rate.

A Fast Event Preprocessor and Sequencer for the Simbol-X Low Energy Detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schanz, T.; Tenzer, C.; Maier, D.; Kendziorra, E.; Santangelo, A.

2009-05-01

The Simbol-X Low Energy Detector (LED), a 128×128 pixel DEPFET (Depleted Field Effect Transistor) array, will be read out at a very high rate (8000 frames/second) and, therefore, requires a very fast on board electronics. We present an FPGA-based LED camera electronics consisting of an Event Preprocessor (EPP) for on board data preprocessing and filtering of the Simbol-X low-energy detector and a related Sequencer (SEQ) to generate the necessary signals to control the readout.

Radiation imaging with optically read out GEM-based detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brunbauer, F. M.; Lupberger, M.; Oliveri, E.; Resnati, F.; Ropelewski, L.; Streli, C.; Thuiner, P.; van Stenis, M.

2018-02-01

Modern imaging sensors allow for high granularity optical readout of radiation detectors such as MicroPattern Gaseous Detectors (MPGDs). Taking advantage of the high signal amplification factors achievable by MPGD technologies such as Gaseous Electron Multipliers (GEMs), highly sensitive detectors can be realised and employing gas mixtures with strong scintillation yield in the visible wavelength regime, optical readout of such detectors can provide high-resolution event representations. Applications from X-ray imaging to fluoroscopy and tomography profit from the good spatial resolution of optical readout and the possibility to obtain images without the need for extensive reconstruction. Sensitivity to low-energy X-rays and energy resolution permit energy resolved imaging and material distinction in X-ray fluorescence measurements. Additionally, the low material budget of gaseous detectors and the possibility to couple scintillation light to imaging sensors via fibres or mirrors makes optically read out GEMs an ideal candidate for beam monitoring detectors in high energy physics as well as radiotherapy. We present applications and achievements of optically read out GEM-based detectors including high spatial resolution imaging and X-ray fluorescence measurements as an alternative readout approach for MPGDs. A detector concept for low intensity applications such as X-ray crystallography, which maximises detection efficiency with a thick conversion region but mitigates parallax-induced broadening is presented and beam monitoring capabilities of optical readout are explored. Augmenting high resolution 2D projections of particle tracks obtained with optical readout with timing information from fast photon detectors or transparent anodes for charge readout, 3D reconstruction of particle trajectories can be performed and permits the realisation of optically read out time projection chambers. Combining readily available high performance imaging sensors with compatible scintillating gases and the strong signal amplification factors achieved by MPGDs makes optical readout an attractive alternative to the common concept of electronic readout of radiation detectors. Outstanding signal-to-noise ratios and robustness against electronic noise allow unprecedented imaging capabilities for various applications in fields ranging from high energy physics to medical instrumentation.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Poels, Kenneth, E-mail: kenneth.poels@uzbrussel.be; Verellen, Dirk; Van de Vondel, Iwein

Purpose: Because frame rates on current clinical available electronic portal imaging devices (EPID’s) are limited to 7.5 Hz, a new commercially available PerkinElmer EPID (XRD 1642 AP19) with a maximum frame rate of 30 Hz and a new scintillator (Kyokko PI200) with improved sensitivity (light output) for megavolt (MV) irradiation was evaluated. In this work, the influence of MV pulse artifacts and pulsing artifact suppression techniques on fiducial marker and marker-less detection of a lung lesion was investigated, because target localization is an important component of uncertainty in geometrical verification of real-time tumor tracking. Methods: Visicoil™ markers with a diametermore » of 0.05 and 0.075 cm were used for MV marker tracking with a frame rate of, respectively, 7.5, 15, and 30 Hz. A 30 Hz readout of the detector was obtained by a 2 × 2 pixel binning, reducing spatial resolution. Static marker detection was conducted in function of increasing phantom thickness. Additionally, marker-less tracking was conducted and compared with the ground-truth fiducial marker motion. Performance of MV target detection was investigated by comparing the least-square sine wave fit of the detected marker positions with the predefined sine wave motion. For fiducial marker detection, a Laplacian-of-Gaussian enhancement was applied after which normalized cross correlation was used to find the most probable marker position. Marker-less detection was performed by using the scale and orientation adaptive mean shift tracking algorithm. For each MV fluoroscopy, a free running (FR-nF) (ignoring MV pulsing during readout) acquisition mode was compared with two acquisition modes intending to reduce MV pulsing artifacts, i.e., combined wavelet-FFT filtering (FR-wF) and electronic readout synchronized with respect to MV pulses. Results: A 0.05 cm Visicoil marker resulted in an unacceptable root-mean square error (RMSE) > 0.2 cm with a maximum frame rate of 30 Hz during FR-nF readout. With a 30 Hz synchronized readout (S-nF) and during 15 Hz readout (independent of readout mode), RMSE was submillimeter for a static 0.05 cm Visicoil. A dynamic 0.05 cm Visicoil was not detectable on the XRD 1642 AP19, despite a fast synchronized readout. For a 0.075 cm Visicoil, deviations of sine wave motion were submillimeter (RMSE < 0.08 cm), independent of the acquisition mode (FR, S). For marker-less tumor detection, FR-nF images resulted in RMSE > 0.3 cm, while for MV fluoroscopy in S-mode RMSE < 0.1 cm for 15 Hz and RMSE < 0.16 cm for 30 Hz. Largest consistency in target localization was experienced during 15 Hz S-nF readout. Conclusions: In general, marker contrast decreased in function of higher frame rates, which was detrimental for marker detection success. In this work, Visicoils with a thickness of 0.075 cm were showing best results for a 15 Hz frame rate, while non-MV compatible 0.05 cm Visicoil markers were not visible on the new EPID with improved sensitivity compared to EPID models based on a Kodak Lanex Fast scintillator. No noticeable influence of pulsing artifacts on the detection of a 0.075 cm Visicoil was observed, while a synchronized readout provided most reliable detection of a marker-less soft-tissue structure.« less

A multiplexed TOF and DOI capable PET detector using a binary position sensitive network.

PubMed

Bieniosek, M F; Cates, J W; Levin, C S

2016-11-07

Time of flight (TOF) and depth of interaction (DOI) capabilities can significantly enhance the quality and uniformity of positron emission tomography (PET) images. Many proposed TOF/DOI PET detectors require complex readout systems using additional photosensors, active cooling, or waveform sampling. This work describes a high performance, low complexity, room temperature TOF/DOI PET module. The module uses multiplexed timing channels to significantly reduce the electronic readout complexity of the PET detector while maintaining excellent timing, energy, and position resolution. DOI was determined using a two layer light sharing scintillation crystal array with a novel binary position sensitive network. A 20 mm effective thickness LYSO crystal array with four 3 mm  ×  3 mm silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) read out by a single timing channel, one energy channel and two position channels achieved a full width half maximum (FWHM) coincidence time resolution of 180  ±  2 ps with 10 mm of DOI resolution and 11% energy resolution. With sixteen 3 mm  ×  3 mm SiPMs read out by a single timing channel, one energy channel and four position channels a coincidence time resolution 204  ±  1 ps was achieved with 10 mm of DOI resolution and 15% energy resolution. The methods presented here could significantly simplify the construction of high performance TOF/DOI PET detectors.

Design and implementation of a cross-sectional nutritional phenotyping study of healthy US adults

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Metabolic imbalance is a key determinant of risk of chronic diseases. Metabolic health cannot be assessed solely by body mass calculations or by static, fasted state biochemical readouts. Although previous studies have described temporal responses to dietary challenges, these studies fail to assess ...

Analyte species and concentration identification using differentially functionalized microcantilever arrays and artificial neural networks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Senesac, Larry R; Datskos, Panos G; Sepaniak, Michael J

2006-01-01

In the present work, we have performed analyte species and concentration identification using an array of ten differentially functionalized microcantilevers coupled with a back-propagation artificial neural network pattern recognition algorithm. The array consists of ten nanostructured silicon microcantilevers functionalized by polymeric and gas chromatography phases and macrocyclic receptors as spatially dense, differentially responding sensing layers for identification and quantitation of individual analyte(s) and their binary mixtures. The array response (i.e. cantilever bending) to analyte vapor was measured by an optical readout scheme and the responses were recorded for a selection of individual analytes as well as several binary mixtures. Anmore » artificial neural network (ANN) was designed and trained to recognize not only the individual analytes and binary mixtures, but also to determine the concentration of individual components in a mixture. To the best of our knowledge, ANNs have not been applied to microcantilever array responses previously to determine concentrations of individual analytes. The trained ANN correctly identified the eleven test analyte(s) as individual components, most with probabilities greater than 97%, whereas it did not misidentify an unknown (untrained) analyte. Demonstrated unique aspects of this work include an ability to measure binary mixtures and provide both qualitative (identification) and quantitative (concentration) information with array-ANN-based sensor methodologies.« less

Monte Carlo calculations of PET coincidence timing: single and double-ended readout

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Derenzo, Stephen E.; Choong, Woon-Seng; Moses, William W.

2015-09-01

We present Monte Carlo computational methods for estimating the coincidence resolving time (CRT) of scintillator detector pairs in positron emission tomography (PET) and present results for Lu2SiO5 : Ce (LSO), LaBr3 : Ce, and a hypothetical ultra-fast scintillator with a 1 ns decay time. The calculations were applied to both single-ended and double-ended photodetector readout with constant-fraction triggering. They explicitly include (1) the intrinsic scintillator properties (luminosity, rise time, decay time, and index of refraction), (2) the exponentially distributed depths of interaction, (3) the optical photon transport efficiency, delay, and time dispersion, (4) the photodetector properties (fill factor, quantum efficiency, transit time jitter, and single electron response), and (5) the determination of the constant fraction trigger level that minimizes the CRT. The calculations for single-ended readout include the delayed photons from the opposite reflective surface. The calculations for double-ended readout include (1) the simple average of the two photodetector trigger times, (2) more accurate estimators of the annihilation photon entrance time using the pulse height ratio to estimate the depth of interaction and correct for annihilation photon, optical photon, and trigger delays, and (3) the statistical lower bound for interactions at the center of the crystal. For time-of-flight (TOF) PET we combine stopping power and TOF information in a figure of merit equal to the sensitivity gain relative to whole-body non-TOF PET using LSO. For LSO crystals 3 mm  ×  3 mm  ×  30 mm, a decay time of 37 ns, a total photoelectron count of 4000, and a photodetector with 0.2 ns full-width at half-maximum (fwhm) timing jitter, single-ended readout has a CRT of 0.16 ns fwhm and double-ended readout has a CRT of 0.111 ns fwhm. For LaBr3 : Ce crystals 3 mm  ×  3 mm  ×  30 mm, a rise time of 0.2 ns, a decay time of 18 ns, and a total of 7600 photoelectrons the CRT numbers are 0.14 ns and 0.072 ns fwhm, respectively. For a hypothetical ultra-fast scintillator 3 mm  ×  3 mm  ×  30 mm, a decay time of 1 ns, and a total of 4000 photoelectrons, the CRT numbers are 0.070 and 0.020 ns fwhm, respectively. Over a range of examples, values for double-ended readout are about 10% larger than the statistical lower bound.

Monte Carlo calculations of PET coincidence timing: single and double-ended readout.

PubMed

Derenzo, Stephen E; Choong, Woon-Seng; Moses, William W

2015-09-21

We present Monte Carlo computational methods for estimating the coincidence resolving time (CRT) of scintillator detector pairs in positron emission tomography (PET) and present results for Lu2SiO5 : Ce (LSO), LaBr3 : Ce, and a hypothetical ultra-fast scintillator with a 1 ns decay time. The calculations were applied to both single-ended and double-ended photodetector readout with constant-fraction triggering. They explicitly include (1) the intrinsic scintillator properties (luminosity, rise time, decay time, and index of refraction), (2) the exponentially distributed depths of interaction, (3) the optical photon transport efficiency, delay, and time dispersion, (4) the photodetector properties (fill factor, quantum efficiency, transit time jitter, and single electron response), and (5) the determination of the constant fraction trigger level that minimizes the CRT. The calculations for single-ended readout include the delayed photons from the opposite reflective surface. The calculations for double-ended readout include (1) the simple average of the two photodetector trigger times, (2) more accurate estimators of the annihilation photon entrance time using the pulse height ratio to estimate the depth of interaction and correct for annihilation photon, optical photon, and trigger delays, and (3) the statistical lower bound for interactions at the center of the crystal. For time-of-flight (TOF) PET we combine stopping power and TOF information in a figure of merit equal to the sensitivity gain relative to whole-body non-TOF PET using LSO. For LSO crystals 3 mm  ×  3 mm  ×  30 mm, a decay time of 37 ns, a total photoelectron count of 4000, and a photodetector with 0.2 ns full-width at half-maximum (fwhm) timing jitter, single-ended readout has a CRT of 0.16 ns fwhm and double-ended readout has a CRT of 0.111 ns fwhm. For LaBr3 : Ce crystals 3 mm  ×  3 mm  ×  30 mm, a rise time of 0.2 ns, a decay time of 18 ns, and a total of 7600 photoelectrons the CRT numbers are 0.14 ns and 0.072 ns fwhm, respectively. For a hypothetical ultra-fast scintillator 3 mm  ×  3 mm  ×  30 mm, a decay time of 1 ns, and a total of 4000 photoelectrons, the CRT numbers are 0.070 and 0.020 ns fwhm, respectively. Over a range of examples, values for double-ended readout are about 10% larger than the statistical lower bound.

The New APD Based Readout for the Crystal Barrel Calorimeter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urban, M.; Honisch, Ch; Steinacher, M.; CBELSA/TAPS Collaboration

2015-02-01

The CBELSA/TAPS experiment at ELSA measures double polarization observables in meson photoproduction off protons and neutrons. To be able to measure purely neutral reactions off polarized neutrons with high efficiency, the main calorimeter has to be integrated into the first level trigger. This requires to exchange the existing PIN photo diode by a new avalanche photo diode (APD) readout. The newly developed readout electronics will provide an energy resolution compatible to the previous set-up and a fast trigger signal down to 10 MeV energy deposit per crystal. After the successful final tests with a 3x3 CsI crystal matrix in Bonn at ELSA and in Mainz at MAMI all front-end electronics were produced in fall 2013. Automated test routines for the front-end electronics were developed and the characterization measurements of all APDs were successfully accomplished in Bonn. The project is supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB/TR16) and Schweizerischer Nationalfonds.

Readout architecture for sub-nanosecond resolution TDC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marteau, J.; Carlus, B.; Gardien, S.; Girerd, C.; Ianigro, J.-C.; Montorio, J.-L.; Gibert, D.; Nicollin, F.

2012-04-01

The DIAPHANE project is pluri-disciplinary collaboration between particle physicists and geophysicists to perform the tomography of large geological structure mainly devoted to the study of active volcanoes. The detector used for this tomography, hereafter referred to as telescope, uses a standard, robust, cost-effective and well-known technology based on solid plastic scintillator readout by photomultiplier(s) (either multichannel pixelized PM or silicon PM). The electronics system is built on the concept of autonomous, triggerless, smart sensor directly connected on a standard fast Ethernet network. First radiographies have been performed on the Mont-Terri underground laboratory (St-Ursanne, Switzerland) and on the active volcano of La Soufrière (Guadeloupe, Lesser Antilles, France). We present an upgrade of the readout architecture allowing to embed a sub-nanosecond resolution TDC within the existing programmable logic to help in the background rejection (rear flux, random coincidences) and to improve the detection purity and the radiography quality. First results obtained are also presented and briefly discussed.

Single Echo MRI

PubMed Central

Galiana, Gigi; Constable, R. Todd

2014-01-01

Purpose Previous nonlinear gradient research has focused on trajectories that reconstruct images with a minimum number of echoes. Here we describe sequences where the nonlinear gradients vary in time to acquire the image in a single readout. The readout is designed to be very smooth so that it can be compressed to minimal time without violating peripheral nerve stimulation limits, yielding an image from a single 4 ms echo. Theory and Methods This sequence was inspired by considering the code of each voxel, i.e. the phase accumulation that a voxel follows through the readout, an approach connected to traditional encoding theory. We present simulations for the initial sequence, a low slew rate analog, and higher resolution reconstructions. Results Extremely fast acquisitions are achievable, though as one would expect, SNR is reduced relative to the slower Cartesian sampling schemes because of the high gradient strengths. Conclusions The prospect that nonlinear gradients can acquire images in a single <10 ms echo makes this a novel and interesting approach to image encoding. PMID:24465837

Combined readout of a triple-GEM detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antochi, V. C.; Baracchini, E.; Cavoto, G.; Di Marco, E.; Marafini, M.; Mazzitelli, G.; Pinci, D.; Renga, F.; Tomassini, S.; Voena, C.

2018-05-01

Optical readout of GEM based devices by means of high granularity and low noise CMOS sensors allows to obtain very interesting tracking performance. Space resolution of the order of tens of μm were measured on the GEM plane along with an energy resolution of 20%÷30%. The main limitation of CMOS sensors is represented by their poor information about time structure of the event. In this paper, the use of a concurrent light readout by means of a suitable photomultiplier and the acquisition of the electric signal induced on the GEM electrode are exploited to provide the necessary timing informations. The analysis of the PMT waveform allows a 3D reconstruction of each single clusters with a resolution on z of 100 μm. Moreover, from the PMT signals it is possible to obtain a fast reconstruction of the energy released within the detector with a resolution of the order of 25% even in the tens of keV range useful, for example, for triggering purpose.

Novel x-ray silicon detector for 2D imaging and high-resolution spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castoldi, Andrea; Gatti, Emilio; Guazzoni, Chiara; Longoni, Antonio; Rehak, Pavel; Strueder, Lothar

1999-10-01

A novel x-ray silicon detector for 2D imaging has been recently proposed. The detector, called Controlled-Drift Detector, is operated in integrate-readout mode. Its basic feature is the fast transport of the integrated charge to the output electrode by means of a uniform drift field. The drift time of the charge packet identifies the pixel of incidence. A new architecture to implement the Controlled- Drift Detector concept will be presented. The potential wells for the integration of the signal charge are obtained by means of a suitable pattern of deep n-implants and deep p-implants. During the readout mode the signal electrons are transferred in the drift channel that flanks each column of potential wells where they drift towards the collecting electrode at constant velocity. The first experimental measurements demonstrate the successful integration, transfer and drift of the signal electrons. The low output capacitance of the readout electrode together with the on- chip front-end electronics allows high resolution spectroscopy of the detected photons.

Amplified Sensitivity of Nitrogen-Vacancy Spins in Nanodiamonds Using All-Optical Charge Readout.

PubMed

Hopper, David A; Grote, Richard R; Parks, Samuel M; Bassett, Lee C

2018-04-23

Nanodiamonds containing nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers offer a versatile platform for sensing applications spanning from nanomagnetism to in vivo monitoring of cellular processes. In many cases, however, weak optical signals and poor contrast demand long acquisition times that prevent the measurement of environmental dynamics. Here, we demonstrate the ability to perform fast, high-contrast optical measurements of charge distributions in ensembles of NV centers in nanodiamonds and use the technique to improve the spin-readout signal-to-noise ratio through spin-to-charge conversion. A study of 38 nanodiamonds with sizes ranging between 20 and 70 nm, each hosting a small ensemble of NV centers, uncovers complex, multiple time scale dynamics due to radiative and nonradiative ionization and recombination processes. Nonetheless, the NV-containing nanodiamonds universally exhibit charge-dependent photoluminescence contrasts and the potential for enhanced spin readout using spin-to-charge conversion. We use the technique to speed up a T 1 relaxometry measurement by a factor of 5.

Design and theoretical investigation of a digital x-ray detector with large area and high spatial resolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gui, Jianbao; Guo, Jinchuan; Yang, Qinlao; Liu, Xin; Niu, Hanben

2007-05-01

X-ray phase contrast imaging is a promising new technology today, but the requirements of a digital detector with large area, high spatial resolution and high sensitivity bring forward a large challenge to researchers. This paper is related to the design and theoretical investigation of an x-ray direct conversion digital detector based on mercuric iodide photoconductive layer with the latent charge image readout by photoinduced discharge (PID). Mercuric iodide has been verified having a good imaging performance (high sensitivity, low dark current, low voltage operation and good lag characteristics) compared with the other competitive materials (α-Se,PbI II,CdTe,CdZnTe) and can be easily deposited on large substrates in the manner of polycrystalline. By use of line scanning laser beam and parallel multi-electrode readout make the system have high spatial resolution and fast readout speed suitable for instant general radiography and even rapid sequence radiography.

An associative capacitive network based on nanoscale complementary resistive switches for memory-intensive computing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kavehei, Omid; Linn, Eike; Nielen, Lutz; Tappertzhofen, Stefan; Skafidas, Efstratios; Valov, Ilia; Waser, Rainer

2013-05-01

We report on the implementation of an Associative Capacitive Network (ACN) based on the nondestructive capacitive readout of two Complementary Resistive Switches (2-CRSs). ACNs are capable of performing a fully parallel search for Hamming distances (i.e. similarity) between input and stored templates. Unlike conventional associative memories where charge retention is a key function and hence, they require frequent refresh cycles, in ACNs, information is retained in a nonvolatile resistive state and normal tasks are carried out through capacitive coupling between input and output nodes. Each device consists of two CRS cells and no selective element is needed, therefore, CMOS circuitry is only required in the periphery, for addressing and read-out. Highly parallel processing, nonvolatility, wide interconnectivity and low-energy consumption are significant advantages of ACNs over conventional and emerging associative memories. These characteristics make ACNs one of the promising candidates for applications in memory-intensive and cognitive computing, switches and routers as binary and ternary Content Addressable Memories (CAMs) and intelligent data processing.

Radiation Tolerant Electronics and Digital Processing for the Phase-1 Read-out Upgrade of the ATLAS Liquid Argon Calorimeters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Milic, A.

The ATLAS Liquid Argon calorimeters are designed and built to study proton-proton collisions produced at the LHC at centre-of-mass energies up to 14 TeV. Liquid argon (LAr) sampling calorimeters are employed for all electromagnetic calorimetry in the pseudorapidity region |η|<3.2, and for hadronic calorimetry in the region from |η|=1.5 to |η|=4.9. Although the nominal LHC experimental programme is still in progress, an upgrade of the read-out electronics is being launched to cope with luminosities of up to 3x10{sup 34} cm{sup -2}s{sup -1}, which are beyond the original design by a factor of 3. An improved spatial granularity of the triggermore » primitives is therefore proposed in order to improve the identification performance for trigger signatures, like electrons, photons, tau leptons, jets, total and missing energy, at high background rejection rates. For the upgrade Phase-1 in 2018, new LAr Trigger Digitizer Boards (LTDB) are being designed to receive higher granularity signals, digitize them on detector and send them via fast optical links to a new LAr digital processing system (LDPS). The LDPS applies a digital filtering and identifies significant energy depositions in each trigger channel. The refined trigger primitives are then transmitted to the first level trigger system to extract improved trigger signatures. The read-out of the trigger signals will process 34000 so-called Super Cells at every LHC bunch-crossing at a frequency of 40 MHz. The new LTDB on-detector electronics is designed to be radiation tolerant in order to be operated for the remaining live-time of the ATLAS detector up to a total luminosity of 3000 fb{sup -1}. For the analog-to-digital conversion (12-bit ADC at 40 MSPS), the data serialization and the fast optical link (5.44 Gb/s) custom components have been developed. They have been qualified for the expected radiation environment of a total ionization dose of 1.3 kGy and a hadron fluence of 6 x 10{sup 13} h/cm{sup 2} with energies above 20 MeV. For the digital components like the ADC, cross-sections for single event effects have been determined. This talk will present R and D results from tests of the radiation tolerant components, the fast data processing electronics and prototypes of the LTDB and LDPS boards. First experience from a Demonstrator setup will be reported, in which about 1/10 of the full Super Cell readout will be equipped with prototype versions of the LTDB and LDPS boards. The Demonstrator will be operated in parallel to the regular ATLAS trigger read-out during the upcoming LHC run. (authors)« less

Fast Exact Search in Hamming Space With Multi-Index Hashing.

PubMed

Norouzi, Mohammad; Punjani, Ali; Fleet, David J

2014-06-01

There is growing interest in representing image data and feature descriptors using compact binary codes for fast near neighbor search. Although binary codes are motivated by their use as direct indices (addresses) into a hash table, codes longer than 32 bits are not being used as such, as it was thought to be ineffective. We introduce a rigorous way to build multiple hash tables on binary code substrings that enables exact k-nearest neighbor search in Hamming space. The approach is storage efficient and straight-forward to implement. Theoretical analysis shows that the algorithm exhibits sub-linear run-time behavior for uniformly distributed codes. Empirical results show dramatic speedups over a linear scan baseline for datasets of up to one billion codes of 64, 128, or 256 bits.

76 FR 5330 - University of Chicago, et al.; Notice of Decision on Applications for Duty-Free Entry of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-31

.... Instrument: Pilatus 100K Pixel Detector System. Manufacturer: Dectris Ltd., Switzerland. Intended Use: See... detection scheme), high dynamic range (20- bits), and fast readout speeds. Docket Number: 10-068. Applicant... System. Manufacturer: Dectris Ltd., Switzerland. Intended Use: See Notice at 75 FR 82372, December 30...

The Simbol-X Low Energy Detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lechner, Peter

2009-05-01

For the Low Energy Detector of Simbol-X a new type of active pixel sensor based on the integrated amplifier DEPFET has been developed. This concept combines large area, scalable pixel size, low noise, and ultra-fast readout. Flight representative prototypes have been processed with a performance matching the Simbol-X specifications and demonstrating the technology readiness.

A LYSO crystal array readout by silicon photomultipliers as compact detector for space applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kryemadhi, A.; Barner, L.; Grove, A.

Precise measurements of GeV range gamma rays help narrow down among var- ious gamma emission models and increase sensitivity for dark matter searches. Construction of precise as well as compact instruments requires detectors with high efficiency, high stopping power, excellent energy resolution, and excellent angular resolution. Fast and bright crystal scintillators coupled with small foot- print photo-detectors are suitable candidates. We prototyped a detector array consisting of four LYSO crystals where each crystal is read out by a 2x2 SensL ArrayJ60035 silicon photomultipliers. The LYSO crystals were chosen because of their good light yield, fast decay time, demonstrated radiation hardness,more » and small radiation length. Here, we used the silicon photomultiplier arrays as photo- detectors because of their small size, simple readout, low voltage operation, and immunity to magnetic elds. We also studied the detector performance in the energy range of interest by exposing it to 2-16 GeV particles produced at the Test Beam Facility of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.« less

A LYSO crystal array readout by silicon photomultipliers as compact detector for space applications

DOE PAGES

Kryemadhi, A.; Barner, L.; Grove, A.; ...

2017-10-31

Precise measurements of GeV range gamma rays help narrow down among var- ious gamma emission models and increase sensitivity for dark matter searches. Construction of precise as well as compact instruments requires detectors with high efficiency, high stopping power, excellent energy resolution, and excellent angular resolution. Fast and bright crystal scintillators coupled with small foot- print photo-detectors are suitable candidates. We prototyped a detector array consisting of four LYSO crystals where each crystal is read out by a 2x2 SensL ArrayJ60035 silicon photomultipliers. The LYSO crystals were chosen because of their good light yield, fast decay time, demonstrated radiation hardness,more » and small radiation length. Here, we used the silicon photomultiplier arrays as photo- detectors because of their small size, simple readout, low voltage operation, and immunity to magnetic elds. We also studied the detector performance in the energy range of interest by exposing it to 2-16 GeV particles produced at the Test Beam Facility of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.« less

Performance of a Micro-Strip Gas Chamber for event wise, high rate thermal neutron detection with accurate 2D position determination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mindur, B.; Alimov, S.; Fiutowski, T.; Schulz, C.; Wilpert, T.

2014-12-01

A two-dimensional (2D) position sensitive detector for neutron scattering applications based on low-pressure gas amplification and micro-strip technology was built and tested with an innovative readout electronics and data acquisition system. This detector contains a thin solid neutron converter and was developed for time- and thus wavelength-resolved neutron detection in single-event counting mode, which improves the image contrast in comparison with integrating detectors. The prototype detector of a Micro-Strip Gas Chamber (MSGC) was built with a solid natGd/CsI thermal neutron converter for spatial resolutions of about 100 μm and counting rates up to 107 neutrons/s. For attaining very high spatial resolutions and counting rates via micro-strip readout with centre-of-gravity evaluation of the signal amplitude distributions, a fast, channel-wise, self-triggering ASIC was developed. The front-end chips (MSGCROCs), which are very first signal processing components, are read out into powerful ADC-FPGA boards for on-line data processing and thereafter via Gigabit Ethernet link into the data receiving PC. The workstation PC is controlled by a modular, high performance dedicated software suite. Such a fast and accurate system is crucial for efficient radiography/tomography, diffraction or imaging applications based on high flux thermal neutron beam. In this paper a brief description of the detector concept with its operation principles, readout electronics requirements and design together with the signals processing stages performed in hardware and software are presented. In more detail the neutron test beam conditions and measurement results are reported. The focus of this paper is on the system integration, two dimensional spatial resolution, the time resolution of the readout system and the imaging capabilities of the overall setup. The detection efficiency of the detector prototype is estimated as well.

Development of a compact radiation-hardened low-noise front-end readout ASIC for CZT-based hard X-ray imager

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, W.; Gan, B.; Li, X.; Wei, T.; Gao, D.; Hu, Y.

2015-04-01

In this paper, we present the development and performances of a radiation-hardened front-end readout application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) dedicated to CZT detectors for a hard X-ray imager in space applications. The readout channel consists of a charge sensitive amplifier (CSA), a CR-RC shaper, a fast shaper, a discriminator and a driving buffer. With the additional digital filtering, the readout channel can achieve very low noise performances and low power dissipation. An eight-channel prototype ASIC is designed and fabricated in 0.35 μm CMOS process. The energy range of the detected X-rays is evaluated as 1.45 keV to 281 keV. The gain is larger than 100 mV/fC. The equivalent noise charge (ENC) of the ASIC is 53 e- at zero farad plus 10 e- per picofarad. The power dissipation is less than 4.4 mW/channel. Through the measurement with a CZT detector, the energy resolution is less than 3.45 keV (FWHM) under the irradiation of the radioactive source 241Am. The radiation effect experiments indicate that the proposed ASIC can resist the total ionization dose (TID) irradiation of higher than 200 krad (Si).

The SAFIR experiment: Concept, status and perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becker, Robert; Buck, Alfred; Casella, Chiara; Dissertori, Günther; Fischer, Jannis; Howard, Alexander; Ito, Mikiko; Khateri, Parisa; Lustermann, Werner; Oliver, Josep F.; Röser, Ulf; Warnock, Geoffrey; Weber, Bruno

2017-02-01

The SAFIR development represents a novel Positron Emission Tomography (PET) detector, conceived for preclinical fast acquisitions inside the bore of a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner. The goal is hybrid and simultaneous PET/MRI dynamic studies at unprecedented temporal resolutions of a few seconds. The detector relies on matrices of scintillating LSO-based crystals coupled one-to-one with SiPM arrays and readout by fast ASICs with excellent timing resolution and high rate capabilities. The paper describes the detector concept and the initial results in terms of simulations and characterisation measurements.

A new detector for sub-millisecond EXAFS spectroscopy at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility.

PubMed

Kantor, Innokenty; Labiche, Jean-Claude; Collet, Emmanuel; Siron, Laurent; Thevenin, Jean-Jacques; Ponchut, Cyril; Borrel, Jacques; Mairs, Trevor; Marini, Carlo; Strohm, Cornelius; Mathon, Olivier; Pascarelli, Sakura

2014-11-01

A new FReLoN (Fast-Readout Low-Noise) high-frame-rate detector adopted for the fast continuous collection of X-ray absorption spectra is presented. The detector is installed on the energy-dispersive X-ray absorption beamline ID24 at the ESRF and is capable of full time-resolved EXAFS spectra collection with over 4 kHz repetition rate and 0.2 ms exposure time. An example of the in situ kinetic study of the high-temperature oxidation of metallic iron is presented.

Learning moment-based fast local binary descriptor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bellarbi, Abdelkader; Zenati, Nadia; Otmane, Samir; Belghit, Hayet

2017-03-01

Recently, binary descriptors have attracted significant attention due to their speed and low memory consumption; however, using intensity differences to calculate the binary descriptive vector is not efficient enough. We propose an approach to binary description called POLAR_MOBIL, in which we perform binary tests between geometrical and statistical information using moments in the patch instead of the classical intensity binary test. In addition, we introduce a learning technique used to select an optimized set of binary tests with low correlation and high variance. This approach offers high distinctiveness against affine transformations and appearance changes. An extensive evaluation on well-known benchmark datasets reveals the robustness and the effectiveness of the proposed descriptor, as well as its good performance in terms of low computation complexity when compared with state-of-the-art real-time local descriptors.

General purpose pulse shape analysis for fast scintillators implemented in digital readout electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asztalos, Stephen J.; Hennig, Wolfgang; Warburton, William K.

2016-01-01

Pulse shape discrimination applied to certain fast scintillators is usually performed offline. In sufficiently high-event rate environments data transfer and storage become problematic, which suggests a different analysis approach. In response, we have implemented a general purpose pulse shape analysis algorithm in the XIA Pixie-500 and Pixie-500 Express digital spectrometers. In this implementation waveforms are processed in real time, reducing the pulse characteristics to a few pulse shape analysis parameters and eliminating time-consuming waveform transfer and storage. We discuss implementation of these features, their advantages, necessary trade-offs and performance. Measurements from bench top and experimental setups using fast scintillators and XIA processors are presented.

Fast readout algorithm for cylindrical beam position monitors providing good accuracy for particle bunches with large offsets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thieberger, P.; Gassner, D.; Hulsart, R.; Michnoff, R.; Miller, T.; Minty, M.; Sorrell, Z.; Bartnik, A.

2018-04-01

A simple, analytically correct algorithm is developed for calculating "pencil" relativistic beam coordinates using the signals from an ideal cylindrical particle beam position monitor (BPM) with four pickup electrodes (PUEs) of infinitesimal widths. The algorithm is then applied to simulations of realistic BPMs with finite width PUEs. Surprisingly small deviations are found. Simple empirically determined correction terms reduce the deviations even further. The algorithm is then tested with simulations for non-relativistic beams. As an example of the data acquisition speed advantage, a Field Programmable Gate Array-based BPM readout implementation of the new algorithm has been developed and characterized. Finally, the algorithm is tested with BPM data from the Cornell Preinjector.

8-channel prototype of SALT readout ASIC for Upstream Tracker in the upgraded LHCb experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abellan Beteta, C.; Bugiel, S.; Dasgupta, R.; Firlej, M.; Fiutowski, T.; Idzik, M.; Kane, C.; Moron, J.; Swientek, K.; Wang, J.

2017-02-01

SALT is a new 128-channel readout ASIC for silicon strip detectors in the upgraded Upstream Tracker of the LHCb experiment. It will extract and digitise analogue signals from the sensor, perform digital processing and transmit serial output data. SALT is designed in CMOS 130 nm process and uses a novel architecture comprising of an analogue front-end and an ultra-low power (<0.5 mW) fast (40 MSps) sampling 6-bit ADC in each channel. An 8-channel prototype (SALT8), comprising all important functionalities was designed, fabricated and tested. A full 128-channel version was also submitted. The design and test results of the SALT8 prototype are presented showing its full functionality.

Fast readout algorithm for cylindrical beam position monitors providing good accuracy for particle bunches with large offsets

DOE PAGES

Thieberger, Peter; Gassner, D.; Hulsart, R.; ...

2018-04-25

Here, a simple, analytically correct algorithm is developed for calculating “pencil” relativistic beam coordinates using the signals from an ideal cylindrical particle beam position monitor (BPM) with four pickup electrodes (PUEs) of infinitesimal widths. The algorithm is then applied to simulations of realistic BPMs with finite width PUEs. Surprisingly small deviations are found. Simple empirically determined correction terms reduce the deviations even further. The algorithm is then tested with simulations for non-relativistic beams. As an example of the data acquisition speed advantage, a FPGA-based BPM readout implementation of the new algorithm has been developed and characterized. Lastly, the algorithm ismore » tested with BPM data from the Cornell Preinjector.« less

Fast readout algorithm for cylindrical beam position monitors providing good accuracy for particle bunches with large offsets

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thieberger, Peter; Gassner, D.; Hulsart, R.

Here, a simple, analytically correct algorithm is developed for calculating “pencil” relativistic beam coordinates using the signals from an ideal cylindrical particle beam position monitor (BPM) with four pickup electrodes (PUEs) of infinitesimal widths. The algorithm is then applied to simulations of realistic BPMs with finite width PUEs. Surprisingly small deviations are found. Simple empirically determined correction terms reduce the deviations even further. The algorithm is then tested with simulations for non-relativistic beams. As an example of the data acquisition speed advantage, a FPGA-based BPM readout implementation of the new algorithm has been developed and characterized. Lastly, the algorithm ismore » tested with BPM data from the Cornell Preinjector.« less

Fast readout algorithm for cylindrical beam position monitors providing good accuracy for particle bunches with large offsets.

PubMed

Thieberger, P; Gassner, D; Hulsart, R; Michnoff, R; Miller, T; Minty, M; Sorrell, Z; Bartnik, A

2018-04-01

A simple, analytically correct algorithm is developed for calculating "pencil" relativistic beam coordinates using the signals from an ideal cylindrical particle beam position monitor (BPM) with four pickup electrodes (PUEs) of infinitesimal widths. The algorithm is then applied to simulations of realistic BPMs with finite width PUEs. Surprisingly small deviations are found. Simple empirically determined correction terms reduce the deviations even further. The algorithm is then tested with simulations for non-relativistic beams. As an example of the data acquisition speed advantage, a Field Programmable Gate Array-based BPM readout implementation of the new algorithm has been developed and characterized. Finally, the algorithm is tested with BPM data from the Cornell Preinjector.

A novel fast-neutron detector concept for energy-selective imaging and imaging spectroscopy.

PubMed

Cortesi, M; Dangendorf, V; Zboray, R; Prasser, H-M

2014-07-01

We present and discuss the operational principle of a new fast-neutron detector concept suitable for either energy-selective imaging or for imaging spectroscopy. The detector is comprised of a series of energy-selective stacks of converter foils immersed in a noble-gas based mixture, coupled to a position-sensitive charge readout. Each foil in the various stacks is made of two layers of different thicknesses, fastened together: a hydrogen-rich (plastic) layer for neutron-to-proton conversion, and a hydrogen-free coating to selectively stop/absorb the recoil protons below a certain energy cut-off. The neutron-induced recoil protons, that escape the converter foils, release ionization electrons in the gas gaps between consecutive foils. The electrons are then drifted towards and localized by a position-sensitive charge amplification and readout stage. Comparison of the images detected by stacks with different energy cut-offs allows energy-selective imaging. Neutron energy spectrometry is realized by analyzing the responses of a sufficient large number of stacks of different energy response and unfolding techniques. In this paper, we present the results of computer simulation studies and discuss the expected performance of the new detector concept. Potential applications in various fields are also briefly discussed, in particularly, the application of energy-selective fast-neutron imaging for nuclear safeguards application, with the aim of determining the plutonium content in Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuels.

A high efficiency readout architecture for a large matrix of pixels.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gabrielli, A.; Giorgi, F.; Villa, M.

2010-07-01

In this work we present a fast readout architecture for silicon pixel matrix sensors that has been designed to sustain very high rates, above 1 MHz/mm2 for matrices greater than 80k pixels. This logic can be implemented within MAPS (Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors), a kind of high resolution sensor that integrates on the same bulk the sensor matrix and the CMOS logic for readout, but it can be exploited also with other technologies. The proposed architecture is based on three main concepts. First of all, the readout of the hits is performed by activating one column at a time; all the fired pixels on the active column are read, sparsified and reset in parallel in one clock cycle. This implies the use of global signals across the sensor matrix. The consequent reduction of metal interconnections improves the active area while maintaining a high granularity (down to a pixel pitch of 40 μm). Secondly, the activation for readout takes place only for those columns overlapping with a certain fired area, thus reducing the sweeping time of the whole matrix and reducing the pixel dead-time. Third, the sparsification (x-y address labeling of the hits) is performed with a lower granularity with respect to single pixels, by addressing vertical zones of 8 pixels each. The fine-grain Y resolution is achieved by appending the zone pattern to the zone address of a hit. We show then the benefits of this technique in presence of clusters. We describe this architecture from a schematic point of view, then presenting the efficiency results obtained by VHDL simulations.

Architecture and settings optimization procedure of a TES frequency domain multiplexed readout firmware

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clenet, A.; Ravera, L.; Bertrand, B.; den Hartog, R.; Jackson, B.; van Leeuwen, B.-J.; van Loon, D.; Parot, Y.; Pointecouteau, E.; Sournac, A.

2014-11-01

IRAP is developing the readout electronics of the SPICA-SAFARI's TES bolometer arrays. Based on the frequency domain multiplexing technique the readout electronics provides the AC-signals to voltage-bias the detectors; it demodulates the data; and it computes a feedback to linearize the detection chain. The feedback is computed with a specific technique, so called baseband feedback (BBFB) which ensures that the loop is stable even with long propagation and processing delays (i.e. several μ s) and with fast signals (i.e. frequency carriers of the order of 5 MHz). To optimize the power consumption we took advantage of the reduced science signal bandwidth to decouple the signal sampling frequency and the data processing rate. This technique allowed a reduction of the power consumption of the circuit by a factor of 10. Beyond the firmware architecture the optimization of the instrument concerns the characterization routines and the definition of the optimal parameters. Indeed, to operate an array TES one has to properly define about 21000 parameters. We defined a set of procedures to automatically characterize these parameters and find out the optimal settings.

Compact 3D quantum memory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Edwar; Deppe, Frank; Renger, Michael; Repp, Daniel; Eder, Peter; Fischer, Michael; Goetz, Jan; Pogorzalek, Stefan; Fedorov, Kirill G.; Marx, Achim; Gross, Rudolf

2018-05-01

Superconducting 3D microwave cavities offer state-of-the-art coherence times and a well-controlled environment for superconducting qubits. In order to realize at the same time fast readout and long-lived quantum information storage, one can couple the qubit to both a low-quality readout and a high-quality storage cavity. However, such systems are bulky compared to their less coherent 2D counterparts. A more compact and scalable approach is achieved by making use of the multimode structure of a 3D cavity. In our work, we investigate such a device where a transmon qubit is capacitively coupled to two modes of a single 3D cavity. External coupling is engineered so that the memory mode has an about 100 times larger quality factor than the readout mode. Using an all-microwave second-order protocol, we realize a lifetime enhancement of the stored state over the qubit lifetime by a factor of 6 with a fidelity of approximately 80% determined via quantum process tomography. We also find that this enhancement is not limited by fundamental constraints.

Object tracking on mobile devices using binary descriptors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Savakis, Andreas; Quraishi, Mohammad Faiz; Minnehan, Breton

2015-03-01

With the growing ubiquity of mobile devices, advanced applications are relying on computer vision techniques to provide novel experiences for users. Currently, few tracking approaches take into consideration the resource constraints on mobile devices. Designing efficient tracking algorithms and optimizing performance for mobile devices can result in better and more efficient tracking for applications, such as augmented reality. In this paper, we use binary descriptors, including Fast Retina Keypoint (FREAK), Oriented FAST and Rotated BRIEF (ORB), Binary Robust Independent Features (BRIEF), and Binary Robust Invariant Scalable Keypoints (BRISK) to obtain real time tracking performance on mobile devices. We consider both Google's Android and Apple's iOS operating systems to implement our tracking approach. The Android implementation is done using Android's Native Development Kit (NDK), which gives the performance benefits of using native code as well as access to legacy libraries. The iOS implementation was created using both the native Objective-C and the C++ programing languages. We also introduce simplified versions of the BRIEF and BRISK descriptors that improve processing speed without compromising tracking accuracy.

Clumpy wind accretion in supergiant neutron star high mass X-ray binaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bozzo, E.; Oskinova, L.; Feldmeier, A.; Falanga, M.

2016-05-01

The accretion of the stellar wind material by a compact object represents the main mechanism powering the X-ray emission in classical supergiant high mass X-ray binaries and supergiant fast X-ray transients. In this work we present the first attempt to simulate the accretion process of a fast and dense massive star wind onto a neutron star, taking into account the effects of the centrifugal and magnetic inhibition of accretion ("gating") due to the spin and magnetic field of the compact object. We made use of a radiative hydrodynamical code to model the nonstationary radiatively driven wind of an O-B supergiant star and then place a neutron star characterized by a fixed magnetic field and spin period at a certain distance from the massive companion. Our calculations follow, as a function of time (on a total timescale of several hours), the transitions of the system through all different accretion regimes that are triggered by the intrinsic variations in the density and velocity of the nonstationary wind. The X-ray luminosity released by the system is computed at each time step by taking into account the relevant physical processes occurring in the different accretion regimes. Synthetic lightcurves are derived and qualitatively compared with those observed from classical supergiant high mass X-ray binaries and supergiant fast X-ray transients. Although a number of simplifications are assumed in these calculations, we show that taking into account the effects of the centrifugal and magnetic inhibition of accretion significantly reduces the average X-ray luminosity expected for any neutron star wind-fed binary. The present model calculations suggest that long spin periods and stronger magnetic fields are favored in order to reproduce the peculiar behavior of supergiant fast X-ray transients in the X-ray domain.

Validation of a highly integrated SiPM readout system with a TOF-PET demonstrator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niknejad, T.; Setayeshi, S.; Tavernier, S.; Bugalho, R.; Ferramacho, L.; Di Francesco, A.; Leong, C.; Rolo, M. D.; Shamshirsaz, M.; Silva, J. C.; Silva, R.; Silveira, M.; Zorraquino, C.; Varela, J.

2016-12-01

We have developed a highly integrated, fast and compact readout electronics for Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) based Time of Flight Positron Emission Tomography (TOF-PET) scanners. The readout is based on the use of TOP-PET Application Specific Integrated Circuit (PETsys TOFPET1 ASIC) with 64 channels, each with its amplifier, discriminator, Time to Digital Converter (TDC) and amplitude determination using Time Over Threshold (TOT). The ASIC has 25 ps r.m.s. intrinsic time resolution and fully digital output. The system is optimised for high rates, good timing, low power consumption and low cost. For validating the readout electronics, we have built a technical PET scanner, hereafter called ``demonstrator'', with 2'048 SiPM channels. The PET demonstrator has 16 compact Detector Modules (DM). Each DM has two ASICs reading 128 SiPM pixels in one-to-one coupling to 128 Lutetium Yttrium Orthosilicate (LYSO) crystals measuring 3.1 × 3.1 × 15 mm3 each. The data acquisition system for the demonstrator has two Front End Boards type D (FEB/D), each collecting the data of 1'024 channels (8 DMs), and transmitting assembled data frames through a serial link (4.8 Gbps), to a single Data Acquisition (DAQ) board plugged into the Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) bus of the data acquisition PC. Results obtained with this PET demonstrator are presented.

Fast-neutron solid-state dosimeter

DOEpatents

Kecker, K.H.; Haywood, F.F.; Perdue, P.T.; Thorngate, J.H.

1975-07-22

This patent relates to an improved fast-neutron solid-state dosimeter that does not require separation of materials before it can be read out, that utilizes materials that do not melt or otherwise degrade at about 300$sup 0$C readout temperature, that provides a more efficient dosimeter, and that can be reused. The dosimeters are fabricated by intimately mixing a TL material, such as CaSO$sub 4$:Dy, with a powdered polyphenyl, such as p-sexiphenyl, and hot- pressing the mixture to form pellets, followed by out-gassing in a vacuum furnace at 150$sup 0$C prior to first use dosimeters. (auth)

Fast and High Dynamic Range Imaging with Superconducting Tunnel Junction Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsuo, Hiroshi

2014-08-01

We have demonstrated a combined test of the submillimeter-wave SIS photon detectors and GaAs-JFET cryogenic integrated circuits. A relatively large background photo-current can be read out by fast-reset integrating amplifiers. An integration time of 1 ms enables fast frame rate readout and large dynamic range imaging, with an expected dynamic range of 8,000 in 1 ms. Ultimate fast and high dynamic range performance of superconducting tunnel junction detectors (STJ) will be obtained when photon counting capabilities are employed. In the terahertz frequencies, when input photon rate of 100 MHz is measured, the photon bunching gives us enough timing resolution to be used as phase information of intensity fluctuation. Application of photon statistics will be a new tool in the terahertz frequency region. The design parameters of STJ terahertz photon counting detectors are discussed.

Fully integrated low-noise readout circuit with automatic offset cancellation loop for capacitive microsensors.

PubMed

Song, Haryong; Park, Yunjong; Kim, Hyungseup; Cho, Dong-Il Dan; Ko, Hyoungho

2015-10-14

Capacitive sensing schemes are widely used for various microsensors; however, such microsensors suffer from severe parasitic capacitance problems. This paper presents a fully integrated low-noise readout circuit with automatic offset cancellation loop (AOCL) for capacitive microsensors. The output offsets of the capacitive sensing chain due to the parasitic capacitances and process variations are automatically removed using AOCL. The AOCL generates electrically equivalent offset capacitance and enables charge-domain fine calibration using a 10-bit R-2R digital-to-analog converter, charge-transfer switches, and a charge-storing capacitor. The AOCL cancels the unwanted offset by binary-search algorithm based on 10-bit successive approximation register (SAR) logic. The chip is implemented using 0.18 μm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process with an active area of 1.76 mm². The power consumption is 220 μW with 3.3 V supply. The input parasitic capacitances within the range of -250 fF to 250 fF can be cancelled out automatically, and the required calibration time is lower than 10 ms.

Fully Integrated Low-Noise Readout Circuit with Automatic Offset Cancellation Loop for Capacitive Microsensors

PubMed Central

Song, Haryong; Park, Yunjong; Kim, Hyungseup; Cho, Dong-il Dan; Ko, Hyoungho

2015-01-01

Capacitive sensing schemes are widely used for various microsensors; however, such microsensors suffer from severe parasitic capacitance problems. This paper presents a fully integrated low-noise readout circuit with automatic offset cancellation loop (AOCL) for capacitive microsensors. The output offsets of the capacitive sensing chain due to the parasitic capacitances and process variations are automatically removed using AOCL. The AOCL generates electrically equivalent offset capacitance and enables charge-domain fine calibration using a 10-bit R-2R digital-to-analog converter, charge-transfer switches, and a charge-storing capacitor. The AOCL cancels the unwanted offset by binary-search algorithm based on 10-bit successive approximation register (SAR) logic. The chip is implemented using 0.18 μm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process with an active area of 1.76 mm2. The power consumption is 220 μW with 3.3 V supply. The input parasitic capacitances within the range of −250 fF to 250 fF can be cancelled out automatically, and the required calibration time is lower than 10 ms. PMID:26473877

Experiments with synchronized sCMOS cameras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steele, Iain A.; Jermak, Helen; Copperwheat, Chris M.; Smith, Robert J.; Poshyachinda, Saran; Soonthorntham, Boonrucksar

2016-07-01

Scientific-CMOS (sCMOS) cameras can combine low noise with high readout speeds and do not suffer the charge multiplication noise that effectively reduces the quantum efficiency of electron multiplying CCDs by a factor 2. As such they have strong potential in fast photometry and polarimetry instrumentation. In this paper we describe the results of laboratory experiments using a pair of commercial off the shelf sCMOS cameras based around a 4 transistor per pixel architecture. In particular using a both stable and a pulsed light sources we evaluate the timing precision that may be obtained when the cameras readouts are synchronized either in software or electronically. We find that software synchronization can introduce an error of 200-msec. With electronic synchronization any error is below the limit ( 50-msec) of our simple measurement technique.

The Europa Imaging System (EIS), a Camera Suite to investigate Europa's Geology, Ice Shell, and Potential for Current Activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turtle, E. P.; McEwen, A. S.; Osterman, S. N.; Boldt, J. D.; Strohbehn, K.; EIS Science Team

2016-10-01

EIS NAC and WAC use identical rad-hard rapid-readout 4k × 2k CMOS detectors for imaging during close (≤25 km) fast ( 4.5 km/s) Europa flybys. NAC achieves 0.5 m/pixel over a 2-km swath from 50 km, and WAC provides context pushbroom stereo imaging.

The GANDALF 128-Channel Time-to-Digital Converter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Büchele, M.; Fischer, H.; Herrmann, F.; Königsmann, K.; Schill, C.; Schopferer, S.

The GANDALF 6U-VME64x/VXS module has been designed to cope with a variety of readout tasks in high energy and nuclear physics experiments, in particular the COMPASS experiment at CERN. The exchangeable mezzanine cards allow for an employment of the system in very different applications such as analog-to-digital or time-to-digital conversions, coincidence matrix formation, fast pattern recognition or fast trigger generation. Based on this platform, we present a 128-channel TDC which is implemented in a single Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGA using a shifted clock sampling method. In this concept each input signal is continuously sampled by 16 flip-flops using equidistant phase-shifted clocks. Compared to previous FPGA designs, usually based on delay lines and comprising few TDC channels with resolutions in the order of 10 ps, our design permits the implementation of a large number of TDC channels with a resolution of 64 ps in a single FPGA. Predictable placement of logic components and uniform routing inside the FPGA fabric is a particular challenge of this design. We present measurement results for the time resolution and the nonlinearity of the TDC readout system.

An investigation of a PRESAGE® in-vivo dosimeter for brachytherapy

PubMed Central

Vidovic, A K; Juang, T; Meltsner, S; Adamovics, J; Chino, J; Steffey, B; Craciunescu, O; Oldham, M

2014-01-01

Determining accurate in-vivo dosimetry in brachytherapy treatment with high dose gradients is challenging. Here we introduce, investigate, and characterize a novel in-vivo dosimeter and readout technique with the potential to address this problem. A cylindrical (4 mm x 20 mm) tissue equivalent radiochromic dosimeter PRESAGE® In-Vivo (PRESAGE®-IV) is investigated. Two readout methods of the radiation induced change in optical density (OD) were investigated: (i) volume-averaged readout by spectrophotometer, and (ii) a line profile readout by 2D projection imaging utilizing a high-resolution (50 micron) telecentric optical system. Method (i) is considered the gold standard when applied to PRESAGE® in optical cuvettes. The feasibility of both methods was evaluated by comparison to standard measurements on PRESAGE® in optical cuvettes via spectrophotometer. An end-to-end feasibility study was performed by a side-by-side comparison with TLDs in an 192Ir HDR delivery. 7 and 8 Gy was delivered to PRESAGE®-IV and TLDs attached to the surface of a vaginal cylinder. Known geometry enabled direct comparison of measured dose with commissioned treatment planning system. A high-resolution readout study under a steep dose gradient region showed 98.9% (5%/1 mm) agreement between PRESAGE®-IV and Gafchromic® EBT2 Film. Spectrometer measurements exhibited a linear dose response between 0–15 Gy with sensitivity of 0.0133 ± 0.0007 ΔOD/(Gy·cm) at the 95% confidence interval. Method (ii) yielded a linear response with sensitivity of 0.0132 ± 0.0006 (ΔOD/Gy), within 2% of method (i). Method (i) has poor spatial resolution due to volume averaging. Method (ii) has higher resolution (~1mm) without loss of sensitivity or increased noise. Both readout methods are shown to be feasible. The end-to-end comparison revealed a 2.5% agreement between PRESAGE®-IV and treatment plan in regions of uniform high dose. PRESAGE®-IV shows promise for in-vivo dose verification, although improved sensitivity would be desirable. Advantages include high-resolution, convenience and fast, low-cost readout. PMID:24957850

An investigation of a PRESAGE® in vivo dosimeter for brachytherapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vidovic, A. K.; Juang, T.; Meltsner, S.; Adamovics, J.; Chino, J.; Steffey, B.; Craciunescu, O.; Oldham, M.

2014-07-01

Determining accurate in vivo dosimetry in brachytherapy treatment with high dose gradients is challenging. Here we introduce, investigate, and characterize a novel in vivo dosimeter and readout technique with the potential to address this problem. A cylindrical (4 mm × 20 mm) tissue equivalent radiochromic dosimeter PRESAGE® in vivo (PRESAGE®-IV) is investigated. Two readout methods of the radiation induced change in optical density (OD) were investigated: (i) volume-averaged readout by spectrophotometer, and (ii) a line profile readout by 2D projection imaging utilizing a high-resolution (50 micron) telecentric optical system. Method (i) is considered the gold standard when applied to PRESAGE® in optical cuvettes. The feasibility of both methods was evaluated by comparison to standard measurements on PRESAGE® in optical cuvettes via spectrophotometer. An end-to-end feasibility study was performed by a side-by-side comparison with TLDs in an 192Ir HDR delivery. 7 and 8 Gy was delivered to PRESAGE®-IV and TLDs attached to the surface of a vaginal cylinder. Known geometry enabled direct comparison of measured dose with a commissioned treatment planning system. A high-resolution readout study under a steep dose gradient region showed 98.9% (5%/1 mm) agreement between PRESAGE®-IV and Gafchromic® EBT2 Film. Spectrometer measurements exhibited a linear dose response between 0-15 Gy with sensitivity of 0.0133 ± 0.0007 ΔOD/(Gy ṡ cm) at the 95% confidence interval. Method (ii) yielded a linear response with sensitivity of 0.0132 ± 0.0006 (ΔOD/Gy), within 2% of method (i). Method (i) has poor spatial resolution due to volume averaging. Method (ii) has higher resolution (˜1 mm) without loss of sensitivity or increased noise. Both readout methods are shown to be feasible. The end-to-end comparison revealed a 2.5% agreement between PRESAGE®-IV and treatment plan in regions of uniform high dose. PRESAGE®-IV shows promise for in vivo dose verification, although improved sensitivity would be desirable. Advantages include high-resolution, convenience and fast, low-cost readout.

Treelets Binary Feature Retrieval for Fast Keypoint Recognition.

PubMed

Zhu, Jianke; Wu, Chenxia; Chen, Chun; Cai, Deng

2015-10-01

Fast keypoint recognition is essential to many vision tasks. In contrast to the classification-based approaches, we directly formulate the keypoint recognition as an image patch retrieval problem, which enjoys the merit of finding the matched keypoint and its pose simultaneously. To effectively extract the binary features from each patch surrounding the keypoint, we make use of treelets transform that can group the highly correlated data together and reduce the noise through the local analysis. Treelets is a multiresolution analysis tool, which provides an orthogonal basis to reflect the geometry of the noise-free data. To facilitate the real-world applications, we have proposed two novel approaches. One is the convolutional treelets that capture the image patch information locally and globally while reducing the computational cost. The other is the higher-order treelets that reflect the relationship between the rows and columns within image patch. An efficient sub-signature-based locality sensitive hashing scheme is employed for fast approximate nearest neighbor search in patch retrieval. Experimental evaluations on both synthetic data and the real-world Oxford dataset have shown that our proposed treelets binary feature retrieval methods outperform the state-of-the-art feature descriptors and classification-based approaches.

MS/MS Digital Readout: Analysis of Binary Information Encoded in the Monomer Sequences of Poly(triazole amide)s.

PubMed

Amalian, Jean-Arthur; Trinh, Thanh Tam; Lutz, Jean-François; Charles, Laurence

2016-04-05

Tandem mass spectrometry was evaluated as a reliable sequencing methodology to read codes encrypted in monodisperse sequence-coded oligo(triazole amide)s. The studied oligomers were composed of monomers containing a triazole ring, a short ethylene oxide segment, and an amide group as well as a short alkyl chain (propyl or isobutyl) which defined the 0/1 molecular binary code. Using electrospray ionization, oligo(triazole amide)s were best ionized as protonated molecules and were observed to adopt a single charge state, suggesting that adducted protons were located on every other monomer unit. Upon collisional activation, cleavages of the amide bond and of one ether bond were observed to proceed in each monomer, yielding two sets of complementary product ions. Distribution of protons over the precursor structure was found to remain unchanged upon activation, allowing charge state to be anticipated for product ions in the four series and hence facilitating their assignment for a straightforward characterization of any encoded oligo(triazole amide)s.

Custom ultrasonic instrumentation for flow measurement and real-time binary gas analysis in the CERN ATLAS experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alhroob, M.; Battistin, M.; Berry, S.; Bitadze, A.; Bonneau, P.; Boyd, G.; Crespo-Lopez, O.; Degeorge, C.; Deterre, C.; Di Girolamo, B.; Doubek, M.; Favre, G.; Hallewell, G.; Katunin, S.; Lombard, D.; Madsen, A.; McMahon, S.; Nagai, K.; O'Rourke, A.; Pearson, B.; Robinson, D.; Rossi, C.; Rozanov, A.; Stanecka, E.; Strauss, M.; Vacek, V.; Vaglio, R.; Young, J.; Zwalinski, L.

2017-01-01

The development of custom ultrasonic instrumentation was motivated by the need for continuous real-time monitoring of possible leaks and mass flow measurement in the evaporative cooling systems of the ATLAS silicon trackers. The instruments use pairs of ultrasonic transducers transmitting sound bursts and measuring transit times in opposite directions. The gas flow rate is calculated from the difference in transit times, while the sound velocity is deduced from their average. The gas composition is then evaluated by comparison with a molar composition vs. sound velocity database, based on the direct dependence between sound velocity and component molar concentration in a gas mixture at a known temperature and pressure. The instrumentation has been developed in several geometries, with five instruments now integrated and in continuous operation within the ATLAS Detector Control System (DCS) and its finite state machine. One instrument monitors C3F8 coolant leaks into the Pixel detector N2 envelope with a molar resolution better than 2ṡ 10-5, and has indicated a level of 0.14 % when all the cooling loops of the recently re-installed Pixel detector are operational. Another instrument monitors air ingress into the C3F8 condenser of the new C3F8 thermosiphon coolant recirculator, with sub-percent precision. The recent effect of the introduction of a small quantity of N2 volume into the 9.5 m3 total volume of the thermosiphon system was clearly seen with this instrument. Custom microcontroller-based readout has been developed for the instruments, allowing readout into the ATLAS DCS via Modbus TCP/IP on Ethernet. The instrumentation has many potential applications where continuous binary gas composition is required, including in hydrocarbon and anaesthetic gas mixtures.

A fast, low power and low noise charge sensitive amplifier ASIC for a UV imaging single photon detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seljak, A.; Cumming, H. S.; Varner, G.; Vallerga, J.; Raffanti, R.; Virta, V.

2017-04-01

NASA has funded, through their Strategic Astrophysics Technology (SAT) program, the development of a cross strip (XS) microchannel plate (MCP) detector with the intention to increase its technology readiness level (TRL), enabling prototyping for future NASA missions. One aspect of the development is to convert the large and high powered laboratory Parallel Cross Strip (PXS) readout electronics into application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) to decrease their mass, volume, and power consumption (all limited resources in space) and to make them more robust to the environments of rocket launch and space. The redesign also foresees to increase the overall readout event rate, and decrease the noise contribution of the readout system. This work presents the design and verification of the first stage for the new readout system, the 16 channel charge sensitive amplifier ASIC, called the CSAv3. The single channel amplifier is composed of a charge sensitive amplifier (pre-amplifier), a pole zero cancellation circuit and a shaping amplifier. An additional output stage buffer allows polarity selection of the output analog signal. The operation of the amplifier is programmable via serial bus. It provides an equivalent noise charge (ENC) of around 600 e^- and a baseline gain of 10 mV/fC. The full scale pulse shaped output signal is confined within 100 ns, without long recovery tails, enabling up to 10 MHz periodic event rates without signal pile up. This ASIC was designed and fabricated in 130 nm, TSMC CMOS 1.2 V technology. In addition, we briefly discuss the construction of the readout system and plans for the future work.

A data transmission method for particle physics experiments based on Ethernet physical layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Xi-Ru; Cao, Ping; Zheng, Jia-Jun

2015-11-01

Due to its advantages of universality, flexibility and high performance, fast Ethernet is widely used in readout system design for modern particle physics experiments. However, Ethernet is usually used together with the TCP/IP protocol stack, which makes it difficult to implement readout systems because designers have to use the operating system to process this protocol. Furthermore, TCP/IP degrades the transmission efficiency and real-time performance. To maximize the performance of Ethernet in physics experiment applications, a data readout method based on the physical layer (PHY) is proposed. In this method, TCP/IP is replaced with a customized and simple protocol, which makes it easier to implement. On each readout module, data from the front-end electronics is first fed into an FPGA for protocol processing and then sent out to a PHY chip controlled by this FPGA for transmission. This kind of data path is fully implemented by hardware. From the side of the data acquisition system (DAQ), however, the absence of a standard protocol causes problems for the network related applications. To solve this problem, in the operating system kernel space, data received by the network interface card is redirected from the traditional flow to a specified memory space by a customized program. This memory space can easily be accessed by applications in user space. For the purpose of verification, a prototype system has been designed and implemented. Preliminary test results show that this method can meet the requirements of data transmission from the readout module to the DAQ with an efficient and simple manner. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (11005107) and Independent Projects of State Key Laboratory of Particle Detection and Electronics (201301)

Angular sensitivity of modeled scientific silicon charge-coupled devices to initial electron direction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plimley, Brian; Coffer, Amy; Zhang, Yigong; Vetter, Kai

2016-08-01

Previously, scientific silicon charge-coupled devices (CCDs) with 10.5-μm pixel pitch and a thick (650 μm), fully depleted bulk have been used to measure gamma-ray-induced fast electrons and demonstrate electron track Compton imaging. A model of the response of this CCD was also developed and benchmarked to experiment using Monte Carlo electron tracks. We now examine the trade-off in pixel pitch and electronic noise. We extend our CCD response model to different pixel pitch and readout noise per pixel, including pixel pitch of 2.5 μm, 5 μm, 10.5 μm, 20 μm, and 40 μm, and readout noise from 0 eV/pixel to 2 keV/pixel for 10.5 μm pixel pitch. The CCD images generated by this model using simulated electron tracks are processed by our trajectory reconstruction algorithm. The performance of the reconstruction algorithm defines the expected angular sensitivity as a function of electron energy, CCD pixel pitch, and readout noise per pixel. Results show that our existing pixel pitch of 10.5 μm is near optimal for our approach, because smaller pixels add little new information but are subject to greater statistical noise. In addition, we measured the readout noise per pixel for two different device temperatures in order to estimate the effect of temperature on the reconstruction algorithm performance, although the readout is not optimized for higher temperatures. The noise in our device at 240 K increases the FWHM of angular measurement error by no more than a factor of 2, from 26° to 49° FWHM for electrons between 425 keV and 480 keV. Therefore, a CCD could be used for electron-track-based imaging in a Peltier-cooled device.

Highly multiplexed signal readout for a time-of-flight positron emission tomography detector based on silicon photomultipliers.

PubMed

Cates, Joshua W; Bieniosek, Matthew F; Levin, Craig S

2017-01-01

Maintaining excellent timing resolution in the generation of silicon photomultiplier (SiPM)-based time-of-flight positron emission tomography (TOF-PET) systems requires a large number of high-speed, high-bandwidth electronic channels and components. To minimize the cost and complexity of a system's back-end architecture and data acquisition, many analog signals are often multiplexed to fewer channels using techniques that encode timing, energy, and position information. With progress in the development SiPMs having lower dark noise, after pulsing, and cross talk along with higher photodetection efficiency, a coincidence timing resolution (CTR) well below 200 ps FWHM is now easily achievable in single pixel, bench-top setups using 20-mm length, lutetium-based inorganic scintillators. However, multiplexing the output of many SiPMs to a single channel will significantly degrade CTR without appropriate signal processing. We test the performance of a PET detector readout concept that multiplexes 16 SiPMs to two channels. One channel provides timing information with fast comparators, and the second channel encodes both position and energy information in a time-over-threshold-based pulse sequence. This multiplexing readout concept was constructed with discrete components to process signals from a [Formula: see text] array of SensL MicroFC-30035 SiPMs coupled to [Formula: see text] Lu 1.8 Gd 0.2 SiO 5 (LGSO):Ce (0.025 mol. %) scintillators. This readout method yielded a calibrated, global energy resolution of 15.3% FWHM at 511 keV with a CTR of [Formula: see text] FWHM between the 16-pixel multiplexed detector array and a [Formula: see text] LGSO-SiPM reference detector. In summary, results indicate this multiplexing scheme is a scalable readout technique that provides excellent coincidence timing performance.

Registration procedure for spatial correlation of physical energy deposition of particle irradiation and cellular response utilizing cell-fluorescent ion track hybrid detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niklas, M.; Zimmermann, F.; Schlegel, J.; Schwager, C.; Debus, J.; Jäkel, O.; Abdollahi, A.; Greilich, S.

2016-09-01

The hybrid technology cell-fluorescent ion track hybrid detector (Cell-Fit-HD) enables the investigation of radiation-related cellular events along single ion tracks on the subcellular scale in clinical ion beams. The Cell-Fit-HD comprises a fluorescent nuclear track detector (FNTD, the physical compartment), a device for individual particle detection and a substrate for viable cell-coating, i.e. the biological compartment. To date both compartments have been imaged sequentially in situ by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). This is yet in conflict with a functional read-out of the Cell-Fit-HD utilizing a fast live-cell imaging of the biological compartment with low phototoxicity on greater time scales. The read-out of the biological from the physical compartment was uncoupled. A read-out procedure was developed to image the cell layer by conventional widefield microscopy whereas the FNTD was imaged by CLSM. Point mapping registration of the confocal and widefield imaging data was performed. Non-fluorescent crystal defects (spinels) visible in both read-outs were used as control point pairs. The accuracy achieved was on the sub-µm scale. The read-out procedure by widefield microscopy does not impair the unique ability of spatial correlation by the Cell-Fit-HD. The uncoupling will enlarge the application potential of the hybrid technology significantly. The registration allows for an ultimate correlation of microscopic physical beam parameters and cell kinetics on greater time scales. The method reported herein will be instrumental for the introduction of a novel generation of compact detectors facilitating biodosimetric research towards high-throughput analysis.

A Fast Optimization Method for General Binary Code Learning.

PubMed

Shen, Fumin; Zhou, Xiang; Yang, Yang; Song, Jingkuan; Shen, Heng; Tao, Dacheng

2016-09-22

Hashing or binary code learning has been recognized to accomplish efficient near neighbor search, and has thus attracted broad interests in recent retrieval, vision and learning studies. One main challenge of learning to hash arises from the involvement of discrete variables in binary code optimization. While the widely-used continuous relaxation may achieve high learning efficiency, the pursued codes are typically less effective due to accumulated quantization error. In this work, we propose a novel binary code optimization method, dubbed Discrete Proximal Linearized Minimization (DPLM), which directly handles the discrete constraints during the learning process. Specifically, the discrete (thus nonsmooth nonconvex) problem is reformulated as minimizing the sum of a smooth loss term with a nonsmooth indicator function. The obtained problem is then efficiently solved by an iterative procedure with each iteration admitting an analytical discrete solution, which is thus shown to converge very fast. In addition, the proposed method supports a large family of empirical loss functions, which is particularly instantiated in this work by both a supervised and an unsupervised hashing losses, together with the bits uncorrelation and balance constraints. In particular, the proposed DPLM with a supervised `2 loss encodes the whole NUS-WIDE database into 64-bit binary codes within 10 seconds on a standard desktop computer. The proposed approach is extensively evaluated on several large-scale datasets and the generated binary codes are shown to achieve very promising results on both retrieval and classification tasks.

Balloon flight test of a Compton telescope based on scintillators with silicon photomultiplier readouts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bloser, P. F.; Legere, J. S.; Bancroft, C. M.; Ryan, J. M.; McConnell, M. L.

2016-03-01

We present the results of the first high-altitude balloon flight test of a concept for an advanced Compton telescope making use of modern scintillator materials with silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) readouts. There is a need in the fields of high-energy astronomy and solar physics for new medium-energy gamma-ray ( 0.4-10 MeV) detectors capable of making sensitive observations of both line and continuum sources over a wide dynamic range. A fast scintillator-based Compton telescope with SiPM readouts is a promising solution to this instrumentation challenge, since the fast response of the scintillators permits both the rejection of background via time-of-flight (ToF) discrimination and the ability to operate at high count rates. The Solar Compton Telescope (SolCompT) prototype presented here was designed to demonstrate stable performance of this technology under balloon-flight conditions. The SolCompT instrument was a simple two-element Compton telescope, consisting of an approximately one-inch cylindrical stilbene crystal for a scattering detector and a one-inch cubic LaBr3:Ce crystal for a calorimeter detector. Both scintillator detectors were read out by 2×2 arrays of Hamamatsu S11828-3344 MPPC devices. Custom front-end electronics provided optimum signal rise time and linearity, and custom power supplies automatically adjusted the SiPM bias voltage to compensate for temperature-induced gain variations. A tagged calibration source, consisting of 240 nCi of 60Co embedded in plastic scintillator, was placed in the field of view and provided a known source of gamma rays to measure in flight. The SolCompT balloon payload was launched on 24 August 2014 from Fort Sumner, NM, and spent 3.75 h at a float altitude of 123,000 ft. The instrument performed well throughout the flight. After correcting for small ( 10%) residual gain variations, we measured an in-flight ToF resolution of 760 ps (FWHM). Advanced scintillators with SiPM readouts continue to show great promise for future gamma-ray instruments.

Development of radiation tolerant monolithic active pixel sensors with fast column parallel read-out

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koziel, M.; Dorokhov, A.; Fontaine, J.-C.; De Masi, R.; Winter, M.

2010-12-01

Monolithic active pixel sensors (MAPS) [1] (Turchetta et al., 2001) are being developed at IPHC—Strasbourg to equip the EUDET telescope [2] (Haas, 2006) and vertex detectors for future high energy physics experiments, including the STAR upgrade at RHIC [3] (T.S. Collaboration, 2005) and the CBM experiment at FAIR/GSI [4] (Heuser, 2006). High granularity, low material budget and high read-out speed are systematically required for most applications, complemented, for some of them, with high radiation tolerance. A specific column-parallel architecture, implemented in the MIMOSA-22 sensor, was developed to achieve fast read-out MAPS. Previous studies of the front-end architecture integrated in this sensor, which includes in-pixel amplification, have shown that the fixed pattern noise increase consecutive to ionizing radiation can be controlled by means of a negative feedback [5] (Hu-Guo et al., 2008). However, an unexpected rise of the temporal noise was observed. A second version of this chip (MIMOSA-22bis) was produced in order to search for possible improvements of the radiation tolerance, regarding this type of noise. In this prototype, the feedback transistor was tuned in order to mitigate the sensitivity of the pixel to ionizing radiation. The performances of the pixels after irradiation were investigated for two types of feedback transistors: enclosed layout transistor (ELT) [6] (Snoeys et al., 2000) and "standard" transistor with either large or small transconductance. The noise performance of all test structures was studied in various conditions (expected in future experiments) regarding temperature, integration time and ionizing radiation dose. Test results are presented in this paper. Based on these observations, ideas for further improvement of the radiation tolerance of column parallel MAPS are derived.

GEM detector performance with innovative micro-TPC readout in high magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garzia, I.; Alexeev, M.; Amoroso, A.; Baldini Ferroli, R.; Bertani, M.; Bettoni, D.; Bianchi, F.; Calcaterra, A.; Canale, N.; Capodiferro, M.; Cassariti, V.; Cerioni, S.; Chai, J. Y.; Chiozzi, S.; Cibinetto, G.; Cossio, F.; Cotta Ramusino, A.; De Mori, F.; Destefanis, M.; Dong, J.; Evangelisti, F.; Evangelisti, F.; Farinelli, R.; Fava, L.; Felici, G.; Fioravanti, E.; Gatta, M.; Greco, M.; Lavezzi, L.; Leng, C. Y.; Li, H.; Maggiora, M.; Malaguti, R.; Marcello, S.; Melchiorri, M.; Mezzadri, G.; Mignone, M.; Morello, G.; Pacetti, S.; Patteri, P.; Pellegrino, J.; Pelosi, A.; Rivetti, A.; Rolo, M. D.; Savrié, M.; Scodeggio, M.; Soldani, E.; Sosio, S.; Spataro, S.; Tskhadadze, E.; Verma, S.; Wheadon, R.; Yan, L.

2018-01-01

Gas detector development is one of the pillars of the research in fundamental physics. Since several years, a new concept of detectors, called Micro Pattern Gas Detector (MPGD), allowed to overcome several problems related to other types of commonly used detectors, like drift chamber and micro strips detectors, reducing the rate of discharges and providing better radiation tolerance. Among the most used MPGDs are the Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs). Invented by Sauli in 1997, nowadays GEMs have become an important reality for particle detectors in high energy physics. Commonly deployed as fast timing detectors and triggers, their fast response, high rate capability and high radiation hardness make them also suitable as tracking detectors. The readout scheme is one of the most important features in tracking technology. Analog readout based on the calculation of the center of gravity technique allows to overcome the limit imposed by digital pads, whose spatial resolution is limited by the pitch dimensions. However, the presence of high external magnetic fields can distort the electronic cloud and affect the performance. The development of the micro-TPC reconstruction method brings GEM detectors into a new prospective, improving significantly the spatial resolutionin presence of high magnetic fields. This innovative technique allows to reconstruct the 3-dimensional particle position, as Time Projection Chamber, but within a drift gap of a few millimeters. In these report, the charge centroid and micro-TPC methods are described in details. We discuss the results of several test beams performed with planar chambers in magnetic field. These results are one of the first developments of micro-TPC technique for GEM detectors, which allows to reach unprecedented performance in a high magnetic field of 1 T.

Fast traffic sign recognition with a rotation invariant binary pattern based feature.

PubMed

Yin, Shouyi; Ouyang, Peng; Liu, Leibo; Guo, Yike; Wei, Shaojun

2015-01-19

Robust and fast traffic sign recognition is very important but difficult for safe driving assistance systems. This study addresses fast and robust traffic sign recognition to enhance driving safety. The proposed method includes three stages. First, a typical Hough transformation is adopted to implement coarse-grained location of the candidate regions of traffic signs. Second, a RIBP (Rotation Invariant Binary Pattern) based feature in the affine and Gaussian space is proposed to reduce the time of traffic sign detection and achieve robust traffic sign detection in terms of scale, rotation, and illumination. Third, the techniques of ANN (Artificial Neutral Network) based feature dimension reduction and classification are designed to reduce the traffic sign recognition time. Compared with the current work, the experimental results in the public datasets show that this work achieves robustness in traffic sign recognition with comparable recognition accuracy and faster processing speed, including training speed and recognition speed.

Fast Traffic Sign Recognition with a Rotation Invariant Binary Pattern Based Feature

PubMed Central

Yin, Shouyi; Ouyang, Peng; Liu, Leibo; Guo, Yike; Wei, Shaojun

2015-01-01

Robust and fast traffic sign recognition is very important but difficult for safe driving assistance systems. This study addresses fast and robust traffic sign recognition to enhance driving safety. The proposed method includes three stages. First, a typical Hough transformation is adopted to implement coarse-grained location of the candidate regions of traffic signs. Second, a RIBP (Rotation Invariant Binary Pattern) based feature in the affine and Gaussian space is proposed to reduce the time of traffic sign detection and achieve robust traffic sign detection in terms of scale, rotation, and illumination. Third, the techniques of ANN (Artificial Neutral Network) based feature dimension reduction and classification are designed to reduce the traffic sign recognition time. Compared with the current work, the experimental results in the public datasets show that this work achieves robustness in traffic sign recognition with comparable recognition accuracy and faster processing speed, including training speed and recognition speed. PMID:25608217

Applications Of Binary Image Analysis Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tropf, H.; Enderle, E.; Kammerer, H. P.

1983-10-01

After discussing the conditions where binary image analysis techniques can be used, three new applications of the fast binary image analysis system S.A.M. (Sensorsystem for Automation and Measurement) are reported: (1) The human view direction is measured at TV frame rate while the subject's head is free movable. (2) Industrial parts hanging on a moving conveyor are classified prior to spray painting by robot. (3) In automotive wheel assembly, the eccentricity of the wheel is minimized by turning the tyre relative to the rim in order to balance the eccentricity of the components.

A Front-End electronics board for single photo-electron timing and charge from MaPMT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giordano, F.; Breton, D.; Beigbeder, C.; De Robertis, G.; Fusco, P.; Gargano, F.; Liuzzi, R.; Loparco, F.; Mazziotta, M. N.; Rizzi, V.; Tocut, V.

2013-08-01

A Front-End (FE) design based on commercial operational amplifiers has been developed to read-out signals from a Multianode PhotoMultiplier Tube (MaPMT). The overall design has been optimised for single photo-electron signal from the Hamamatsu H8500. The signal is collected by a current sensitive preamplifier and then it is fed into both a ECL fast discriminator and a shaper for analog output readout in differential mode. The analog signal and the digital gates are then registered on VME ADC and TDC modules respectively. Performances in terms of linearity, gain and timing resolution will be discussed, presenting results obtained on a test bench with differentiated step voltage inputs and also with a prototype electronic board plugged into the H8500 PMT illuminated by a picosecond laser.

Digital readout for image converter cameras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Honour, Joseph

1991-04-01

There is an increasing need for fast and reliable analysis of recorded sequences from image converter cameras so that experimental information can be readily evaluated without recourse to more time consuming photographic procedures. A digital readout system has been developed using a randomly triggerable high resolution CCD camera, the output of which is suitable for use with IBM AT compatible PC. Within half a second from receipt of trigger pulse, the frame reformatter displays the image and transfer to storage media can be readily achieved via the PC and dedicated software. Two software programmes offer different levels of image manipulation which includes enhancement routines and parameter calculations with accuracy down to pixel levels. Hard copy prints can be acquired using a specially adapted Polaroid printer, outputs for laser and video printer extend the overall versatility of the system.

Reduction of CMOS Image Sensor Read Noise to Enable Photon Counting.

PubMed

Guidash, Michael; Ma, Jiaju; Vogelsang, Thomas; Endsley, Jay

2016-04-09

Recent activity in photon counting CMOS image sensors (CIS) has been directed to reduction of read noise. Many approaches and methods have been reported. This work is focused on providing sub 1 e(-) read noise by design and operation of the binary and small signal readout of photon counting CIS. Compensation of transfer gate feed-through was used to provide substantially reduced CDS time and source follower (SF) bandwidth. SF read noise was reduced by a factor of 3 with this method. This method can be applied broadly to CIS devices to reduce the read noise for small signals to enable use as a photon counting sensor.

Front-end Design and Characterization for the ν-Angra Nuclear Reactor Monitoring Detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dornelas, T. I.; Araújo, F. T. H.; Cerqueira, A. S.; Costa, J. A.; Nóbrega, R. A.

2016-07-01

The Neutrinos Angra (ν-Angra) Experiment aims to construct an antineutrinos detection device capable of monitoring the Angra dos Reis nuclear reactor activity. Nuclear reactors are intense sources of antineutrinos, and the thermal power released in the fission process is directly related to the flow rate of these particles. The antineutrinos energy spectrum also provides valuable information on the nuclear source isotopic composition. The proposed detector will be equipped with photomultipliers tubes (PMT) which will be readout by a custom Amplifier-Shaper-Discriminator circuit designed to condition its output signals to the acquisition modules to be digitized and processed by an FPGA. The readout circuit should be sensitive to single photoelectron signals, process fast signals, with a full-width-half-amplitude of about 5 ns, have a narrow enough output pulse width to detect both particles coming out from the inverse beta decay (bar nue+p → n + e+), and its output amplitude should be linear to the number of photoelectrons generated inside the PMT, used for energy estimation. In this work, some of the main PMT characteristics are measured and a new readout circuit is proposed, described and characterized.

6 x 6-cm fully depleted pn-junction CCD for high-resolution spectroscopy in the 0.1- to 15-keV photon energy range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

von Zanthier, Christoph; Holl, Peter; Kemmer, Josef; Lechner, Peter; Maier, B.; Soltau, Heike; Stoetter, R.; Braeuninger, Heinrich W.; Dennerl, Konrad; Haberl, Frank; Hartmann, R.; Hartner, Gisela D.; Hippmann, H.; Kastelic, E.; Kink, W.; Krause, N.; Meidinger, Norbert; Metzner, G.; Pfeffermann, Elmar; Popp, M.; Reppin, Claus; Stoetter, Diana; Strueder, Lothar; Truemper, Joachim; Weber, U.; Carathanassis, D.; Engelhard, S.; Gebhart, Th.; Hauff, D.; Lutz, G.; Richter, R. H.; Seitz, H.; Solc, P.; Bihler, Edgar; Boettcher, H.; Kendziorra, Eckhard; Kraemer, J.; Pflueger, Bernhard; Staubert, Ruediger

1998-04-01

The concept and performance of the fully depleted pn- junction CCD system, developed for the European XMM- and the German ABRIXAS-satellite missions for soft x-ray imaging and spectroscopy in the 0.1 keV to 15 keV photon range, is presented. The 58 mm X 60 mm large pn-CCD array uses pn- junctions for registers and for the backside instead of MOS registers. This concept naturally allows to fully deplete the detector volume to make it an efficient detector to photons with energies up to 15 keV. For high detection efficiency in the soft x-ray region down to 100 eV, an ultrathin pn-CCD backside deadlayer has been realized. Each pn-CCD-channel is equipped with an on-chip JFET amplifier which, in combination with the CAMEX-amplifier and multiplexing chip, facilitates parallel readout with a pixel read rate of 3 MHz and an electronic noise floor of ENC < e-. With the complete parallel readout, very fast pn-CCD readout modi can be implemented in the system which allow for high resolution photon spectroscopy of even the brightest x-ray sources in the sky.

Present and Future Applications of Digital Electronics in Nuclear Science - a Commercial Prospective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Hui

2011-10-01

Digital readout electronics instrumenting radiation detectors have experienced significant advancements in the last decade or so. This on one hand can be attributed to the steady improvements in commercial digital processing components such as analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), digital-to-analog converters (DACs), field-programmable-gate-arrays (FPGAs), and digital-signal-processors (DSPs), and on the other hand can also be attributed to the increasing needs for improved time, position, and energy resolution in nuclear physics experiments, which have spurred the rapid development of commercial off-the-shelf high speed, high resolution digitizers or spectrometers. Absent from conventional analog electronics, the capability to record fast decaying pulses from radiation detectors in digital readout electronics has profoundly benefited nuclear physics researchers since they now can perform detailed pulse processing for applications such as gamma-ray tracking and decay-event selection and reconstruction. In this talk, present state-of-the-art digital readout electronics and its applications in a variety of nuclear science fields will be discussed, and future directions in hardware development for digital electronics will also be outlined, all from the prospective of a commercial manufacturer of digital electronics.

Adding localization information in a fingerprint binary feature vector representation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bringer, Julien; Despiegel, Vincent; Favre, Mélanie

2011-06-01

At BTAS'10, a new framework to transform a fingerprint minutiae template into a binary feature vector of fixed length is described. A fingerprint is characterized by its similarity with a fixed number set of representative local minutiae vicinities. This approach by representative leads to a fixed length binary representation, and, as the approach is local, it enables to deal with local distortions that may occur between two acquisitions. We extend this construction to incorporate additional information in the binary vector, in particular on localization of the vicinities. We explore the use of position and orientation information. The performance improvement is promising for utilization into fast identification algorithms or into privacy protection algorithms.

Arikan and Alamouti matrices based on fast block-wise inverse Jacket transform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Moon Ho; Khan, Md Hashem Ali; Kim, Kyeong Jin

2013-12-01

Recently, Lee and Hou (IEEE Signal Process Lett 13: 461-464, 2006) proposed one-dimensional and two-dimensional fast algorithms for block-wise inverse Jacket transforms (BIJTs). Their BIJTs are not real inverse Jacket transforms from mathematical point of view because their inverses do not satisfy the usual condition, i.e., the multiplication of a matrix with its inverse matrix is not equal to the identity matrix. Therefore, we mathematically propose a fast block-wise inverse Jacket transform of orders N = 2 k , 3 k , 5 k , and 6 k , where k is a positive integer. Based on the Kronecker product of the successive lower order Jacket matrices and the basis matrix, the fast algorithms for realizing these transforms are obtained. Due to the simple inverse and fast algorithms of Arikan polar binary and Alamouti multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) non-binary matrices, which are obtained from BIJTs, they can be applied in areas such as 3GPP physical layer for ultra mobile broadband permutation matrices design, first-order q-ary Reed-Muller code design, diagonal channel design, diagonal subchannel decompose for interference alignment, and 4G MIMO long-term evolution Alamouti precoding design.

Chemical abundances of fast-rotating massive stars . II. Interpretation and comparison with evolutionary models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cazorla, Constantin; Nazé, Yaël; Morel, Thierry; Georgy, Cyril; Godart, Mélanie; Langer, Norbert

2017-08-01

Aims: Past observations of fast-rotating massive stars exhibiting normal nitrogen abundances at their surface have raised questions about the rotational mixing paradigm. We revisit this question thanks to a spectroscopic analysis of a sample of bright fast-rotating OB stars, with the goal of quantifying the efficiency of rotational mixing at high rotation rates. Methods: Our sample consists of 40 fast rotators on the main sequence, with spectral types comprised between B0.5 and O4. We compare the abundances of some key element indicators of mixing (He, CNO) with the predictions of evolutionary models for single objects and for stars in interacting binary systems. Results: The properties of half of the sample stars can be reproduced by single evolutionary models, even in the case of probable or confirmed binaries that can therefore be true single stars in a pre-interaction configuration. The main problem for the rest of the sample is a mismatch for the [N/O] abundance ratio (we confirm the existence of fast rotators with a lack of nitrogen enrichment) and/or a high helium abundance that cannot be accounted for by models. Modifying the diffusion coefficient implemented in single-star models does not solve the problem as it cannot simultaneously reproduce the helium abundances and [N/O] abundance ratios of our targets. Since part of them actually are binaries, we also compared their chemical properties with predictions for post-mass transfer systems. We found that these models can explain the abundances measured for a majority of our targets, including some of the most helium-enriched, but fail to reproduce them in other cases. Our study thus reveals that some physical ingredients are still missing in current models.

Fast large-scale object retrieval with binary quantization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Shifu; Zeng, Dan; Shen, Wei; Zhang, Zhijiang; Tian, Qi

2015-11-01

The objective of large-scale object retrieval systems is to search for images that contain the target object in an image database. Where state-of-the-art approaches rely on global image representations to conduct searches, we consider many boxes per image as candidates to search locally in a picture. In this paper, a feature quantization algorithm called binary quantization is proposed. In binary quantization, a scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) feature is quantized into a descriptive and discriminative bit-vector, which allows itself to adapt to the classic inverted file structure for box indexing. The inverted file, which stores the bit-vector and box ID where the SIFT feature is located inside, is compact and can be loaded into the main memory for efficient box indexing. We evaluate our approach on available object retrieval datasets. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach is fast and achieves excellent search quality. Therefore, the proposed approach is an improvement over state-of-the-art approaches for object retrieval.

A fast and compact electromagnetic calorimeter for the PANDA detector at FAIR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wilms, Andrea

2005-10-26

In this presentation we report on the electromagnetic calorimeter of the 4{pi} detector PANDA to be installed at the antiproton storage ring of the proposed Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR). We present details of the R and D work with two scintillator materials, PbWO4 (PWO) and BGO, and the new developed large area avalanche photodiodes (LAAPDs) as detector readout.

Development and tests of MCP based timing and multiplicity detector for MIPs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feofilov, G.; Kondratev, V.; Stolyarov, O.; Tulina, T.; Valiev, F.; Vinogradov, L.

2017-01-01

We present summary of technological developments and tests of the MCP based large area detector aimed at precise timing and charged particles multiplicity measurements. Results obtained in course of these developments of isochronous (simultaneity) precise signal readout, passive summation of 1 ns signals, fast (1 GHz) front-end electronics, miniature vacuum systems, etc. could be potentially interesting for a number of future applications in different fields.

Fast flux locked loop

DOEpatents

Ganther, Jr., Kenneth R.; Snapp, Lowell D.

2002-09-10

A flux locked loop for providing an electrical feedback signal, the flux locked loop employing radio-frequency components and technology to extend the flux modulation frequency and tracking loop bandwidth. The flux locked loop of the present invention has particularly useful application in read-out electronics for DC SQUID magnetic measurement systems, in which case the electrical signal output by the flux locked loop represents an unknown magnetic flux applied to the DC SQUID.

Small, Fast TES Microcalorimeters with Unprecedented X-ray Spectral Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eckart, M. E.; Adams, J. S.; Bailey, C. N.; Bandler, S. R.; Chervenak, J. A.; Finkbeiner, F. M.; Kelley, R. L.; Kilbourne, C. A.; Porter, F. S.; Sadleir, J. E.;

The use of workflows in the design and implementation of complex experiments in macromolecular crystallography.

PubMed

Brockhauser, Sandor; Svensson, Olof; Bowler, Matthew W; Nanao, Max; Gordon, Elspeth; Leal, Ricardo M F; Popov, Alexander; Gerring, Matthew; McCarthy, Andrew A; Gotz, Andy

2012-08-01

The automation of beam delivery, sample handling and data analysis, together with increasing photon flux, diminishing focal spot size and the appearance of fast-readout detectors on synchrotron beamlines, have changed the way that many macromolecular crystallography experiments are planned and executed. Screening for the best diffracting crystal, or even the best diffracting part of a selected crystal, has been enabled by the development of microfocus beams, precise goniometers and fast-readout detectors that all require rapid feedback from the initial processing of images in order to be effective. All of these advances require the coupling of data feedback to the experimental control system and depend on immediate online data-analysis results during the experiment. To facilitate this, a Data Analysis WorkBench (DAWB) for the flexible creation of complex automated protocols has been developed. Here, example workflows designed and implemented using DAWB are presented for enhanced multi-step crystal characterizations, experiments involving crystal reorientation with kappa goniometers, crystal-burning experiments for empirically determining the radiation sensitivity of a crystal system and the application of mesh scans to find the best location of a crystal to obtain the highest diffraction quality. Beamline users interact with the prepared workflows through a specific brick within the beamline-control GUI MXCuBE.

Germanium-doped optical fiber for real-time radiation dosimetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mizanur Rahman, A. K. M.; Zubair, H. T.; Begum, Mahfuza; Abdul-Rashid, H. A.; Yusoff, Z.; Ung, N. M.; Mat-Sharif, K. A.; Wan Abdullah, W. S.; Amouzad Mahdiraji, Ghafour; Amin, Y. M.; Maah, M. J.; Bradley, D. A.

2015-11-01

Over the past three decades growing demand for individualized in vivo dosimetry and subsequent dose verification has led to the pursuit of newer, novel and economically feasible materials for dosimeters. These materials are to facilitate features such as real-time sensing and fast readouts. In this paper, purposely composed SiO2:Ge optical fiber is presented as a suitable candidate for dosimetry. The optical fiber is meant to take advantage of the RL/OSL technique, providing both online remote monitoring of dose rate, and fast readouts for absorbed dose. A laboratory-assembled OSL reader has been used to acquire the RL/OSL response to LINAC irradiations (6 MV photons). The notable RL characteristics observed include constant level of luminescence for the same dose rate (providing better consistency compared to TLD-500), and linearity of response in the radiotherapy range (1 Gy/min to 6 Gy/min). The OSL curve was found to conform to an exponential decay characteristic (illumination with low LED source). The Ge doping resulted in an effective atomic number, Zeff, of 13.5 (within the bone equivalent range). The SiO2:Ge optical fiber sensor, with efficient coupling, can be a viable solution for in vivo dosimetry, besides a broad range of applications.

A fast dual wavelength laser beam fluid-less optical CT scanner for radiotherapy 3D gel dosimetry I: design and development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramm, Daniel

2018-02-01

Three dimensional dosimetry by optical CT readout of radiosensitive gels or solids has previously been indicated as a solution for measurement of radiotherapy 3D dose distributions. The clinical uptake of these dosimetry methods has been limited, partly due to impracticalities of the optical readout such as the expertise and labour required for refractive index fluid matching. In this work a fast laser beam optical CT scanner is described, featuring fluid-less and dual wavelength operation. A second laser with a different wavelength is used to provide an alternative reference scan to the commonly used pre-irradiation scan. Transmission data for both wavelengths is effectively acquired simultaneously, giving a single scan process. Together with the elimination of refractive index fluid matching issues, scanning practicality is substantially improved. Image quality and quantitative accuracy were assessed for both dual and single wavelength methods. The dual wavelength scan technique gave improvements in uniformity of reconstructed optical attenuation coefficients in the sample 3D volume. This was due to a reduction of artefacts caused by scan to scan changes. Optical attenuation measurement accuracy was similar for both dual and single wavelength modes of operation. These results established the basis for further work on dosimetric performance.

Hodoscope readout system

DOEpatents

Lee, L.Y.

1973-12-01

A readout system has been provided for reading out a radiation multidetector device with a reduced number of signal sensors. A radiation hodoscope, such as an array of scintillation counters, multiwire proportional counter array, or a set of multidetectors which do not receive signals simultaneously, is divided into equal numbered groups. A first group of signal terminals is connected to the equal numbered groups of detectors so that a signal from any one of the detectors of a group will be fed to one of the first group of terminals. A second group of signal terminals is connected to the detector groups so that a signal from a particular numbered detector of each of the detector groups is connected to one of the second group of terminals. Both groups of signal terminals are, in turn, coupled to signal sensors so that when a signal is simultaneously observed in one of the first group of terminals and one of the second group of tenniinals the specific detector detecting a radiation event is determined. The sensors are arranged in such a manner that a binary code is developed from their outputs which can be stored in a digital storage means according to the location of the event in the multidetector device. (Official Gazette)

Sub-processes of motor learning revealed by a robotic manipulandum for rodents.

PubMed

Lambercy, O; Schubring-Giese, M; Vigaru, B; Gassert, R; Luft, A R; Hosp, J A

2015-02-01

Rodent models are widely used to investigate neural changes in response to motor learning. Usually, the behavioral readout of motor learning tasks used for this purpose is restricted to a binary measure of performance (i.e. "successful" movement vs. "failure"). Thus, the assignability of research in rodents to concepts gained in human research - implying diverse internal models that constitute motor learning - is still limited. To solve this problem, we recently introduced a three-degree-of-freedom robotic platform designed for rats (the ETH-Pattus) that combines an accurate behavioral readout (in the form of kinematics) with the possibility to invasively assess learning related changes within the brain (e.g. by performing immunohistochemistry or electrophysiology in acute slice preparations). Here, we validate this platform as a tool to study motor learning by establishing two forelimb-reaching paradigms that differ in degree of skill. Both conditions can be precisely differentiated in terms of their temporal pattern and performance levels. Based on behavioral data, we hypothesize the presence of several sub-processes contributing to motor learning. These share close similarities with concepts gained in humans or primates. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Homology search with binary and trinary scoring matrices.

PubMed

Smith, Scott F

2006-01-01

Protein homology search can be accelerated with the use of bit-parallel algorithms in conjunction with constraints on the values contained in the scoring matrices. Trinary scoring matrices (containing only the values -1, 0, and 1) allow for significant acceleration without significant reduction in the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) score of a Smith-Waterman search. Binary scoring matrices (containing the values 0 and 1) result in some reduction in ROC score, but result in even more acceleration. Binary scoring matrices and five-bit saturating scores can be used for fast prefilters to the Smith-Waterman algorithm.

SPIDR, a general-purpose readout system for pixel ASICs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Heijden, B.; Visser, J.; van Beuzekom, M.; Boterenbrood, H.; Kulis, S.; Munneke, B.; Schreuder, F.

2017-02-01

The SPIDR (Speedy PIxel Detector Readout) system is a flexible general-purpose readout platform that can be easily adapted to test and characterize new and existing detector readout ASICs. It is originally designed for the readout of pixel ASICs from the Medipix/Timepix family, but other types of ASICs or front-end circuits can be read out as well. The SPIDR system consists of an FPGA board with memory and various communication interfaces, FPGA firmware, CPU subsystem and an API library on the PC . The FPGA firmware can be adapted to read out other ASICs by re-using IP blocks. The available IP blocks include a UDP packet builder, 1 and 10 Gigabit Ethernet MAC's and a "soft core" CPU . Currently the firmware is targeted at the Xilinx VC707 development board and at a custom board called Compact-SPIDR . The firmware can easily be ported to other Xilinx 7 series and ultra scale FPGAs. The gap between an ASIC and the data acquisition back-end is bridged by the SPIDR system. Using the high pin count VITA 57 FPGA Mezzanine Card (FMC) connector only a simple chip carrier PCB is required. A 1 and a 10 Gigabit Ethernet interface handle the connection to the back-end. These can be used simultaneously for high-speed data and configuration over separate channels. In addition to the FMC connector, configurable inputs and outputs are available for synchronization with other detectors. A high resolution (≈ 27 ps bin size) Time to Digital converter is provided for time stamping events in the detector. The SPIDR system is frequently used as readout for the Medipix3 and Timepix3 ASICs. Using the 10 Gigabit Ethernet interface it is possible to read out a single chip at full bandwidth or up to 12 chips at a reduced rate. Another recent application is the test-bed for the VeloPix ASIC, which is developed for the Vertex Detector of the LHCb experiment. In this case the SPIDR system processes the 20 Gbps scrambled data stream from the VeloPix and distributes it over four 10 Gigabit Ethernet links, and in addition provides the slow and fast control for the chip.

The Endcap Disc DIRC of PANDA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Düren, M.; Etzelmüller, E.; Föhl, K.; Hayrapetyan, A.; Kröck, B.; Merle, O.; Rieke, J.; Schmidt, M.; Wasem, T.; Britting, A.; Eyrich, W.; Lehmann, A.; Pfaffinger, M.; Uhlig, F.; Belias, A.; Dzhygadlo, R.; Gerhardt, A.; Götzen, K.; Kalicy, G.; Krebs, M.; Lehmann, D.; Nerling, F.; Patsyuk, M.; Peters, K.; Schepers, G.; Schmitt, L.; Schwarz, C.; Schwiening, J.; Traxler, M.; Zühlsdorf, M.; Cowie, E.; Keri, T.; Achenbach, P.; Cardinali, M.; Hoek, M.; Lauth, W.; Schlimme, S.; Sfienti, C.; Thiel, M.

2017-12-01

The Endcap Disc DIRC (EDD) for PANDA has been designed to identify traversing pions, kaons and protons in the future PANDA experiment. Its central part is a 2 cm thick fused silica plate. Focussing optics are attached to the outer rim of the plate, outside of the acceptance of the experiment. Fast, high-resolution MCP-PMTs, designed to register single Cherenkov photons, have been tested in magnetic field. Filters limit the spectral acceptance of the sensors to reduce dispersion effects and to extend their lifetime. A compact and fast readout is realized with ASICs. Analytical reconstruction algorithms allow for fast particle identification. The angular resolution of a DIRC prototype has been simulated in Monte Carlo and confirmed in a test beam. The final detector will be able to provide a 4 σπ / K separation up to a momentum of 4 GeV / c .

Fast probe of local electronic states in nanostructures utilizing a single-lead quantum dot

PubMed Central

Otsuka, Tomohiro; Amaha, Shinichi; Nakajima, Takashi; Delbecq, Matthieu R.; Yoneda, Jun; Takeda, Kenta; Sugawara, Retsu; Allison, Giles; Ludwig, Arne; Wieck, Andreas D.; Tarucha, Seigo

2015-01-01

Transport measurements are powerful tools to probe electronic properties of solid-state materials. To access properties of local electronic states in nanostructures, such as local density of states, electronic distribution and so on, micro-probes utilizing artificial nanostructures have been invented to perform measurements in addition to those with conventional macroscopic electronic reservoirs. Here we demonstrate a new kind of micro-probe: a fast single-lead quantum dot probe, which utilizes a quantum dot coupled only to the target structure through a tunneling barrier and fast charge readout by RF reflectometry. The probe can directly access the local electronic states with wide bandwidth. The probe can also access more electronic states, not just those around the Fermi level, and the operations are robust against bias voltages and temperatures. PMID:26416582

VizieR

Science.gov Websites

XMM Astronomy Abundances Ages AGN Associations Asteroseismology Atomic_Data Binaries:cataclysmic astronomy) CDS cross-match service : fast cross-identification between any 2 tables, including VizieR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Averyanov, A. V.; Bajajin, A. G.; Chepurnov, V. F.

The time-projection chamber (TPC) is the main tracking detector in the MPD/NICA. The information on charge-particle tracks in the TPC is registered by the MWPG with cathode pad readout. The frontend electronics (FEE) are developed with use of modern technologies such as application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), and data transfer to a concentrator via a fast optical interface. The main parameters of the FEE are as follows: total number of channels, ∼95 000; data stream from the whole TPC, 5 GB/s; low power consumption, less than 100 mW/ch; signal to noise ratio (S/N), 30; equivalent noisemore » charge (ENC), <1000e{sup –} (C{sub in} = 10–20 pF); and zero suppression (pad signal rejection ∼90%). The article presents the status of the readout chamber construction and the data acquisition system. The results of testing FEE prototypes are presented.« less

The Silicon Tracking System of the CBM experiment at FAIR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teklishyn, Maksym

2018-03-01

The Silicon Tracking System (STS) is the central detector in the Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment at FAIR. Operating in the 1Tm dipole magnetic field, the STS will enable pile-up free detection and momentum measurement of the charged particles originating from beam-target nuclear interactions at rates up to 10 MHz. The STS consists of 8 tracking stations based on double-sided silicon micro-strip sensors equipped with fast, self-triggering read-out electronics. With about two million read-out channels, the STS will deliver a high-rate stream of time-stamped data that is transferred to a computing farm for on-line event determination and analysis. The functional building block is a detector module consisting of a sensor, micro-cables and two front-end electronics boards. In this contribution, the development status of the STS components and the system integration is discussed and an outlook on the detector construction is given.

The Level 0 Pixel Trigger system for the ALICE experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aglieri Rinella, G.; Kluge, A.; Krivda, M.; ALICE Silicon Pixel Detector project

2007-01-01

The ALICE Silicon Pixel Detector contains 1200 readout chips. Fast-OR signals indicate the presence of at least one hit in the 8192 pixel matrix of each chip. The 1200 bits are transmitted every 100 ns on 120 data readout optical links using the G-Link protocol. The Pixel Trigger System extracts and processes them to deliver an input signal to the Level 0 trigger processor targeting a latency of 800 ns. The system is compact, modular and based on FPGA devices. The architecture allows the user to define and implement various trigger algorithms. The system uses advanced 12-channel parallel optical fiber modules operating at 1310 nm as optical receivers and 12 deserializer chips closely packed in small area receiver boards. Alternative solutions with multi-channel G-Link deserializers implemented directly in programmable hardware devices were investigated. The design of the system and the progress of the ALICE Pixel Trigger project are described in this paper.

Fast and accurate read-out of interferometric optical fiber sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartholsen, Ingebrigt; Hjelme, Dag R.

2016-03-01

We present results from an evaluation of phase and frequency estimation algorithms for read-out instrumentation of interferometric sensors. Tests on interrogating a micro Fabry-Perot sensor made of semi-spherical stimuli-responsive hydrogel immobilized on a single mode fiber end face, shows that an iterative quadrature demodulation technique (IQDT) implemented on a 32-bit microcontroller unit can achieve an absolute length accuracy of ±50 nm and length change accuracy of ±3 nm using an 80 nm SLED source and a grating spectrometer for interrogation. The mean absolute error for the frequency estimator is a factor 3 larger than the theoretical lower bound for a maximum likelihood estimator. The corresponding factor for the phase estimator is 1.3. The computation time for the IQDT algorithm is reduced by a factor 1000 compared to the full QDT for the same accuracy requirement.

SALT, a dedicated readout chip for high precision tracking silicon strip detectors at the LHCb Upgrade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bugiel, Sz.; Dasgupta, R.; Firlej, M.; Fiutowski, T.; Idzik, M.; Kuczynska, M.; Moron, J.; Swientek, K.; Szumlak, T.

2016-02-01

The Upstream Tracker (UT) silicon strip detector, one of the central parts of the tracker system of the modernised LHCb experiment, will use a new 128-channel readout ASIC called SALT. It will extract and digitise analogue signals from the UT sensors, perform digital signal processing and transmit a serial output data. The SALT is being designed in CMOS 130 nm process and uses a novel architecture comprising of analog front-end and fast (40 MSps) ultra-low power (<0.5 mW) 6-bit ADC in each channel. The prototype ASICs of important functional blocks, like analogue front-end, 6-bit SAR ADC, PLL, and DLL, were designed, fabricated and tested. A prototype of an 8-channel version of the SALT chip, comprising all important functionalities was also designed and fabricated. The architecture and design of the SALT, together with the selected preliminary tests results, are presented.

Beam test results of STS prototype modules for the future accelerator experiments FAIR/CBM and NICA/MPD projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kharlamov, Petr; Dementev, Dmitrii; Shitenkov, Mikhail

2017-10-01

High-energy heavy-ion collision experiments provide the unique possibility to create and investigate extreme states of strongly-interacted matter and address the fundamental aspects of QCD. The experimental investigation the QCD phase diagram would be a major breakthrough in our understanding of the properties of nuclear matter. The reconstruction of the charged particles created in the nuclear collisions, including the determination of their momenta, is the central detection task in high-energy heavy-ion experiments. It is taken up by the Silicon Tracking System in CBM@FAIR and by Inner Tracker in MPD@NICA currently under development. These experiments requires very fast and radiation hard detectors, a novel data read-out and analysis concept including free streaming front-end electronics. Thermal and beam tests of prototype detector modules for these tracking systems showed the stability of sensors and readout electronics operation.

Development of FEB Test Platform for ATLAS New Small Wheel Upgrade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Houbing; Hu, Kun; Wang, Xu; Li, Feng; Han, Liang; Jin, Ge

2016-10-01

This concept of test platform is based on the test requirements of the front-end board (FEB) which is developed for the phase I upgrade of the small Thin Gap Chamber(sTGC) detector on New Small Wheel(NSW) of ATLAS. The front-end electronics system of sTGC consists of 1,536 FEBs with about 322,000 readout of strips, wires and pads in total. A test platform for FEB with up to 256 channels has been designed to keep the testing efficiency at a controllable level. We present the circuit model architecture of the platform, and its functions and implementation as well. The firmware based on Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and the software based on PC have been developed, and basic test methods have been established. FEB readout measurements have been performed in analog injection from the test platform, which will provide a fast and efficient test method for the production of FEB.

Development of Pulsar Detection Methods for a Galactic Center Search

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thornton, Stephen; Wharton, Robert; Cordes, James; Chatterjee, Shami

2018-01-01

Finding pulsars within the inner parsec of the galactic center would be incredibly beneficial: for pulsars sufficiently close to Sagittarius A*, extremely precise tests of general relativity in the strong field regime could be performed through measurement of post-Keplerian parameters. Binary pulsar systems with sufficiently short orbital periods could provide the same laboratories with which to test existing theories. Fast and efficient methods are needed to parse large sets of time-domain data from different telescopes to search for periodicity in signals and differentiate radio frequency interference (RFI) from pulsar signals. Here we demonstrate several techniques to reduce red noise (low-frequency interference), generate signals from pulsars in binary orbits, and create plots that allow for fast detection of both RFI and pulsars.

The superslow pulsation X-ray pulsars in high mass X-ray binaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wei

2013-03-01

There exists a special class of X-ray pulsars that exhibit very slow pulsation of P spin > 1000 s in the high mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs). We have studied the temporal and spectral properties of these superslow pulsation neutron star binaries in hard X-ray bands with INTEGRAL observations. Long-term monitoring observations find spin period evolution of two sources: spin-down trend for 4U 2206+54 (P spin ~ 5560 s with Ṗ spin ~ 4.9 × 10-7 s s-1) and long-term spin-up trend for 2S 0114+65 (P spin ~ 9600 s with Ṗ spin ~ -1 × 10-6 s s-1) in the last 20 years. A Be X-ray transient, SXP 1062 (P spin ~ 1062 s), also showed a fast spin-down rate of Ṗ spin ~ 3 × 10-6 s s-1 during an outburst. These superslow pulsation neutron stars cannot be produced in the standard X-ray binary evolution model unless the neutron star has a much stronger surface magnetic field (B > 1014 G). The physical origin of the superslow spin period is still unclear. The possible origin and evolution channels of the superslow pulsation X-ray pulsars are discussed. Superslow pulsation X-ray pulsars could be younger X-ray binary systems, still in the fast evolution phase preceding the final equilibrium state. Alternatively, they could be a new class of neutron star system - accreting magnetars.

Fast Localization in Large-Scale Environments Using Supervised Indexing of Binary Features.

PubMed

Youji Feng; Lixin Fan; Yihong Wu

2016-01-01

The essence of image-based localization lies in matching 2D key points in the query image and 3D points in the database. State-of-the-art methods mostly employ sophisticated key point detectors and feature descriptors, e.g., Difference of Gaussian (DoG) and Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT), to ensure robust matching. While a high registration rate is attained, the registration speed is impeded by the expensive key point detection and the descriptor extraction. In this paper, we propose to use efficient key point detectors along with binary feature descriptors, since the extraction of such binary features is extremely fast. The naive usage of binary features, however, does not lend itself to significant speedup of localization, since existing indexing approaches, such as hierarchical clustering trees and locality sensitive hashing, are not efficient enough in indexing binary features and matching binary features turns out to be much slower than matching SIFT features. To overcome this, we propose a much more efficient indexing approach for approximate nearest neighbor search of binary features. This approach resorts to randomized trees that are constructed in a supervised training process by exploiting the label information derived from that multiple features correspond to a common 3D point. In the tree construction process, node tests are selected in a way such that trees have uniform leaf sizes and low error rates, which are two desired properties for efficient approximate nearest neighbor search. To further improve the search efficiency, a probabilistic priority search strategy is adopted. Apart from the label information, this strategy also uses non-binary pixel intensity differences available in descriptor extraction. By using the proposed indexing approach, matching binary features is no longer much slower but slightly faster than matching SIFT features. Consequently, the overall localization speed is significantly improved due to the much faster key point detection and descriptor extraction. It is empirically demonstrated that the localization speed is improved by an order of magnitude as compared with state-of-the-art methods, while comparable registration rate and localization accuracy are still maintained.

Binary Multidimensional Scaling for Hashing.

PubMed

Huang, Yameng; Lin, Zhouchen

2017-10-04

Hashing is a useful technique for fast nearest neighbor search due to its low storage cost and fast query speed. Unsupervised hashing aims at learning binary hash codes for the original features so that the pairwise distances can be best preserved. While several works have targeted on this task, the results are not satisfactory mainly due to the oversimplified model. In this paper, we propose a unified and concise unsupervised hashing framework, called Binary Multidimensional Scaling (BMDS), which is able to learn the hash code for distance preservation in both batch and online mode. In the batch mode, unlike most existing hashing methods, we do not need to simplify the model by predefining the form of hash map. Instead, we learn the binary codes directly based on the pairwise distances among the normalized original features by Alternating Minimization. This enables a stronger expressive power of the hash map. In the online mode, we consider the holistic distance relationship between current query example and those we have already learned, rather than only focusing on current data chunk. It is useful when the data come in a streaming fashion. Empirical results show that while being efficient for training, our algorithm outperforms state-of-the-art methods by a large margin in terms of distance preservation, which is practical for real-world applications.

A novel approach to Hough Transform for implementation in fast triggers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pozzobon, Nicola; Montecassiano, Fabio; Zotto, Pierluigi

2016-10-01

Telescopes of position sensitive detectors are common layouts in charged particles tracking, and programmable logic devices, such as FPGAs, represent a viable choice for the real-time reconstruction of track segments in such detector arrays. A compact implementation of the Hough Transform for fast triggers in High Energy Physics, exploiting a parameter reduction method, is proposed, targeting the reduction of the needed storage or computing resources in current, or next future, state-of-the-art FPGA devices, while retaining high resolution over a wide range of track parameters. The proposed approach is compared to a Standard Hough Transform with particular emphasis on their application to muon detectors. In both cases, an original readout implementation is modeled.

Design of a Multichannel Low-Noise Front-End Readout ASIC Dedicated to CZT Detectors for PET Imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, W.; Liu, H.; Gan, B.; Wei, T.; Gao, D.; Hu, Y.

2014-10-01

In this paper, we present the design and preliminary results of a novel low-noise front-end readout application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) for a PET imaging system whose objective is to achieve the following performances: the spatial resolution of 1 mm3, the detection efficiency of 15% and the time resolution of 1 ns. A cascode amplifier based on the PMOS input transistor is selected to realize the charge-sensitive amplifier (CSA) for the sake of good noise performances. The output of the CSA is split into two branches. One is connected to a slow shaper for energy measurements. The other is connected to a fast shaper for time acquisition. A novel monostable circuits is designed to adjust the time delay of the trigger signals so that the peak value of the shaped voltages can be sampled and stored. An eight-channel front-end readout prototype chip is designed and implemented in 0.35 μm CMOS process. The die size is 2.286 mm ×2.282 mm. The input range of the ASIC is from 2000 e- to 180000 e-, reflecting to the energy level of the gamma ray from 11.2 keV to 1 MeV. The gain of the readout channel is 65 mV/fC. The tested result of ENC is 86.5 e- at zero farad plus 9.3 e- per picofarad. The nonlinearity is less than 3%. The crosstalk is less than 2%. The power dissipation is about 3 mW/channel.

Semiconductor/High-Tc-Superconductor Hybrid ICs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burns, Michael J.

1995-01-01

Hybrid integrated circuits (ICs) containing both Si-based semiconducting and YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-x) superconducting circuit elements on sapphire substrates developed. Help to prevent diffusion of Cu from superconductors into semiconductors. These hybrid ICs combine superconducting and semiconducting features unavailable in superconducting or semiconducting circuitry alone. For example, complementary metal oxide/semiconductor (CMOS) readout and memory devices integrated with fast-switching Josephson-junction super-conducting logic devices and zero-resistance interconnections.

Fast optimization of binary clusters using a novel dynamic lattice searching method.

PubMed

Wu, Xia; Cheng, Wen

2014-09-28

Global optimization of binary clusters has been a difficult task despite of much effort and many efficient methods. Directing toward two types of elements (i.e., homotop problem) in binary clusters, two classes of virtual dynamic lattices are constructed and a modified dynamic lattice searching (DLS) method, i.e., binary DLS (BDLS) method, is developed. However, it was found that the BDLS can only be utilized for the optimization of binary clusters with small sizes because homotop problem is hard to be solved without atomic exchange operation. Therefore, the iterated local search (ILS) method is adopted to solve homotop problem and an efficient method based on the BDLS method and ILS, named as BDLS-ILS, is presented for global optimization of binary clusters. In order to assess the efficiency of the proposed method, binary Lennard-Jones clusters with up to 100 atoms are investigated. Results show that the method is proved to be efficient. Furthermore, the BDLS-ILS method is also adopted to study the geometrical structures of (AuPd)79 clusters with DFT-fit parameters of Gupta potential.

Reduction of CMOS Image Sensor Read Noise to Enable Photon Counting

PubMed Central

Guidash, Michael; Ma, Jiaju; Vogelsang, Thomas; Endsley, Jay

2016-01-01

Recent activity in photon counting CMOS image sensors (CIS) has been directed to reduction of read noise. Many approaches and methods have been reported. This work is focused on providing sub 1 e− read noise by design and operation of the binary and small signal readout of photon counting CIS. Compensation of transfer gate feed-through was used to provide substantially reduced CDS time and source follower (SF) bandwidth. SF read noise was reduced by a factor of 3 with this method. This method can be applied broadly to CIS devices to reduce the read noise for small signals to enable use as a photon counting sensor. PMID:27070625

Highly multiplexed signal readout for a time-of-flight positron emission tomography detector based on silicon photomultipliers

PubMed Central

Cates, Joshua W.; Bieniosek, Matthew F.; Levin, Craig S.

2017-01-01

Abstract. Maintaining excellent timing resolution in the generation of silicon photomultiplier (SiPM)-based time-of-flight positron emission tomography (TOF-PET) systems requires a large number of high-speed, high-bandwidth electronic channels and components. To minimize the cost and complexity of a system’s back-end architecture and data acquisition, many analog signals are often multiplexed to fewer channels using techniques that encode timing, energy, and position information. With progress in the development SiPMs having lower dark noise, after pulsing, and cross talk along with higher photodetection efficiency, a coincidence timing resolution (CTR) well below 200 ps FWHM is now easily achievable in single pixel, bench-top setups using 20-mm length, lutetium-based inorganic scintillators. However, multiplexing the output of many SiPMs to a single channel will significantly degrade CTR without appropriate signal processing. We test the performance of a PET detector readout concept that multiplexes 16 SiPMs to two channels. One channel provides timing information with fast comparators, and the second channel encodes both position and energy information in a time-over-threshold-based pulse sequence. This multiplexing readout concept was constructed with discrete components to process signals from a 4×4 array of SensL MicroFC-30035 SiPMs coupled to 2.9×2.9×20  mm3 Lu1.8Gd0.2SiO5 (LGSO):Ce (0.025 mol. %) scintillators. This readout method yielded a calibrated, global energy resolution of 15.3% FWHM at 511 keV with a CTR of 198±2  ps FWHM between the 16-pixel multiplexed detector array and a 2.9×2.9×20  mm3 LGSO-SiPM reference detector. In summary, results indicate this multiplexing scheme is a scalable readout technique that provides excellent coincidence timing performance. PMID:28382312

Readout of the UFFO Slewing Mirror Telescope to detect UV/optical photons from Gamma-Ray Bursts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, J. E.; Lim, H.; Nam, J. W.; Brandt, S.; Budtz-Jørgensen, C.; Castro-Tirado, A. J.; Chen, P.; Choi, H. S.; Grossan, B.; Huang, M. A.; Jeong, S.; Jung, A.; Kim, M. B.; Kim, S.-W.; Lee, J.; Linder, E. V.; Liu, T.-C.; Na, G. W.; Panasyuk, M. I.; Park, I. H.; Ripa, J.; Reglero, V.; Smoot, G. F.; Svertilov, S.; Vedenkin, N.; Yashin, I.

2013-07-01

The Slewing Mirror Telescope (SMT) was proposed for rapid response to prompt UV/optical photons from Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). The SMT is a key component of the Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory (UFFO)-pathfinder, which will be launched aboard the Lomonosov spacecraft at the end of 2013. The SMT utilizes a motorized mirror that slews rapidly forward to its target within a second after triggering by an X-ray coded mask camera, which makes unnecessary a reorientation of the entire spacecraft. Subsequent measurement of the UV/optical is accomplished by a 10 cm aperture Ritchey-Chrètien telescope and the focal plane detector of Intensified Charge-Coupled Device (ICCD). The ICCD is sensitive to UV/optical photons of 200-650 nm in wavelength by using a UV-enhanced S20 photocathode and amplifies photoelectrons at a gain of 104-106 in double Micro-Channel Plates. These photons are read out by a Kodak KAI-0340 interline CCD sensor and a CCD Signal Processor with 10-bit Analog-to-Digital Converter. Various control clocks for CCD readout are implemented using a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The SMT readout is in charge of not only data acquisition, storage and transfer, but also control of the slewing mirror, the ICCD high voltage adjustments, power distribution, and system monitoring by interfacing to the UFFO-pathfinder. These functions are realized in the FPGA to minimize power consumption and to enhance processing time. The SMT readout electronics are designed and built to meet the spacecraft's constraints of power consumption, mass, and volume. The entire system is integrated with the SMT optics, as is the UFFO-pathfinder. The system has been tested and satisfies the conditions of launch and those of operation in space: those associated with shock and vibration and those associated with thermal and vacuum, respectively. In this paper, we present the SMT readout electronics: the design, construction, and performance, as well as the results of space environment test.

A positron emission tomograph based on LSO-APD modules with a sampling ADC read-out system for a students' advanced laboratory course.

PubMed

Schneider, Florian R; Mann, Alexander B; Konorov, Igor; Delso, Gaspar; Paul, Stephan; Ziegler, Sibylle I

2012-06-01

A one-day laboratory course on positron emission tomography (PET) for the education of physics students and PhD students in medical physics has been set up. In the course, the physical background and the principles of a PET scanner are introduced. Course attendees set the system in operation, calibrate it using a (22)Na point source and reconstruct different source geometries filled with (18)F. The PET scanner features an individual channel read-out of 96 lutetium oxyorthosilicate (LSO) scintillator crystals coupled to avalanche photodiodes (APD). The analog data of each APD are digitized by fast sampling analog to digital converters (SADC) and processed within field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) to extract amplitudes and time stamps. All SADCs are continuously sampling with a precise rate of 80MHz, which is synchronous for the whole system. The data is transmitted via USB to a Linux PC, where further processing and the image reconstruction are performed. The course attendees get an insight into detector techniques, modern read-out electronics, data acquisition and PET image reconstruction. In addition, a short introduction to some common software applications used in particle and high energy physics is part of the course. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

World's Cheapest Readout Electronics for Kinetic Inductance Detector by Using RedPitaya

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomita, N.; Jeong, H.; Choi, J.; Ishitsuka, H.; Mima, S.; Nagasaki, T.; Oguri, S.; Tajima, O.

2016-07-01

The kinetic inductance detector (KID) is a cutting-edge superconducting detector. The number of KID developers is growing. Most of them have switched from their previous study to superconducting technologies. Therefore, infrastructures for the fabrication of KIDs and cooling systems for their tests have already been established. However, readout electronics have to be newly prepared. Neither a commercial system nor low-cost standard electronics are available despite various attempts to create a standard one. We suggest the use of RedPitaya as readout electronics for the initial step of KID development, which is low cost (≈ 400 USD) and easy to set up. The RedPitaya consists of an all-programmable FPGA-CPU module and a dual-channel 14 bit DAC (ADC) to generate (measure) fast analog signals with 125 MSpS. Each port can be synchronized in-phase or quadrature-phase, and functions for generating and sampling analog signal are prepared. It is straightforward to construct vector network analyzer-like logic by using a combination of these default functions. Up-conversion and down-conversion of its frequency range are also possible by using commercial equipment, i.e., mixers, couplers, and a local oscillator. We implemented direct down-conversion logic on the RedPitaya, and successfully demonstrated KID signal measurements.

Single Crystal Diamond Beam Position Monitors with Radiofrequency Electronic Readout

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Solar, B.; Graafsma, H.; Potdevin, G.

2010-06-23

Over the energy range 5{approx}30 keV a suitably contacted, thin ({approx}100 {mu}m) diamond plate can be operated in situ as a continuous monitor of X-ray beam intensity and position as the diamond absorbs only a small percentage of the incident beam. Single crystal diamond is a completely homogeneous material showing fast (ns), spatially uniform signal response and negligible (

GetData: A filesystem-based, column-oriented database format for time-ordered binary data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiebe, Donald V.; Netterfield, Calvin B.; Kisner, Theodore S.

2015-12-01

The GetData Project is the reference implementation of the Dirfile Standards, a filesystem-based, column-oriented database format for time-ordered binary data. Dirfiles provide a fast, simple format for storing and reading data, suitable for both quicklook and analysis pipelines. GetData provides a C API and bindings exist for various other languages. GetData is distributed under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License.

SU-F-I-16: Short Breast MRI with High-Resolution T2-Weighted and Dynamic Contrast Enhanced T1-Weighted Images

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ma, J; Son, J; Arun, B

Purpose: To develop and demonstrate a short breast (sb) MRI protocol that acquires both T2-weighted and dynamic contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images in approximately ten minutes. Methods: The sb-MRI protocol consists of two novel pulse sequences. The first is a flexible fast spin-echo triple-echo Dixon (FTED) sequence for high-resolution fat-suppressed T2-weighted imaging, and the second is a 3D fast dual-echo spoiled gradient sequence (FLEX) for volumetric fat-suppressed T1-weighted imaging before and post contrast agent injection. The flexible FTED sequence replaces each single readout during every echo-spacing period of FSE with three fast-switching bipolar readouts to produce three raw images in a singlemore » acquisition. These three raw images are then post-processed using a Dixon algorithm to generate separate water-only and fat-only images. The FLEX sequence acquires two echoes using dual-echo readout after each RF excitation and the corresponding images are post-processed using a similar Dixon algorithm to yield water-only and fat-only images. The sb-MRI protocol was implemented on a 3T MRI scanner and used for patients who had undergone concurrent clinical MRI for breast cancer screening. Results: With the same scan parameters (eg, spatial coverage, field of view, spatial and temporal resolution) as the clinical protocol, the total scan-time of the sb-MRI protocol (including the localizer, bilateral T2-weighted, and dynamic contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images) was 11 minutes. In comparison, the clinical breast MRI protocol took 43 minutes. Uniform fat suppression and high image quality were consistently achieved by sb-MRI. Conclusion: We demonstrated a sb-MRI protocol comprising both T2-weighted and dynamic contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images can be performed in approximately ten minutes. The spatial and temporal resolution of the images easily satisfies the current breast MRI accreditation guidelines by the American College of Radiology. The protocol has the potential of making breast MRI more widely accessible to and more tolerable by the patients. JMA is the inventor of United States patents that are owned by the University of Texas Board of Regents and currently licensed to GE Healthcare and Siemens Gmbh.« less

WHITE-LIGHT FLARES ON CLOSE BINARIES OBSERVED WITH KEPLER

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gao, Qing; Xin, Yu; Liu, Ji-Feng

2016-06-01

Based on Kepler data, we present the results of a search for white light flares on 1049 close binaries. We identify 234 flare binaries, of which 6818 flares are detected. We compare the flare-binary fraction in different binary morphologies (“detachedness”). The result shows that the fractions in over-contact and ellipsoidal binaries are approximately 10%–20% lower than those in detached and semi-detached systems. We calculate the binary flare activity level (AL) of all the flare binaries, and discuss its variations along the orbital period ( P {sub orb}) and rotation period ( P {sub rot}, calculated for only detached binaries). Wemore » find that the AL increases with decreasing P {sub orb} or P {sub rot}, up to the critical values at P {sub orb} ∼ 3 days or P {sub rot} ∼ 1.5 days, and thereafter the AL starts decreasing no matter how fast the stars rotate. We examine the flaring rate as a function of orbital phase in two eclipsing binaries on which a large number of flares are detected. It appears that there is no correlation between flaring rate and orbital phase in these two binaries. In contrast, when we examine the function with 203 flares on 20 non-eclipse ellipsoidal binaries, bimodal distribution of amplitude-weighted flare numbers shows up at orbital phases 0.25 and 0.75. Such variation could be larger than what is expected from the cross section modification.« less

The extraneous eclipses on binary light curves: KIC 5255552, KIC 10091110, and KIC 11495766

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, J.; Qian, S. B.; Wang, S. M.; Sun, L. L.; Wu, Y.; Jiang, L. Q.

2018-03-01

Aims: We aim to find more eclipsing multiple systems and obtain their parameters, thus increasing our understanding of multiple systems. Methods: The extraneous eclipses on the Kepler binary light curves indicating extraneous bodies were searched. The binary light curves were analyzed using the binary model, and the extraneous eclipses were studied on their periodicity and shape changes. Results: Three binaries with extraneous eclipses on the binary light curves were found and studied based on the Kepler observations. The object KIC 5255552 is an eclipsing triple system with a fast changing inner binary and an outer companion uncovered by three groups of extraneous eclipses of 862.1(±0.1) d period. The KIC 10091110 is suggested to be a double eclipsing binary system with several possible extraordinary coincidences: the two binaries share similar extremely small mass ratios (0.060(13) and 0.0564(18)), similar mean primary densities (0.3264(42) ρ⊙ and 0.3019(28) ρ⊙), and, most notably, the ratio of the two binaries' periods is very close to integer 2 (8.5303353/4.2185174 = 2.022). The KIC 11495766 is a probable triple system with a 120.73 d period binary and (at least) one non-eclipse companion. Furthermore, very close to it in the celestial sphere, there is a blended background stellar binary of 8.3404432 d period. A first list of 25 eclipsing multiple candidates is presented, with the hope that it will be beneficial for study of eclipsing multiples.

Design and prototype results of the FAST detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mozzanica, A.; Basset, M.; Caccia, M.; Corradini, M.; Leali, M.; Lodi Rizzini, E.; Prest, M.; Venturelli, L.; Vallazza, E.; Zurlo, N.

2006-11-01

A new fiber tracker is being developed for the ASACUSA experiment at the Antiproton Decelerator at CERN. The detector is based on 1 mm diameter scintillating fibers readout by HAMAMATSU 64 channel multianode photomultipliers (MA-PMTs) connected to a dedicated electronic chain. The paper gives a description of the testing procedures for time resolution, spatial resolution and efficiency measurements performed with standard NIM electronics and a commercial TDC and reports the results for different prototype detectors.

Development of compact particle detectors for space based instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barner, Lindsey; Grove, Andrew; Mohler, Jacob; Sisson, Caleb; Roth, Alex; Kryemadhi, Abaz

2017-01-01

The Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are new photon-detectors which have been increasingly used in particle physics. Their small size, good single photon resolution, simple readout, and immunity to magnetic fields offers benefits compared to traditional photomultipliers. LYSO and CeBr3 crystals are relatively new scintillators with high stopping power, very good light yield and fast decay time. The response of these detectors to low energy gamma rays will be presented. NASA Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium.

Arterial Spin Labeling - Fast Imaging with Steady-State Free Precession (ASL-FISP): A Rapid and Quantitative Perfusion Technique for High Field MRI

PubMed Central

Gao, Ying; Goodnough, Candida L.; Erokwu, Bernadette O.; Farr, George W.; Darrah, Rebecca; Lu, Lan; Dell, Katherine M.; Yu, Xin; Flask, Chris A.

2014-01-01

Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) is a valuable non-contrast perfusion MRI technique with numerous clinical applications. Many previous ASL MRI studies have utilized either Echo-Planar Imaging (EPI) or True Fast Imaging with Steady-State Free Precession (True FISP) readouts that are prone to off-resonance artifacts on high field MRI scanners. We have developed a rapid ASL-FISP MRI acquisition for high field preclinical MRI scanners providing perfusion-weighted images with little or no artifacts in less than 2 seconds. In this initial implementation, a FAIR (Flow-Sensitive Alternating Inversion Recovery) ASL preparation was combined with a rapid, centrically-encoded FISP readout. Validation studies on healthy C57/BL6 mice provided consistent estimation of in vivo mouse brain perfusion at 7 T and 9.4 T (249±38 ml/min/100g and 241±17 ml/min/100g, respectively). The utility of this method was further demonstrated in detecting significant perfusion deficits in a C57/BL6 mouse model of ischemic stroke. Reasonable kidney perfusion estimates were also obtained for a healthy C57/BL6 mouse exhibiting differential perfusion in the renal cortex and medulla. Overall, the ASL-FISP technique provides a rapid and quantitative in vivo assessment of tissue perfusion for high field MRI scanners with minimal image artifacts. PMID:24891124

A 2D spiral turbo-spin-echo technique.

PubMed

Li, Zhiqiang; Karis, John P; Pipe, James G

2018-03-09

2D turbo-spin-echo (TSE) is widely used in the clinic for neuroimaging. However, the long refocusing radiofrequency pulse train leads to high specific absorption rate (SAR) and alters the contrast compared to conventional spin-echo. The purpose of this work is to develop a robust 2D spiral TSE technique for fast T 2 -weighted imaging with low SAR and improved contrast. A spiral-in/out readout is incorporated into 2D TSE to fully take advantage of the acquisition efficiency of spiral sampling while avoiding potential off-resonance-related artifacts compared to a typical spiral-out readout. A double encoding strategy and a signal demodulation method are proposed to mitigate the artifacts because of the T 2 -decay-induced signal variation. An adapted prescan phase correction as well as a concomitant phase compensation technique are implemented to minimize the phase errors. Phantom data demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed double encoding/signal demodulation, as well as the prescan phase correction and concomitant phase compensation. Volunteer data show that the proposed 2D spiral TSE achieves fast scan speed with high SNR, low SAR, and improved contrast compared to conventional Cartesian TSE. A robust 2D spiral TSE technique is feasible and provides a potential alternative to conventional 2D Cartesian TSE for T 2 -weighted neuroimaging. © 2018 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

The μ-RWELL: A compact, spark protected, single amplification-stage MPGD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poli Lener, M.; Bencivenni, G.; de Olivera, R.; Felici, G.; Franchino, S.; Gatta, M.; Maggi, M.; Morello, G.; Sharma, A.

2016-07-01

In this work we present two innovative architectures of resistive MPGDs based on the WELL-amplification concept: - the micro-Resistive WELL (μ-RWELL) is a compact spark-protected single amplification-stage Micro-Pattern Gas Detector (MPGD). The amplification stage, realized with a structure very similar to a GEM foil (called WELL), is embedded through a resistive layer in the readout board. A cathode electrode, defining the gas conversion/drift gap, completes the detector mechanics. The new architecture, showing an excellent space resolution, 50 μm, is a very compact device, robust against discharges and exhibiting a large gain (>104), simple to construct and easy for engineering and then suitable for large area tracking devices as well as digital calorimeters. - the Fast Timing Micro-pattern (FTM): a new device with an architecture based on a stack of several coupled full-resistive layers where drift and multiplication stages (WELL type) alternate in the structure. The signals from each multiplication stage can be read out from any external readout boards through the capacitive couplings, providing a signal with a gain of 104-105. The main advantage of this new device is the improvement of the timing provided by the competition of the ionization processes in the different drift regions, which can be exploited for fast timing at the high luminosity accelerators (e.g. HL-LHC upgrade) as well as for applications like medical imaging.

C-RED One and C-RED2: SWIR high-performance cameras using Saphira e-APD and Snake InGaAs detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gach, Jean-Luc; Feautrier, Philippe; Stadler, Eric; Clop, Fabien; Lemarchand, Stephane; Carmignani, Thomas; Wanwanscappel, Yann; Boutolleau, David

2018-02-01

After the development of the OCAM2 EMCCD fast visible camera dedicated to advanced adaptive optics wavefront sensing, First Light Imaging moved to the SWIR fast cameras with the development of the C-RED One and the C-RED 2 cameras. First Light Imaging's C-RED One infrared camera is capable of capturing up to 3500 full frames per second with a subelectron readout noise and very low background. C-RED One is based on the last version of the SAPHIRA detector developed by Leonardo UK. This breakthrough has been made possible thanks to the use of an e-APD infrared focal plane array which is a real disruptive technology in imagery. C-RED One is an autonomous system with an integrated cooling system and a vacuum regeneration system. It operates its sensor with a wide variety of read out techniques and processes video on-board thanks to an FPGA. We will show its performances and expose its main features. In addition to this project, First Light Imaging developed an InGaAs 640x512 fast camera with unprecedented performances in terms of noise, dark and readout speed based on the SNAKE SWIR detector from Sofradir. The camera was called C-RED 2. The C-RED 2 characteristics and performances will be described. The C-RED One project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement N° 673944. The C-RED 2 development is supported by the "Investments for the future" program and the Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur Region, in the frame of the CPER.

First results of the silicon telescope using an 'artificial retina' for fast track finding

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Neri, N.; Abba, A.; Caponio, F.

We present the first results of the prototype of a silicon tracker with trigger capabilities based on a novel approach for fast track finding. The working principle of the 'artificial retina' is inspired by the processing of visual images by the brain and it is based on extensive parallelization of data distribution and pattern recognition. The algorithm has been implemented in commercial FPGAs in three main logic modules: a switch for the routing of the detector hits, a pool of engines for the digital processing of the hits, and a block for the calculation of the track parameters. The architecturemore » is fully pipelined and allows the reconstruction of real-time tracks with a latency less then 100 clock cycles, corresponding to 0.25 microsecond at 400 MHz clock. The silicon telescope consists of 8 layers of single-sided silicon strip detectors with 512 strips each. The detector size is about 10 cm x 10 cm and the strip pitch is 183 μm. The detectors are read out by the Beetle chip, a custom ASICs developed for LHCb, which provides the measurement of the hit position and pulse height of 128 channels. The 'artificial retina' algorithm has been implemented on custom data acquisition boards based on FPGAs Xilinx Kintex 7 lx160. The parameters of the tracks detected are finally transferred to host PC via USB 3.0. The boards manage the read-out ASICs and the sampling of the analog channels. The read-out is performed at 40 MHz on 4 channels for each ASIC that corresponds to a decoding of the telescope information at 1.1 MHz. We report on the first results of the fast tracking device and compare with simulations. (authors)« less

Tidal breakup of triple stars in the Galactic Centre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fragione, Giacomo; Gualandris, Alessia

2018-04-01

The last decade has seen the detection of fast moving stars in the Galactic halo, the so-called hypervelocity stars (HVSs). While the bulk of this population is likely the result of a close encounter between a stellar binary and the supermassive black hole (MBH) in the Galactic Centre (GC), other mechanims may contribute fast stars to the sample. Few observed HVSs show apparent ages, which are shorter than the flight time from the GC, thereby making the binary disruption scenario unlikely. These stars may be the result of the breakup of a stellar triple in the GC, which led to the ejection of a hypervelocity binary (HVB). If such binary evolves into a blue straggler star due to internal processes after ejection, a rejuvenation is possible that make the star appear younger once detected in the halo. A triple disruption may also be responsible for the presence of HVBs, of which one candidate has now been observed. We present a numerical study of triple disruptions by the MBH in the GC and find that the most likely outcomes are the production of single HVSs and single/binary stars bound to the MBH, while the production of HVBs has a probability ≲ 1 per cent regardless of the initial parameters. Assuming a triple fraction of ≈ 10 per cent results in an ejection rate of ≲ 1 Gyr - 1, insufficient to explain the sample of HVSs with lifetimes shorter than their flight time. We conclude that alternative mechanisms are responsible for the origin of such objects and HVBs in general.

A Fast Framework for Abrupt Change Detection Based on Binary Search Trees and Kolmogorov Statistic

PubMed Central

Qi, Jin-Peng; Qi, Jie; Zhang, Qing

2016-01-01

Change-Point (CP) detection has attracted considerable attention in the fields of data mining and statistics; it is very meaningful to discuss how to quickly and efficiently detect abrupt change from large-scale bioelectric signals. Currently, most of the existing methods, like Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) statistic and so forth, are time-consuming, especially for large-scale datasets. In this paper, we propose a fast framework for abrupt change detection based on binary search trees (BSTs) and a modified KS statistic, named BSTKS (binary search trees and Kolmogorov statistic). In this method, first, two binary search trees, termed as BSTcA and BSTcD, are constructed by multilevel Haar Wavelet Transform (HWT); second, three search criteria are introduced in terms of the statistic and variance fluctuations in the diagnosed time series; last, an optimal search path is detected from the root to leaf nodes of two BSTs. The studies on both the synthetic time series samples and the real electroencephalograph (EEG) recordings indicate that the proposed BSTKS can detect abrupt change more quickly and efficiently than KS, t-statistic (t), and Singular-Spectrum Analyses (SSA) methods, with the shortest computation time, the highest hit rate, the smallest error, and the highest accuracy out of four methods. This study suggests that the proposed BSTKS is very helpful for useful information inspection on all kinds of bioelectric time series signals. PMID:27413364

A Fast Framework for Abrupt Change Detection Based on Binary Search Trees and Kolmogorov Statistic.

PubMed

Qi, Jin-Peng; Qi, Jie; Zhang, Qing

2016-01-01

Change-Point (CP) detection has attracted considerable attention in the fields of data mining and statistics; it is very meaningful to discuss how to quickly and efficiently detect abrupt change from large-scale bioelectric signals. Currently, most of the existing methods, like Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) statistic and so forth, are time-consuming, especially for large-scale datasets. In this paper, we propose a fast framework for abrupt change detection based on binary search trees (BSTs) and a modified KS statistic, named BSTKS (binary search trees and Kolmogorov statistic). In this method, first, two binary search trees, termed as BSTcA and BSTcD, are constructed by multilevel Haar Wavelet Transform (HWT); second, three search criteria are introduced in terms of the statistic and variance fluctuations in the diagnosed time series; last, an optimal search path is detected from the root to leaf nodes of two BSTs. The studies on both the synthetic time series samples and the real electroencephalograph (EEG) recordings indicate that the proposed BSTKS can detect abrupt change more quickly and efficiently than KS, t-statistic (t), and Singular-Spectrum Analyses (SSA) methods, with the shortest computation time, the highest hit rate, the smallest error, and the highest accuracy out of four methods. This study suggests that the proposed BSTKS is very helpful for useful information inspection on all kinds of bioelectric time series signals.

Prospects for gravitational wave astronomy with next generation large-scale pulsar timing arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yan; Mohanty, Soumya D.

2018-02-01

Next generation radio telescopes, namely the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) and the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), will revolutionize the pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) based gravitational wave (GW) searches. We review some of the characteristics of FAST and SKA, and the resulting PTAs, that are pertinent to the detection of gravitational wave signals from individual supermassive black hole binaries.

Design and performances of a low-noise and radiation-hardened readout ASIC for CdZnTe detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bo, Gan; Tingcun, Wei; Wu, Gao; Yongcai, Hu

2016-06-01

In this paper, we present the design and performances of a low-noise and radiation-hardened front-end readout application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) dedicated to CdZnTe detectors for a hard X-ray imager in space applications. The readout channel is comprised of a charge sensitive amplifier, a CR-RC shaping amplifier, an analog output buffer, a fast shaper, and a discriminator. An 8-channel prototype ASIC is designed and fabricated in TSMC 0.35-μm mixed-signal CMOS technology, the die size of the prototype chip is 2.2 × 2.2 mm2. The input energy range is from 5 to 350 keV. For this 8-channel prototype ASIC, the measured electrical characteristics are as follows: the overall gain of the readout channel is 210 V/pC, the linearity error is less than 2%, the crosstalk is less than 0.36%, The equivalent noise charge of a typical channel is 52.9 e- at zero farad plus 8.2 e- per picofarad, and the power consumption is less than 2.4 mW/channel. Through the measurement together with a CdZnTe detector, the energy resolution is 5.9% at the 59.5-keV line under the irradiation of the radioactive source 241Am. The radiation effect experiments show that the proposed ASIC can resist the total ionization dose (TID) irradiation of higher than 200 krad(Si). Project supported by the National Key Scientific Instrument and Equipment Development Project (No. 2011YQ040082), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 11475136, 11575144, 61176094), and the Shaanxi Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 2015JM1016).

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Groot, Paul J., E-mail: pgroot@astro.ru.nl

In eclipsing binaries the stellar rotation of the two components will cause a rotational Doppler beaming during eclipse ingress and egress when only part of the eclipsed component is covered. For eclipsing binaries with fast spinning components this photometric analog of the well-known spectroscopic Rossiter-McLaughlin effect can exceed the strength of the orbital effect. Example light curves are shown for a detached double white dwarf binary, a massive O-star binary and a transiting exoplanet case, similar to WASP-33b. Inclusion of the rotational Doppler beaming in eclipsing systems is a prerequisite for deriving the correct stellar parameters from fitting high-quality photometricmore » light curves and can be used to determine stellar obliquities as well as, e.g., an independent measure of the rotational velocity in those systems that may be expected to be fully synchronized.« less

A Novel Partial Sequence Alignment Tool for Finding Large Deletions

PubMed Central

Aruk, Taner; Ustek, Duran; Kursun, Olcay

2012-01-01

Finding large deletions in genome sequences has become increasingly more useful in bioinformatics, such as in clinical research and diagnosis. Although there are a number of publically available next generation sequencing mapping and sequence alignment programs, these software packages do not correctly align fragments containing deletions larger than one kb. We present a fast alignment software package, BinaryPartialAlign, that can be used by wet lab scientists to find long structural variations in their experiments. For BinaryPartialAlign, we make use of the Smith-Waterman (SW) algorithm with a binary-search-based approach for alignment with large gaps that we called partial alignment. BinaryPartialAlign implementation is compared with other straight-forward applications of SW. Simulation results on mtDNA fragments demonstrate the effectiveness (runtime and accuracy) of the proposed method. PMID:22566777

Texture Classification by Texton: Statistical versus Binary

PubMed Central

Guo, Zhenhua; Zhang, Zhongcheng; Li, Xiu; Li, Qin; You, Jane

2014-01-01

Using statistical textons for texture classification has shown great success recently. The maximal response 8 (Statistical_MR8), image patch (Statistical_Joint) and locally invariant fractal (Statistical_Fractal) are typical statistical texton algorithms and state-of-the-art texture classification methods. However, there are two limitations when using these methods. First, it needs a training stage to build a texton library, thus the recognition accuracy will be highly depended on the training samples; second, during feature extraction, local feature is assigned to a texton by searching for the nearest texton in the whole library, which is time consuming when the library size is big and the dimension of feature is high. To address the above two issues, in this paper, three binary texton counterpart methods were proposed, Binary_MR8, Binary_Joint, and Binary_Fractal. These methods do not require any training step but encode local feature into binary representation directly. The experimental results on the CUReT, UIUC and KTH-TIPS databases show that binary texton could get sound results with fast feature extraction, especially when the image size is not big and the quality of image is not poor. PMID:24520346

On the unreasonable effectiveness of the post-Newtonian approximation in gravitational physics

PubMed Central

Will, Clifford M.

2011-01-01

The post-Newtonian approximation is a method for solving Einstein’s field equations for physical systems in which motions are slow compared to the speed of light and where gravitational fields are weak. Yet it has proven to be remarkably effective in describing certain strong-field, fast-motion systems, including binary pulsars containing dense neutron stars and binary black hole systems inspiraling toward a final merger. The reasons for this effectiveness are largely unknown. When carried to high orders in the post-Newtonian sequence, predictions for the gravitational-wave signal from inspiraling compact binaries will play a key role in gravitational-wave detection by laser-interferometric observatories. PMID:21447714

Optimization of CMOS image sensor utilizing variable temporal multisampling partial transfer technique to achieve full-frame high dynamic range with superior low light and stop motion capability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kabir, Salman; Smith, Craig; Armstrong, Frank; Barnard, Gerrit; Schneider, Alex; Guidash, Michael; Vogelsang, Thomas; Endsley, Jay

2018-03-01

Differential binary pixel technology is a threshold-based timing, readout, and image reconstruction method that utilizes the subframe partial charge transfer technique in a standard four-transistor (4T) pixel CMOS image sensor to achieve a high dynamic range video with stop motion. This technology improves low light signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) by up to 21 dB. The method is verified in silicon using a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's 65 nm 1.1 μm pixel technology 1 megapixel test chip array and is compared with a traditional 4 × oversampling technique using full charge transfer to show low light SNR superiority of the presented technology.

A fast learning method for large scale and multi-class samples of SVM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Yu; Guo, Huiming

2017-06-01

A multi-class classification SVM(Support Vector Machine) fast learning method based on binary tree is presented to solve its low learning efficiency when SVM processing large scale multi-class samples. This paper adopts bottom-up method to set up binary tree hierarchy structure, according to achieved hierarchy structure, sub-classifier learns from corresponding samples of each node. During the learning, several class clusters are generated after the first clustering of the training samples. Firstly, central points are extracted from those class clusters which just have one type of samples. For those which have two types of samples, cluster numbers of their positive and negative samples are set respectively according to their mixture degree, secondary clustering undertaken afterwards, after which, central points are extracted from achieved sub-class clusters. By learning from the reduced samples formed by the integration of extracted central points above, sub-classifiers are obtained. Simulation experiment shows that, this fast learning method, which is based on multi-level clustering, can guarantee higher classification accuracy, greatly reduce sample numbers and effectively improve learning efficiency.

Study the performance of LYSO and CeBr3 crystals using Silicon Photomultipliers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kryemadhi, Abaz

2016-03-01

The Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are novel photon-detectors which have been progressively found their use in particle physics. Their small size, good single photon resolution, simple readout, and immunity to magnetic fields offers advantages compared to traditional photomultipliers. LYSO and CeBr3 crystals are relatively new scintillators with high light yield and fast decay time. The response of these detectors to low energy gamma rays and cosmic ray muons will be presented. Messiah College Workload Reallocation Program.

Two-qubit gates and coupling with low-impedance flux qubits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chow, Jerry; Corcoles, Antonio; Rigetti, Chad; Rozen, Jim; Keefe, George; Rothwell, Mary-Beth; Rohrs, John; Borstelmann, Mark; Divincenzo, David; Ketchen, Mark; Steffen, Matthias

2011-03-01

We experimentally demonstrate the coupling of two low-impedance flux qubits mediated via a transmission line resonator. We explore the viability of experimental coupling protocols which involve selective microwave driving on the qubits independently as well as fast frequency tuning through on-chip flux-bias. Pulse-shaping techniques for single-qubit and two-qubit gates are employed for reducing unwanted leakage and phase errors. A joint readout through the transmission line resonator is used for characterizing single-qubit and two-qubit states.

The design and performance of the ZEUS Central Tracking Detector z-by-timing system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bailey, D. S.; Foster, B.; Heath, G. P.; Morgado, C. J. S.; Harnew, N.; Khatri, T.; Lancaster, M.; McArthur, I. C.; McFall, J. D.; Nash, J.; Shield, P. D.; Topp-Jorgensen, S.; Wilson, F. F.; Carter, R. C.; Jeffs, M. D.; Milborrow, R.; Morrissey, M. C.; Phillips, D. A.; Quinton, S. P. H.; Westlake, G.; White, D. J.; Lane, J. B.; Nixon, G.; Postranecky, M.

1997-02-01

The ZEUS Central Tracking Detector utilizes a time difference measurement to provide a fast determination of the z coordinate of each hit. The z-by-timing measurement is achieved by using a Time-to-Amplitude Converter which has an intrinsic timing resolution of 36 ps, has pipelined readout, and has a multihit capability of 48 ns. In order to maintain the required sub-nanosecond timing accuracy, the technique incorporates an automated self-calibration system. The readout of the z-by-timing data utilizes a fully customized timing control system which runs synchronously with the HERA beam-crossing clock, and a data acquisition system implemented on a network of Transputers. Three dimensional space-points provided by the z-by-timing system are used as input to all three levels of the ZEUS trigger and for offline track reconstruction. The average z resolution is determined to be 4.4 cm for multi-track events from positron-proton collisions in the ZEUS detector.

Technique for positioning hologram for balancing large data capacity with fast readout

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shimada, Ken-ichi; Hosaka, Makoto; Yamazaki, Kazuyoshi; Onoe, Shinsuke; Ide, Tatsuro

2017-09-01

The technical difficulty of balancing large data capacity with a high data transfer rate in holographic data storage systems (HDSSs) is significantly high because of tight tolerances for physical perturbation. From a system margin perspective in terabyte-class HDSSs, the positioning error of a holographic disc should be within about 10 µm to ensure high readout quality. Furthermore, fine control of the positioning should be accomplished within a time frame of about 10 ms for a high data transfer rate of the Gbps class, while a conventional method based on servo control of spindle or sled motors can rarely satisfy the requirement. In this study, a new compensation method for the effect of positioning error, which precisely controls the positioning of a Nyquist aperture instead of a holographic disc, has been developed. The method relaxes the markedly low positional tolerance of a holographic disc. Moreover, owing to the markedly light weight of the aperture, positioning control within the required time frame becomes feasible.

A readout circuit dedicated for the detection of chemiluminescence using a silicon photomultiplier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baszczyk, M.; Dorosz, P.; Mik, L.; Kucewicz, W.; Reczynski, W.; Sapor, M.

2018-05-01

A readout circuit dedicated for the detection of the chemiluminescence phenomenon using a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) is presented. During chemiluminescence, light is generated as a result of chemical reaction. Chemiluminescence is used in many applications within medicine, chemistry, biology and biotechnology, and is one of the most important sensing techniques in biomedical science and clinical medicine. The front-end electronics consist of a preamplifier and a fast shaper—this produces pulses, the peaking time which is 3.6 ns for a single photon and the FWHM is 3.8 ns. The system has been optimised to measure chemiluminescence—it is sensitive at the level of single photons, it generates a low number of overlapping pulses and is accurate. Two methods of signal detection are analysed and compared: the counting of events and amplitude detection. The relationship between the chemiluminescence light intensity and the concentration of the chemical compound (luminol) is linear in the range of the tested concentrations and has strong linearity parameters and low prediction intervals.

All optical quantum control of a spin-quantum state and ultrafast transduction into an electric current.

PubMed

Müller, K; Kaldewey, T; Ripszam, R; Wildmann, J S; Bechtold, A; Bichler, M; Koblmüller, G; Abstreiter, G; Finley, J J

2013-01-01

The ability to control and exploit quantum coherence and entanglement drives research across many fields ranging from ultra-cold quantum gases to spin systems in condensed matter. Transcending different physical systems, optical approaches have proven themselves to be particularly powerful, since they profit from the established toolbox of quantum optical techniques, are state-selective, contact-less and can be extremely fast. Here, we demonstrate how a precisely timed sequence of monochromatic ultrafast (~ 2-5 ps) optical pulses, with a well defined polarisation can be used to prepare arbitrary superpositions of exciton spin states in a semiconductor quantum dot, achieve ultrafast control of the spin-wavefunction without an applied magnetic field and make high fidelity read-out the quantum state in an arbitrary basis simply by detecting a strong (~ 2-10 pA) electric current flowing in an external circuit. The results obtained show that the combined quantum state preparation, control and read-out can be performed with a near-unity (≥97%) fidelity.

Recent progress and development of a speedster-EXD: a new event-triggered hybrid CMOS x-ray detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Griffith, Christopher V.; Falcone, Abraham D.; Prieskorn, Zachary R.; Burrows, David N.

2015-08-01

We present the characterization of a new event-driven X-ray hybrid CMOS detector developed by Penn State University in collaboration with Teledyne Imaging Sensors. Along with its low susceptibility to radiation damage, low power consumption, and fast readout time to avoid pile-up, the Speedster-EXD has been designed with the capability to limit its readout to only those pixels containing charge, thus enabling even faster effective frame rates. The threshold for the comparator in each pixel can be set by the user so that only pixels with signal above the set threshold are read out. The Speedster-EXD hybrid CMOS detector also has two new in-pixel features that reduce noise from known noise sources: (1) a low-noise, high-gain CTIA amplifier to eliminate crosstalk from interpixel capacitance (IPC) and (2) in-pixel CDS subtraction to reduce kTC noise. We present the read noise, dark current, IPC, energy resolution, and gain variation measurements of one Speedster-EXD detector.

Read-out of emotional information from iconic memory: the longevity of threatening stimuli.

PubMed

Kuhbandner, Christof; Spitzer, Bernhard; Pekrun, Reinhard

2011-05-01

Previous research has shown that emotional stimuli are more likely than neutral stimuli to be selected by attention, indicating that the processing of emotional information is prioritized. In this study, we examined whether the emotional significance of stimuli influences visual processing already at the level of transient storage of incoming information in iconic memory, before attentional selection takes place. We used a typical iconic memory task in which the delay of a poststimulus cue, indicating which of several visual stimuli has to be reported, was varied. Performance decreased rapidly with increasing cue delay, reflecting the fast decay of information stored in iconic memory. However, although neutral stimulus information and emotional stimulus information were initially equally likely to enter iconic memory, the subsequent decay of the initially stored information was slowed for threatening stimuli, a result indicating that fear-relevant information has prolonged availability for read-out from iconic memory. This finding provides the first evidence that emotional significance already facilitates stimulus processing at the stage of iconic memory.

A versatile small form factor twisted-pair TFC FMC for MTCA AMCs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meder, L.; Lebedev, J.; Becker, J.

2017-03-01

In continuous readout systems of particle physics experiments, the provision of a common clock and time reference and the distribution of critical low latency messages to the processing and fronted layers of the readout are crucial tasks. In the context of the Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment, a versatile small form factor Timing and Fast-Control (TFC) interfacing FPGA Mezzanine Card (FMC) was developed, offering bidirectional twisted-pair (TP) links for the communication between TFC nodes. Also a versatile clocking including voltage controlled oscillators and a connection to the telecommunication clock lines of mTCA crates are available. Being designed for both TFC Master and Slaves, the card allows rapid system developments without additional Slave hardware circuits. Measurements show that it is possible to transmit over cable lengths of 25 m at a rate of 240 Mbit/s for all data channels simultaneously. A TFC Master-Slave system using two of these cards can be synchronized with a precision of ±10 ps to an user-defined phase setpoint.

ePix: a class of architectures for second generation LCLS cameras

DOE PAGES

Dragone, A.; Caragiulo, P.; Markovic, B.; ...

2014-03-31

ePix is a novel class of ASIC architectures, based on a common platform, optimized to build modular scalable detectors for LCLS. The platform architecture is composed of a random access analog matrix of pixel with global shutter, fast parallel column readout, and dedicated sigma-delta analog-to-digital converters per column. It also implements a dedicated control interface and all the required support electronics to perform configuration, calibration and readout of the matrix. Based on this platform a class of front-end ASICs and several camera modules, meeting different requirements, can be developed by designing specific pixel architectures. This approach reduces development time andmore » expands the possibility of integration of detector modules with different size, shape or functionality in the same camera. The ePix platform is currently under development together with the first two integrating pixel architectures: ePix100 dedicated to ultra low noise applications and ePix10k for high dynamic range applications.« less

ePix100 camera: Use and applications at LCLS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carini, G. A., E-mail: carini@slac.stanford.edu; Alonso-Mori, R.; Blaj, G.

2016-07-27

The ePix100 x-ray camera is a new system designed and built at SLAC for experiments at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). The camera is the first member of a family of detectors built around a single hardware and software platform, supporting a variety of front-end chips. With a readout speed of 120 Hz, matching the LCLS repetition rate, a noise lower than 80 e-rms and pixels of 50 µm × 50 µm, this camera offers a viable alternative to fast readout, direct conversion, scientific CCDs in imaging mode. The detector, designed for applications such as X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopymore » (XPCS) and wavelength dispersive X-ray Emission Spectroscopy (XES) in the energy range from 2 to 10 keV and above, comprises up to 0.5 Mpixels in a very compact form factor. In this paper, we report the performance of the camera during its first use at LCLS.« less

Measurement-free implementations of small-scale surface codes for quantum-dot qubits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ercan, H. Ekmel; Ghosh, Joydip; Crow, Daniel; Premakumar, Vickram N.; Joynt, Robert; Friesen, Mark; Coppersmith, S. N.

2018-01-01

The performance of quantum-error-correction schemes depends sensitively on the physical realizations of the qubits and the implementations of various operations. For example, in quantum-dot spin qubits, readout is typically much slower than gate operations, and conventional surface-code implementations that rely heavily on syndrome measurements could therefore be challenging. However, fast and accurate reset of quantum-dot qubits, without readout, can be achieved via tunneling to a reservoir. Here we propose small-scale surface-code implementations for which syndrome measurements are replaced by a combination of Toffoli gates and qubit reset. For quantum-dot qubits, this enables much faster error correction than measurement-based schemes, but requires additional ancilla qubits and non-nearest-neighbor interactions. We have performed numerical simulations of two different coding schemes, obtaining error thresholds on the orders of 10-2 for a one-dimensional architecture that only corrects bit-flip errors and 10-4 for a two-dimensional architecture that corrects bit- and phase-flip errors.

Low-Latency Digital Signal Processing for Feedback and Feedforward in Quantum Computing and Communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salathé, Yves; Kurpiers, Philipp; Karg, Thomas; Lang, Christian; Andersen, Christian Kraglund; Akin, Abdulkadir; Krinner, Sebastian; Eichler, Christopher; Wallraff, Andreas

2018-03-01

Quantum computing architectures rely on classical electronics for control and readout. Employing classical electronics in a feedback loop with the quantum system allows us to stabilize states, correct errors, and realize specific feedforward-based quantum computing and communication schemes such as deterministic quantum teleportation. These feedback and feedforward operations are required to be fast compared to the coherence time of the quantum system to minimize the probability of errors. We present a field-programmable-gate-array-based digital signal processing system capable of real-time quadrature demodulation, a determination of the qubit state, and a generation of state-dependent feedback trigger signals. The feedback trigger is generated with a latency of 110 ns with respect to the timing of the analog input signal. We characterize the performance of the system for an active qubit initialization protocol based on the dispersive readout of a superconducting qubit and discuss potential applications in feedback and feedforward algorithms.

Recording and reading of information on optical disks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouwhuis, G.; Braat, J. J. M.

In the storage of information, related to video programs, in a spiral track on a disk, difficulties arise because the bandwidth for video is much greater than for audio signals. An attractive solution was found in optical storage. The optical noncontact method is free of wear, and allows for fast random access. Initial problems regarding a suitable light source could be overcome with the aid of appropriate laser devices. The basic concepts of optical storage on disks are treated insofar as they are relevant for the optical arrangement. A general description is provided of a video, a digital audio, and a data storage system. Scanning spot microscopy for recording and reading of optical disks is discussed, giving attention to recording of the signal, the readout of optical disks, the readout of digitally encoded signals, and cross talk. Tracking systems are also considered, taking into account the generation of error signals for radial tracking and the generation of focus error signals.

Image processing system design for microcantilever-based optical readout infrared arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tong, Qiang; Dong, Liquan; Zhao, Yuejin; Gong, Cheng; Liu, Xiaohua; Yu, Xiaomei; Yang, Lei; Liu, Weiyu

2012-12-01

Compared with the traditional infrared imaging technology, the new type of optical-readout uncooled infrared imaging technology based on MEMS has many advantages, such as low cost, small size, producing simple. In addition, the theory proves that the technology's high thermal detection sensitivity. So it has a very broad application prospects in the field of high performance infrared detection. The paper mainly focuses on an image capturing and processing system in the new type of optical-readout uncooled infrared imaging technology based on MEMS. The image capturing and processing system consists of software and hardware. We build our image processing core hardware platform based on TI's high performance DSP chip which is the TMS320DM642, and then design our image capturing board based on the MT9P031. MT9P031 is Micron's company high frame rate, low power consumption CMOS chip. Last we use Intel's company network transceiver devices-LXT971A to design the network output board. The software system is built on the real-time operating system DSP/BIOS. We design our video capture driver program based on TI's class-mini driver and network output program based on the NDK kit for image capturing and processing and transmitting. The experiment shows that the system has the advantages of high capturing resolution and fast processing speed. The speed of the network transmission is up to 100Mbps.

Lab-on-a-disc agglutination assay for protein detection by optomagnetic readout and optical imaging using nano- and micro-sized magnetic beads.

PubMed

Uddin, Rokon; Burger, Robert; Donolato, Marco; Fock, Jeppe; Creagh, Michael; Hansen, Mikkel Fougt; Boisen, Anja

2016-11-15

We present a biosensing platform for the detection of proteins based on agglutination of aptamer coated magnetic nano- or microbeads. The assay, from sample to answer, is integrated on an automated, low-cost microfluidic disc platform. This ensures fast and reliable results due to a minimum of manual steps involved. The detection of the target protein was achieved in two ways: (1) optomagnetic readout using magnetic nanobeads (MNBs); (2) optical imaging using magnetic microbeads (MMBs). The optomagnetic readout of agglutination is based on optical measurement of the dynamics of MNB aggregates whereas the imaging method is based on direct visualization and quantification of the average size of MMB aggregates. By enhancing magnetic particle agglutination via application of strong magnetic field pulses, we obtained identical limits of detection of 25pM with the same sample-to-answer time (15min 30s) using the two differently sized beads for the two detection methods. In both cases a sample volume of only 10µl is required. The demonstrated automation, low sample-to-answer time and portability of both detection instruments as well as integration of the assay on a low-cost disc are important steps for the implementation of these as portable tools in an out-of-lab setting. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Novel screening techniques for ion channel targeting drugs

PubMed Central

Obergrussberger, Alison; Stölzle-Feix, Sonja; Becker, Nadine; Brüggemann, Andrea; Fertig, Niels; Möller, Clemens

2015-01-01

Ion channels are integral membrane proteins that regulate the flux of ions across the cell membrane. They are involved in nearly all physiological processes, and malfunction of ion channels has been linked to many diseases. Until recently, high-throughput screening of ion channels was limited to indirect, e.g. fluorescence-based, readout technologies. In the past years, direct label-free biophysical readout technologies by means of electrophysiology have been developed. Planar patch-clamp electrophysiology provides a direct functional label-free readout of ion channel function in medium to high throughput. Further electrophysiology features, including temperature control and higher-throughput instruments, are continually being developed. Electrophysiological screening in a 384-well format has recently become possible. Advances in chip and microfluidic design, as well as in cell preparation and handling, have allowed challenging cell types to be studied by automated patch clamp. Assays measuring action potentials in stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes, relevant for cardiac safety screening, and neuronal cells, as well as a large number of different ion channels, including fast ligand-gated ion channels, have successfully been established by automated patch clamp. Impedance and multi-electrode array measurements are particularly suitable for studying cardiomyocytes and neuronal cells within their physiological network, and to address more complex physiological questions. This article discusses recent advances in electrophysiological technologies available for screening ion channel function and regulation. PMID:26556400

Novel screening techniques for ion channel targeting drugs.

PubMed

Obergrussberger, Alison; Stölzle-Feix, Sonja; Becker, Nadine; Brüggemann, Andrea; Fertig, Niels; Möller, Clemens

2015-01-01

Ion channels are integral membrane proteins that regulate the flux of ions across the cell membrane. They are involved in nearly all physiological processes, and malfunction of ion channels has been linked to many diseases. Until recently, high-throughput screening of ion channels was limited to indirect, e.g. fluorescence-based, readout technologies. In the past years, direct label-free biophysical readout technologies by means of electrophysiology have been developed. Planar patch-clamp electrophysiology provides a direct functional label-free readout of ion channel function in medium to high throughput. Further electrophysiology features, including temperature control and higher-throughput instruments, are continually being developed. Electrophysiological screening in a 384-well format has recently become possible. Advances in chip and microfluidic design, as well as in cell preparation and handling, have allowed challenging cell types to be studied by automated patch clamp. Assays measuring action potentials in stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes, relevant for cardiac safety screening, and neuronal cells, as well as a large number of different ion channels, including fast ligand-gated ion channels, have successfully been established by automated patch clamp. Impedance and multi-electrode array measurements are particularly suitable for studying cardiomyocytes and neuronal cells within their physiological network, and to address more complex physiological questions. This article discusses recent advances in electrophysiological technologies available for screening ion channel function and regulation.

Compact Binary Mergers and the Event Rate of Fast Radio Bursts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Xiao-Feng; Yu, Yun-Wei; Zhou, Xia

2018-05-01

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are usually suggested to be associated with mergers of compact binaries consisting of white dwarfs (WDs), neutron stars (NSs), or black holes (BHs). We test these models by fitting the observational distributions in both redshift and isotropic energy of 22 Parkes FRBs, where, as usual, the rates of compact binary mergers (CBMs) are connected with cosmic star formation rates by a power-law distributed time delay. It is found that the observational distributions can well be produced by the CBM model with a characteristic delay time from several tens to several hundreds of megayears and an energy function index 1.2 ≲ γ ≲ 1.7, where a tentative fixed spectral index β = 0.8 is adopted for all FRBs. Correspondingly, the local event rate of FRBs is constrained to {(3{--}6)× {10}4{f}{{b}}-1({ \\mathcal T }/270{{s}})}-1{({ \\mathcal A }/2π )}-1 {Gpc}}-3 {yr}}-1 for an adopted minimum FRB energy of E min = 3 × 1039 erg, where f b is the beaming factor of the radiation, { \\mathcal T } is the duration of each pointing observation, and { \\mathcal A } is the sky area of the survey. This event rate, about an order of magnitude higher than the rates of NS–NS/NS–BH mergers, indicates that the most promising origin of FRBs in the CBM scenario could be mergers of WD–WD binaries. Here a massive WD could be produced since no FRB was found to be associated with an SN Ia. Alternatively, if all FRBs can repeat on a timescale much longer than the period of current observations, then they could also originate from a young active NS that forms from relatively rare NS–NS mergers and accretion-induced collapses of WD–WD binaries.

The EB factory project. I. A fast, neural-net-based, general purpose light curve classifier optimized for eclipsing binaries

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Paegert, Martin; Stassun, Keivan G.; Burger, Dan M.

2014-08-01

We describe a new neural-net-based light curve classifier and provide it with documentation as a ready-to-use tool for the community. While optimized for identification and classification of eclipsing binary stars, the classifier is general purpose, and has been developed for speed in the context of upcoming massive surveys such as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. A challenge for classifiers in the context of neural-net training and massive data sets is to minimize the number of parameters required to describe each light curve. We show that a simple and fast geometric representation that encodes the overall light curve shape, together withmore » a chi-square parameter to capture higher-order morphology information results in efficient yet robust light curve classification, especially for eclipsing binaries. Testing the classifier on the ASAS light curve database, we achieve a retrieval rate of 98% and a false-positive rate of 2% for eclipsing binaries. We achieve similarly high retrieval rates for most other periodic variable-star classes, including RR Lyrae, Mira, and delta Scuti. However, the classifier currently has difficulty discriminating between different sub-classes of eclipsing binaries, and suffers a relatively low (∼60%) retrieval rate for multi-mode delta Cepheid stars. We find that it is imperative to train the classifier's neural network with exemplars that include the full range of light curve quality to which the classifier will be expected to perform; the classifier performs well on noisy light curves only when trained with noisy exemplars. The classifier source code, ancillary programs, a trained neural net, and a guide for use, are provided.« less

A fast event preprocessor for the Simbol-X Low-Energy Detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schanz, T.; Tenzer, C.; Kendziorra, E.; Santangelo, A.

2008-07-01

The Simbol-X1 Low Energy Detector (LED), a 128 × 128 pixel DEPFET array, will be read out very fast (8000 frames/second). This requires a very fast onboard data preprocessing of the raw data. We present an FPGA based Event Preprocessor (EPP) which can fulfill this requirements. The design is developed in the hardware description language VHDL and can be later ported on an ASIC technology. The EPP performs a pixel related offset correction and can apply different energy thresholds to each pixel of the frame. It also provides a line related common-mode correction to reduce noise that is unavoidably caused by the analog readout chip of the DEPFET. An integrated pattern detector can block all invalid pixel patterns. The EPP has an internal pipeline structure and can perform all operation in realtime (< 2 μs per line of 64 pixel) with a base clock frequency of 100 MHz. It is utilizing a fast median-value detection algorithm for common-mode correction and a new pattern scanning algorithm to select only valid events. Both new algorithms were developed during the last year at our institute.

Clustering for Binary Data Sets by Using Genetic Algorithm-Incremental K-means

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saharan, S.; Baragona, R.; Nor, M. E.; Salleh, R. M.; Asrah, N. M.

2018-04-01

This research was initially driven by the lack of clustering algorithms that specifically focus in binary data. To overcome this gap in knowledge, a promising technique for analysing this type of data became the main subject in this research, namely Genetic Algorithms (GA). For the purpose of this research, GA was combined with the Incremental K-means (IKM) algorithm to cluster the binary data streams. In GAIKM, the objective function was based on a few sufficient statistics that may be easily and quickly calculated on binary numbers. The implementation of IKM will give an advantage in terms of fast convergence. The results show that GAIKM is an efficient and effective new clustering algorithm compared to the clustering algorithms and to the IKM itself. In conclusion, the GAIKM outperformed other clustering algorithms such as GCUK, IKM, Scalable K-means (SKM) and K-means clustering and paves the way for future research involving missing data and outliers.

Algorithms for searching Fast radio bursts and pulsars in tight binary systems.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zackay, Barak

2017-01-01

Fast radio bursts (FRB's) are an exciting, recently discovered, astrophysical transients which their origins are unknown.Currently, these bursts are believed to be coming from cosmological distances, allowing us to probe the electron content on cosmological length scales. Even though their precise localization is crucial for the determination of their origin, radio interferometers were not extensively employed in searching for them due to computational limitations.I will briefly present the Fast Dispersion Measure Transform (FDMT) algorithm,that allows to reduce the operation count in blind incoherent dedispersion by 2-3 orders of magnitude.In addition, FDMT enables to probe the unexplored domain of sub-microsecond astrophysical pulses.Pulsars in tight binary systems are among the most important astrophysical objects as they provide us our best tests of general relativity in the strong field regime.I will provide a preview to a novel algorithm that enables the detection of pulsars in short binary systems using observation times longer than an orbital period.Current pulsar search programs limit their searches for integration times shorter than a few percents of the orbital period.Until now, searching for pulsars in binary systems using observation times longer than an orbital period was considered impossible as one has to blindly enumerate all options for the Keplerian parameters, the pulsar rotation period, and the unknown DM.Using the current state of the art pulsar search techniques and all computers on the earth, such an enumeration would take longer than a Hubble time. I will demonstrate that using the new algorithm, it is possible to conduct such an enumeration on a laptop using real data of the double pulsar PSR J0737-3039.Among the other applications of this algorithm are:1) Searching for all pulsars on all sky positions in gamma ray observations of the Fermi LAT satellite.2) Blind searching for continuous gravitational wave sources emitted by pulsars with non-axis-symmetric matter distribution.Previous attempts to conduct all of the above searches contained substantial sensitivity compromises.

The DCU: the detector control unit for SPICA-SAFARI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clénet, Antoine; Ravera, Laurent; Bertrand, Bernard; den Hartog, Roland H.; Jackson, Brian D.; van Leeuven, Bert-Joost; van Loon, Dennis; Parot, Yann; Pointecouteau, Etienne; Sournac, Anthony

2014-08-01

IRAP is developing the warm electronic, so called Detector Control Unit" (DCU), in charge of the readout of the SPICA-SAFARI's TES type detectors. The architecture of the electronics used to readout the 3 500 sensors of the 3 focal plane arrays is based on the frequency domain multiplexing technique (FDM). In each of the 24 detection channels the data of up to 160 pixels are multiplexed in frequency domain between 1 and 3:3 MHz. The DCU provides the AC signals to voltage-bias the detectors; it demodulates the detectors data which are readout in the cold by a SQUID; and it computes a feedback signal for the SQUID to linearize the detection chain in order to optimize its dynamic range. The feedback is computed with a specific technique, so called baseband feedback (BBFB) which ensures that the loop is stable even with long propagation and processing delays (i.e. several µs) and with fast signals (i.e. frequency carriers at 3:3 MHz). This digital signal processing is complex and has to be done at the same time for the 3 500 pixels. It thus requires an optimisation of the power consumption. We took the advantage of the relatively reduced science signal bandwidth (i.e. 20 - 40 Hz) to decouple the signal sampling frequency (10 MHz) and the data processing rate. Thanks to this method we managed to reduce the total number of operations per second and thus the power consumption of the digital processing circuit by a factor of 10. Moreover we used time multiplexing techniques to share the resources of the circuit (e.g. a single BBFB module processes 32 pixels). The current version of the firmware is under validation in a Xilinx Virtex 5 FPGA, the final version will be developed in a space qualified digital ASIC. Beyond the firmware architecture the optimization of the instrument concerns the characterization routines and the definition of the optimal parameters. Indeed the operation of the detection and readout chains requires to properly define more than 17 500 parameters (about 5 parameters per pixel). Thus it is mandatory to work out an automatic procedure to set up these optimal values. We defined a fast algorithm which characterizes the phase correction to be applied by the BBFB firmware and the pixel resonance frequencies. We also defined a technique to define the AC-carrier initial phases in such a way that the amplitude of their sum is minimized (for a better use of the DAC dynamic range).

Evaluation of a clinical TOF-PET detector design that achieves ⩽100 ps coincidence time resolution.

PubMed

Cates, Joshua W; Levin, Craig S

2018-06-07

Commercially available clinical positron emission tomography (PET) detectors employ scintillation crystals that are long ([Formula: see text]20 mm length) and narrow (4-5 mm width) optically coupled on their narrow end to a photosensor. The aspect ratio of this traditional crystal rod configuration and 511 keV photon attenuation properties yield significant variances in scintillation light collection efficiency and transit time to the photodetector, due to variations in the 511 keV photon interaction depth in the crystal. These variances contribute significant to coincidence time resolution degradation. If instead, crystals are coupled to a photosensor on their long side, near-complete light collection efficiency can be achieved, and scintillation photon transit time jitter is reduced. In this work, we compare the achievable coincidence time resolution (CTR) of LGSO:Ce(0.025 mol%) crystals 3-20 mm in length when optically coupled to silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) on either their short end or long side face. In this 'side readout' configuration, a CTR of 102  ±  2 ps FWHM was measured with [Formula: see text] mm 3 crystals coupled to rows of [Formula: see text] mm 2 SensL-J SiPMs using leading edge time pickoff and a single timing channel. This is in contrast to a CTR of 137  ±  3 ps FWHM when the same crystals were coupled to single [Formula: see text] mm 2 SiPMs on their narrow ends. We further study the statistical limit on CTR using side readout via the Cramér-Rao lower bound (CRLB), with consideration given to ongoing work to further improve photosensor technologies and exploit fast phenomena to ultimately achieve 10 ps FWHM CTR. Potential design aspects of scalable front-end signal processing readout electronics using this side readout configuration are discussed. Altogether, we demonstrate that the side readout configuration offers an immediate solution for 100 ps CTR clinical PET detectors and mitigates factors prohibiting future efforts to achieve 10 ps FWHM CTR.

Cathodochromic storage device

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bosomworth, D. R.; Moles, W. H.

1969-01-01

A memory and display device has been developed by combing a fast phosphor layer with a cathodochromic layer in a cathode ray tube. Images are stored as patterns of electron beam induced optical density in the cathodo-chromic material. The stored information is recovered by exciting the backing, fast phosphor layer with a constant current electron beam and detecting the emitted radiation which is modulated by absorption in the cathodochromic layer. The storage can be accomplished in one or more TV frames (1/30 sec each). More than 500 TV line resolution and close to 2:1 contrast ratio are possible. The information storage time in a dark environment is approximately 24 hours. A reconstituted (readout) electronic video signal can be generated continuously for times in excess of 10 minutes or periodically for several hours.

A Fast EM Algorithm for Fitting Joint Models of a Binary Response and Multiple Longitudinal Covariates Subject to Detection Limits

PubMed Central

Bernhardt, Paul W.; Zhang, Daowen; Wang, Huixia Judy

2014-01-01

Joint modeling techniques have become a popular strategy for studying the association between a response and one or more longitudinal covariates. Motivated by the GenIMS study, where it is of interest to model the event of survival using censored longitudinal biomarkers, a joint model is proposed for describing the relationship between a binary outcome and multiple longitudinal covariates subject to detection limits. A fast, approximate EM algorithm is developed that reduces the dimension of integration in the E-step of the algorithm to one, regardless of the number of random effects in the joint model. Numerical studies demonstrate that the proposed approximate EM algorithm leads to satisfactory parameter and variance estimates in situations with and without censoring on the longitudinal covariates. The approximate EM algorithm is applied to analyze the GenIMS data set. PMID:25598564

A fast and sensitive TLD method for measurement of energy and homogeneity of electron beams using transmitted radiation through lead.

PubMed

Pradhan, A S; Quast, U; Sharma, P K

1994-09-01

A simple and fast, but sensitive TLD method for the measurement of energy and homogeneity of therapeutically used electron beams has been developed and tested. This method is based on the fact that when small thicknesses of high-Z absorbers such as lead are interposed in the high-energy electron beams, the transmitted radiation increases with the energy of the electron beams. Consequently, the ratio of readouts of TLDS held on the two sides of a lead plate varied sharply (by factor of 70) with a change in energy of the electron beam from 5 MeV to 18 MeV, offering a very sensitive method for the measurement of the energy of electron beams. By using the ratio of TL readouts of two types of TLD ribbon with widely different sensitivities, LiF TLD-700 ribbons on the upstream side and highly sensitive CaF2:Dy TLD-200 ribbons on the downstream side, an electron energy discrimination of better than +/- 0.1 MeV could be achieved. The homogeneity of the electron beam energy and the absorbed dose was measured by using a jig in which the TLDS were held in the desired array on both sides of a 4 mm thick lead plate. The method takes minimal beam time and makes it possible to carry out measurements for the audit of the quality of electron beams as well as for intercomparison of beams by mail.

Fast, High-Precision Readout Circuit for Detector Arrays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rider, David M.; Hancock, Bruce R.; Key, Richard W.; Cunningham, Thomas J.; Wrigley, Chris J.; Seshadri, Suresh; Sander, Stanley P.; Blavier, Jean-Francois L.

2013-01-01

The GEO-CAPE mission described in NASA's Earth Science and Applications Decadal Survey requires high spatial, temporal, and spectral resolution measurements to monitor and characterize the rapidly changing chemistry of the troposphere over North and South Americas. High-frame-rate focal plane arrays (FPAs) with many pixels are needed to enable such measurements. A high-throughput digital detector readout integrated circuit (ROIC) that meets the GEO-CAPE FPA needs has been developed, fabricated, and tested. The ROIC is based on an innovative charge integrating, fast, high-precision analog-to-digital circuit that is built into each pixel. The 128×128-pixel ROIC digitizes all 16,384 pixels simultaneously at frame rates up to 16 kHz to provide a completely digital output on a single integrated circuit at an unprecedented rate of 262 million pixels per second. The approach eliminates the need for off focal plane electronics, greatly reducing volume, mass, and power compared to conventional FPA implementations. A focal plane based on this ROIC will require less than 2 W of power on a 1×1-cm integrated circuit. The ROIC is fabricated of silicon using CMOS technology. It is designed to be indium bump bonded to a variety of detector materials including silicon PIN diodes, indium antimonide (InSb), indium gallium arsenide (In- GaAs), and mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe) detector arrays to provide coverage over a broad spectral range in the infrared, visible, and ultraviolet spectral ranges.

Fast Imaging Detector Readout Circuits with In-Pixel ADCs for Fourier Transform Imaging Spectrometers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rider, D.; Blavier, J-F.; Cunningham, T.; Hancock, B.; Key, R.; Pannell, Z.; Sander, S.; Seshadri, S.; Sun, C.; Wrigley, C.

2011-01-01

Focal plane arrays (FPAs) with high frame rates and many pixels benefit several upcoming Earth science missions including GEO-CAPE, GACM, and ACE by enabling broader spatial coverage and higher spectral resolution. FPAs for the PanFTS, a high spatial resolution Fourier transform spectrometer and a candidate instrument for the GEO-CAPE mission are the focus of the developments reported here, but this FPA technology has the potential to enable a variety of future measurements and instruments. The ESTO ACT Program funded the developed of a fast readout integrated circuit (ROIC) based on an innovative in-pixel analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The 128 X 128 pixel ROIC features 60 ?m pixels, a 14-bit ADC in each pixel and operates at a continuous frame rate of 14 kHz consuming only 1.1 W of power. The ROIC outputs digitized data completely eliminating the bulky, power consuming signal chains needed by conventional FPAs. The 128 X 128 pixel ROIC has been fabricated in CMOS and tested at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The current version is designed to be hybridized with PIN photodiode arrays via indium bump bonding for light detection in the visible and ultraviolet spectral regions. However, the ROIC design incorporates a small photodiode in each cell to permit detailed characterization of the ROICperformance without the need for hybridization. We will describe the essential features of the ROIC design and present results of ROIC performance measurements.

Partial Accretion in the Propeller Stage of Low-mass X-Ray Binary Aql X-1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Güngör, C.; Ekşi, K. Y.; Göğüş, E.; Güver, T.

2017-10-01

Aql X-1 is one of the most prolific low-mass X-ray binary transients (LMXBTs) showing outbursts almost annually. We present the results of our spectral analyses of Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer/proportional counter-array observations of the 2000 and 2011 outbursts. We investigate the spectral changes related to the changing disk-magnetosphere interaction modes of Aql X-1. The X-ray light curves of the outbursts of LMXBTs typically show phases of fast rise and exponential decay. The decay phase shows a “knee” where the flux goes from the slow-decay to the rapid-decay stage. We assume that the rapid decay corresponds to a weak propeller stage at which a fraction of the inflowing matter in the disk accretes onto the star. We introduce a novel method for inferring, from the light curve, the fraction of the inflowing matter in the disk that accretes onto the neutron star depending on the fastness parameter. We determine the fastness parameter range within which the transition from the accretion to the partial propeller stage is realized. This fastness parameter range is a measure of the scale height of the disk in units of the inner disk radius. We applied the method to a sample of outbursts of Aql X-1 with different maximum flux and duration times. We show that different outbursts with different maximum luminosity and duration follow a similar path in the parameter space of accreted/inflowing mass flux fraction versus fastness parameter.

MONDO: A tracker for the characterization of secondary fast and ultrafast neutrons emitted in particle therapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirabelli, R.; Battistoni, G.; Giacometti, V.; Patera, V.; Pinci, D.; Sarti, A.; Sciubba, A.; Traini, G.; Marafini, M.

2018-01-01

In Particle Therapy (PT) accelerated charged particles and light ions are used for treating tumors. One of the main limitation to the precision of PT is the emission of secondary particles due to the beam interaction with the patient: secondary emitted neutrons can release a significant dose far from the tumor. Therefore, a precise characterization of their flux, production energy and angle distribution is eagerly needed in order to improve the Treatment Planning Systems (TPS) codes. The principal aim of the MONDO (MOnitor for Neutron Dose in hadrOntherapy) project is the development of a tracking device optimized for the detection of fast and ultra-fast secondary neutrons emitted in PT. The detector consists of a matrix of scintillating square fibres coupled with a CMOS-based readout. Here, we present the characterization of the detector tracker prototype and CMOS-based digital SPAD (Single Photon Avalanche Diode) array sensor tested with protons at the Beam Test Facility (Frascati, Italy) and at the Proton Therapy Centre (Trento, Italy), respectively.

An Annotation Agnostic Algorithm for Detecting Nascent RNA Transcripts in GRO-Seq.

PubMed

Azofeifa, Joseph G; Allen, Mary A; Lladser, Manuel E; Dowell, Robin D

2017-01-01

We present a fast and simple algorithm to detect nascent RNA transcription in global nuclear run-on sequencing (GRO-seq). GRO-seq is a relatively new protocol that captures nascent transcripts from actively engaged polymerase, providing a direct read-out on bona fide transcription. Most traditional assays, such as RNA-seq, measure steady state RNA levels which are affected by transcription, post-transcriptional processing, and RNA stability. GRO-seq data, however, presents unique analysis challenges that are only beginning to be addressed. Here, we describe a new algorithm, Fast Read Stitcher (FStitch), that takes advantage of two popular machine-learning techniques, hidden Markov models and logistic regression, to classify which regions of the genome are transcribed. Given a small user-defined training set, our algorithm is accurate, robust to varying read depth, annotation agnostic, and fast. Analysis of GRO-seq data without a priori need for annotation uncovers surprising new insights into several aspects of the transcription process.

Fast-Neutron Survey With Compact Plastic Scintillation Detectors.

PubMed

Preston, Rhys M; Tickner, James R

2017-07-01

With the rise of the Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM), it is now practical to build compact scintillation detectors well suited to portable use. A prototype survey meter for fast-neutrons and gamma-rays, based around an EJ-299-34 plastic scintillator with SiPM readout, has been developed and tested. A custom digital pulse processor was used to perform pulse shape discrimination on-the-fly. Ambient dose equivalent H*(10) was calculated by means of two energy-dependent 'G-functions'. The sensitivity was calculated to be between 0.10 and 0.22 cps/(µSv/hr) for fast-neutrons with energies above 2.5 MeV. The prototype was used to survey various laboratory radiation fields, with the readings compared with commercial survey meters. The high sensitivity and lightweight nature of this detector makes it promising for rapid survey of the mixed neutron/gamma-ray fields encountered in industry and homeland security. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Extreme Performance Scalable Operating Systems Final Progress Report (July 1, 2008 - October 31, 2011)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Malony, Allen D; Shende, Sameer

This is the final progress report for the FastOS (Phase 2) (FastOS-2) project with Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Oregon (UO). The project started at UO on July 1, 2008 and ran until April 30, 2010, at which time a six-month no-cost extension began. The FastOS-2 work at UO delivered excellent results in all research work areas: * scalable parallel monitoring * kernel-level performance measurement * parallel I/0 system measurement * large-scale and hybrid application performance measurement * onlne scalable performance data reduction and analysis * binary instrumentation

Characterization of stacked-crystal PET detector designs for measurement of both TOF and DOI.

PubMed

Schmall, Jeffrey P; Surti, Suleman; Karp, Joel S

2015-05-07

A PET detector with good timing resolution and two-level depth-of-interaction (DOI) discrimination can be constructed using a single-ended readout of scintillator stacks of Lanthanum Bromide (LaBr3), with various Cerium dopant concentrations, including pure Cerium Bromide (CeBr3). The stacked crystal geometry creates a unique signal shape for interactions occurring in each layer, which can be used to identify the DOI, while retaining the inherently good timing properties of LaBr3 and CeBr3. In this work, single pixel elements are used to optimize the choice of scintillator, coupling of layers, and type of photodetector, evaluating the performance using a fast, single-channel photomultiplier tube (PMT) and a single 4 × 4 mm(2) silicon photomultiplier (SiPM). We also introduce a method to quantify and evaluate the DOI discrimination accuracy. From signal shape measurements using fast waveform sampling, we found that in addition to differences in signal rise times, between crystal layers, there were also differences in the signal fall times. A DOI accuracy of 98% was achieved using our classification method for a stacked crystal pair, consisting of a 15 mm long LaBr3(Ce:20%) crystal on top of a 15 mm long CeBr3 crystal, readout using a PMT. A DOI accuracy of 95% was measured with a stack of two, identical, 12 mm long, CeBr3 crystals. The DOI accuracy of this crystal pair was reduced to 91% when using a SiPM for readout. For the stack of two, 12 mm long, CeBr3 crystals, a coincidence timing resolution (average of timing results from the top and bottom layer) of 199 ps was measured using a PMT, and this was improved to 153 ps when using a SiPM. These results show that with stacked LaBr3/CeBr3 scintillators and fast waveform sampling nearly perfect DOI accuracy can be achieved with excellent timing resolution-timing resolution that is only minimally degraded compared to results from a single CeBr3 crystal of comparable length to the stacked crystals. The interface in the stacked crystal geometry itself plays a major role in creating the differences in signal shape and this can be used to construct stacked DOI detectors using the same scintillator type, thereby simplifying and broadening the application of this technique.

Characterization of stacked-crystal PET detector designs for measurement of both TOF and DOI

PubMed Central

Schmall, Jeffrey P; Surti, Suleman; Karp, Joel S

2015-01-01

A PET detector with good timing resolution and two-level depth-of-interaction (DOI) discrimination can be constructed using a single-ended readout of scintillator stacks of Lanthanum Bromide (LaBr3), with various Cerium dopant concentrations, including pure Cerium Bromide (CeBr3). The stacked crystal geometry creates a unique signal shape for interactions occurring in each layer, which can be used to identify the DOI, while retaining the inherently good timing properties of LaBr3 and CeBr3. In this work, single pixel elements are used to optimize the choice of scintillator, coupling of layers, and type of photodetector, evaluating the performance using a fast, single-channel photomultiplier tube (PMT) and a single 4×4 mm2 silicon photomultiplier (SiPM). We also introduce a method to quantify and evaluate the DOI discrimination accuracy. From signal shape measurements using fast waveform sampling, we found that in addition to differences in signal rise times, between crystal layers, there were also differences in the signal fall times. A DOI accuracy of 98% was achieved using our classification method for a stacked crystal pair, consisting of a 15-mm long LaBr3(Ce:20%) crystal on top of a 15-mm long CeBr3 crystal, readout using a PMT. A DOI accuracy of 95% was measured with a stack of two, identical, 12-mm long, CeBr3 crystals. The DOI accuracy of this crystal pair was reduced to 91% when using a SiPM for readout. For the stack of two, 12-mm long, CeBr3 crystals, a coincidence timing resolution (average of timing results from the top and bottom layer) of 199 ps was measured using a PMT, and this was improved to 153 ps when using a SiPM. These results show that with stacked LaBr3/CeBr3 scintillators and fast waveform sampling nearly perfect DOI accuracy can be achieved with excellent timing resolution—timing resolution that is only minimally degraded compared to results from a single CeBr3 crystal of comparable length to the stacked crystals. The interface in the stacked crystal geometry itself plays a major role in creating the differences in signal shape and this can be used to construct stacked DOI detectors using the same scintillator type, thereby simplifying and broadening the application of this technique. PMID:25860172

Automatic target detection using binary template matching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jun, Dong-San; Sun, Sun-Gu; Park, HyunWook

2005-03-01

This paper presents a new automatic target detection (ATD) algorithm to detect targets such as battle tanks and armored personal carriers in ground-to-ground scenarios. Whereas most ATD algorithms were developed for forward-looking infrared (FLIR) images, we have developed an ATD algorithm for charge-coupled device (CCD) images, which have superior quality to FLIR images in daylight. The proposed algorithm uses fast binary template matching with an adaptive binarization, which is robust to various light conditions in CCD images and saves computation time. Experimental results show that the proposed method has good detection performance.

Numerical Generation of Double Star Images for Different Types of Telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xavier, Ademir

2015-11-01

This paper reviews the modeling of stellar images using diffraction theory applied to different types of telescope masks. The masks are projected by secondary mirror holder vanes (such as the spider type) or holes on the primary mirror which result in different configurations of single stellar images. Using Fast Fourier Transform, the image of binary stars with different magnitudes is calculated. Given the numerical results obtained, a discussion is presented on the best secondary vane configurations and on the effect of obstruction types for the separation of binary pairs with different magnitudes.

Performance of a MICROMEGAS-based TPC in a high-energy neutron beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Snyder, L.; Manning, B.; Bowden, N. S.; Bundgaard, J.; Casperson, R. J.; Cebra, D. A.; Classen, T.; Duke, D. L.; Gearhart, J.; Greife, U.; Hagmann, C.; Heffner, M.; Hensle, D.; Higgins, D.; Isenhower, D.; King, J.; Klay, J. L.; Geppert-Kleinrath, V.; Loveland, W.; Magee, J. A.; Mendenhall, M. P.; Sangiorgio, S.; Seilhan, B.; Schmitt, K. T.; Tovesson, F.; Towell, R. S.; Walsh, N.; Watson, S.; Yao, L.; Younes, W.

2018-02-01

The MICROMEGAS (MICRO-MEsh GAseous Structure) charge amplification structure has found wide use in many detection applications, especially as a gain stage for the charge readout of Time Projection Chambers (TPCs). Here we report on the behavior of a MICROMEGAS TPC when operated in a high-energy (up to 800 MeV) neutron beam. It is found that neutron-induced reactions can cause discharges in some drift gas mixtures that are stable in the absence of the neutron beam. The discharges result from recoil ions close to the MICROMEGAS that deposit high specific ionization density and have a limited diffusion time. For a binary drift gas, increasing the percentage of the molecular component (quench gas) relative to the noble component and operating at lower pressures generally improves stability.

Information storage and retrieval in a single levitating colloidal particle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Myers, Christopher J.; Celebrano, Michele; Krishnan, Madhavi

2015-10-01

The binary switch is a basic component of digital information. From phase-change alloys to nanomechanical beams, molecules and atoms, new strategies for controlled bistability hold great interest for emerging technologies. We present a generic methodology for precise and parallel spatiotemporal control of nanometre-scale matter in a fluid, and demonstrate the ability to attain digital functionalities such as switching, gating and data storage in a single colloid, with further implications for signal amplification and logic operations. This fluid-phase bit can be arrayed at high densities, manipulated by either electrical or optical fields, supports low-energy, high-speed operation and marks a first step toward ‘colloidal information’. The principle generalizes to any system where spatial perturbation of a particle elicits a differential response amenable to readout.

Information storage and retrieval in a single levitating colloidal particle.

PubMed

Myers, Christopher J; Celebrano, Michele; Krishnan, Madhavi

2015-10-01

The binary switch is a basic component of digital information. From phase-change alloys to nanomechanical beams, molecules and atoms, new strategies for controlled bistability hold great interest for emerging technologies. We present a generic methodology for precise and parallel spatiotemporal control of nanometre-scale matter in a fluid, and demonstrate the ability to attain digital functionalities such as switching, gating and data storage in a single colloid, with further implications for signal amplification and logic operations. This fluid-phase bit can be arrayed at high densities, manipulated by either electrical or optical fields, supports low-energy, high-speed operation and marks a first step toward 'colloidal information'. The principle generalizes to any system where spatial perturbation of a particle elicits a differential response amenable to readout.

One-shot and aberration-tolerable homodyne detection for holographic storage readout through double-frequency grating-based lateral shearing interferometry.

PubMed

Yu, Yeh-Wei; Xiao, Shuai; Cheng, Chih-Yuan; Sun, Ching-Cherng

2016-05-16

A simple method to decode the stored phase signal of volume holographic data storage with adequate wave aberration tolerance is highly demanded. We proposed and demonstrated a one-shot scheme to decode a binary-phase encoding signal through double-frequency-grating based shearing interferometry (DFGSI). The lateral shearing amount is dependent on the focal length of the collimated lens and the frequency difference between the gratings. Diffracted waves with phase encoding were successfully decoded through experimentation. An optical model for the DFGSI was built to analyze phase-error induction and phase-difference control by shifting the double-frequency grating longitudinally and laterally, respectively. The optical model was demonstrated experimentally. Finally, a high aberration tolerance of the DFGSI was demonstrated using the optical model.

plasticity of TGF-β signaling

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background The family of TGF-β ligands is large and its members are involved in many different signaling processes. These signaling processes strongly differ in type with TGF-β ligands eliciting both sustained or transient responses. Members of the TGF-β family can also act as morphogen and cellular responses would then be expected to provide a direct read-out of the extracellular ligand concentration. A number of different models have been proposed to reconcile these different behaviours. We were interested to define the set of minimal modifications that are required to change the type of signal processing in the TGF-β signaling network. Results To define the key aspects for signaling plasticity we focused on the core of the TGF-β signaling network. With the help of a parameter screen we identified ranges of kinetic parameters and protein concentrations that give rise to transient, sustained, or oscillatory responses to constant stimuli, as well as those parameter ranges that enable a proportional response to time-varying ligand concentrations (as expected in the read-out of morphogens). A combination of a strong negative feedback and fast shuttling to the nucleus biases signaling to a transient rather than a sustained response, while oscillations were obtained if ligand binding to the receptor is weak and the turn-over of the I-Smad is fast. A proportional read-out required inefficient receptor activation in addition to a low affinity of receptor-ligand binding. We find that targeted modification of single parameters suffices to alter the response type. The intensity of a constant signal (i.e. the ligand concentration), on the other hand, affected only the strength but not the type of the response. Conclusions The architecture of the TGF-β pathway enables the observed signaling plasticity. The observed range of signaling outputs to TGF-β ligand in different cell types and under different conditions can be explained with differences in cellular protein concentrations and with changes in effective rate constants due to cross-talk with other signaling pathways. It will be interesting to uncover the exact cellular differences as well as the details of the cross-talks in future work. PMID:22051045

[Portable multi-purpose device for monitoring of physiological informations].

PubMed

Tamura, T; Togawa, T

1983-05-01

Unconstrained system that measures physiological information as skin temperatures and heart rate per unit time of a human subject was developed. The system contained portable device included memory control unit, instrumentation unit, timer and batteries, read-out unit, test unit and verify unit. Total number of data and channels, and interval were selected by switches in the memory control unit. The data from the instrumentation unit were transferred to memory control unit and stored in the Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM). After measurement, EPROM chip was taken off the memory control unit and put on the read-out unit which transferred the data to the microcomputer. The data were directly calculated and analyzed by microcomputer. In application of the instrumentation unit, 8-channel skin thermometer was developed and tested. After amplification, 8 analog signals were multiplexed and converted into the binary codes. The digital signals were sequentially transferred to memory control unit and stored in the EPROM under controlled signal. The accuracy of the system is determined primarily by the accuracy of the sensor of instrumentation unit. The overall accuracy of 8-channel skin thermometer is conservatively stated within 0.1 degree C. This may prove to be useful in providing an objective measurement of human subjects, and can be used in studying environmental effect for human body and sport activities in a large population setting.

Pulled microcapillary tube resonators with electrical readout for mass sensing applications

PubMed Central

Lee, Donghyuk; Kim, Joonhui; Cho, Nam-Joon; Kang, Taewook; Kauh, Sangken; Lee, Jungchul

2016-01-01

This paper reports a microfabrication-free approach to make hollow channel mass sensors by pulling a glass capillary and suspending it on top of a machined jig. A part of the pulled section makes simple contact with an actuation node and a quartz tuning fork (QTF) which acts as a sensing node. The two nodes define a pulled micro capillary tube resonator (PμTR) simply supported at two contacts. While a piezo actuator beneath the actuation node excites the PμTR, the QTF senses the resonance frequency of the PμTR. The proposed concept was validated by electrical and optical measurements of resonant spectra of PμTR. Then, different liquid samples including water, ethanol, glycerol, and their binary mixtures were introduced into the PμTR and the resonance frequency of the PμTR was measured as a function of liquid density. Density responsivity of −3,088 Hz-g−1 cm3 obtained is comparable to those of microfabricated hollow resonators. With a micro droplet generation chip configured in series with the PμTR, size distribution of oil droplets suspended in water was successfully measured with the radius resolution of 31 nm at the average droplet radius, 28.47 μm. Overall, typical off-the-shelf parts simply constitute a resonant mass sensing system along with a convenient electrical readout. PMID:27694852

Electron-bombarded CCD detectors for ultraviolet atmospheric remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carruthers, G. R.; Opal, C. B.

1983-01-01

Electronic image sensors based on charge coupled devices operated in electron-bombarded mode, yielding real-time, remote-readout, photon-limited UV imaging capability are being developed. The sensors also incorporate fast-focal-ratio Schmidt optics and opaque photocathodes, giving nearly the ultimate possible diffuse-source sensitivity. They can be used for direct imagery of atmospheric emission phenomena, and for imaging spectrography with moderate spatial and spectral resolution. The current state of instrument development, laboratory results, planned future developments and proposed applications of the sensors in space flight instrumentation is described.

Consumer holographic read-only memory reader with mastering and replication technology.

PubMed

Chuang, Ernest; Curtis, Kevin; Yang, Yunping; Hill, Adrian

2006-04-15

What is believed to be a novel holographic design for read-only memory systems allows a compact low-cost consumer drive within a 10 mm drive height, using a lensless phase conjugate readout and a combination of polytopic and angle multiplexing. A two-step mastering method enables production of high-efficiency holographic masters, and fast replication is possible by using only a series of plane-wave illuminations. Mastering and replication techniques are verified experimentally with an array of 125 holograms with no measured bit errors.

Reversible pyroelectric and photogalvanic current in epitaxial Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, J.; Esayan, S.; Prohaska, J.; Safari, A.

1994-01-01

The pyroelectric and photogalvanic effects have been studied in epitaxial Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) thin films. Photoinduced currents, which were completely reversible by electrical voltage, were observed. The photoinduced currents exhibited transient and steady state components. The transient component, in turn, consisted of two components with fast (<1 s) and slow (˜hours) relaxation times. The mechanisms of the photoinduced currents in PZT films and their possible applications in nondestructive readout ferroelectric memory are discussed.

Recent X-ray hybrid CMOS detector developments and measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hull, Samuel V.; Falcone, Abraham D.; Burrows, David N.; Wages, Mitchell; Chattopadhyay, Tanmoy; McQuaide, Maria; Bray, Evan; Kern, Matthew

2017-08-01

The Penn State X-ray detector lab, in collaboration with Teledyne Imaging Sensors (TIS), have progressed their efforts to improve soft X-ray Hybrid CMOS detector (HCD) technology on multiple fronts. Having newly acquired a Teledyne cryogenic SIDECARTM ASIC for use with HxRG devices, measurements were performed with an H2RG HCD and the cooled SIDECARTM. We report new energy resolution and read noise measurements, which show a significant improvement over room temperature SIDECARTM operation. Further, in order to meet the demands of future high-throughput and high spatial resolution X-ray observatories, detectors with fast readout and small pixel sizes are being developed. We report on characteristics of new X-ray HCDs with 12.5 micron pitch that include in-pixel CDS circuitry and crosstalk-eliminating CTIA amplifiers. In addition, PSU and TIS are developing a new large-scale array Speedster-EXD device. The original 64 × 64 pixel Speedster-EXD prototype used comparators in each pixel to enable event driven readout with order of magnitude higher effective readout rates, which will now be implemented in a 550 × 550 pixel device. Finally, the detector lab is involved in a sounding rocket mission that is slated to fly in 2018 with an off-plane reflection grating array and an H2RG X-ray HCD. We report on the planned detector configuration for this mission, which will increase the NASA technology readiness level of X-ray HCDs to TRL 9.

Conditional Dispersive Readout of a CMOS Single-Electron Memory Cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaal, S.; Barraud, S.; Morton, J. J. L.; Gonzalez-Zalba, M. F.

2018-05-01

Quantum computers require interfaces with classical electronics for efficient qubit control, measurement, and fast data processing. Fabricating the qubit and the classical control layer using the same technology is appealing because it will facilitate the integration process, improving feedback speeds and offering potential solutions to wiring and layout challenges. Integrating classical and quantum devices monolithically, using complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) processes, enables the processor to profit from the most mature industrial technology for the fabrication of large-scale circuits. We demonstrate a CMOS single-electron memory cell composed of a single quantum dot and a transistor that locks charge on the quantum-dot gate. The single-electron memory cell is conditionally read out by gate-based dispersive sensing using a lumped-element L C resonator. The control field-effect transistor (FET) and quantum dot are fabricated on the same chip using fully depleted silicon-on-insulator technology. We obtain a charge sensitivity of δ q =95 ×10-6e Hz-1 /2 when the quantum-dot readout is enabled by the control FET, comparable to results without the control FET. Additionally, we observe a single-electron retention time on the order of a second when storing a single-electron charge on the quantum dot at millikelvin temperatures. These results demonstrate first steps towards time-based multiplexing of gate-based dispersive readout in CMOS quantum devices opening the path for the development of an all-silicon quantum-classical processor.

Study of the VMM1 read-out chip in a neutron irradiation environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alexopoulos, T.; Fanourakis, G.; Geralis, T.; Kokkoris, M.; Kourkoumeli-Charalampidi, A.; Papageorgiou, K.; Tsipolitis, G.

2016-05-01

Within 2015, the LHC operated close to the design energy of √s = 13-14 TeV delivering instantaneous luminosities up to Script L = 5 × 1033 cm-2s-1. The ATLAS Phase-I upgrade in 2018/19 will introduce the MicroMEGAS detectors in the area of the small wheel at the end caps. Accompanying new electronics are designed and built such as the VMM front end ASIC, which provides energy, timing and triggering information and allows fast data read-out. The first VMM version (VMM1) has been widely produced and tested in various test beams, whilst the second version (VMM2) is currently being tested. This paper focuses on the VMM1 single event upset studies and more specifically on the response of the configuration registers under harsh radiation environments. Similar conditions are expected at Run III with Script L = 2 × 1034 cm-2s-1 and a mean of 55 interactions per bunch crossing. Two VMM1s were exposed in a neutron irradiation environment using the TANDEM Van Der Graaff accelerator at NSCR Demokritos, Athens, Greece. The results showed a rate of SEU occurrences at a measured cross section of (4.1±0.8)×10-14 cm2/bit for each VMM. Consequently, when extrapolating this value to the luminosity expected in Run III, the occurrence is roughly 6 SEUs/min in all the read-out system comprising 40,000 VMMs installed during the Phase-I upgrade.

Highly efficient router-based readout algorithm for single-photon-avalanche-diode imagers for time-correlated experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cominelli, A.; Acconcia, G.; Caldi, F.; Peronio, P.; Ghioni, M.; Rech, I.

2018-02-01

Time-Correlated Single Photon Counting (TCSPC) is a powerful tool that permits to record extremely fast optical signals with a precision down to few picoseconds. On the other hand, it is recognized as a relatively slow technique, especially when a large time-resolved image is acquired exploiting a single acquisition channel and a scanning system. During the last years, much effort has been made towards the parallelization of many acquisition and conversion chains. In particular, the exploitation of Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes in standard CMOS technology has paved the way to the integration of thousands of independent channels on the same chip. Unfortunately, the presence of a large number of detectors can give rise to a huge rate of events, which can easily lead to the saturation of the transfer rate toward the elaboration unit. As a result, a smart readout approach is needed to guarantee an efficient exploitation of the limited transfer bandwidth. We recently introduced a novel readout architecture, aimed at maximizing the counting efficiency of the system in typical TCSPC measurements. It features a limited number of high-performance converters, which are shared with a much larger array, while a smart routing logic provides a dynamic multiplexing between the two parts. Here we propose a novel routing algorithm, which exploits standard digital gates distributed among a large 32x32 array to ensure a dynamic connection between detectors and external time-measurement circuits.

Relationships between stressful life events and impaired fasting glucose among left-behind farmers in rural China.

PubMed

Liang, Han; Cheng, Jing; Shen, Xingrong; Chen, Penglai; Tong, Guixian; Chai, Jing; Li, Kaichun; Xie, Shaoyu; Shi, Yong; Wang, Debin; Sun, Yehuan

2015-02-01

This study aims at examining the effects of stressful life events on risk of impaired fasting glucose among left-behind farmers in rural China. The study collected data about stressful life events, family history of diabetes, lifestyle, demographics and minimum anthropometrics from left-behind famers aged 40-70 years. Calculated life event index was applied to assess the combined effects of stressful life events experienced by the left-behind farmers and its association with impaired fasting glucose was estimated using binary logistic regression models. The prevalence of abnormal fasting glucose was 61.4% by American Diabetes Association (ADA) standard and 32.4% by World Health Organization (WHO) standard. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed a coefficient of 0.033 (P<.001) by ADA standard or 0.028 (P<.001) by WHO standard between impaired fasting glucose and life event index. The overall odds ratios of impaired glucose for the second, third and fourth (highest) versus the first (lowest) quartile of life event index were 1.419 [95% CI=(1.173, 1.717)], 1.711 [95% CI=(1.413, 2.071)] and 1.957 [95% CI=(1.606, 2.385)] respectively by ADA standard. When more and more confounding factors were controlled for, these odds ratios remained statistically significant though decreased to a small extent. The left-behind farmers showed over two-fold prevalence rate of pre-diabetes than that of the nation's average and their risk of impaired fasting glucose was positively associated with stressful life events in a dose-dependent way. Both the population studied and their life events merit special attention. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Unified Model for Repeating and Non-repeating Fast Radio Bursts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bagchi, Manjari, E-mail: manjari@imsc.res.in

The model that fast radio bursts (FRBs) are caused by plunges of asteroids onto neutron stars can explain both repeating and non-repeating bursts. If a neutron star passes through an asteroid belt around another star, there would be a series of bursts caused by a series of asteroid impacts. Moreover, the neutron star would cross the same belt repetitively if it were in a binary with the star hosting the asteroid belt, leading to a repeated series of bursts. I explore the properties of neutron star binaries that could lead to the only known repeating FRB so far (FRB121102). Inmore » this model, the next two epochs of bursts are expected around 2017 February 27 and 2017 December 18. On the other hand, if the asteroid belt is located around the neutron star itself, then a chance fall of an asteroid from that belt onto the neutron star would lead to a non-repeating burst. Even a neutron star grazing an asteroid belt can lead to a non-repeating burst caused by just one asteroid plunge during the grazing. This is possible even when the neutron star is in a binary with the asteroid-hosting star, if the belt and the neutron star orbit are non-coplanar.« less

Fast ion swapping for quantum-information processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaufmann, H.; Ruster, T.; Schmiegelow, C. T.; Luda, M. A.; Kaushal, V.; Schulz, J.; von Lindenfels, D.; Schmidt-Kaler, F.; Poschinger, U. G.

2017-05-01

We demonstrate a swap gate between laser-cooled ions in a segmented microtrap via fast physical swapping of the ion positions. This operation is used in conjunction with qubit initialization, manipulation, and readout and with other types of shuttling operations such as linear transport and crystal separation and merging. Combining these operations, we perform quantum process tomography of the swap gate, obtaining a mean process fidelity of 99.5(5)%. The swap operation is demonstrated with motional excitations below 0.05(1) quantum for all six collective modes of a two-ion crystal for a process duration of 42 μ s . Extending these techniques to three ions, we reverse the order of a three-ion crystal and reconstruct the truth table for this operation, resulting in a mean process fidelity of 99.96(13)% in the logical basis.

Flare Activity of Wide Binary Stars with Kepler

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clarke, Riley W.; Davenport, James R. A.; Covey, Kevin R.; Baranec, Christoph

2018-01-01

We present an analysis of flare activity in wide binary stars using a combination of value-added data sets from the NASA Kepler mission. The target list contains a set of previously discovered wide binary star systems identified by proper motions in the Kepler field. We cross-matched these systems with estimates of flare activity for ∼200,000 stars in the Kepler field, allowing us to compare relative flare luminosity between stars in coeval binaries. From a sample of 184 previously known wide binaries in the Kepler field, we find 58 with detectable flare activity in at least 1 component, 33 of which are similar in mass (q > 0.8). Of these 33 equal-mass binaries, the majority display similar (±1 dex) flare luminosity between both stars, as expected for stars of equal mass and age. However, we find two equal-mass pairs where the secondary (lower mass) star is more active than its counterpart, and two equal-mass pairs where the primary star is more active. The stellar rotation periods are also anomalously fast for stars with elevated flare activity. Pairs with discrepant rotation and activity qualitatively seem to have lower mass ratios. These outliers may be due to tidal spin-up, indicating these wide binaries could be hierarchical triple systems. We additionally present high-resolution adaptive optics images for two wide binary systems to test this hypothesis. The demographics of stellar rotation and magnetic activity between stars in wide binaries may be useful indicators for discerning the formation scenarios of these systems.

MUSIC: An 8 channel readout ASIC for SiPM arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gómez, Sergio; Gascón, David; Fernández, Gerard; Sanuy, Andreu; Mauricio, Joan; Graciani, Ricardo; Sanchez, David

2016-04-01

This paper presents an 8 channel ASIC for SiPM anode readout based on a novel low input impedance current conveyor (under patent1). This Multiple Use SiPM Integrated Circuit (MUSIC) has been designed to serve several purposes, including, for instance, the readout of SiPM arrays for some of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) cameras. The current division scheme at the very front end part of the circuit splits the input current into differently scaled copies which are connected to independent current mirrors. The circuit contains a tunable pole zero cancellation of the SiPM recovery time constant to deal with sensors from different manufacturers. Decay times up to 100 ns are supported covering most of the available SiPM devices in the market. MUSIC offers three main features: (1) differential output of the sum of the individual input channels; (2) 8 individual single ended analog outputs and; (3) 8 individual binary outputs. The digital outputs encode the amount of collected charge in the duration of the digital signal using a time over threshold technique. For each individual channel, the user must select the analog or digital output. Each functionality, the signal sum and the 8 A/D outputs, include a selectable dual-gain configuration. Moreover, the signal sum implements dual-gain output providing a 15 bit dynamic range. Full die simulation results of the MUSIC designed using AMS 0.35 µm SiGe technology are presented: total die size of 9 mm2, 500 MHz bandwidth for channel sum and 150 MHz bandwidth for A/D channels, low input impedance (≍32 Ω), single photon output pulse width at half maximum (FWHM) between 5 and 10 ns and with a power consumption of ≍ 30 mW/ch plus ≍ 200 mW for the 8 ch sum. Encapsulated prototype samples of the MUSIC are expected by March 2016.

Evaluation of a clinical TOF-PET detector design that achieves ⩽100 ps coincidence time resolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cates, Joshua W.; Levin, Craig S.

2018-06-01

Commercially available clinical positron emission tomography (PET) detectors employ scintillation crystals that are long (20 mm length) and narrow (4–5 mm width) optically coupled on their narrow end to a photosensor. The aspect ratio of this traditional crystal rod configuration and 511 keV photon attenuation properties yield significant variances in scintillation light collection efficiency and transit time to the photodetector, due to variations in the 511 keV photon interaction depth in the crystal. These variances contribute significant to coincidence time resolution degradation. If instead, crystals are coupled to a photosensor on their long side, near-complete light collection efficiency can be achieved, and scintillation photon transit time jitter is reduced. In this work, we compare the achievable coincidence time resolution (CTR) of LGSO:Ce(0.025 mol%) crystals 3–20 mm in length when optically coupled to silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) on either their short end or long side face. In this ‘side readout’ configuration, a CTR of 102  ±  2 ps FWHM was measured with mm3 crystals coupled to rows of mm2 SensL-J SiPMs using leading edge time pickoff and a single timing channel. This is in contrast to a CTR of 137  ±  3 ps FWHM when the same crystals were coupled to single mm2 SiPMs on their narrow ends. We further study the statistical limit on CTR using side readout via the Cramér–Rao lower bound (CRLB), with consideration given to ongoing work to further improve photosensor technologies and exploit fast phenomena to ultimately achieve 10 ps FWHM CTR. Potential design aspects of scalable front-end signal processing readout electronics using this side readout configuration are discussed. Altogether, we demonstrate that the side readout configuration offers an immediate solution for 100 ps CTR clinical PET detectors and mitigates factors prohibiting future efforts to achieve 10 ps FWHM CTR.

A fast embedded readout system for large-area Medipix and Timepix systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brogna, A. S.; Balzer, M.; Smale, S.; Hartmann, J.; Bormann, D.; Hamann, E.; Cecilia, A.; Zuber, M.; Koenig, T.; Zwerger, A.; Weber, M.; Fiederle, M.; Baumbach, T.

2014-05-01

In this work we present a novel readout electronics for an X-ray sensor based on a Si crystal bump-bonded to an array of 3 × 2 Medipix ASICs. The pixel size is 55 μm × 55 μm with a total number of ~ 400k pixels and a sensitive area of 42 mm × 28 mm. The readout electronics operate Medipix-2 MXR or Timepix ASICs with a clock speed of 125 MHz. The data acquisition system is centered around an FPGA and each of the six ASICs has a dedicated I/O port for simultaneous data acquisition. The settings of the auxiliary devices (ADCs and DACs) are also processed in the FPGA. Moreover, a high-resolution timer operates the electronic shutter to select the exposure time from 8 ns to several milliseconds. A sophisticated trigger is available in hardware and software to synchronize the acquisition with external electro-mechanical motors. The system includes a diagnostic subsystem to check the sensor temperature and to control the cooling Peltier cells and a programmable high-voltage generator to bias the crystal. A network cable transfers the data, encapsulated into the UDP protocol and streamed at 1 Gb/s. Therefore most notebooks or personal computers are able to process the data and to program the system without a dedicated interface. The data readout software is compatible with the well-known Pixelman 2.x running both on Windows and GNU/Linux. Furthermore the open architecture encourages users to write their own applications. With a low-level interface library which implements all the basic features, a MATLAB or Python script can be implemented for special manipulations of the raw data. In this paper we present selected images taken with a microfocus X-ray tube to demonstrate the capability to collect the data at rates up to 120 fps corresponding to 0.76 Gb/s.

High frame rate imaging based photometry. Photometric reduction of data from electron-multiplying charge coupled devices (EMCCDs)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harpsøe, K. B. W.; Jørgensen, U. G.; Andersen, M. I.; Grundahl, F.

2012-06-01

Context. The EMCCD is a type of CCD that delivers fast readout times and negligible readout noise, making it an ideal detector for high frame rate applications which improve resolution, like lucky imaging or shift-and-add. This improvement in resolution can potentially improve the photometry of faint stars in extremely crowded fields significantly by alleviating crowding. Alleviating crowding is a prerequisite for observing gravitational microlensing in main sequence stars towards the galactic bulge. However, the photometric stability of this device has not been assessed. The EMCCD has sources of noise not found in conventional CCDs, and new methods for handling these must be developed. Aims: We aim to investigate how the normal photometric reduction steps from conventional CCDs should be adjusted to be applicable to EMCCD data. One complication is that a bias frame cannot be obtained conventionally, as the output from an EMCCD is not normally distributed. Also, the readout process generates spurious charges in any CCD, but in EMCCD data, these charges are visible as opposed to the conventional CCD. Furthermore we aim to eliminate the photon waste associated with lucky imaging by combining this method with shift-and-add. Methods: A simple probabilistic model for the dark output of an EMCCD is developed. Fitting this model with the expectation-maximization algorithm allows us to estimate the bias, readout noise, amplification, and spurious charge rate per pixel and thus correct for these phenomena. To investigate the stability of the photometry, corrected frames of a crowded field are reduced with a point spread function (PSF) fitting photometry package, where a lucky image is used as a reference. Results: We find that it is possible to develop an algorithm that elegantly reduces EMCCD data and produces stable photometry at the 1% level in an extremely crowded field. Based on observation with the Danish 1.54 m telescope at ESO La Silla Observatory.

The performance of the DELPHI hadron calorimeter at LEP

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ajinenko, I.; Beloous, K.; Chudoba, J.

1996-06-01

The DELPHI Hadron Calorimeter was conceived more than ten years ago, as an instrument to measure the energy of hadrons and hadronic jets from e{sup +}e{sup {minus}} collisions at the CERN collider LEP. In addition it was expected to provide a certain degree of discrimination between pions and muons. The detector is a rather simple and relatively inexpensive device consisting of around 20,000 limited streamer plastic tubes, with inductive pad read-out, embedded in the iron yoke of the 1.2 T DELPHI magnet. Its depth is at minimum 6.6 nuclear interaction lengths. The electronics necessary for the pad readout was designedmore » to have an adequate performance for a reasonable cost. This detector has proved over six years of operation to have an entirely satisfactory performance and great reliability; for example less than 1% of the streamer tubes have failed and electronic problems remain at the per mil level. During the past two years an improvement program has been under way. It has been found possible to use the streamer tubes as strips, hence giving better granularity and particle tracking, by reading out the cathode of individual tubes. The constraints on this were considerable because of the inaccessibility of the detectors in the magnet yoke. However, a cheap and feasible solution has been found. The cathode readout leads to an improved energy resolution, better {mu} identification, a better {pi}/{mu} separation and to possibilities of neutral particle separation. The simultaneous anode read-out of several planes of the endcaps of the detector will provide a fast trigger in the forward/backward direction which is an important improvement for LEP200. On the barrel the system will provide a cosmic trigger which is very useful for calibration as counting rates at LEP200 will be very low.« less

Partial Accretion in the Propeller Stage of Low-mass X-Ray Binary Aql X–1

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Güngör, C.; Ekşi, K. Y.; Göğüş, E.

Aql X–1 is one of the most prolific low-mass X-ray binary transients (LMXBTs) showing outbursts almost annually. We present the results of our spectral analyses of Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer /proportional counter-array observations of the 2000 and 2011 outbursts. We investigate the spectral changes related to the changing disk-magnetosphere interaction modes of Aql X–1. The X-ray light curves of the outbursts of LMXBTs typically show phases of fast rise and exponential decay. The decay phase shows a “knee” where the flux goes from the slow-decay to the rapid-decay stage. We assume that the rapid decay corresponds to a weak propellermore » stage at which a fraction of the inflowing matter in the disk accretes onto the star. We introduce a novel method for inferring, from the light curve, the fraction of the inflowing matter in the disk that accretes onto the neutron star depending on the fastness parameter. We determine the fastness parameter range within which the transition from the accretion to the partial propeller stage is realized. This fastness parameter range is a measure of the scale height of the disk in units of the inner disk radius. We applied the method to a sample of outbursts of Aql X–1 with different maximum flux and duration times. We show that different outbursts with different maximum luminosity and duration follow a similar path in the parameter space of accreted/inflowing mass flux fraction versus fastness parameter.« less

A multi-pattern hash-binary hybrid algorithm for URL matching in the HTTP protocol.

PubMed

Zeng, Ping; Tan, Qingping; Meng, Xiankai; Shao, Zeming; Xie, Qinzheng; Yan, Ying; Cao, Wei; Xu, Jianjun

2017-01-01

In this paper, based on our previous multi-pattern uniform resource locator (URL) binary-matching algorithm called HEM, we propose an improved multi-pattern matching algorithm called MH that is based on hash tables and binary tables. The MH algorithm can be applied to the fields of network security, data analysis, load balancing, cloud robotic communications, and so on-all of which require string matching from a fixed starting position. Our approach effectively solves the performance problems of the classical multi-pattern matching algorithms. This paper explores ways to improve string matching performance under the HTTP protocol by using a hash method combined with a binary method that transforms the symbol-space matching problem into a digital-space numerical-size comparison and hashing problem. The MH approach has a fast matching speed, requires little memory, performs better than both the classical algorithms and HEM for matching fields in an HTTP stream, and it has great promise for use in real-world applications.

A multi-pattern hash-binary hybrid algorithm for URL matching in the HTTP protocol

PubMed Central

Tan, Qingping; Meng, Xiankai; Shao, Zeming; Xie, Qinzheng; Yan, Ying; Cao, Wei; Xu, Jianjun

2017-01-01

In this paper, based on our previous multi-pattern uniform resource locator (URL) binary-matching algorithm called HEM, we propose an improved multi-pattern matching algorithm called MH that is based on hash tables and binary tables. The MH algorithm can be applied to the fields of network security, data analysis, load balancing, cloud robotic communications, and so on—all of which require string matching from a fixed starting position. Our approach effectively solves the performance problems of the classical multi-pattern matching algorithms. This paper explores ways to improve string matching performance under the HTTP protocol by using a hash method combined with a binary method that transforms the symbol-space matching problem into a digital-space numerical-size comparison and hashing problem. The MH approach has a fast matching speed, requires little memory, performs better than both the classical algorithms and HEM for matching fields in an HTTP stream, and it has great promise for use in real-world applications. PMID:28399157

Novel readout method for molecular diagnostic assays based on optical measurements of magnetic nanobead dynamics.

PubMed

Donolato, Marco; Antunes, Paula; Bejhed, Rebecca S; Zardán Gómez de la Torre, Teresa; Østerberg, Frederik W; Strömberg, Mattias; Nilsson, Mats; Strømme, Maria; Svedlindh, Peter; Hansen, Mikkel F; Vavassori, Paolo

2015-02-03

We demonstrate detection of DNA coils formed from a Vibrio cholerae DNA target at picomolar concentrations using a novel optomagnetic approach exploiting the dynamic behavior and optical anisotropy of magnetic nanobead (MNB) assemblies. We establish that the complex second harmonic optical transmission spectra of MNB suspensions measured upon application of a weak uniaxial AC magnetic field correlate well with the rotation dynamics of the individual MNBs. Adding a target analyte to the solution leads to the formation of permanent MNB clusters, namely, to the suppression of the dynamic MNB behavior. We prove that the optical transmission spectra are highly sensitive to the formation of permanent MNB clusters and, thereby to the target analyte concentration. As a specific clinically relevant diagnostic case, we detect DNA coils formed via padlock probe recognition and isothermal rolling circle amplification and benchmark against a commercial equipment. The results demonstrate the fast optomagnetic readout of rolling circle products from bacterial DNA utilizing the dynamic properties of MNBs in a miniaturized and low-cost platform requiring only a transparent window in the chip.

Quantitative readout of optically encoded gold nanorods using an ordinary dark-field microscope.

PubMed

Mercatelli, Raffaella; Ratto, Fulvio; Centi, Sonia; Soria, Silvia; Romano, Giovanni; Matteini, Paolo; Quercioli, Franco; Pini, Roberto; Fusi, Franco

2013-10-21

In this paper we report on a new use for dark-field microscopy in order to retrieve two-dimensional maps of optical parameters of a thin sample such as a cryptograph, a histological section, or a cell monolayer. In particular, we discuss the construction of quantitative charts of light absorbance and scattering coefficients of a polyvinyl alcohol film that was embedded with gold nanorods and then etched using a focused mode-locked Ti:Sapphire oscillator. Individual pulses from this laser excite plasmonic oscillations of the gold nanorods, thus triggering plastic deformations of the particles and their environment, which are confined within a few hundred nm of the light focus. In turn, these deformations modify the light absorbance and scattering landscape, which can be measured with optical resolution in a dark-field microscope equipped with an objective of tuneable numerical aperture. This technique may prove to be valuable for various applications, such as the fast readout of optically encoded data or to model functional interactions between light and biological tissue at the level of cellular organelles, including the photothermolysis of cancer.

A magnetic field compatible graphene transmon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kroll, James G.; Uilhoorn, Willemijn; de Jong, Damaz; Borsoi, Francesco; van der Enden, Kian; Goswami, Srijit; Cassidy, Maja; Kouwenhoven, Leo. P.

Hybrid circuit QED is a key tool for readout and scaling of both semiconductor-based spin and topological quantum computing schemes. However, traditional approaches to circuit QED are incompatible with the strong external magnetic fields required for these qubits. Here we present measurements of a hybrid graphene-based transmon operating at 1 T. The device consists of coplanar waveguide resonators where the NbTiN thin film is patterned with a dense anti-dot lattice to trap Abriskov vortices, resulting in internal quality factors Qi >10^5 up to 6 T. Furthermore, the atomically thin nature of graphene in combination with the high critical field of its superconducting contacts makes it an ideal system for tolerating strong parallel magnetic fields. We combine these circuit elements to realize a magnetic field compatible transmon qubit. An external gate allows us to change the Josephson energy, and study the corresponding change in the resonator-qubit interaction in the dispersive regime. Two tone spectroscopy reveals a gate-tunable qubit peak at 1T. These experiments open up the possibility of fast charge parity measurements in high magnetic fields for readout of Majorana qubits..

Silicon pixel R&D for CLIC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Munker, M.

2017-01-01

Challenging detector requirements are imposed by the physics goals at the future multi-TeV e+ e- Compact Linear Collider (CLIC). A single point resolution of 3 μm for the vertex detector and 7 μm for the tracker is required. Moreover, the CLIC vertex detector and tracker need to be extremely light weighted with a material budget of 0.2% X0 per layer in the vertex detector and 1-2% X0 in the tracker. A fast time slicing of 10 ns is further required to suppress background from beam-beam interactions. A wide range of sensor and readout ASIC technologies are investigated within the CLIC silicon pixel R&D effort. Various hybrid planar sensor assemblies with a pixel size of 25×25 μm2 and 55×55 μm2 have been produced and characterised by laboratory measurements and during test-beam campaigns. Experimental and simulation results for thin (50 μm-500 μm) slim edge and active-edge planar, and High-Voltage CMOS sensors hybridised to various readout ASICs (Timepix, Timepix3, CLICpix) are presented.

Binary adsorption of copper(II) and cadmium(II) from aqueous solutions by biomass of marine alga Durvillaea potatorum

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yu, Q.; Kaewsarn, P.

1999-06-01

Much work on the biosorption of heavy metals by low-cost, natural biomass has been on the uptake of single metals. In practice, wastewaters often contain multiple heavy metal ions. In this paper the binary adsorption of copper(II) and cadmium(II) by a pretreated biomass of the marine alga Durvillaea potatorum from aqueous solutions was studied. The results showed that the uptake capacities for each heavy metal of the binary system were lower when compared with the single metal biosorption for copper and cadmium, respectively, but the total capacities for the binary system were similar to those obtained for single metal biosorption.more » The uptake capacities for copper and cadmium increased as the equilibrium pH increased and reached a plateau at a pH around 5.0. The uptake process was relatively fast, with 90% of the adsorption completed within 10 minutes for copper and 30 minutes for cadmium, and equilibrium reached after about 60 minutes of stirring. The biosorption isotherms of binary systems were not significantly affected by equilibrium temperature. The presence of light metal ions in solution also did not affect adsorption significantly. The binary adsorption was successfully predicted by the extended Langmuir model, using parameters and capacities obtained from single component systems.« less

Neutron Stars and NuSTAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhalerao, Varun

2012-05-01

My thesis centers around the study of neutron stars, especially those in massive binary systems. To this end, it has two distinct components: the observational study of neutron stars in massive binaries with a goal of measuring neutron star masses and participation in NuSTAR, the first imaging hard X-ray mission, one that is extremely well suited to the study of massive binaries and compact objects in our Galaxy. The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) is a NASA Small Explorer mission that will carry the first focusing high energy X-ray telescope to orbit. NuSTAR has an order-of-magnitude better angular resolution and has two orders of magnitude higher sensitivity than any currently orbiting hard X-ray telescope. I worked to develop, calibrate, and test CdZnTe detectors for NuSTAR. I describe the CdZnTe detectors in comprehensive detail here - from readout procedures to data analysis. Detailed calibration of detectors is necessary for analyzing astrophysical source data obtained by the NuSTAR. I discuss the design and implementation of an automated setup for calibrating flight detectors, followed by calibration procedures and results. Neutron stars are an excellent probe of fundamental physics. The maximum mass of a neutron star can put stringent constraints on the equation of state of matter at extreme pressures and densities. From an astrophysical perspective, there are several open questions in our understanding of neutron stars. What are the birth masses of neutron stars? How do they change in binary evolution? Are there multiple mechanisms for the formation of neutron stars? Measuring masses of neutron stars helps answer these questions. Neutron stars in high-mass X-ray binaries have masses close to their birth mass, providing an opportunity to disentangle the role of "nature" and "nurture" in the observed mass distributions. In 2006, masses had been measured for only six such objects, but this small sample showed the greatest diversity in masses among all classes of neutron star binaries. Intrigued by this diversity - which points to diverse birth masses - we undertook a systematic survey to measure the masses of neutron stars in nine high-mass X-ray binaries. In this thesis, I present results from this ongoing project. While neutron stars formed the primary focus of my work, I also explored other topics in compact objects. Appendix A describes the discovery and complete characterization of a 1RXS J173006.4+033813, a polar cataclysmic variable. Appendix B describes the discovery of a diamond planet orbiting a millisecond pulsar, and our search for its optical counterpart.

Atmospheric turbulence and high-precision ground-based solar polarimetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagaraju, K.; Feller, A.; Ihle, S.; Soltau, H.

2011-10-01

High-precision full-Stokes polarimetry at near diffraction limited spatial resolution is important to understand numerous physical processes on the Sun. In view of the next generation of ground based solar telescopes, we have explored, through numerical simulation, how polarimetric accuracy is affected by atmospheric seeing, especially in the case of large aperture telescopes with increasing ratio between mirror diameter and Fried parameter. In this work we focus on higher-order wavefront aberrations. The numerical generation of time-dependent turbulence phase screens is based on the well-known power spectral method and on the assumption that the temporal evolution is mainly caused by wind driven propagation of frozen-in turbulence across the telescope. To analyze the seeing induced cross-talk between the Stokes parameters we consider polarization modulation scheme based on a continuously rotating waveplate with rotation frequencies between 1 Hz and several 100 Hz. Further, we have started the development of a new fast solar imaging polarimeter, based on pnCCD detector technology from PNSensor. The first detector will have a size of 264 x 264 pixels and will work at frame rates of up to 1kHz, combined with a very low readout noise of 2-3 e- ENC. The camera readout electronics will allow for buffering and accumulation of images corresponding to the different phases of the fast polarization modulation. A high write-out rate (about 30 to 50 frames/s) will allow for post-facto image reconstruction. We will present the concept and the expected performance of the new polarimeter, based on the above-mentioned simulations of atmospheric seeing.

Pulse shape discrimination based on fast signals from silicon photomultipliers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Junhao; Wei, Zhiyong; Fang, Meihua; Zhang, Zixia; Cheng, Can; Wang, Yi; Su, Huiwen; Ran, Youquan; Zhu, Qingwei; Zhang, He; Duan, Kai; Chen, Ming; Liu, Meng

2018-06-01

Recent developments in organic plastic scintillators capable of pulse shape discrimination (PSD) enable a breakthrough in discrimination between neutrons and gammas. Plastic scintillator detectors coupled with silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) offer many advantages, such as lower power consumption, smaller volume, and especially insensitivity to magnetic fields, compared with conventional photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). A SensL SiPM has two outputs: a standard output and a fast output. It is known that the charge injected into the fast output electrode is typically approximately 2% of the total charge generated during the avalanche, whereas the charge injected into the standard output electrode is nearly 98% of the total. Fast signals from SiPMs exhibit better performance in terms of timing and time-correlated measurements compared with standard signals. The pulse duration of a standard signal is on the order of hundreds of nanoseconds, whereas the pulse duration of the main monopole waveform of a fast signal is a few tens of nanoseconds. Fast signals are traditionally thought to be suitable for photon counting at very high speeds but unsuitable for PSD due to the partial charge collection. Meanwhile, the standard outputs of SiPMs coupled with discriminating scintillators have yielded nice PSD performances, but there have been no reports on PSD using fast signals. Our analysis shows that fast signals can also provide discrimination if the rate of charge injection into the fast output electrode is fixed for each event, even though only a portion of the charge is collected. In this work, we achieved successful PSD using fast signals; meanwhile, using a coincidence timing window of less 3 nanoseconds between the readouts from both ends of the detector reduced the influence of the high SiPM dark current. We experimentally achieved good timing performance and PSD capability simultaneously.

A Neutron Star-White Dwarf Binary Model for Repeating Fast Radio Burst 121102

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Wei-Min; Dong, Yi-Ze; Liu, Tong; Ma, Renyi; Wang, Junfeng

2016-06-01

We propose a compact binary model for the fast radio burst (FRB) repeaters, where the system consists of a magnetic white dwarf (WD) and a neutron star (NS) with strong bipolar magnetic fields. When the WD fills its Roche lobe, mass transfer will occur from the WD to the NS through the inner Lagrange point. The accreted magnetized materials may trigger magnetic reconnection when they approach the NS surface, and therefore the electrons can be accelerated to an ultra-relativistic speed. In this scenario, the curvature radiation of the electrons moving along the NS magnetic field lines can account for the characteristic frequency and the timescale of an FRB. Owing to the conservation of angular momentum, the WD may be kicked away after a burst, and the next burst may appear when the system becomes semi-detached again through the gravitational radiation. By comparing our analyses with the observations, we show that such an intermittent Roche-lobe overflow mechanism can be responsible for the observed repeating behavior of FRB 121102.

Comparative analysis of feature extraction methods in satellite imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karim, Shahid; Zhang, Ye; Asif, Muhammad Rizwan; Ali, Saad

2017-10-01

Feature extraction techniques are extensively being used in satellite imagery and getting impressive attention for remote sensing applications. The state-of-the-art feature extraction methods are appropriate according to the categories and structures of the objects to be detected. Based on distinctive computations of each feature extraction method, different types of images are selected to evaluate the performance of the methods, such as binary robust invariant scalable keypoints (BRISK), scale-invariant feature transform, speeded-up robust features (SURF), features from accelerated segment test (FAST), histogram of oriented gradients, and local binary patterns. Total computational time is calculated to evaluate the speed of each feature extraction method. The extracted features are counted under shadow regions and preprocessed shadow regions to compare the functioning of each method. We have studied the combination of SURF with FAST and BRISK individually and found very promising results with an increased number of features and less computational time. Finally, feature matching is conferred for all methods.

On the period determination of ASAS eclipsing binaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayangsari, L.; Priyatikanto, R.; Putra, M.

2014-03-01

Variable stars, or particularly eclipsing binaries, are very essential astronomical occurrence. Surveys are the backbone of astronomy, and many discoveries of variable stars are the results of surveys. All-Sky Automated Survey (ASAS) is one of the observing projects whose ultimate goal is photometric monitoring of variable stars. Since its first light in 1997, ASAS has collected 50,099 variable stars, with 11,076 eclipsing binaries among them. In the present work we focus on the period determination of the eclipsing binaries. Since the number of data points in each ASAS eclipsing binary light curve is sparse, period determination of any system is a not straightforward process. For 30 samples of such systems we compare the implementation of Lomb-Scargle algorithm which is an Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) basis and Phase Dispersion Minimization (PDM) method which is non-FFT basis to determine their period. It is demonstrated that PDM gives better performance at handling eclipsing detached (ED) systems whose variability are non-sinusoidal. More over, using semi-automatic recipes, we get better period solution and satisfactorily improve 53% of the selected object's light curves, but failed against another 7% of selected objects. In addition, we also highlight 4 interesting objects for further investigation.

Bayesian model-emulation of stochastic gravitational-wave spectra for probes of the final-parsec problem with pulsar-timing arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, Stephen R.; Simon, Joseph; Sampson, Laura

2017-01-01

The final parsec of supermassive black-hole binary evolution is subject to the complex interplay of stellar loss-cone scattering, circumbinary disk accretion, and gravitational-wave emission, with binary eccentricity affected by all of these. The strain spectrum of gravitational-waves in the pulsar-timing band thus encodes rich information about the binary population's response to these various environmental mechanisms. Current spectral models have heretofore followed basic analytic prescriptions, and attempt to investigate these final-parsec mechanisms in an indirect fashion. Here we describe a new technique to directly probe the environmental properties of supermassive black-hole binaries through "Bayesian model-emulation". We perform black-hole binary population synthesis simulations at a restricted set of environmental parameter combinations, compute the strain spectra from these, then train a Gaussian process to learn the shape of the spectrum at any point in parameter space. We describe this technique, demonstrate its efficacy with a program of simulated datasets, then illustrate its power by directly constraining final-parsec physics in a Bayesian analysis of the NANOGrav 5-year dataset. The technique is fast, flexible, and robust.

Bayesian model-emulation of stochastic gravitational-wave spectra for probes of the final-parsec problem with pulsar-timing arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, Stephen; Simon, Joseph; Sampson, Laura

2017-01-01

The final parsec of supermassive black-hole binary evolution is subject to the complex interplay of stellar loss-cone scattering, circumbinary disk accretion, and gravitational-wave emission, with binary eccentricity affected by all of these. The strain spectrum of gravitational-waves in the pulsar-timing band thus encodes rich information about the binary population's response to these various environmental mechanisms. Current spectral models have heretofore followed basic analytic prescriptions, and attempt to investigate these final-parsec mechanisms in an indirect fashion. Here we describe a new technique to directly probe the environmental properties of supermassive black-hole binaries through ``Bayesian model-emulation''. We perform black-hole binary population synthesis simulations at a restricted set of environmental parameter combinations, compute the strain spectra from these, then train a Gaussian process to learn the shape of spectrum at any point in parameter space. We describe this technique, demonstrate its efficacy with a program of simulated datasets, then illustrate its power by directly constraining final-parsec physics in a Bayesian analysis of the NANOGrav 5-year dataset. The technique is fast, flexible, and robust.

An optimal algorithm for reconstructing images from binary measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Feng; Lu, Yue M.; Sbaiz, Luciano; Vetterli, Martin

2010-01-01

We have studied a camera with a very large number of binary pixels referred to as the gigavision camera [1] or the gigapixel digital film camera [2, 3]. Potential advantages of this new camera design include improved dynamic range, thanks to its logarithmic sensor response curve, and reduced exposure time in low light conditions, due to its highly sensitive photon detection mechanism. We use maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) to reconstruct a high quality conventional image from the binary sensor measurements of the gigavision camera. We prove that when the threshold T is "1", the negative loglikelihood function is a convex function. Therefore, optimal solution can be achieved using convex optimization. Base on filter bank techniques, fast algorithms are given for computing the gradient and the multiplication of a vector and Hessian matrix of the negative log-likelihood function. We show that with a minor change, our algorithm also works for estimating conventional images from multiple binary images. Numerical experiments with synthetic 1-D signals and images verify the effectiveness and quality of the proposed algorithm. Experimental results also show that estimation performance can be improved by increasing the oversampling factor or the number of binary images.

Bit-Table Based Biclustering and Frequent Closed Itemset Mining in High-Dimensional Binary Data

PubMed Central

Király, András; Abonyi, János

2014-01-01

During the last decade various algorithms have been developed and proposed for discovering overlapping clusters in high-dimensional data. The two most prominent application fields in this research, proposed independently, are frequent itemset mining (developed for market basket data) and biclustering (applied to gene expression data analysis). The common limitation of both methodologies is the limited applicability for very large binary data sets. In this paper we propose a novel and efficient method to find both frequent closed itemsets and biclusters in high-dimensional binary data. The method is based on simple but very powerful matrix and vector multiplication approaches that ensure that all patterns can be discovered in a fast manner. The proposed algorithm has been implemented in the commonly used MATLAB environment and freely available for researchers. PMID:24616651

Modeling X-ray and gamma-ray emission in the intrabinary shock of pulsar binaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

An, H.

2017-10-01

We present broadband SED and light curve, and a wind interaction model for the gamma-ray binary 1FGL J1018.6-5856 (J1018) which exhibits double peaks in the X-ray light curve. Assuming that the X-ray to low-energy gamma-ray emission is produced by synchrotron radiation and high-energy gamma rays by inverse Compton scattering in the intrabinary shock (IBS), we model the broadband SED and light curve of J1018 using a two-component model having slow electrons in the shock and fast bulk-accelerated electrons at the skin of the shock. The model explains the broadband SED and light curve of J1018 qualitatively well. In particular, modeling the synchrotron emission constrains the orbital geometry. We discuss potential use of the model for other pulsar binaries.

Processing inferences derived from event-related potential measures in a monitoring task

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Horst, R. L.; Munson, R. C.; Ruchkin, D. S.

1985-01-01

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from the scalp of subjects as they monitored changing digital readouts for values that went 'out-of-bounds'. Workload was manipulated by varying the number of readouts that were monitored concurrently. The ERPs elicited by changes in the readouts showed long latency positivities that increased in amplitude, not only with the number of readouts monitored, but also with the number of monitored readouts that were 'in danger' of going out-of-bounds. No effects were found due to the number of nonmonitored readouts 'in danger'. This evidence indicates that subjects (1) selectively attended to the monitored readouts and (2) processed the monitored readouts differently as the readouts approached the out-of-bounds levels to which an overt response was required.

Demonstration of optical computing logics based on binary decision diagram.

PubMed

Lin, Shiyun; Ishikawa, Yasuhiko; Wada, Kazumi

2012-01-16

Optical circuits are low power consumption and fast speed alternatives for the current information processing based on transistor circuits. However, because of no transistor function available in optics, the architecture for optical computing should be chosen that optics prefers. One of which is Binary Decision Diagram (BDD), where signal is processed by sending an optical signal from the root through a serial of switching nodes to the leaf (terminal). Speed of optical computing is limited by either transmission time of optical signals from the root to the leaf or switching time of a node. We have designed and experimentally demonstrated 1-bit and 2-bit adders based on the BDD architecture. The switching nodes are silicon ring resonators with a modulation depth of 10 dB and the states are changed by the plasma dispersion effect. The quality, Q of the rings designed is 1500, which allows fast transmission of signal, e.g., 1.3 ps calculated by a photon escaping time. A total processing time is thus analyzed to be ~9 ps for a 2-bit adder and would scales linearly with the number of bit. It is two orders of magnitude faster than the conventional CMOS circuitry, ~ns scale of delay. The presented results show the potential of fast speed optical computing circuits.

Charging of insulators by multiply-charged-ion impact probed by slowing down of fast binary-encounter electrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Filippo, E.; Lanzanó, G.; Amorini, F.; Cardella, G.; Geraci, E.; Grassi, L.; La Guidara, E.; Lombardo, I.; Politi, G.; Rizzo, F.; Russotto, P.; Volant, C.; Hagmann, S.; Rothard, H.

2010-12-01

The interaction of ion beams with insulators leads to charging-up phenomena, which at present are under investigation in connection with guiding phenomena in nanocapillaries with possible application in nanofocused beams. We studied the charging dynamics of insulating foil targets [Mylar, polypropylene (PP)] irradiated with swift ion beams (C, O, Ag, and Xe at 40, 23, 40, and 30 MeV/u, respectively) via the measurement of the slowing down of fast binary-encounter electrons. Also, sandwich targets (Mylar covered with a thin Au layer on both surfaces) and Mylar with Au on only one surface were used. Fast-electron spectra were measured by the time-of-flight method at the superconducting cyclotron of Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (LNS) Catania. The charge buildup leads to target-material-dependent potentials of the order of 6.0 kV for Mylar and 2.8 kV for PP. The sandwich targets, surprisingly, show the same behavior as the insulating targets, whereas a single Au layer on the electron and ion exit side strongly suppresses the charging phenomenon. The accumulated number of projectiles needed for charging up is inversely proportional to electronic energy loss. Thus, the charging up is directly related to emission of secondary electrons.

Readout for phase qubits without Josephson junctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steffen, Matthias; Kumar, Shwetank; DiVincenzo, David; Keefe, George; Ketchen, Mark; Rothwell, Mary Beth; Rozen, Jim

2010-03-01

We present a readout scheme for phase qubits which eliminates the read-out superconducting quantum interference device so that the entire qubit and measurement circuitry only require a single Josephson junction. Our scheme capacitively couples the phase qubit directly to a transmission line and detects its state after the measurement pulse by determining a frequency shift observable in the forward scattering parameter of the readout microwaves. This readout is extendable to multiple phase qubits coupled to a common readout line and can in principle be used for other flux biased qubits having two quasistable readout configurations.

High-Dose Neutron Detector Development Using 10B Coated Cells

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Menlove, Howard Olsen; Henzlova, Daniela

2016-11-08

During FY16 the boron-lined parallel-plate technology was optimized to fully benefit from its fast timing characteristics in order to enhance its high count rate capability. To facilitate high count rate capability, a novel fast amplifier with timing and operating properties matched to the detector characteristics was developed and implemented in the 8” boron plate detector that was purchased from PDT. Each of the 6 sealed-cells was connected to a fast amplifier with corresponding List mode readout from each amplifier. The FY16 work focused on improvements in the boron-10 coating materials and procedures at PDT to significantly improve the neutron detectionmore » efficiency. An improvement in the efficiency of a factor of 1.5 was achieved without increasing the metal backing area for the boron coating. This improvement has allowed us to operate the detector in gamma-ray backgrounds that are four orders of magnitude higher than was previously possible while maintaining a relatively high counting efficiency for neutrons. This improvement in the gamma-ray rejection is a key factor in the development of the high dose neutron detector.« less

Tests of PMT signal read-out of liquid argon scintillation with a new fast waveform digitizer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Acciarri, R.; Canci, N.; Cavanna, F.; Cortopassi, A.; D'Incecco, M.; Mini, G.; Pietropaolo, F.; Romboli, A.; Segreto, E.; Szelc, A. M.

2012-07-01

The CAEN V1751 is a new generation of Waveform Digitizer recently introduced by CAEN SpA. It features 8 Channels per board, 10 bit, 1 GS/s using Flash ADCs Waveform Digitizers (or 4 channels at 2 GS/s in Dual Edge Sampling mode) with threshold and Auto-Trigger capabilities. This provides a good basis for data acquisition in Dark Matter searches using PMTs to detect scintillation light in liquid argon, as it matches the requirements for measuring the fast scintillation component. The board was tested by operating it in real experimental conditions and by comparing it with a state of the art digital oscilloscope. We find that the sampling at 1 or 2 GS/s is appropriate for the reconstruction of the fast component of the scintillation light in argon (characteristic time of about 6-7 ns) and the extended dynamic range, after a small customization, allows for the detection of signals in the range of energy needed. The bandwidth is found to be adequate and the intrinsic noise is very low.

Combining endoscopic ultrasound with Time-Of-Flight PET: The EndoTOFPET-US Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frisch, Benjamin

2013-12-01

The EndoTOFPET-US collaboration develops a multimodal imaging technique for endoscopic exams of the pancreas or the prostate. It combines the benefits of high resolution metabolic imaging with Time-Of-Flight Positron Emission Tomography (TOF PET) and anatomical imaging with ultrasound (US). EndoTOFPET-US consists of a PET head extension for a commercial US endoscope and a PET plate outside the body in coincidence with the head. The high level of miniaturization and integration creates challenges in fields such as scintillating crystals, ultra-fast photo-detection, highly integrated electronics, system integration and image reconstruction. Amongst the developments, fast scintillators as well as fast and compact digital SiPMs with single SPAD readout are used to obtain the best coincidence time resolution (CTR). Highly integrated ASICs and DAQ electronics contribute to the timing performances of EndoTOFPET. In view of the targeted resolution of around 1 mm in the reconstructed image, we present a prototype detector system with a CTR better than 240 ps FWHM. We discuss the challenges in simulating such a system and introduce reconstruction algorithms based on graphics processing units (GPU).

The Spot Variability and Related Brightness variations of the Solar Type PreContact W UMa Binary System V1001 Cas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samec, Ronald George; Koenke, Sam S.; Faulkner, Danny R.

2015-08-01

A new classification of eclipsing binary has emerged, Pre Contact WUMa Binaries (PCWB’s, Samec et al. 2012). These solar-type systems are usually detached or semidetached with one or both components under filling their critical Roche lobes. They usually have EA or EB-type light curves (unequal eclipse depths, indicating components with substantially different temperatures). The accepted scenario for these W UMa binaries is that they are undergoing steady but slow angular momentum losses due to magnetic braking as stellar winds blow radially away on stiff bipolar field lines. These binaries are believed to come into stable contact and eventually coalesce into blue straggler type, single, fast rotating A-type stars (Guinan and Bradstreet,1988). High precision 2012 and 2009 light curves are compared for the very short period (~0.43d) Precontact W UMa Binary (PCWB), V1001 Cassiopeia. This is the shortest period PCWB found so far. Its short period, similar to the majority of W UMa’s, in contrast to its distinct Algol-type light curve, make it a very rare and interesting system. Our solutions of light curves separated by some three years give approximately the same physical parameters. However the spots radically change, in temperature, area and position causing a distinctive variation in the shape of the light curves. We conclude that spots are very active on this solar type dwarf system and that it may mimic its larger cousins, the RS CVn binaries.

FPGA-based multi-channel fluorescence lifetime analysis of Fourier multiplexed frequency-sweeping lifetime imaging

PubMed Central

Zhao, Ming; Li, Yu; Peng, Leilei

2014-01-01

We report a fast non-iterative lifetime data analysis method for the Fourier multiplexed frequency-sweeping confocal FLIM (Fm-FLIM) system [ Opt. Express22, 10221 ( 2014)24921725]. The new method, named R-method, allows fast multi-channel lifetime image analysis in the system’s FPGA data processing board. Experimental tests proved that the performance of the R-method is equivalent to that of single-exponential iterative fitting, and its sensitivity is well suited for time-lapse FLIM-FRET imaging of live cells, for example cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) level imaging with GFP-Epac-mCherry sensors. With the R-method and its FPGA implementation, multi-channel lifetime images can now be generated in real time on the multi-channel frequency-sweeping FLIM system, and live readout of FRET sensors can be performed during time-lapse imaging. PMID:25321778

The PANDA DIRC detectors at FAIR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwarz, C.; Ali, A.; Belias, A.; Dzhygadlo, R.; Gerhardt, A.; Götzen, K.; Kalicy, G.; Krebs, M.; Lehmann, D.; Nerling, F.; Patsyuk, M.; Peters, K.; Schepers, G.; Schmitt, L.; Schwiening, J.; Traxler, M.; Zühlsdorf, M.; Böhm, M.; Britting, A.; Eyrich, W.; Lehmann, A.; Pfaffinger, M.; Uhlig, F.; Düren, M.; Etzelmüller, E.; Föhl, K.; Hayrapetyan, A.; Kreutzfeld, K.; Kröck, B.; Merle, O.; Rieke, J.; Schmidt, M.; Wasem, T.; Achenbach, P.; Cardinali, M.; Hoek, M.; Lauth, W.; Schlimme, S.; Sfienti, C.; Thiel, M.; Allison, L.; Hyde, C.

2017-07-01

The PANDA detector at the international accelerator Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research in Europe (FAIR) addresses fundamental questions of hadron physics. An excellent hadronic particle identification (PID) will be accomplished by two DIRC (Detection of Internally Reflected Cherenkov light) counters in the target spectrometer. The design for the barrel region covering polar angles between 22o to 140o is based on the successful BABAR DIRC with several key improvements, such as fast photon timing and a compact imaging region. The novel Endcap Disc DIRC will cover the smaller forward angles between 5o (10o) to 22o in the vertical (horizontal) direction. Both DIRC counters will use lifetime-enhanced microchannel plate PMTs for photon detection in combination with fast readout electronics. Geant4 simulations and tests with several prototypes at various beam facilities have been used to evaluate the designs and validate the expected PID performance of both PANDA DIRC counters.

The design of a fast Level 1 Track trigger for the ATLAS High Luminosity Upgrade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller Allbrooke, Benedict Marc; ATLAS Collaboration

2017-10-01

The ATLAS experiment at the high-luminosity LHC will face a five-fold increase in the number of interactions per collision relative to the ongoing Run 2. This will require a proportional improvement in rejection power at the earliest levels of the detector trigger system, while preserving good signal efficiency, due to the increase in the likelihood of individual trigger thresholds being passed as a result of pile-up related activity. One critical aspect of this improvement will be the implementation of precise track reconstruction, through which sharper turn-on curves, b-tagging and tau-tagging techniques can in principle be implemented. The challenge of such a project comes in the development of a fast, precise custom electronic device integrated in the hardware-based first trigger level of the experiment, with repercussions propagating as far as the detector read-out philosophy.

Health Implications of Adults' Eating at and Living near Fast Food or Quick Service Restaurants.

PubMed

Jiao, J; Moudon, A V; Kim, S Y; Hurvitz, P M; Drewnowski, A

2015-07-20

This paper examined whether the reported health impacts of frequent eating at a fast food or quick service restaurant on health were related to having such a restaurant near home. Logistic regressions estimated associations between frequent fast food or quick service restaurant use and health status, being overweight or obese, having a cardiovascular disease or diabetes, as binary health outcomes. In all, 2001 participants in the 2008-2009 Seattle Obesity Study survey were included in the analyses. Results showed eating ⩾2 times a week at a fast food or quick service restaurant was associated with perceived poor health status, overweight and obese. However, living close to such restaurants was not related to negative health outcomes. Frequent eating at a fast food or quick service restaurant was associated with perceived poor health status and higher body mass index, but living close to such facilities was not.

Note: Design and implementation of a home-built imaging system with low jitter for cold atom experiments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hachtel, A. J.; Gillette, M. C.; Clements, E. R.

A novel home-built system for imaging cold atom samples is presented using a readily available astronomy camera which has the requisite sensitivity but no timing-control. We integrate the camera with LabVIEW achieving fast, low-jitter imaging with a convenient user-defined interface. We show that our system takes precisely timed millisecond exposures and offers significant improvements in terms of system jitter and readout time over previously reported home-built systems. Our system rivals current commercial “black box” systems in performance and user-friendliness.

Upgraded photon calorimeter with integrating readout for Hall A Compton Polarimeter at Jefferson Lab

DOE PAGES

Friend, M.; Parno, D.; Benmokhtar, F.; ...

2012-06-01

The photon arm of the Compton polarimeter in Hall A of Jefferson Lab has been upgraded to allow for electron beam polarization measurements with better than 1% accuracy. The data acquisition system (DAQ) now includes an integrating mode, which eliminates several systematic uncertainties inherent in the original counting-DAQ setup. The photon calorimeter has been replaced with a Ce-doped Gd 2SiO 5 crystal, which has a bright output and fast response, and works well for measurements using the new integrating method at electron beam energies from 1 to 6 GeV.

Waveform digitization for high resolution timing detectors with silicon photomultipliers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ronzhin, A.; Albrow, M. G.; Los, S.

2012-03-01

The results of time resolution studies with silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) read out with high bandwidth constant fraction discrimination electronics were presented earlier [1-3]. Here we describe the application of fast waveform digitization readout based on the DRS4 chip [4], a switched capacitor array (SCA) produced by the Paul Scherrer Institute, to further our goal of developing high time resolution detectors based on SiPMs. The influence of the SiPM signal shape on the time resolution was investigated. Different algorithms to obtain the best time resolution are described, and test beam results are presented.

Turboprop: improved PROPELLER imaging.

PubMed

Pipe, James G; Zwart, Nicholas

2006-02-01

A variant of periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (PROPELLER) MRI, called turboprop, is introduced. This method employs an oscillating readout gradient during each spin echo of the echo train to collect more lines of data per echo train, which reduces the minimum scan time, motion-related artifact, and specific absorption rate (SAR) while increasing sampling efficiency. It can be applied to conventional fast spin-echo (FSE) imaging; however, this article emphasizes its application in diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). The method is described and compared with conventional PROPELLER imaging, and clinical images collected with this PROPELLER variant are shown. Copyright 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

A fast one-chip event-preprocessor and sequencer for the Simbol-X Low Energy Detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schanz, T.; Tenzer, C.; Maier, D.; Kendziorra, E.; Santangelo, A.

2010-12-01

We present an FPGA-based digital camera electronics consisting of an Event-Preprocessor (EPP) for on-board data preprocessing and a related Sequencer (SEQ) to generate the necessary signals to control the readout of the detector. The device has been originally designed for the Simbol-X low energy detector (LED). The EPP operates on 64×64 pixel images and has a real-time processing capability of more than 8000 frames per second. The already working releases of the EPP and the SEQ are now combined into one Digital-Camera-Controller-Chip (D3C).

Holographic optical disc

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Gan; An, Xin; Pu, Allen; Psaltis, Demetri; Mok, Fai H.

1999-11-01

The holographic disc is a high capacity, disk-based data storage device that can provide the performance for next generation mass data storage needs. With a projected capacity approaching 1 terabit on a single 12 cm platter, the holographic disc has the potential to become a highly efficient storage hardware for data warehousing applications. The high readout rate of holographic disc makes it especially suitable for generating multiple, high bandwidth data streams such as required for network server computers. Multimedia applications such as interactive video and HDTV can also potentially benefit from the high capacity and fast data access of holographic memory.

A novel scheme to aid coherent detection of GMSK signals in fast Rayleigh fading channels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leung, Patrick S. K.; Feher, Kamilo

1990-01-01

A novel scheme to insert carrier pilot to Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying (GMSK) signal using Binary Block Code (BBC) and a highpass filter in baseband is proposed. This allows the signal to be coherently demodulated even in a fast Rayleigh fading environment. As an illustrative example, the scheme is applied to a 16 kb/s GMSK signal, and its performance over a fast Rayleigh fading channel is investigated using computer simulation. This modem's 'irreducible error rate' is found to be Pe = 5.5 x 10(exp -5) which is more than that of differential detection. The modem's performance in Rician fading channel is currently under investigation.

Fingerprint of Lung Fluid Ultrafine Particles, a Novel Marker of Acute Lung Inflammation.

PubMed

Bar-Shai, Amir; Alcalay, Yifat; Sagiv, Adi; Rotem, Michal; Feigelson, Sara W; Alon, Ronen; Fireman, Elizabeth

2015-01-01

Acute lung inflammation can be monitored by various biochemical readouts of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). To analyze the BALF content of ultrafine particles (UFP; <100 nm) as an inflammatory biomarker in early diagnosis of acute and chronic lung diseases. Mice were exposed to different stress conditions and inflammatory insults (acute lipopolysaccharide inhalation, tobacco smoke and lethal dose of total body irradiation, i.e. 950 rad). After centrifugation, the cellular pellet was assessed while cytokines and ultrafine particles were measured in the soluble fraction of the BALF. A characteristic UFP distribution with a D50 (i.e. the dimension of the 50th UFP percentile) was shared by all tested mouse strains in the BALF of resting lungs. All tested inflammatory insults similarly shifted this size distribution, resulting in a unique UFP fingerprint with an averaged D50 of 58.6 nm, compared with the mean UFP D50 of 23.7 nm for resting BALF (p < 0.0001). This UFP profile was highly reproducible and independent of the intensity or duration of the inflammatory trigger. It returned to baseline after resolution of the inflammation. Neither total body irradiation nor induction of acute cough induced this fingerprint. The UFP fingerprint in the BALF of resting and inflamed lungs can serve as a binary biomarker of healthy and acutely inflamed lungs. This marker can be used as a novel readout for the onset of inflammatory lung diseases and for complete lung recovery from different insults.

Practical low-cost visual communication using binary images for deaf sign language.

PubMed

Manoranjan, M D; Robinson, J A

2000-03-01

Deaf sign language transmitted by video requires a temporal resolution of 8 to 10 frames/s for effective communication. Conventional videoconferencing applications, when operated over low bandwidth telephone lines, provide very low temporal resolution of pictures, of the order of less than a frame per second, resulting in jerky movement of objects. This paper presents a practical solution for sign language communication, offering adequate temporal resolution of images using moving binary sketches or cartoons, implemented on standard personal computer hardware with low-cost cameras and communicating over telephone lines. To extract cartoon points an efficient feature extraction algorithm adaptive to the global statistics of the image is proposed. To improve the subjective quality of the binary images, irreversible preprocessing techniques, such as isolated point removal and predictive filtering, are used. A simple, efficient and fast recursive temporal prefiltering scheme, using histograms of successive frames, reduces the additive and multiplicative noise from low-cost cameras. An efficient three-dimensional (3-D) compression scheme codes the binary sketches. Subjective tests performed on the system confirm that it can be used for sign language communication over telephone lines.

Empirical comparison study of approximate methods for structure selection in binary graphical models.

PubMed

Viallon, Vivian; Banerjee, Onureena; Jougla, Eric; Rey, Grégoire; Coste, Joel

2014-03-01

Looking for associations among multiple variables is a topical issue in statistics due to the increasing amount of data encountered in biology, medicine, and many other domains involving statistical applications. Graphical models have recently gained popularity for this purpose in the statistical literature. In the binary case, however, exact inference is generally very slow or even intractable because of the form of the so-called log-partition function. In this paper, we review various approximate methods for structure selection in binary graphical models that have recently been proposed in the literature and compare them through an extensive simulation study. We also propose a modification of one existing method, that is shown to achieve good performance and to be generally very fast. We conclude with an application in which we search for associations among causes of death recorded on French death certificates. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A novel mechanism for creating double pulsars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sigurdsson, Steinn; Hernquist, Lars

1992-01-01

Simulations of encounters between pairs of hard binaries, each containing a neutron star and a main-sequence star, reveal a new formation mechanism for double pulsars in dense cores of globular clusters. In many cases, the two normal stars are disrupted to form a common envelope around the pair of neutron stars, both of which will be spun up to become millisecond pulsars. We predict that a new class of pulsars, double millisecond pulsars, will be discovered in the cores of dense globular clusters. The genesis proceeds through a short-lived double-core common envelope phase, with the envelope ejected in a fast wind. It is possible that the progenitor may also undergo a double X-ray binary phase. Any circular, short-period double pulsar found in the galaxy would necessarily come from disrupted disk clusters, unlike Hulse-Taylor class pulsars or low-mass X-ray binaries which may be ejected from clusters or formed in the galaxy.

Mesoscale Polymer Dissolution Probed by Raman Spectroscopy and Molecular Simulations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chang, Tsun-Mei; Xantheas, Sotiris S.; Vasdekis, Andreas E.

2016-10-13

The diffusion of various solvents into a polystyrene (PS) matrix was probed experimentally by monitoring the temporal profiles of the Raman spectra and theoretically from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the binary system. The simulation results assist in providing a fundamental, molecular level connection between the mixing/dissolution processes and the difference = solvent – PS in the values of the Hildebrand parameter () between the two components of the binary systems: solvents having similar values of with PS (small ) exhibit fast diffusion into the polymer matrix, whereas the diffusion slows down considerably when the ’s are different (large ).more » To this end, the Hildebrand parameter was identified as a useful descriptor that governs the process of mixing in polymer – solvent binary systems. The experiments also provide insight into further refinements of the models specific to non-Fickian diffusion phenomena that need to be used in the simulations.« less

Removal of thallium from aqueous solutions using Fe-Mn binary oxides.

PubMed

Li, Huosheng; Chen, Yongheng; Long, Jianyou; Li, Xiuwan; Jiang, Daqian; Zhang, Ping; Qi, Jianying; Huang, Xuexia; Liu, Juan; Xu, Ruibing; Gong, Jian

2017-09-15

In this study, Fe-Mn binary oxides, which harbor the strong oxidative power of manganese dioxide and the high adsorption capacity of iron oxides, were synthesized for Tl(I) removal using a concurrent chemical oxidation and precipitation method. The adsorption of Tl onto the Fe-Mn adsorbent was fast, effective, and selective, with equilibrium sorption reaching over 95% under a broad operating pH (3-12), and high ionic strength (0.1-0.5mol/L). The adsorption can be well fitted with both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms, and the kinetics can be well described by the pseudo-second-order model. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectra suggest that surface complexation, oxidation and precipitation were the main mechanisms for the removal of Tl. This study shows that the Fe-Mn binary oxides could be a promising adsorbent for Tl removal. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fast measurement of proton exchange membrane fuel cell impedance based on pseudo-random binary sequence perturbation signals and continuous wavelet transform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Debenjak, Andrej; Boškoski, Pavle; Musizza, Bojan; Petrovčič, Janko; Juričić, Đani

2014-05-01

This paper proposes an approach to the estimation of PEM fuel cell impedance by utilizing pseudo-random binary sequence as a perturbation signal and continuous wavelet transform with Morlet mother wavelet. With the approach, the impedance characteristic in the frequency band from 0.1 Hz to 500 Hz is identified in 60 seconds, approximately five times faster compared to the conventional single-sine approach. The proposed approach was experimentally evaluated on a single PEM fuel cell of a larger fuel cell stack. The quality of the results remains at the same level compared to the single-sine approach.

Matching asteroid population characteristics with a model constructed from the YORP-induced rotational fission hypothesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobson, Seth A.; Marzari, Francesco; Rossi, Alessandro; Scheeres, Daniel J.

2016-10-01

From the results of a comprehensive asteroid population evolution model, we conclude that the YORP-induced rotational fission hypothesis is consistent with the observed population statistics of small asteroids in the main belt including binaries and contact binaries. These conclusions rest on the asteroid rotation model of Marzari et al. ([2011]Icarus, 214, 622-631), which incorporates both the YORP effect and collisional evolution. This work adds to that model the rotational fission hypothesis, described in detail within, and the binary evolution model of Jacobson et al. ([2011a] Icarus, 214, 161-178) and Jacobson et al. ([2011b] The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 736, L19). Our complete asteroid population evolution model is highly constrained by these and other previous works, and therefore it has only two significant free parameters: the ratio of low to high mass ratio binaries formed after rotational fission events and the mean strength of the binary YORP (BYORP) effect. We successfully reproduce characteristic statistics of the small asteroid population: the binary fraction, the fast binary fraction, steady-state mass ratio fraction and the contact binary fraction. We find that in order for the model to best match observations, rotational fission produces high mass ratio (> 0.2) binary components with four to eight times the frequency as low mass ratio (<0.2) components, where the mass ratio is the mass of the secondary component divided by the mass of the primary component. This is consistent with post-rotational fission binary system mass ratio being drawn from either a flat or a positive and shallow distribution, since the high mass ratio bin is four times the size of the low mass ratio bin; this is in contrast to the observed steady-state binary mass ratio, which has a negative and steep distribution. This can be understood in the context of the BYORP-tidal equilibrium hypothesis, which predicts that low mass ratio binaries survive for a significantly longer period of time than high mass ratio systems. We also find that the mean of the log-normal BYORP coefficient distribution μB ≳10-2 , which is consistent with estimates from shape modeling (McMahon and Scheeres, 2012a).

Genetically Targeted All-Optical Electrophysiology with a Transgenic Cre-Dependent Optopatch Mouse

PubMed Central

Lou, Shan; Adam, Yoav; Weinstein, Eli N.; Williams, Erika; Williams, Katherine; Parot, Vicente; Kavokine, Nikita; Liberles, Stephen; Madisen, Linda; Zeng, Hongkui

2016-01-01

Recent advances in optogenetics have enabled simultaneous optical perturbation and optical readout of membrane potential in diverse cell types. Here, we develop and characterize a Cre-dependent transgenic Optopatch2 mouse line that we call Floxopatch. The animals expressed a blue-shifted channelrhodopsin, CheRiff, and a near infrared Archaerhodopsin-derived voltage indicator, QuasAr2, via targeted knock-in at the rosa26 locus. In Optopatch-expressing animals, we tested for overall health, genetically targeted expression, and function of the optogenetic components. In offspring of Floxopatch mice crossed with a variety of Cre driver lines, we observed spontaneous and optically evoked activity in vitro in acute brain slices and in vivo in somatosensory ganglia. Cell-type-specific expression allowed classification and characterization of neuronal subtypes based on their firing patterns. The Floxopatch mouse line is a useful tool for fast and sensitive characterization of neural activity in genetically specified cell types in intact tissue. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Optical recordings of neural activity offer the promise of rapid and spatially resolved mapping of neural function. Calcium imaging has been widely applied in this mode, but is insensitive to the details of action potential waveforms and subthreshold events. Simultaneous optical perturbation and optical readout of single-cell electrical activity (“Optopatch”) has been demonstrated in cultured neurons and in organotypic brain slices, but not in acute brain slices or in vivo. Here, we describe a transgenic mouse in which expression of Optopatch constructs is controlled by the Cre-recombinase enzyme. This animal enables fast and robust optical measurements of single-cell electrical excitability in acute brain slices and in somatosensory ganglia in vivo, opening the door to rapid optical mapping of neuronal excitability. PMID:27798186

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thirolf, P. G.; Habs, D.; Filipescu, D.

Next-generation {gamma} beams from laser Compton-backscattering facilities like ELI-NP (Bucharest)] or MEGa-Ray (Livermore) will drastically exceed the photon flux presently available at existing facilities, reaching or even exceeding 10{sup 13}{gamma}/sec. The beam structure as presently foreseen for MEGa-Ray and ELI-NP builds upon a structure of macro-pulses ({approx}120 Hz) for the electron beam, accelerated with X-band technology at 11.5 GHz, resulting in a micro structure of 87 ps distance between the electron pulses acting as mirrors for a counterpropagating intense laser. In total each 8.3 ms a {gamma} pulse series with a duration of about 100 ns will impinge on themore » target, resulting in an instantaneous photon flux of about 10{sup 18}{gamma}/s, thus introducing major challenges in view of pile-up. Novel {gamma} optics will be applied to monochromatize the {gamma} beam to ultimately {Delta}E/E{approx}10{sup -6}. Thus level-selective spectroscopy of higher multipole excitations will become accessible with good contrast for the first time. Fast responding {gamma} detectors, e.g. based on advanced scintillator technology (e.g. LaBr{sub 3}(Ce)) allow for measurements with count rates as high as 10{sup 6}-10{sup 7}{gamma}/s without significant drop of performance. Data handling adapted to the beam conditions could be performed by fast digitizing electronics, able to sample data traces during the micro-pulse duration, while the subsequent macro-pulse gap of ca. 8 ms leaves ample time for data readout. A ball of LaBr{sub 3} detectors with digital readout appears to best suited for this novel type of nuclear photonics at ultra-high counting rates.« less

A Control System and Streaming DAQ Platform with Image-Based Trigger for X-ray Imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stevanovic, Uros; Caselle, Michele; Cecilia, Angelica; Chilingaryan, Suren; Farago, Tomas; Gasilov, Sergey; Herth, Armin; Kopmann, Andreas; Vogelgesang, Matthias; Balzer, Matthias; Baumbach, Tilo; Weber, Marc

2015-06-01

High-speed X-ray imaging applications play a crucial role for non-destructive investigations of the dynamics in material science and biology. On-line data analysis is necessary for quality assurance and data-driven feedback, leading to a more efficient use of a beam time and increased data quality. In this article we present a smart camera platform with embedded Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) processing that is able to stream and process data continuously in real-time. The setup consists of a Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) sensor, an FPGA readout card, and a readout computer. It is seamlessly integrated in a new custom experiment control system called Concert that provides a more efficient way of operating a beamline by integrating device control, experiment process control, and data analysis. The potential of the embedded processing is demonstrated by implementing an image-based trigger. It records the temporal evolution of physical events with increased speed while maintaining the full field of view. The complete data acquisition system, with Concert and the smart camera platform was successfully integrated and used for fast X-ray imaging experiments at KIT's synchrotron radiation facility ANKA.

Optimized quantum sensing with a single electron spin using real-time adaptive measurements.

PubMed

Bonato, C; Blok, M S; Dinani, H T; Berry, D W; Markham, M L; Twitchen, D J; Hanson, R

2016-03-01

Quantum sensors based on single solid-state spins promise a unique combination of sensitivity and spatial resolution. The key challenge in sensing is to achieve minimum estimation uncertainty within a given time and with high dynamic range. Adaptive strategies have been proposed to achieve optimal performance, but their implementation in solid-state systems has been hindered by the demanding experimental requirements. Here, we realize adaptive d.c. sensing by combining single-shot readout of an electron spin in diamond with fast feedback. By adapting the spin readout basis in real time based on previous outcomes, we demonstrate a sensitivity in Ramsey interferometry surpassing the standard measurement limit. Furthermore, we find by simulations and experiments that adaptive protocols offer a distinctive advantage over the best known non-adaptive protocols when overhead and limited estimation time are taken into account. Using an optimized adaptive protocol we achieve a magnetic field sensitivity of 6.1 ± 1.7 nT Hz(-1/2) over a wide range of 1.78 mT. These results open up a new class of experiments for solid-state sensors in which real-time knowledge of the measurement history is exploited to obtain optimal performance.

Optimized quantum sensing with a single electron spin using real-time adaptive measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonato, C.; Blok, M. S.; Dinani, H. T.; Berry, D. W.; Markham, M. L.; Twitchen, D. J.; Hanson, R.

2016-03-01

Quantum sensors based on single solid-state spins promise a unique combination of sensitivity and spatial resolution. The key challenge in sensing is to achieve minimum estimation uncertainty within a given time and with high dynamic range. Adaptive strategies have been proposed to achieve optimal performance, but their implementation in solid-state systems has been hindered by the demanding experimental requirements. Here, we realize adaptive d.c. sensing by combining single-shot readout of an electron spin in diamond with fast feedback. By adapting the spin readout basis in real time based on previous outcomes, we demonstrate a sensitivity in Ramsey interferometry surpassing the standard measurement limit. Furthermore, we find by simulations and experiments that adaptive protocols offer a distinctive advantage over the best known non-adaptive protocols when overhead and limited estimation time are taken into account. Using an optimized adaptive protocol we achieve a magnetic field sensitivity of 6.1 ± 1.7 nT Hz-1/2 over a wide range of 1.78 mT. These results open up a new class of experiments for solid-state sensors in which real-time knowledge of the measurement history is exploited to obtain optimal performance.

3D imaging LADAR with linear array devices: laser, detector and ROIC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kameyama, Shumpei; Imaki, Masaharu; Tamagawa, Yasuhisa; Akino, Yosuke; Hirai, Akihito; Ishimura, Eitaro; Hirano, Yoshihito

2009-07-01

This paper introduces the recent development of 3D imaging LADAR (LAser Detection And Ranging) in Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. The system consists of in-house-made key devices which are linear array: the laser, the detector and the ROIC (Read-Out Integrated Circuit). The laser transmitter is the high power and compact planar waveguide array laser at the wavelength of 1.5 micron. The detector array consists of the low excess noise Avalanche Photo Diode (APD) using the InAlAs multiplication layer. The analog ROIC array, which is fabricated in the SiGe- BiCMOS process, includes the Trans-Impedance Amplifiers (TIA), the peak intensity detectors, the Time-Of-Flight (TOF) detectors, and the multiplexers for read-out. This device has the feature in its detection ability for the small signal by optimizing the peak intensity detection circuit. By combining these devices with the one dimensional fast scanner, the real-time 3D range image can be obtained. After the explanations about the key devices, some 3D imaging results are demonstrated using the single element key devices. The imaging using the developed array devices is planned in the near future.

Readout, first- and second-level triggers of the new Belle silicon vertex detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Friedl, M.; Abe, R.; Abe, T.; Aihara, H.; Asano, Y.; Aso, T.; Bakich, A.; Browder, T.; Chang, M. C.; Chao, Y.; Chen, K. F.; Chidzik, S.; Dalseno, J.; Dowd, R.; Dragic, J.; Everton, C. W.; Fernholz, R.; Fujii, H.; Gao, Z. W.; Gordon, A.; Guo, Y. N.; Haba, J.; Hara, K.; Hara, T.; Harada, Y.; Haruyama, T.; Hasuko, K.; Hayashi, K.; Hazumi, M.; Heenan, E. M.; Higuchi, T.; Hirai, H.; Hitomi, N.; Igarashi, A.; Igarashi, Y.; Ikeda, H.; Ishino, H.; Itoh, K.; Iwaida, S.; Kaneko, J.; Kapusta, P.; Karawatzki, R.; Kasami, K.; Kawai, H.; Kawasaki, T.; Kibayashi, A.; Koike, S.; Korpar, S.; Križan, P.; Kurashiro, H.; Kusaka, A.; Lesiak, T.; Limosani, A.; Lin, W. C.; Marlow, D.; Matsumoto, H.; Mikami, Y.; Miyake, H.; Moloney, G. R.; Mori, T.; Nakadaira, T.; Nakano, Y.; Natkaniec, Z.; Nozaki, S.; Ohkubo, R.; Ohno, F.; Okuno, S.; Onuki, Y.; Ostrowicz, W.; Ozaki, H.; Peak, L.; Pernicka, M.; Rosen, M.; Rozanska, M.; Sato, N.; Schmid, S.; Shibata, T.; Stamen, R.; Stanič, S.; Steininger, H.; Sumisawa, K.; Suzuki, J.; Tajima, H.; Tajima, O.; Takahashi, K.; Takasaki, F.; Tamura, N.; Tanaka, M.; Taylor, G. N.; Terazaki, H.; Tomura, T.; Trabelsi, K.; Trischuk, W.; Tsuboyama, T.; Uchida, K.; Ueno, K.; Ueno, K.; Uozaki, N.; Ushiroda, Y.; Vahsen, S.; Varner, G.; Varvell, K.; Velikzhanin, Y. S.; Wang, C. C.; Wang, M. Z.; Watanabe, M.; Watanabe, Y.; Yamada, Y.; Yamamoto, H.; Yamashita, Y.; Yamashita, Y.; Yamauchi, M.; Yanai, H.; Yang, R.; Yasu, Y.; Yokoyama, M.; Ziegler, T.; Žontar, D.

2004-12-01

A major upgrade of the Silicon Vertex Detector (SVD 2.0) of the Belle experiment at the KEKB factory was installed along with new front-end and back-end electronics systems during the summer shutdown period in 2003 to cope with higher particle rates, improve the track resolution and meet the increasing requirements of radiation tolerance. The SVD 2.0 detector modules are read out by VA1TA chips which provide "fast or" (hit) signals that are combined by the back-end FADCTF modules to coarse, but immediate level 0 track trigger signals at rates of several tens of a kHz. Moreover, the digitized detector signals are compared to threshold lookup tables in the FADCTFs to pass on hit information on a single strip basis to the subsequent level 1.5 trigger system, which reduces the rate below the kHz range. Both FADCTF and level 1.5 electronics make use of parallel real-time processing in Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), while further data acquisition and event building is done by PC farms running Linux. The new readout system hardware is described and the first results obtained with cosmics are shown.

Data Acquisition Backbone Core DABC release v1.0

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adamczewski-Musch, J.; Essel, H. G.; Kurz, N.; Linev, S.

2010-04-01

The Data Acquisition Backbone Core (DABC) is a general purpose software framework designed for the implementation of a wide-range of data acquisition systems - from various small detector test beds to high performance systems. DABC consists of a compact data-flow kernel and a number of plug-ins for various functional components like data inputs, device drivers, user functional modules and applications. DABC provides configurable components for implementing event building over fast networks like InfiniBand or Gigabit Ethernet. A generic Java GUI provides the dynamic control and visualization of control parameters and commands, provided by DIM servers. A first set of application plug-ins has been implemented to use DABC as event builder for the front-end components of the GSI standard DAQ system MBS (Multi Branch System). Another application covers the connection to DAQ readout chains from detector front-end boards (N-XYTER) linked to read-out controller boards (ROC) over UDP into DABC for event building, archiving and data serving. This was applied for data taking in the September 2008 test beamtime for the CBM experiment at GSI. DABC version 1.0 is released and available from the website.

The kaon identification system in the NA62 experiment at CERN

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Romano, A.

2015-07-01

The main goal of the NA62 experiment at CERN is to measure the branching ratio of the ultra-rare K{sup +} → π{sup +} ν ν-bar decay with 10% accuracy. NA62 will use a 750 MHz high-energy un-separated charged hadron beam, with kaons corresponding to ∼6% of the beam, and a kaon decay-in-flight technique. The positive identification of kaons is performed with a differential Cherenkov detector (CEDAR), filled with Nitrogen gas and placed in the incoming beam. To stand the kaon rate (45 MHz average) and meet the performances required in NA62, the Cherenkov detector has been upgraded (KTAG) with newmore » photon detectors, readout, mechanics and cooling systems. The KTAG provides a fast identification of kaons with an efficiency of at least 95% and precise time information with a resolution below 100 ps. A half-equipped KTAG detector has been commissioned during a technical run at CERN in 2012, while the fully equipped detector, its readout and front-end have been commissioned during a pilot run at CERN in October 2014. The measured time resolution and efficiency are within the required performances. (authors)« less

The Gigatracker: An ultra-fast and low-mass silicon pixel detector for the NA62 experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fiorini, M.; Carassiti, V.; Ceccucci, A.; Cortina, E.; Cotta Ramusino, A.; Dellacasa, G.; Garbolino, S.; Jarron, P.; Kaplon, J.; Kluge, A.; Mapelli, A.; Marchetto, F.; Martin, E.; Martoiu, S.; Mazza, G.; Morel, M.; Noy, M.; Nuessle, G.; Petrucci, F.; Riedler, P.; Aglieri Rinella, G.; Rivetti, A.; Tiuraniemi, S.

2011-02-01

The Gigatracker is a hybrid silicon pixel detector developed to track the highly intense NA62 hadron beam with a time resolution of 150 ps (rms). The beam spectrometer of the experiment is composed of three Gigatracker stations installed in vacuum in order to precisely measure momentum, time and direction of every traversing particle. Precise tracking demands a very low mass of the detector assembly ( <0.5% X0 per station) in order to limit multiple scattering and beam hadronic interactions. The high rate and especially the high timing precision requirements are very demanding: two R&D options are ongoing and the corresponding prototype read-out chips have been recently designed and produced in 0.13 μm CMOS technology. One solution makes use of a constant fraction discriminator and on-pixel analogue-based time-to-digital-converter (TDC); the other comprises a delay-locked loop based TDC placed at the end of each pixel column and a time-over-threshold discriminator with time-walk correction technique. The current status of the R&D program is overviewed and results from the prototype read-out chips test are presented.

Web-based DAQ systems: connecting the user and electronics front-ends

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lenzi, Thomas

2016-12-01

Web technologies are quickly evolving and are gaining in computational power and flexibility, allowing for a paradigm shift in the field of Data Acquisition (DAQ) systems design. Modern web browsers offer the possibility to create intricate user interfaces and are able to process and render complex data. Furthermore, new web standards such as WebSockets allow for fast real-time communication between the server and the user with minimal overhead. Those improvements make it possible to move the control and monitoring operations from the back-end servers directly to the user and to the front-end electronics, thus reducing the complexity of the data acquisition chain. Moreover, web-based DAQ systems offer greater flexibility, accessibility, and maintainability on the user side than traditional applications which often lack portability and ease of use. As proof of concept, we implemented a simplified DAQ system on a mid-range Spartan6 Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) development board coupled to a digital front-end readout chip. The system is connected to the Internet and can be accessed from any web browser. It is composed of custom code to control the front-end readout and of a dual soft-core Microblaze processor to communicate with the client.

Time-Based Readout of a Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) for Time of Flight Positron Emission Tomography (TOF-PET)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Powolny, F.; Auffray, E.; Brunner, S. E.; Garutti, E.; Goettlich, M.; Hillemanns, H.; Jarron, P.; Lecoq, P.; Meyer, T.; Schultz-Coulon, H. C.; Shen, W.; Williams, M. C. S.

2011-06-01

Time of flight (TOF) measurements in positron emission tomography (PET) are very challenging in terms of timing performance, and should ideally achieve less than 100 ps FWHM precision. We present a time-based differential technique to read out silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) which has less than 20 ps FWHM electronic jitter. The novel readout is a fast front end circuit (NINO) based on a first stage differential current mode amplifier with 20 Ω input resistance. Therefore the amplifier inputs are connected differentially to the SiPM's anode and cathode ports. The leading edge of the output signal provides the time information, while the trailing edge provides the energy information. Based on a Monte Carlo photon-generation model, HSPICE simulations were run with a 3 × 3 mm2 SiPM-model, read out with a differential current amplifier. The results of these simulations are presented here and compared with experimental data obtained with a 3 × 3 × 15 mm3 LSO crystal coupled to a SiPM. The measured time coincidence precision and the limitations in the overall timing accuracy are interpreted using Monte Carlo/SPICE simulation, Poisson statistics, and geometric effects of the crystal.

Performance of the Low-Jitter High-Gain/Bandwidth Front-End Electronics of the HADES tRPC Wall

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belver, Daniel; Cabanelas, P.; Castro, E.; Garzon, J. A.; Gil, A.; Gonzalez-Diaz, D.; Koenig, W.; Traxler, M.

2010-10-01

A front-end electronics (FEE) chain for accurate time measurements has been developed for the new Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC)-based Time-of-Flight (TOF) wall of the High Acceptance Di-Electron Spectrometer (HADES). The wall covers an area of around 8 m2, divided in 6 sectors. In total, 1122 4-gap timing RPC cells are read-out by 2244 time and charge sensitive channels. The FEE chain consists of 2 custom-made boards: a 4-channel DaughterBOard (DBO) and a 32-channel MotherBOard (MBO). The DBO uses a fast 2 GHz amplifier feeding a dual high-speed discriminator. The time and charge information are encoded, respectively, in the leading edge and the width of an LVDS signal. Each MBO houses up to 8 DBOs providing them regulated voltage supply, threshold values via DACs, test signals and, additionally, routing out a signal proportional to the channel multiplicity needed for a 1st level trigger decision. The MBO delivers LVDS signals to a multi-purpose Trigger Readout Board (TRB) for data acquisition. The FEE allows achieving a system resolution around 75 ps fulfilling comfortably the requirements of the HADES upgrade .

Back-end and interface implementation of the STS-XYTER2 prototype ASIC for the CBM experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kasinski, K.; Szczygiel, R.; Zabolotny, W.

2016-11-01

Each front-end readout ASIC for the High-Energy Physics experiments requires robust and effective hit data streaming and control mechanism. A new STS-XYTER2 full-size prototype chip for the Silicon Tracking System and Muon Chamber detectors in the Compressed Baryonic Matter experiment at Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR, Germany) is a 128-channel time and amplitude measuring solution for silicon microstrip and gas detectors. It operates at 250 kHit/s/channel hit rate, each hit producing 27 bits of information (5-bit amplitude, 14-bit timestamp, position and diagnostics data). The chip back-end implements fast front-end channel read-out, timestamp-wise hit sorting, and data streaming via a scalable interface implementing the dedicated protocol (STS-HCTSP) for chip control and hit transfer with data bandwidth from 9.7 MHit/s up to 47 MHit/s. It also includes multiple options for link diagnostics, failure detection, and throttling features. The back-end is designed to operate with the data acquisition architecture based on the CERN GBTx transceivers. This paper presents the details of the back-end and interface design and its implementation in the UMC 180 nm CMOS process.

A new 9T global shutter pixel with CDS technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yang; Ma, Cheng; Zhou, Quan; Wang, Xinyang

2015-04-01

Benefiting from motion blur free, Global shutter pixel is very widely used in the design of CMOS image sensors for high speed applications such as motion vision, scientifically inspection, etc. In global shutter sensors, all pixel signal information needs to be stored in the pixel first and then waiting for readout. For higher frame rate, we need very fast operation of the pixel array. There are basically two ways for the in pixel signal storage, one is in charge domain, such as the one shown in [1], this needs complicated process during the pixel fabrication. The other one is in voltage domain, one example is the one in [2], this pixel is based on the 4T PPD technology and normally the driving of the high capacitive transfer gate limits the speed of the array operation. In this paper we report a new 9T global shutter pixel based on 3-T partially pinned photodiode (PPPD) technology. It incorporates three in-pixel storage capacitors allowing for correlated double sampling (CDS) and pipeline operation of the array (pixel exposure during the readout of the array). Only two control pulses are needed for all the pixels at the end of exposure which allows high speed exposure control.

Pulse duration determines levels of Hsp70 induction in tissues following laser irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mackanos, Mark A.; Contag, Christopher H.

2011-07-01

Induction of heat shock protein (Hsp) expression correlates with cytoprotection, reduced tissue damage, and accelerated healing in animal models. Since Hsps are transcriptionally activated in response to stress, they can act as stress indicators in burn injury or surgical procedures that produce heat and thermal change. A fast in vivo readout for induction of Hsp transcription in tissues would allow for the study of these proteins as therapeutic effect mediators and reporters of thermal stress/damage. We used a transgenic reporter mouse in which a luciferase expression is controlled by the regulatory region of the inducible 70 kilodalton (kDa) Hsp as a rapid readout of cellular responses to laser-mediated thermal stress/injury in mouse skin. We assessed the pulse duration dependence of the Hsp70 expression after irradiation with a CO2 laser at 10.6 μm in wavelength over a range of 1000 to 1 ms. Hsp70 induction varied with changes in laser pulse durations and radiant exposures, which defined the ranges at which thermal activation of Hsp70 can be used to protect cells from subsequent stress, and reveals the window of thermal stress that tissues can endure.

SiPM photosensors and fast timing readout for the Barrel Time-of-Flight detector in bar PANDA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suzuki, K.

2018-03-01

The Barrel Time-of-Flight detector system will be installed in the upcoming bar PANDA experiment at FAIR in Germany. The detector has a barrel shape of phi=0.5 m and 1.8 m long, covering about 5 m2, which corresponds to the laboratory polar angle coverage of 22o<θ<140o. The detector is a scintillation tile hodoscope. A single scintillation tile segment has a dimension of 90× 30 mm2 and 5 mm thickness, and photons are detected by Silicon Photomultipliers at both ends. 4 Silicon Photomultipliers are combined to work as a single sensor in order to increase the sensitive area and to improve the timing performance. In total, the system consists of 1920 scintillator tiles, 3840 readout channels, and makes use of 15360 Silicon Photomultiplier sensors. In this paper, the requirement, design and the result of an actual performance test of the bar PANDA Barrel Time-of-Flight detector are presented. The test shows that the current design fulfils satisfactorily the required timing performance (σt~ 56 ps) and the timing performance depends little on the hit position on the surface.

Real-Time Data Processing in the muon system of the D0 detector.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Neeti Parashar et al.

2001-07-03

This paper presents a real-time application of the 16-bit fixed point Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), in the Muon System of the D0 detector located at the Fermilab Tevatron, presently the world's highest-energy hadron collider. As part of the Upgrade for a run beginning in the year 2000, the system is required to process data at an input event rate of 10 KHz without incurring significant deadtime in readout. The ADSP21csp01 processor has high I/O bandwidth, single cycle instruction execution and fast task switching support to provide efficient multisignal processing. The processor's internal memory consists of 4K words of Program Memorymore » and 4K words of Data Memory. In addition there is an external memory of 32K words for general event buffering and 16K words of Dual port Memory for input data queuing. This DSP fulfills the requirement of the Muon subdetector systems for data readout. All error handling, buffering, formatting and transferring of the data to the various trigger levels of the data acquisition system is done in software. The algorithms developed for the system complete these tasks in about 20 {micro}s per event.« less

A biclustering algorithm for extracting bit-patterns from binary datasets.

PubMed

Rodriguez-Baena, Domingo S; Perez-Pulido, Antonio J; Aguilar-Ruiz, Jesus S

2011-10-01

Binary datasets represent a compact and simple way to store data about the relationships between a group of objects and their possible properties. In the last few years, different biclustering algorithms have been specially developed to be applied to binary datasets. Several approaches based on matrix factorization, suffix trees or divide-and-conquer techniques have been proposed to extract useful biclusters from binary data, and these approaches provide information about the distribution of patterns and intrinsic correlations. A novel approach to extracting biclusters from binary datasets, BiBit, is introduced here. The results obtained from different experiments with synthetic data reveal the excellent performance and the robustness of BiBit to density and size of input data. Also, BiBit is applied to a central nervous system embryonic tumor gene expression dataset to test the quality of the results. A novel gene expression preprocessing methodology, based on expression level layers, and the selective search performed by BiBit, based on a very fast bit-pattern processing technique, provide very satisfactory results in quality and computational cost. The power of biclustering in finding genes involved simultaneously in different cancer processes is also shown. Finally, a comparison with Bimax, one of the most cited binary biclustering algorithms, shows that BiBit is faster while providing essentially the same results. The source and binary codes, the datasets used in the experiments and the results can be found at: http://www.upo.es/eps/bigs/BiBit.html dsrodbae@upo.es Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Quantum information processing in phase space: A modular variables approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ketterer, A.; Keller, A.; Walborn, S. P.; Coudreau, T.; Milman, P.

2016-08-01

Binary quantum information can be fault-tolerantly encoded in states defined in infinite-dimensional Hilbert spaces. Such states define a computational basis, and permit a perfect equivalence between continuous and discrete universal operations. The drawback of this encoding is that the corresponding logical states are unphysical, meaning infinitely localized in phase space. We use the modular variables formalism to show that, in a number of protocols relevant for quantum information and for the realization of fundamental tests of quantum mechanics, it is possible to loosen the requirements on the logical subspace without jeopardizing their usefulness or their successful implementation. Such protocols involve measurements of appropriately chosen modular variables that permit the readout of the encoded discrete quantum information from the corresponding logical states. Finally, we demonstrate the experimental feasibility of our approach by applying it to the transverse degrees of freedom of single photons.

Tuning fork enhanced interferometric photoacoustic spectroscopy: a new method for trace gas analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Köhring, M.; Pohlkötter, A.; Willer, U.; Angelmahr, M.; Schade, W.

2011-01-01

A photoacoustic trace gas sensor based on an optical read-out method of a quartz tuning fork is shown. Instead of conventional piezoelectric signal read-out, as applied in well-known quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS), an interferometric read-out method for measurement of the tuning fork's oscillation is presented. To demonstrate the potential of the optical read-out of tuning forks in photoacoustics, a comparison between the performances of a sensor with interferometric read-out and conventional QEPAS with piezoelectric read-out is reported. The two sensors show similar characteristics. The detection limit (L) for the optical read-out is determined to be L opt=(2598±84) ppm (1 σ) compared to L elec=(2579±78) ppm (1 σ) for piezoelectric read-out. In both cases the detection limit is defined by the thermal noise of the tuning fork.

NICER Observation of Fast X-ray Flares in GX 339-4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Remillard, R.; Gendreau, K.; Altamirano, D.; Gandhi, P.; Steiner, J.; Pasham, D.; Charkrabarty, D.; Fabian, A.; Neilsen, J.; Miller, J.; Cackett, E.; Homan, J.; Uttley, P.; Corcoran, M.; Arzoumanian, Z.

2017-10-01

In response to the optical alert reporting the beginning of a new outburst in the black hole binary GX339-4 (D. Russell et al., Atel 10797), a series of NICER observations began on 2017 September 29. The first five observations, conducted through October 1, netted 8.3 ks of exposure.

Fast precalculated triangular mesh algorithm for 3D binary computer-generated holograms.

PubMed

Yang, Fan; Kaczorowski, Andrzej; Wilkinson, Tim D

2014-12-10

A new method for constructing computer-generated holograms using a precalculated triangular mesh is presented. The speed of calculation can be increased dramatically by exploiting both the precalculated base triangle and GPU parallel computing. Unlike algorithms using point-based sources, this method can reconstruct a more vivid 3D object instead of a "hollow image." In addition, there is no need to do a fast Fourier transform for each 3D element every time. A ferroelectric liquid crystal spatial light modulator is used to display the binary hologram within our experiment and the hologram of a base right triangle is produced by utilizing just a one-step Fourier transform in the 2D case, which can be expanded to the 3D case by multiplying by a suitable Fresnel phase plane. All 3D holograms generated in this paper are based on Fresnel propagation; thus, the Fresnel plane is treated as a vital element in producing the hologram. A GeForce GTX 770 graphics card with 2 GB memory is used to achieve parallel computing.

Properties of Supergiant Fast X-Ray Transients as Observed by Swift

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Romano, P.; Vercellone, S.; Krimm, H. A.; Esposito, P.; Cusumano, C.; LaParola, V.; Mangano, V.; Kennea, J. A.; Burrows, D. N.; Pagani, C.;

Optimization of an ultralow-dose high-resolution pediatric PET scanner design based on monolithic scintillators with dual-sided digital SiPM readout: a simulation study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mikhaylova, Ekaterina; Tabacchini, Valerio; Borghi, Giacomo; Mollet, Pieter; D'Hoe, Ester; Schaart, Dennis R.; Vandenberghe, Stefaan

2017-11-01

The goal of this simulation study is the performance evaluation and comparison of six potential designs for a time-of-flight PET scanner for pediatric patients of up to about 12 years of age. It is designed to have a high sensitivity and provide high-contrast and high-resolution images. The simulated pediatric PET is a full ring scanner, consisting of 32  ×  32 mm2 monolithic LYSO:Ce crystals coupled to digital silicon photomultiplier arrays. The six considered designs differ in axial lengths (27.2 cm, 54.4 cm and 102 cm) and crystal thicknesses (22 mm and 11 mm). The simulations are based on measured detector response data. We study two possible detector arrangements: 22 mm-thick crystals with dual-sided readout and 11 mm-thick crystals with back-sided readout. The six designs are simulated by means of the GEANT4 application for tomographic emission software, using the measured spatial, energy and time response of the monolithic scintillator detectors as input. The performance of the six designs is compared on the basis of four studies: (1) spatial resolution; (2) NEMA NU2-2012 sensitivity and scatter fraction (SF) tests; (3) non-prewhitening signal-to-noise ratio observer study; and (4) receiver operating characteristics analysis. Based on the results, two designs are identified as cost-effective solutions for fast and efficient imaging of children: one with 54.4 cm axial field-of-view (FOV) and 22 mm-thick crystals, and another one with 102 cm axial FOV and 11 cm-thick crystals. The first one has a higher center point sensitivity than the second one, but requires dual-sided readout. The second design has the advantage of allowing a whole-body scan in a single bed position acquisition. Both designs have the potential to provide an excellent spatial resolution (˜2 mm) and an ultra-high sensitivity (>100 cps kBq-1 ).

Nonvolatile random access memory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wu, Jiin-Chuan (Inventor); Stadler, Henry L. (Inventor); Katti, Romney R. (Inventor)

1994-01-01

A nonvolatile magnetic random access memory can be achieved by an array of magnet-Hall effect (M-H) elements. The storage function is realized with a rectangular thin-film ferromagnetic material having an in-plane, uniaxial anisotropy and inplane bipolar remanent magnetization states. The thin-film magnetic element is magnetized by a local applied field, whose direction is used to form either a 0 or 1 state. The element remains in the 0 or 1 state until a switching field is applied to change its state. The stored information is detcted by a Hall-effect sensor which senses the fringing field from the magnetic storage element. The circuit design for addressing each cell includes transistor switches for providing a current of selected polarity to store a binary digit through a separate conductor overlying the magnetic element of the cell. To read out a stored binary digit, transistor switches are employed to provide a current through a row of Hall-effect sensors connected in series and enabling a differential voltage amplifier connected to all Hall-effect sensors of a column in series. To avoid read-out voltage errors due to shunt currents through resistive loads of the Hall-effect sensors of other cells in the same column, at least one transistor switch is provided between every pair of adjacent cells in every row which are not turned on except in the row of the selected cell.

IFU spectroscopy of southern PN VI: the extraordinary chemo-dynamics of Hen 2-111

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dopita, M. A.; Ali, A.; Karakas, A. I.; Goldman, D.; Amer, M. A.; Sutherland, R. S.

2018-03-01

In this paper, we present integral field spectroscopy of the extraordinary Type I bipolar planetary nebula Hen 2-111. In the lobes, we map fast-moving knots of material with [N II] λ6584/H α ratios up to 12, and with radial velocities relative to systemic from -340 up to +390 km s-1. We find evidence of a bipolar ejection event at a velocity ˜600 km s-1 from the central star (assumed to be a binary), which occurred about 8000 yr ago. The fast-moving material is chemically quite distinct from the lower velocity gas in the bipolar lobes, and displays very high N abundances. We show that the fast-moving N-rich knots are not photoionized by the central star, and have constructed detailed shock models for the brightest knot. We find a pre-shock density ˜6 cm-3, and a shock velocity ˜150 km s-1. The shock is not fully radiative, being only ˜600 yr old. This shocked gas is partially H-burnt, with helium abundance by mass exceeding that of hydrogen, and is interacting with partially H-burnt material ejected in an earlier episode of mass loss. We conclude that the high-velocity material and the bipolar shell must have originated during the late stages of evolution of a common-envelope phase in a close binary system.

High-efficiency dynamic routing architecture for the readout of single photon avalanche diode arrays in time-correlated measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cominelli, A.; Acconcia, G.; Peronio, P.; Rech, I.; Ghioni, M.

2017-05-01

In recent years, the Time-Correlated Single Photon Counting (TCSPC) technique has gained a prominent role in many fields, where the analysis of extremely fast and faint luminous signals is required. In the life science, for instance, the estimation of fluorescence time-constants with picosecond accuracy has been leading to a deeper insight into many biological processes. Although the many advantages provided by TCSPC-based techniques, their intrinsically repetitive nature leads to a relatively long acquisition time, especially when time-resolved images are obtained by means of a single detector, along with a scanning point system. In the last decade, TCSPC acquisition systems have been subjected to a fast trend towards the parallelization of many independent channels, in order to speed up the measure. On one hand, some high-performance multi-module systems have been already made commercially available, but high area and power consumption of each module have limited the number of channels to only some units. On the other hand, many compact systems based on Single Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPAD) have been proposed in literature, featuring thousands of independent acquisition chains on a single chip. The integration of both detectors and conversion electronic in the same pixel area, though, has imposed tight constraints on power dissipation and area occupation of the electronics, resulting in a tradeoff with performance, both in terms of differential nonlinearity and timing jitter. Furthermore, in the ideal case of simultaneous readout of a huge number of channels, the overall data rate can be as high as 100 Gbit/s, which is nowadays too high to be easily processed in real time by a PC. Typical adopted solutions involve an arbitrary dwell time, followed by a sequential readout of the converters, thus limiting the maximum operating frequency of each channel and impairing the measurement speed, which still lies well below the limit imposed by the saturation of the transfer rate towards the elaboration unit. We developed a novel readout architecture, starting from a completely different perspective: considering the maximum data rate we can manage with a PC, a limited set of conversion data is selected and transferred to the elaboration unit during each excitation period, in order to take full advantage of the bus bandwidth toward the PC. In particular, we introduce a smart routing logic, able to dynamically connect a large number of SPAD detectors to a limited set of high-performance external acquisition chains, paving the way for a more efficient use of resources and allowing us to effectively break the tradeoff between integration and performance, which affects the solutions proposed so far. The routing electronic features a pixelated architecture, while 3D-stacking techniques are exploited to connect each SPAD to its dedicated electronic, leading to a minimization of the overall number of interconnections crossing the integrated system, which is one of the main issues in high-density arrays.

Delta-Doped Back-Illuminated CMOS Imaging Arrays: Progress and Prospects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoenk, Michael E.; Jones, Todd J.; Dickie, Matthew R.; Greer, Frank; Cunningham, Thomas J.; Blazejewski, Edward; Nikzad, Shouleh

2009-01-01

In this paper, we report the latest results on our development of delta-doped, thinned, back-illuminated CMOS imaging arrays. As with charge-coupled devices, thinning and back-illumination are essential to the development of high performance CMOS imaging arrays. Problems with back surface passivation have emerged as critical to the prospects for incorporating CMOS imaging arrays into high performance scientific instruments, just as they did for CCDs over twenty years ago. In the early 1990's, JPL developed delta-doped CCDs, in which low temperature molecular beam epitaxy was used to form an ideal passivation layer on the silicon back surface. Comprising only a few nanometers of highly-doped epitaxial silicon, delta-doping achieves the stability and uniformity that are essential for high performance imaging and spectroscopy. Delta-doped CCDs were shown to have high, stable, and uniform quantum efficiency across the entire spectral range from the extreme ultraviolet through the near infrared. JPL has recently bump-bonded thinned, delta-doped CMOS imaging arrays to a CMOS readout, and demonstrated imaging. Delta-doped CMOS devices exhibit the high quantum efficiency that has become the standard for scientific-grade CCDs. Together with new circuit designs for low-noise readout currently under development, delta-doping expands the potential scientific applications of CMOS imaging arrays, and brings within reach important new capabilities, such as fast, high-sensitivity imaging with parallel readout and real-time signal processing. It remains to demonstrate manufacturability of delta-doped CMOS imaging arrays. To that end, JPL has acquired a new silicon MBE and ancillary equipment for delta-doping wafers up to 200mm in diameter, and is now developing processes for high-throughput, high yield delta-doping of fully-processed wafers with CCD and CMOS imaging devices.

Myocardial T1 mapping at 3.0 tesla using an inversion recovery spoiled gradient echo readout and bloch equation simulation with slice profile correction (BLESSPC) T1 estimation algorithm.

PubMed

Shao, Jiaxin; Rapacchi, Stanislas; Nguyen, Kim-Lien; Hu, Peng

2016-02-01

To develop an accurate and precise myocardial T1 mapping technique using an inversion recovery spoiled gradient echo readout at 3.0 Tesla (T). The modified Look-Locker inversion-recovery (MOLLI) sequence was modified to use fast low angle shot (FLASH) readout, incorporating a BLESSPC (Bloch Equation Simulation with Slice Profile Correction) T1 estimation algorithm, for accurate myocardial T1 mapping. The FLASH-MOLLI with BLESSPC fitting was compared with different approaches and sequences with regards to T1 estimation accuracy, precision and image artifact based on simulation, phantom studies, and in vivo studies of 10 healthy volunteers and three patients at 3.0 Tesla. The FLASH-MOLLI with BLESSPC fitting yields accurate T1 estimation (average error = -5.4 ± 15.1 ms, percentage error = -0.5% ± 1.2%) for T1 from 236-1852 ms and heart rate from 40-100 bpm in phantom studies. The FLASH-MOLLI sequence prevented off-resonance artifacts in all 10 healthy volunteers at 3.0T. In vivo, there was no significant difference between FLASH-MOLLI-derived myocardial T1 values and "ShMOLLI+IE" derived values (1458.9 ± 20.9 ms versus 1464.1 ± 6.8 ms, P = 0.50); However, the average precision by FLASH-MOLLI was significantly better than that generated by "ShMOLLI+IE" (1.84 ± 0.36% variance versus 3.57 ± 0.94%, P < 0.001). The FLASH-MOLLI with BLESSPC fitting yields accurate and precise T1 estimation, and eliminates banding artifacts associated with bSSFP at 3.0T. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Inner-volume echo volumar imaging (IVEVI) for robust fetal brain imaging.

PubMed

Nunes, Rita G; Ferrazzi, Giulio; Price, Anthony N; Hutter, Jana; Gaspar, Andreia S; Rutherford, Mary A; Hajnal, Joseph V

2018-07-01

Fetal functional MRI studies using conventional 2-dimensional single-shot echo-planar imaging sequences may require discarding a large data fraction as a result of fetal and maternal motion. Increasing the temporal resolution using echo volumar imaging (EVI) could provide an effective alternative strategy. Echo volumar imaging was combined with inner volume (IV) imaging (IVEVI) to locally excite the fetal brain and acquire full 3-dimensional images, fast enough to freeze most fetal head motion. IVEVI was implemented by modifying a standard multi-echo echo-planar imaging sequence. A spin echo with orthogonal excitation and refocusing ensured localized excitation. To introduce T2* weighting and to save time, the k-space center was shifted relative to the spin echo. Both single and multi-shot variants were tested. Acoustic noise was controlled by adjusting the amplitude and switching frequency of the readout gradient. Image-based shimming was used to minimize B 0 inhomogeneities within the fetal brain. The sequence was first validated in an adult. Eight fetuses were scanned using single-shot IVEVI at a 3.5 × 3.5 × 5.0 mm 3 resolution with a readout duration of 383 ms. Multishot IVEVI showed reduced geometric distortions along the second phase-encode direction. Fetal EVI remains challenging. Although effective echo times comparable to the T2* values of fetal cortical gray matter at 3 T could be achieved, controlling acoustic noise required longer readouts, leading to substantial distortions in single-shot images. Although multishot variants enabled us to reduce susceptibility-induced geometric distortions, sensitivity to motion was increased. Future studies should therefore focus on improvements to multishot variants. Magn Reson Med 80:279-285, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Trigger and Readout System for the Ashra-1 Detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aita, Y.; Aoki, T.; Asaoka, Y.; Morimoto, Y.; Motz, H. M.; Sasaki, M.; Abiko, C.; Kanokohata, C.; Ogawa, S.; Shibuya, H.; Takada, T.; Kimura, T.; Learned, J. G.; Matsuno, S.; Kuze, S.; Binder, P. M.; Goldman, J.; Sugiyama, N.; Watanabe, Y.

Highly sophisticated trigger and readout system has been developed for All-sky Survey High Resolution Air-shower (Ashra) detector. Ashra-1 detector has 42 degree diameter field of view. Detection of Cherenkov and fluorescence light from large background in the large field of view requires finely segmented and high speed trigger and readout system. The system is composed of optical fiber image transmission system, 64 × 64 channel trigger sensor and FPGA based trigger logic processor. The system typically processes the image within 10 to 30 ns and opens the shutter on the fine CMOS sensor. 64 × 64 coarse split image is transferred via 64 × 64 precisely aligned optical fiber bundle to a photon sensor. Current signals from the photon sensor are discriminated by custom made trigger amplifiers. FPGA based processor processes 64 × 64 hit pattern and correspondent partial area of the fine image is acquired. Commissioning earth skimming tau neutrino observational search was carried out with this trigger system. In addition to the geometrical advantage of the Ashra observational site, the excellent tau shower axis measurement based on the fine imaging and the night sky background rejection based on the fine and fast imaging allow zero background tau shower search. Adoption of the optical fiber bundle and trigger LSI realized 4k channel trigger system cheaply. Detectability of tau shower is also confirmed by simultaneously observed Cherenkov air shower. Reduction of the trigger threshold appears to enhance the effective area especially in PeV tau neutrino energy region. New two dimensional trigger LSI was introduced and the trigger threshold was lowered. New calibration system of the trigger system was recently developed and introduced to the Ashra detector

Development FD-SOI MOSFET Amplifiers for Integrated Read-Out Circuit of Superconducting-Tunnel-Junction Single-Photon-Detectors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kiuchi, Kenji; et al.

We proposed a new high-resolution single-photon infrared spectrometer for search for radiative decay of cosmic neutrino background (CνB). The superconducting-tunnel-junctions(STJs) are used as a single-photon counting device. Each STJ consists of Nb/Al/Al xO y/Al/Nb layers, and their thicknesses are optimized for the operation temperature at 370 mK cooled by a 3He sorption refrigerator. Our STJs achieved the leak current 250 pA, and the measured data implies that a smaller area STJ fulfills our requirement. FD-SOI MOSFETs are employed to amplify the STJ signal current in order to increase signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). FD-SOI MOSFETs can be operated at cryogenic temperature ofmore » 370 mK, which reduces the noise of the signal amplification system. FD-SOI MOSFET characteristics are measured at cryogenic temperature. The Id-Vgs curve shows a sharper turn on with a higher threshold voltage and the Id-Vds curve shows a nonlinear shape in linear region at cryogenic temperature. Taking into account these effects, FD-SOI MOSFETs are available for read-out circuit of STJ detectors. The bias voltage for STJ detectors is 0.4 mV, and it must be well stabilized to deliver high performance. We proposed an FD-SOI MOSFET-based charge integrated amplifier design as a read-out circuit of STJ detectors. The requirements for an operational amplifier used in the amplifier is estimated using SPICE simulation. The op-amp is required to have a fast response (GBW ≥ 100 MHz), and it must have low power dissipation as compared to the cooling power of refrigerator.« less

Applicability of refractometry for fast routine checking of hospital preparations.

PubMed

Hendrickx, Stijn; Verón, Aurora Monteagudo; Van Schepdael, Ann; Adams, Erwin

2016-04-30

Quality control of hospital pharmacy formulations is of the utmost importance to ensure constant quality and to avoid potential mistakes before administration to the patient. In this study we investigated the applicability of refractometry as a fast, inexpensive and easy-to-use quality control measurement. Refractive indices (RI) of a multitude of different hospital formulations with varying concentrations of active compound were measured. The samples consisted of a number of binary aqueous solutions (one compound in water), complex aqueous solutions (multiple compounds in water or in a constant matrix), two suspensions and one emulsion. For all these formulations, linear regression analysis was performed, quality control limits determined and accuracy and repeatability were checked. Subsequently, actual hospital pharmacy samples were analyzed to check whether they were within the specified limits. For both binary and complex aqueous formulations, repeatability was good and a linear correlation for all samples could be observed on condition that the concentration of the active compound was sufficiently high. The refractometer was not sensitive enough for solutions of folic acid and levothyroxine, which had too low a concentration of active compound. Due to lack of homogeneity and light scattering, emulsions and suspensions do not seem suitable for quality control by refractometry. A mathematical equation was generated to predict the refractive index of an aqueous solution containing clonidine HCl as active compound. Values calculated from the equation were compared with measured values and deviations of all samples were found to be lower than 1.3%. In order to use refractometry in a hospital pharmacy for quality control of multicomponent samples, additional intermediate measurements would be required, to overcome the fact that refractometry is not compound specific. In conclusion, we found that refractometry could potentially be useful for daily, fast quality measurements of relatively concentrated binary and more complex aqueous solutions in the hospital pharmacy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Electromagnetic Calorimeter of the future PANDA Detector

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Novotny, Rainer

2006-10-27

Experiments with a cooled antiproton beam at the future accelerator facility FAIR at GSI, Darmstadt, will be performed with the 4{pi} detector PANDA comprising a high resolution, compact and fast homogeneous electromagnetic calorimeter to detect photons between 10MeV and 10GeV energy inside a superconducting solenoid (2T). The target calorimeter comprises more than 20,000 PbWO4 crystals of significantly enhanced quality read-out with large area avalanche photodiodes at an operating temperature of -25 degree sign C. The paper describes the quality of PWO-II and illustrates the future performance based on response measurements with high-energy photons.

The Ozone Monitoring Instrument: overview of 14 years in space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levelt, Pieternel F.; Joiner, Joanna; Tamminen, Johanna; Pepijn Veefkind, J.; Bhartia, Pawan K.; Stein Zweers, Deborah C.; Duncan, Bryan N.; Streets, David G.; Eskes, Henk; van der A, Ronald; McLinden, Chris; Fioletov, Vitali; Carn, Simon; de Laat, Jos; DeLand, Matthew; Marchenko, Sergey; McPeters, Richard; Ziemke, Jerald; Fu, Dejian; Liu, Xiong; Pickering, Kenneth; Apituley, Arnoud; González Abad, Gonzalo; Arola, Antti; Boersma, Folkert; Miller, Christopher Chan; Chance, Kelly; de Graaf, Martin; Hakkarainen, Janne; Hassinen, Seppo; Ialongo, Iolanda; Kleipool, Quintus; Krotkov, Nickolay; Li, Can; Lamsal, Lok; Newman, Paul; Nowlan, Caroline; Suleiman, Raid; Gijsbert Tilstra, Lieuwe; Torres, Omar; Wang, Huiqun; Wargan, Krzysztof

2018-04-01

This overview paper highlights the successes of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on board the Aura satellite spanning a period of nearly 14 years. Data from OMI has been used in a wide range of applications and research resulting in many new findings. Due to its unprecedented spatial resolution, in combination with daily global coverage, OMI plays a unique role in measuring trace gases important for the ozone layer, air quality, and climate change. With the operational very fast delivery (VFD; direct readout) and near real-time (NRT) availability of the data, OMI also plays an important role in the development of operational services in the atmospheric chemistry domain.

The Ozone Monitoring Instrument: overview of 14 years in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tamminen, Johanna; Veefkind, J. Pepijn; van der A, Ronald; Miller, Christopher Chan; Ialongo, Iolanda; Kleipool, Quintus; Lamsal, Lok N.; Wang, Huiqun; Bhartia, Pawan K.; Zweers, Deborah C. Stein;

A chip-scale integrated cavity-electro-optomechanics platform.

PubMed

Winger, M; Blasius, T D; Mayer Alegre, T P; Safavi-Naeini, A H; Meenehan, S; Cohen, J; Stobbe, S; Painter, O

2011-12-05

We present an integrated optomechanical and electromechanical nanocavity, in which a common mechanical degree of freedom is coupled to an ultrahigh-Q photonic crystal defect cavity and an electrical circuit. The system allows for wide-range, fast electrical tuning of the optical nanocavity resonances, and for electrical control of optical radiation pressure back-action effects such as mechanical amplification (phonon lasing), cooling, and stiffening. These sort of integrated devices offer a new means to efficiently interconvert weak microwave and optical signals, and are expected to pave the way for a new class of micro-sensors utilizing optomechanical back-action for thermal noise reduction and low-noise optical read-out.

DESCANT - Testing and Commissioning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bildstein, Vinzenz; Garrett, P. E.; Bandyopadhay, D.; Bangay, J.; Bianco, L.; Demand, G.; Hadinia, B.; Leach, K. G.; Sumithrarachchi, C.; Turko, J.; Wong, J.; Ashley, S. F.; Crider, B. P.; McEllistrem, M. T.; Peters, E. E.; Prados-Estévez, F. M.; Yates, S. W.; Vanhoy, J. R.; Ball, G. C.; Bishop, D. P.; Garnsworthy, A. B.; Hackman, G.; Pearson, C. J.; Shaw, B.; Sarazin, F.

2017-09-01

The DESCANT array at TRIUMF is designed to detect neutrons from RIB experiments. DESCANT is composed of 70 close-packed deuterated organic liquid scintillators coupled to digital fast read-out ADC modules. This configuration permits online pulse-shape discrimination between neutron and γ-ray events. A prototype detector was tested with monoenergetic neutrons at the University of Kentucky Accelerator Laboratory. The data from these tests was compared to Geant4 simulations. A first commissioning experiment of the full array, using the decay of Cs 145 - 146 , was performed in August 2016. The results of the tests and a preliminary analysis of the commissioning experiment will be presented.

Initial Demonstration of 9-MHz Framing Camera Rates on the FAST UV Drive Laser Pulse Trains

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lumpkin, A. H.; Edstrom Jr., D.; Ruan, J.

2016-10-09

We report the configuration of a Hamamatsu C5680 streak camera as a framing camera to record transverse spatial information of green-component laser micropulses at 3- and 9-MHz rates for the first time. The latter is near the time scale of the ~7.5-MHz revolution frequency of the Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA) ring and its expected synchroton radiation source temporal structure. The 2-D images are recorded with a Gig-E readout CCD camera. We also report a first proof of principle with an OTR source using the linac streak camera in a semi-framing mode.

Nondestructive Memory Elements Based on Polymeric Langmuir-Blodgett Thin Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reece, T. J.; Ducharme, S.

2007-03-01

Ferroelectric field effect transistors (FeFETs) have attracted much attention recently because of their low power consumption and fast nondestructive readout. Among the ferroelectric thin films used in FET devices; the ferroelectric copolymer of polyvinylidene fluoride, PVDF (C2H2F2), with trifluoroethylene, TrFE (C2HF3), has distinct advantages, including low dielectric constant, low processing temperature, low cost and compatibility with organic semiconductors. By employing the Langmuir-Blodgett technique, we are able to deposit films as thin as 1.8 nm. We discuss the characterization, modeling and fabrication of metal-ferroelectric-insulator-semiconductor (MFIS) structures incorporating these films.

LYSO-based precision timing detectors with SiPM readout

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bornheim, A.; Hassanshahi, M. H.; Griffioen, M.; Mao, J.; Mangu, A.; Peña, C.; Spiropulu, M.; Xie, S.; Zhang, Z.

2018-07-01

Particle detectors based on scintillation light are particularly well suited for precision timing applications with resolutions of a few 10's of ps. The large primary signal and the initial rise time of the scintillation light result in very favorable signal-to-noise conditions with fast signals. In this paper we describe timing studies using a LYSO-based sampling calorimeter with wavelength-shifting capillary light extraction and silicon photomultipliers as photosensors. We study the contributions of various steps of the signal generation to the total time resolution, and demonstrate its feasibility as a radiation-hard technology for calorimeters at high intensity hadron colliders.

Quadrant anode image sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lampton, M.; Malina, R. F.

1976-01-01

A position-sensitive event-counting electronic readout system for microchannel plates (MCPs) is described that offers the advantages of high spatial resolution and fast time resolution. The technique relies upon a four-quadrant electron-collecting anode located behind the output face of the microchannel plate, so that the electron cloud from each detected event is partly intercepted by each of the four quadrants. The relative amounts of charge collected by each quadrant depend on event position, permitting each event to be localized with two ratio circuits. A prototype quadrant anode system for ion, electron, and extreme ultraviolet imaging is described. The spatial resolution achieved, about 10 microns, allows individual MCP channels to be distinguished.

Surrogate waveform models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blackman, Jonathan; Field, Scott; Galley, Chad; Scheel, Mark; Szilagyi, Bela; Tiglio, Manuel

2015-04-01

With the advanced detector era just around the corner, there is a strong need for fast and accurate models of gravitational waveforms from compact binary coalescence. Fast surrogate models can be built out of an accurate but slow waveform model with minimal to no loss in accuracy, but may require a large number of evaluations of the underlying model. This may be prohibitively expensive if the underlying is extremely slow, for example if we wish to build a surrogate for numerical relativity. We examine alternate choices to building surrogate models which allow for a more sparse set of input waveforms. Research supported in part by NSERC.

Band Structure of the IV-VI Black Phosphorus Analog and Thermoelectric SnSe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pletikosić, I.; von Rohr, F.; Pervan, P.; Das, P. K.; Vobornik, I.; Cava, R. J.; Valla, T.

2018-04-01

The success of black phosphorus in fast electronic and photonic devices is hindered by its rapid degradation in the presence of oxygen. Orthorhombic tin selenide is a representative of group IV-VI binary compounds that are robust and isoelectronic and share the same structure with black phosphorus. We measure the band structure of SnSe and find highly anisotropic valence bands that form several valleys having fast dispersion within the layers and negligible dispersion across. This is exactly the band structure desired for efficient thermoelectric generation where SnSe has shown great promise.

Band Structure of the IV-VI Black Phosphorus Analog and Thermoelectric SnSe

DOE PAGES

Pletikosic, Ivo; von Rohr, F.; Pervan, P.; ...

2018-04-10

Here, the success of black phosphorus in fast electronic and photonic devices is hindered by its rapid degradation in the presence of oxygen. Orthorhombic tin selenide is a representative of group IV-VI binary compounds that are robust and isoelectronic and share the same structure with black phosphorus. We measure the band structure of SnSe and find highly anisotropic valence bands that form several valleys having fast dispersion within the layers and negligible dispersion across. This is exactly the band structure desired for efficient thermoelectric generation where SnSe has shown great promise.

Band Structure of the IV-VI Black Phosphorus Analog and Thermoelectric SnSe

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pletikosic, Ivo; von Rohr, F.; Pervan, P.

Here, the success of black phosphorus in fast electronic and photonic devices is hindered by its rapid degradation in the presence of oxygen. Orthorhombic tin selenide is a representative of group IV-VI binary compounds that are robust and isoelectronic and share the same structure with black phosphorus. We measure the band structure of SnSe and find highly anisotropic valence bands that form several valleys having fast dispersion within the layers and negligible dispersion across. This is exactly the band structure desired for efficient thermoelectric generation where SnSe has shown great promise.

Light scattering in gas mixtures - Evidence of fast and slow sound modes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clouter, M. J.; Luo, H.; Kiefte, H.; Zollweg, J. A.

1990-02-01

Campa and Cohen (1989) have predicted that dilute, binary mixtures of gases with disparate masses should exhibit a (fast) sound mode whose velocity is considerably greater than expected on the basis of conventional hydrodynamic theory, and which should be observable via light-scattering experiments. Effects that are consistent with this prediction were observed in the Brillouin spectra of the H2 + Ar system, but were not detected for the case of CH4 + SF6. Results for the SF6 + H2 mixture demonstrate the existence of an analogous slow-mode contribution to the spectrum.

Health Implications of Adults' Eating at and Living near Fast Food or Quick Service Restaurants

PubMed Central

Jiao, J; Moudon, A V; Kim, S Y; Hurvitz, P M; Drewnowski, A

2015-01-01

Background: This paper examined whether the reported health impacts of frequent eating at a fast food or quick service restaurant on health were related to having such a restaurant near home. Methods: Logistic regressions estimated associations between frequent fast food or quick service restaurant use and health status, being overweight or obese, having a cardiovascular disease or diabetes, as binary health outcomes. In all, 2001 participants in the 2008–2009 Seattle Obesity Study survey were included in the analyses. Results: Results showed eating ⩾2 times a week at a fast food or quick service restaurant was associated with perceived poor health status, overweight and obese. However, living close to such restaurants was not related to negative health outcomes. Conclusions: Frequent eating at a fast food or quick service restaurant was associated with perceived poor health status and higher body mass index, but living close to such facilities was not. PMID:26192449

The Association of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder with Fast Food and Soda Consumption and Unhealthy Weight Loss Behaviors Among Young Women

PubMed Central

Hirth, Jacqueline M.; Rahman, Mahbubur

2011-01-01

Abstract Objective This study examines the association of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms with fast food and soda consumption, unhealthy dieting behaviors, and body mass index (BMI) in a group of young women. Methods This study was conducted on cross-sectional data gathered from 3181 females 16–24 years of age attending five publicly funded clinics in Texas. The associations among PTSD, fast food consumption frequency, soda consumption frequency, unhealthy dieting behaviors, and BMI were examined using binary and ordinal logistic regression. Results PTSD symptoms were associated with an increased frequency of consumption of fast food and soda as well as unhealthy dieting behaviors but not with increased body mass index (BMI). Conclusions PTSD symptoms adversely affect both eating and dieting behaviors of young women. These behaviors may have negative long-term consequences for the health of females with PTSD symptoms. PMID:21751875

Differential Binary Encoding Method for Calibrating Image Sensors Based on IOFBs

PubMed Central

Fernández, Pedro R.; Lázaro-Galilea, José Luis; Gardel, Alfredo; Espinosa, Felipe; Bravo, Ignacio; Cano, Ángel

2012-01-01

Image transmission using incoherent optical fiber bundles (IOFBs) requires prior calibration to obtain the spatial in-out fiber correspondence necessary to reconstruct the image captured by the pseudo-sensor. This information is recorded in a Look-Up Table called the Reconstruction Table (RT), used later for reordering the fiber positions and reconstructing the original image. This paper presents a very fast method based on image-scanning using spaces encoded by a weighted binary code to obtain the in-out correspondence. The results demonstrate that this technique yields a remarkable reduction in processing time and the image reconstruction quality is very good compared to previous techniques based on spot or line scanning, for example. PMID:22666023

A precise measurement of the magnetic field in the corona of the black hole binary V404 Cygni

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dallilar, Yigit; Eikenberry, Stephen S.; Garner, Alan; Stelter, Richard D.; Gottlieb, Amy; Gandhi, Poshak; Casella, Piergiorgio; Dhillon, Vik S.; Marsh, Tom R.; Littlefair, Stuart P.; Hardy, Liam; Fender, Rob; Mooley, Kunal; Walton, Dominic J.; Fuerst, Felix; Bachetti, Matteo; Castro-Tirado, A. J.; Charcos, Miguel; Edwards, Michelle L.; Lasso-Cabrera, Nestor M.; Marin-Franch, Antonio; Raines, S. Nicholas; Ackley, Kendall; Bennett, John G.; Cenarro, A. Javier; Chinn, Brian; Donoso, H. Veronica; Frommeyer, Raymond; Hanna, Kevin; Herlevich, Michael D.; Julian, Jeff; Miller, Paola; Mullin, Scott; Murphey, Charles H.; Packham, Chris; Varosi, Frank; Vega, Claudia; Warner, Craig; Ramaprakash, A. N.; Burse, Mahesh; Punnadi, Sujit; Chordia, Pravin; Gerarts, Andreas; de Paz Martín, Héctor; Calero, María Martín; Scarpa, Riccardo; Acosta, Sergio Fernandez; Hernández Sánchez, William Miguel; Siegel, Benjamin; Pérez, Francisco Francisco; Viera Martín, Himar D.; Rodríguez Losada, José A.; Nuñez, Agustín; Tejero, Álvaro; Martín González, Carlos E.; Rodríguez, César Cabrera; Molgó, Jordi; Rodriguez, J. Esteban; Cáceres, J. Israel Fernández; Rodríguez García, Luis A.; Lopez, Manuel Huertas; Dominguez, Raul; Gaggstatter, Tim; Lavers, Antonio Cabrera; Geier, Stefan; Pessev, Peter; Sarajedini, Ata

2017-12-01

The binary system V404 Cygni consists of a red giant star orbiting a black hole. In 2015, a surge of accretion by the black hole caused the surrounding plasma to brighten suddenly for the first time since 1989, briefly becoming the brightest x-ray source in the sky. Dallilar et al. combined observations from radio, infrared, optical, and x-ray telescopes taken during the outburst. They compared how fast the flux decayed at each wavelength, which allowed them to constrain the size of the emitting region, determine that the plasma within it cooled through synchrotron radiation, and measure the magnetic field around the black hole.

Optical elements design of optical pick-up with characteristics of read-out spot for high density optical storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Lihua; Ma, Jianshe; Liu, Lin; Pan, Longfa; Zhang, Jianyong; Lu, Junhui

2005-09-01

It is well known that the optical pick-up (OPU) plays a very important role in optical storage system. And the quality of OPU can be measured by the characteristics of OPU read-out spot for high density optical storage. Therefore this paper mainly designs an OPU model for high density optical storage to study the characteristics of OPU read-out spot. Firstly it analyses the optical read-out principle in OPU and contrives an optical read-out system based on the hereinbefore theory. In this step it chiefly designs the grating, splitter, collimator lens and objective lens. Secondly based on the aberrations analysis and theory involved by the splitter, the collimator lens and the optical lens, the paper uses the software CODE V to calculate the aberrations and to optimize the optical read-out system. Then the author can receive an ideal OPU read-out spot for high density optical storage and obtain the characteristics of the ideal OPU read-out spot. At the same time this paper analyses some influence factors which can directly affect the characteristics of the OPU read-out spot. Thirdly according to the up data the author practically manufactures a real optical pick-up to validate the hereinbefore designed optical read-out system. And it uses the Optical Spot Analyzer to get the image of the read-out spot. Comparing the ideal image to the actual image of the designed optical read-out system, the author finds out that the upwards analyses and design is suitable for high density storage and can be used in the actual production. And the author also receives the conclusion that the mostly influences on characteristics of OPU read-out spot for high density optical storage factors is not only the process of designing the grating, splitter, collimator lens and objective lens, but also the assembling work precision

Readout concepts for the suppression of the slow component of BaF2 for the upgrade of the TAPS spectrometer at ELSA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diehl, Stefan; Novotny, Rainer W.; Wohlfahrt, Benjamin; Beck, Reinhard

2015-02-01

For the measurement at extremely high interaction rates with fast scintillators, pile-up of consecutive events is a limiting factor. With a decay time of 600 ps of the fast crossluminescence component, Barium Fluoride (BaF2) is one of the fastest inorganic scintillators known today. However, the dominating slow component with a 3 orders of magnitude longer decay time of 630 ns limits the rate capability. To circumvent this limit, different approaches have been made in the past. The slow component can be suppressed for example by doping the crystals with rare earth ions like La3+. The paper will give an overview over the various concepts investigated in the past and present the suppression via optical band pass filters. This method has been chosen for the upgrade of the BaF2 crystals in the most forward region of the TAPS-spectrometer at ELSA in Bonn. It allows to reuse the existing crystals and to achieve a high degree of suppression of the slow component. The focus of the paper will be on the selection of the filters, the achievable rate capability and the energy resolution of the fast component.

Frontend electronics for high-precision single photo-electron timing using FPGA-TDCs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cardinali, M.; Dzyhgadlo, R.; Gerhardt, A.; Götzen, K.; Hohler, R.; Kalicy, G.; Kumawat, H.; Lehmann, D.; Lewandowski, B.; Patsyuk, M.; Peters, K.; Schepers, G.; Schmitt, L.; Schwarz, C.; Schwiening, J.; Traxler, M.; Ugur, C.; Zühlsdorf, M.; Dodokhov, V. Kh.; Britting, A.; Eyrich, W.; Lehmann, A.; Uhlig, F.; Düren, M.; Föhl, K.; Hayrapetyan, A.; Kröck, B.; Merle, O.; Rieke, J.; Cowie, E.; Keri, T.; Montgomery, R.; Rosner, G.; Achenbach, P.; Corell, O.; Ferretti Bondy, M. I.; Hoek, M.; Lauth, W.; Rosner, C.; Sfienti, C.; Thiel, M.; Bühler, P.; Gruber, L.; Marton, J.; Suzuki, K.

2014-12-01

The next generation of high-luminosity experiments requires excellent particle identification detectors which calls for Imaging Cherenkov counters with fast electronics to cope with the expected hit rates. A Barrel DIRC will be used in the central region of the Target Spectrometer of the planned PANDA experiment at FAIR. A single photo-electron timing resolution of better than 100 ps is required by the Barrel DIRC to disentangle the complicated patterns created on the image plane. R&D studies have been performed to provide a design based on the TRB3 readout using FPGA-TDCs with a precision better than 20 ps RMS and custom frontend electronics with high-bandwidth pre-amplifiers and fast discriminators. The discriminators also provide time-over-threshold information thus enabling walk corrections to improve the timing resolution. Two types of frontend electronics cards optimised for reading out 64-channel PHOTONIS Planacon MCP-PMTs were tested: one based on the NINO ASIC and the other, called PADIWA, on FPGA discriminators. Promising results were obtained in a full characterisation using a fast laser setup and in a test experiment at MAMI, Mainz, with a small scale DIRC prototype.

MR fingerprinting using fast imaging with steady state precession (FISP) with spiral readout.

PubMed

Jiang, Yun; Ma, Dan; Seiberlich, Nicole; Gulani, Vikas; Griswold, Mark A

2015-12-01

This study explores the possibility of using gradient echo-based sequences other than balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) in the magnetic resonance fingerprinting (MRF) framework to quantify the relaxation parameters . An MRF method based on a fast imaging with steady-state precession (FISP) sequence structure is presented. A dictionary containing possible signal evolutions with physiological range of T1 and T2 was created using the extended phase graph formalism according to the acquisition parameters. The proposed method was evaluated in a phantom and a human brain. T1 , T2 , and proton density were quantified directly from the undersampled data by the pattern recognition algorithm. T1 and T2 values from the phantom demonstrate that the results of MRF FISP are in good agreement with the traditional gold-standard methods. T1 and T2 values in brain are within the range of previously reported values. MRF-FISP enables a fast and accurate quantification of the relaxation parameters. It is immune to the banding artifact of bSSFP due to B0 inhomogeneities, which could improve the ability to use MRF for applications beyond brain imaging. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

MR Fingerprinting Using Fast Imaging with Steady State Precession (FISP) with Spiral Readout

PubMed Central

Jiang, Yun; Ma, Dan; Seiberlich, Nicole; Gulani, Vikas; Griswold, Mark A.

2015-01-01

Purpose This study explores the possibility of using gradient echo based sequences other than bSSFP in the magnetic resonance fingerprinting (MRF) framework to quantify the relaxation parameters. Methods An MRF method based on a fast imaging with steady state precession (FISP) sequence structure is presented. A dictionary containing possible signal evolutions with physiological range of T1 and T2 was created using the extended phase graph (EPG) formalism according to the acquisition parameters. The proposed method was evaluated in a phantom and a human brain. T1, T2 and proton density were quantified directly from the undersampled data by the pattern recognition algorithm. Results T1 and T2 values from the phantom demonstrate that the results of MRF FISP are in good agreement with the traditional gold-standard methods. T1 and T2 values in brain are within the range of previously reported values. Conclusion MRF FISP enables a fast and accurate quantification of the relaxation parameters, while is immune to the banding artifact of bSSFP due to B0 inhomogeneities, which could improve the ability to use MRF for applications beyond brain imaging. PMID:25491018

Performance study of large area encoding readout MRPC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, X. L.; Wang, Y.; Chen, G.; Han, D.; Wang, X.; Zeng, M.; Zeng, Z.; Zhao, Z.; Guo, B.

2018-02-01

Muon tomography system built by the 2-D readout high spatial resolution Multi-gap Resistive Plate Chamber (MRPC) detector is a project of Tsinghua University. An encoding readout method based on the fine-fine configuration has been used to minimize the number of the readout electronic channels resulting in reducing the complexity and the cost of the system. In this paper, we provide a systematic comparison of the MRPC detector performance with and without fine-fine encoding readout. Our results suggest that the application of the fine-fine encoding readout leads us to achieve a detecting system with slightly worse spatial resolution but dramatically reduce the number of electronic channels.

Fast simulation tool for ultraviolet radiation at the earth's surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Engelsen, Ola; Kylling, Arve

2005-04-01

FastRT is a fast, yet accurate, UV simulation tool that computes downward surface UV doses, UV indices, and irradiances in the spectral range 290 to 400 nm with a resolution as small as 0.05 nm. It computes a full UV spectrum within a few milliseconds on a standard PC, and enables the user to convolve the spectrum with user-defined and built-in spectral response functions including the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) erythemal response function used for UV index calculations. The program accounts for the main radiative input parameters, i.e., instrumental characteristics, solar zenith angle, ozone column, aerosol loading, clouds, surface albedo, and surface altitude. FastRT is based on look-up tables of carefully selected entries of atmospheric transmittances and spherical albedos, and exploits the smoothness of these quantities with respect to atmospheric, surface, geometrical, and spectral parameters. An interactive site, http://nadir.nilu.no/~olaeng/fastrt/fastrt.html, enables the public to run the FastRT program with most input options. This page also contains updated information about FastRT and links to freely downloadable source codes and binaries.

[Evaluation of Image Quality of Readout Segmented EPI with Readout Partial Fourier Technique].

PubMed

Yoshimura, Yuuki; Suzuki, Daisuke; Miyahara, Kanae

Readout segmented EPI (readout segmentation of long variable echo-trains: RESOLVE) segmented k-space in the readout direction. By using the partial Fourier method in the readout direction, the imaging time was shortened. However, the influence on image quality due to insufficient data sampling is concerned. The setting of the partial Fourier method in the readout direction in each segment was changed. Then, we examined signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and distortion ratio for changes in image quality due to differences in data sampling. As the number of sampling segments decreased, SNR and CNR showed a low value. In addition, the distortion ratio did not change. The image quality of minimum sampling segments is greatly different from full data sampling, and caution is required when using it.

Infrared readout electronics; Proceedings of the Meeting, Orlando, FL, Apr. 21, 22, 1992

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fossum, Eric R. (Editor)

1992-01-01

The present volume on IR readout electronics discusses cryogenic readout using silicon devices, cryogenic readout using III-V and LTS devices, multiplexers for higher temperatures, and focal-plane signal processing electronics. Attention is given to the optimization of cryogenic CMOS processes for sub-10-K applications, cryogenic measurements of aerojet GaAs n-JFETs, inP-based heterostructure device technology for ultracold readout applications, and a three-terminal semiconductor-superconductor transimpedance amplifier. Topics addressed include unfulfilled needs in IR astronomy focal-plane readout electronics, IR readout integrated circuit technology for tactical missile systems, and radiation-hardened 10-bit A/D for FPA signal processing. Also discussed are the implementation of a noise reduction circuit for spaceflight IR spectrometers, a real-time processor for staring receivers, and a fiber-optic link design for INMOS transputers.

High-Fidelity Rapid Initialization and Read-Out of an Electron Spin via the Single Donor D(-) Charge State.

PubMed

Watson, T F; Weber, B; House, M G; Büch, H; Simmons, M Y

2015-10-16

We demonstrate high-fidelity electron spin read-out of a precision placed single donor in silicon via spin selective tunneling to either the D(+) or D(-) charge state of the donor. By performing read-out at the stable two electron D(0)↔D(-) charge transition we can increase the tunnel rates to a nearby single electron transistor charge sensor by nearly 2 orders of magnitude, allowing faster qubit read-out (1 ms) with minimum loss in read-out fidelity (98.4%) compared to read-out at the D(+)↔D(0) transition (99.6%). Furthermore, we show that read-out via the D(-) charge state can be used to rapidly initialize the electron spin qubit in its ground state with a fidelity of F(I)=99.8%.

High-speed particle tracking in microscopy using SPAD image sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gyongy, Istvan; Davies, Amy; Miguelez Crespo, Allende; Green, Andrew; Dutton, Neale A. W.; Duncan, Rory R.; Rickman, Colin; Henderson, Robert K.; Dalgarno, Paul A.

2018-02-01

Single photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) are used in a wide range of applications, from fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) to time-of-flight (ToF) 3D imaging. SPAD arrays are becoming increasingly established, combining the unique properties of SPADs with widefield camera configurations. Traditionally, the photosensitive area (fill factor) of SPAD arrays has been limited by the in-pixel digital electronics. However, recent designs have demonstrated that by replacing the complex digital pixel logic with simple binary pixels and external frame summation, the fill factor can be increased considerably. A significant advantage of such binary SPAD arrays is the high frame rates offered by the sensors (>100kFPS), which opens up new possibilities for capturing ultra-fast temporal dynamics in, for example, life science cellular imaging. In this work we consider the use of novel binary SPAD arrays in high-speed particle tracking in microscopy. We demonstrate the tracking of fluorescent microspheres undergoing Brownian motion, and in intra-cellular vesicle dynamics, at high frame rates. We thereby show how binary SPAD arrays can offer an important advance in live cell imaging in such fields as intercellular communication, cell trafficking and cell signaling.

Constituent Redistribution in U-Zr Metallic Fuel Using the Advanced Fuel Performance Code BISON

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Galloway, Jack D.; Unal, Cetin; Matthews, Christopher

2016-09-30

Previous work done by Galloway, et. al. on EBR-II ternary (U-Pu-Zr) fuel constituent redistribution yielded accurate simulation data for the limited data sets of Zr redistribution. The data sets included EPMA scans of two different irradiated rods. First, T179, which was irradiated to 1.9 at% burnup, was analyzed. Second, DP16, which was irradiated to 11 at% burnup, was analyzed. One set of parameters that most accurately represented the zirconium profiles for both experiments was determined. Since the binary fuel (U-Zr) has previously been used as the driver fuel for sodium fast reactors (SFR) as well as being the likely drivermore » fuel if a new SFR is constructed, this same process has been initiated on the binary fuel form. From limited binary EPMA scans as well as other fuel characterization techniques, it has been observed that zirconium redistribution also occurs in the binary fuel, albeit at a reduced rate compared to observation in the ternary fuel, as noted by Kim et. al. While the rate of redistribution has been observed to be slower, numerous metallographs of U-Zr fuel show distinct zone formations.« less

Generation and characterization of a perfect vortex beam with a large topological charge through a digital micromirror device.

PubMed

Chen, Yue; Fang, Zhao-Xiang; Ren, Yu-Xuan; Gong, Lei; Lu, Rong-De

2015-09-20

Optical vortices are associated with a spatial phase singularity. Such a beam with a vortex is valuable in optical microscopy, hyper-entanglement, and optical levitation. In these applications, vortex beams with a perfect circle shape and a large topological charge are highly desirable. But the generation of perfect vortices with high topological charges is challenging. We present a novel method to create perfect vortex beams with large topological charges using a digital micromirror device (DMD) through binary amplitude modulation and a narrow Gaussian approximation. The DMD with binary holograms encoding both the spatial amplitude and the phase could generate fast switchable, reconfigurable optical vortex beams with significantly high quality and fidelity. With either the binary Lee hologram or the superpixel binary encoding technique, we were able to generate the corresponding hologram with high fidelity and create a perfect vortex with topological charge as large as 90. The physical properties of the perfect vortex beam produced were characterized through measurements of propagation dynamics and the focusing fields. The measurements show good consistency with the theoretical simulation. The perfect vortex beam produced satisfies high-demand utilization in optical manipulation and control, momentum transfer, quantum computing, and biophotonics.

A digitally controlled AGC loop circuitry for GNSS receiver chip with a binary weighted accurate dB-linear PGA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gang, Jin; Yiqi, Zhuang; Yue, Yin; Miao, Cui

2015-03-01

A novel digitally controlled automatic gain control (AGC) loop circuitry for the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver chip is presented. The entire AGC loop contains a programmable gain amplifier (PGA), an AGC circuit and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), which is implemented in a 0.18 μm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process and measured. A binary-weighted approach is proposed in the PGA to achieve wide dB-linear gain control with small gain error. With binary-weighted cascaded amplifiers for coarse gain control, and parallel binary-weighted trans-conductance amplifier array for fine gain control, the PGA can provide a 64 dB dynamic range from -4 to 60 dB in 1.14 dB gain steps with a less than 0.15 dB gain error. Based on the Gaussian noise statistic characteristic of the GNSS signal, a digital AGC circuit is also proposed with low area and fast settling. The feed-backward AGC loop occupies an area of 0.27 mm2 and settles within less than 165 μs while consuming an average current of 1.92 mA at 1.8 V.

THE QUASI-ROCHE LOBE OVERFLOW STATE IN THE EVOLUTION OF CLOSE BINARY SYSTEMS CONTAINING A RADIO PULSAR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Benvenuto, O. G.; De Vito, M. A.; Horvath, J. E., E-mail: adevito@fcaglp.unlp.edu.ar, E-mail: foton@iag.usp.br

We study the evolution of close binary systems formed by a normal (solar composition), intermediate-mass-donor star together with a neutron star. We consider models including irradiation feedback and evaporation. These nonstandard ingredients deeply modify the mass-transfer stages of these binaries. While models that neglect irradiation feedback undergo continuous, long-standing mass-transfer episodes, models including these effects suffer a number of cycles of mass transfer and detachment. During mass transfer, the systems should reveal themselves as low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs), whereas when they are detached they behave as binary radio pulsars. We show that at these stages irradiated models are in amore » Roche lobe overflow (RLOF) state or in a quasi-RLOF state. Quasi-RLOF stars have radii slightly smaller than their Roche lobes. Remarkably, these conditions are attained for an orbital period as well as donor mass values in the range corresponding to a family of binary radio pulsars known as ''redbacks''. Thus, redback companions should be quasi-RLOF stars. We show that the characteristics of the redback system PSR J1723-2837 are accounted for by these models. In each mass-transfer cycle these systems should switch from LMXB to binary radio pulsar states with a timescale of approximately one million years. However, there is recent and fast growing evidence of systems switching on far shorter, human timescales. This should be related to instabilities in the accretion disk surrounding the neutron star and/or radio ejection, still to be included in the model having the quasi-RLOF state as a general condition.« less

The ATLAS SemiConductor Tracker operation and performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pater, J. R.

2012-04-01

The ATLAS SemiConductor Tracker (SCT) is a key precision tracking detector in the ATLAS experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider. The SCT is composed of 4088 planar p-in-n silicon micro-strip detectors. The signals from the strips are processed in the front-end ABCD3TA ASICs, which operate in binary readout mode; data are transferred to the off-detector readout electronics via optical fibres. The SCT was completed in 2007. An extensive commissioning phase followed, during which calibration data were collected and analysed to determine the noise performance of the system, and further performance parameters of the detector were determined using cosmic ray data, both with and without magnetic field. After the commissioning phase, the SCT was ready for the first LHC proton-proton collisions in December 2009. From the beginning of data taking, the completed SCT has been in very good shape with more than 99% of its 6.3 million strips operational; the detector is well timed-in and the operational channels are 99.9% efficient in data acquisition. The noise occupancy and hit efficiency are better than the design specifications. The detector geometry is monitored continuously with a laser-based alignment system and is stable to the few-micron level; the alignment accuracy as determined by tracks is near specification and improving as statistics increase. The sensor behaviour in the 2T solenoidal magnetic field has been studied by measuring the Lorentz angle. Radiation damage in the silicon is monitored by periodic measurements of the leakage current; these measurements are in reasonable agreement with predictions.

The Quanta Image Sensor: Every Photon Counts

PubMed Central

Fossum, Eric R.; Ma, Jiaju; Masoodian, Saleh; Anzagira, Leo; Zizza, Rachel

2016-01-01

The Quanta Image Sensor (QIS) was conceived when contemplating shrinking pixel sizes and storage capacities, and the steady increase in digital processing power. In the single-bit QIS, the output of each field is a binary bit plane, where each bit represents the presence or absence of at least one photoelectron in a photodetector. A series of bit planes is generated through high-speed readout, and a kernel or “cubicle” of bits (x, y, t) is used to create a single output image pixel. The size of the cubicle can be adjusted post-acquisition to optimize image quality. The specialized sub-diffraction-limit photodetectors in the QIS are referred to as “jots” and a QIS may have a gigajot or more, read out at 1000 fps, for a data rate exceeding 1 Tb/s. Basically, we are trying to count photons as they arrive at the sensor. This paper reviews the QIS concept and its imaging characteristics. Recent progress towards realizing the QIS for commercial and scientific purposes is discussed. This includes implementation of a pump-gate jot device in a 65 nm CIS BSI process yielding read noise as low as 0.22 e− r.m.s. and conversion gain as high as 420 µV/e−, power efficient readout electronics, currently as low as 0.4 pJ/b in the same process, creating high dynamic range images from jot data, and understanding the imaging characteristics of single-bit and multi-bit QIS devices. The QIS represents a possible major paradigm shift in image capture. PMID:27517926

New generation of Cherenkov counters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giomataris, Y.; Charpak, G.; Peskov, V.; Sauli, F.

1992-12-01

Experimental results with a parallel plate avalanche chamber (PPAC) having a CsI photocathode and pad array readout are reported. High gains in excess of 10 5 have been obtained with He gas at atmospheric pressure and traces of CH 4 or CF 4 quencher. Such light gas mixtures extend the transparency for the Cherenkov light to the extreme UV region and allow detector operation with very low sensitivity to the ionization produced by minimum ionizing particles. A hadron blind detector (HBD) is discussed which exploits the broad photon energy bandwidth (≈ 10 eV) and the high Cherenkov threshold ( pπ = 15 GeV). This fast detector, since it has a good spatial resolution, can be used at the future Large Hadron Collider (LHC) or the Superconductivity Super Collider (SSC) either as an efficient electron tagger, rejecting hadrons faking electrons in the calorimeter, or as a pretracker giving fast electron and high-energy muon signature and momentum estimation. Other potential applications in the domain of Cherenkov light detection are also discussed.

Fast Timing for High-Rate Environments with Micromegas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papaevangelou, Thomas; Desforge, Daniel; Ferrer-Ribas, Esther; Giomataris, Ioannis; Godinot, Cyprien; Diaz, Diego Gonzalez; Gustavsson, Thomas; Kebbiri, Mariam; Oliveri, Eraldo; Resnati, Filippo; Ropelewski, Leszek; Tsiledakis, Georgios; Veenhof, Rob; White, Sebastian

2018-02-01

The current state of the art in fast timing resolution for existing experiments is of the order of 100 ps on the time of arrival of both charged particles and electromagnetic showers. Current R&D on charged particle timing is approaching the level of 10 ps but is not primarily directed at sustained performance at high rates and under high radiation (as would be needed for HL-LHC pileup mitigation). We demonstrate aMicromegas based solution to reach this level of performance. The Micromegas acts as a photomultiplier coupled to a Cerenkovradiator front window, which produces sufficient UV photons to convert the ˜100 ps single-photoelectron jitter into a timing response of the order of 10-20 ps per incident charged particle. A prototype has been built in order to demonstrate this performance. The first laboratory tests with a pico-second laser have shown a time resolution of the order of 27 ps for ˜50 primary photoelectrons, using a bulk Micromegas readout.

Development of fast neutron radiography system based on portable neutron generator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yi, Chia Jia, E-mail: gei-i-kani@hotmail.com; Nilsuwankosit, Sunchai, E-mail: sunchai.n@chula.ac.th

Due to the high installation cost, the safety concern and the immobility of the research reactors, the neutron radiography system based on portable neutron generator is proposed. Since the neutrons generated from a portable neutron generator are mostly the fast neutrons, the system is emphasized on using the fast neutrons for the purpose of conducting the radiography. In order to suppress the influence of X-ray produced by the neutron generator, a combination of a shielding material sandwiched between two identical imaging plates is used. A binary XOR operation is then applied for combining the information from the imaging plates. Themore » raw images obtained confirm that the X-ray really has a large effect and that XOR operation can help enhance the effect of the neutrons.« less

Fast and Accurate Prediction of Numerical Relativity Waveforms from Binary Black Hole Coalescences Using Surrogate Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blackman, Jonathan; Field, Scott E.; Galley, Chad R.; Szilágyi, Béla; Scheel, Mark A.; Tiglio, Manuel; Hemberger, Daniel A.

2015-09-01

Simulating a binary black hole coalescence by solving Einstein's equations is computationally expensive, requiring days to months of supercomputing time. Using reduced order modeling techniques, we construct an accurate surrogate model, which is evaluated in a millisecond to a second, for numerical relativity (NR) waveforms from nonspinning binary black hole coalescences with mass ratios in [1, 10] and durations corresponding to about 15 orbits before merger. We assess the model's uncertainty and show that our modeling strategy predicts NR waveforms not used for the surrogate's training with errors nearly as small as the numerical error of the NR code. Our model includes all spherical-harmonic -2Yℓm waveform modes resolved by the NR code up to ℓ=8 . We compare our surrogate model to effective one body waveforms from 50 M⊙ to 300 M⊙ for advanced LIGO detectors and find that the surrogate is always more faithful (by at least an order of magnitude in most cases).

Block-Based Connected-Component Labeling Algorithm Using Binary Decision Trees

PubMed Central

Chang, Wan-Yu; Chiu, Chung-Cheng; Yang, Jia-Horng

2015-01-01

In this paper, we propose a fast labeling algorithm based on block-based concepts. Because the number of memory access points directly affects the time consumption of the labeling algorithms, the aim of the proposed algorithm is to minimize neighborhood operations. Our algorithm utilizes a block-based view and correlates a raster scan to select the necessary pixels generated by a block-based scan mask. We analyze the advantages of a sequential raster scan for the block-based scan mask, and integrate the block-connected relationships using two different procedures with binary decision trees to reduce unnecessary memory access. This greatly simplifies the pixel locations of the block-based scan mask. Furthermore, our algorithm significantly reduces the number of leaf nodes and depth levels required in the binary decision tree. We analyze the labeling performance of the proposed algorithm alongside that of other labeling algorithms using high-resolution images and foreground images. The experimental results from synthetic and real image datasets demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is faster than other methods. PMID:26393597

A fast method for finding bound systems in numerical simulations: Results from the formation of asteroid binaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leinhardt, Zoë M.; Richardson, Derek C.

2005-08-01

We present a new code ( companion) that identifies bound systems of particles in O(NlogN) time. Simple binaries consisting of pairs of mutually bound particles and complex hierarchies consisting of collections of mutually bound particles are identifiable with this code. In comparison, brute force binary search methods scale as O(N) while full hierarchy searches can be as expensive as O(N), making analysis highly inefficient for multiple data sets with N≳10. A simple test case is provided to illustrate the method. Timing tests demonstrating O(NlogN) scaling with the new code on real data are presented. We apply our method to data from asteroid satellite simulations [Durda et al., 2004. Icarus 167, 382-396; Erratum: Icarus 170, 242; reprinted article: Icarus 170, 243-257] and note interesting multi-particle configurations. The code is available at http://www.astro.umd.edu/zoe/companion/ and is distributed under the terms and conditions of the GNU Public License.

A solar-type star polluted by calcium-rich supernova ejecta inside the supernova remnant RCW 86

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gvaramadze, Vasilii V.; Langer, Norbert; Fossati, Luca; Bock, Douglas C.-J.; Castro, Norberto; Georgiev, Iskren Y.; Greiner, Jochen; Johnston, Simon; Rau, Arne; Tauris, Thomas M.

2017-06-01

When a massive star in a binary system explodes as a supernova, its companion star may be polluted with heavy elements from the supernova ejecta. Such pollution has been detected in a handful of post-supernova binaries 1 , but none of them is associated with a supernova remnant. We report the discovery of a binary G star strongly polluted with calcium and other elements at the position of the candidate neutron star [GV2003] N within the young galactic supernova remnant RCW 86. Our discovery suggests that the progenitor of the supernova that produced RCW 86 could have been a moving star, which exploded near the edge of its wind bubble and lost most of its initial mass because of common-envelope evolution shortly before core collapse, and that the supernova explosion might belong to the class of calcium-rich supernovae — faint and fast transients 2,3 , the origin of which is strongly debated 4-6 .

Fast and Accurate Prediction of Numerical Relativity Waveforms from Binary Black Hole Coalescences Using Surrogate Models.

PubMed

Blackman, Jonathan; Field, Scott E; Galley, Chad R; Szilágyi, Béla; Scheel, Mark A; Tiglio, Manuel; Hemberger, Daniel A

2015-09-18

Simulating a binary black hole coalescence by solving Einstein's equations is computationally expensive, requiring days to months of supercomputing time. Using reduced order modeling techniques, we construct an accurate surrogate model, which is evaluated in a millisecond to a second, for numerical relativity (NR) waveforms from nonspinning binary black hole coalescences with mass ratios in [1, 10] and durations corresponding to about 15 orbits before merger. We assess the model's uncertainty and show that our modeling strategy predicts NR waveforms not used for the surrogate's training with errors nearly as small as the numerical error of the NR code. Our model includes all spherical-harmonic _{-2}Y_{ℓm} waveform modes resolved by the NR code up to ℓ=8. We compare our surrogate model to effective one body waveforms from 50M_{⊙} to 300M_{⊙} for advanced LIGO detectors and find that the surrogate is always more faithful (by at least an order of magnitude in most cases).

Half-State Readout In Vertical-Bloch-Line Memory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Katti, Romney R.; Wu, Jiin-Chuan; Stadler, Henry L.

1994-01-01

Potentially narrow margins of chirality-based chopping of magnetic stripes avoided. Half-state readout is experimental method of readout in Vertical-Bloch-Line (VBL) memory. Based on differential deflections of magnetic stripe domains in which data bits stored. To give meaning to explanation of half-state readout, see "Vertical-Bloch-Line Memory" (NPO-18467).

46 CFR 154.1375 - Readout for temperature measuring device: Marking.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Readout for temperature measuring device: Marking. 154..., Construction and Equipment Instrumentation § 154.1375 Readout for temperature measuring device: Marking. Each readout under § 154.1340 for a device that measures temperature in a cargo tank must be marked with the...

46 CFR 154.1375 - Readout for temperature measuring device: Marking.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Readout for temperature measuring device: Marking. 154..., Construction and Equipment Instrumentation § 154.1375 Readout for temperature measuring device: Marking. Each readout under § 154.1340 for a device that measures temperature in a cargo tank must be marked with the...

46 CFR 154.1375 - Readout for temperature measuring device: Marking.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Readout for temperature measuring device: Marking. 154..., Construction and Equipment Instrumentation § 154.1375 Readout for temperature measuring device: Marking. Each readout under § 154.1340 for a device that measures temperature in a cargo tank must be marked with the...

46 CFR 154.1375 - Readout for temperature measuring device: Marking.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Readout for temperature measuring device: Marking. 154..., Construction and Equipment Instrumentation § 154.1375 Readout for temperature measuring device: Marking. Each readout under § 154.1340 for a device that measures temperature in a cargo tank must be marked with the...

46 CFR 154.1375 - Readout for temperature measuring device: Marking.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Readout for temperature measuring device: Marking. 154..., Construction and Equipment Instrumentation § 154.1375 Readout for temperature measuring device: Marking. Each readout under § 154.1340 for a device that measures temperature in a cargo tank must be marked with the...

Fast two-dimensional grid and transmission X-ray microscopy scanning methods for visualizing and characterizing protein crystals

PubMed Central

Wojdyla, Justyna Aleksandra; Panepucci, Ezequiel; Martiel, Isabelle; Ebner, Simon; Huang, Chia-Ying; Caffrey, Martin; Bunk, Oliver; Wang, Meitian

2016-01-01

A fast continuous grid scan protocol has been incorporated into the Swiss Light Source (SLS) data acquisition and analysis software suite on the macromolecular crystallography (MX) beamlines. Its combination with fast readout single-photon counting hybrid pixel array detectors (PILATUS and EIGER) allows for diffraction-based identification of crystal diffraction hotspots and the location and centering of membrane protein microcrystals in the lipid cubic phase (LCP) in in meso in situ serial crystallography plates and silicon nitride supports. Diffraction-based continuous grid scans with both still and oscillation images are supported. Examples that include a grid scan of a large (50 nl) LCP bolus and analysis of the resulting diffraction images are presented. Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) complements and benefits from fast grid scanning. STXM has been demonstrated at the SLS beamline X06SA for near-zero-dose detection of protein crystals mounted on different types of sample supports at room and cryogenic temperatures. Flash-cooled crystals in nylon loops were successfully identified in differential and integrated phase images. Crystals of just 10 µm thickness were visible in integrated phase images using data collected with the EIGER detector. STXM offers a truly low-dose method for locating crystals on solid supports prior to diffraction data collection at both synchrotron microfocusing and free-electron laser X-ray facilities. PMID:27275141

Report of the sensor readout electronics panel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fossum, Eric R.; Carson, J.; Kleinhans, W.; Kosonocky, W.; Kozlowski, L.; Pecsalski, A.; Silver, A.; Spieler, H.; Woolaway, J.

1991-01-01

The findings of the Sensor Readout Electronics Panel are summarized in regard to technology assessment and recommended development plans. In addition to two specific readout issues, cryogenic readouts and sub-electron noise, the panel considered three advanced technology areas that impact the ability to achieve large format sensor arrays. These are mega-pixel focal plane packaging issues, focal plane to data processing module interfaces, and event driven readout architectures. Development in each of these five areas was judged to have significant impact in enabling the sensor performance desired for the Astrotech 21 mission set. Other readout issues, such as focal plane signal processing or other high volume data acquisition applications important for Eos-type mapping, were determined not to be relevant for astrophysics science goals.

Inexpensive read-out for coincident electron spectroscopy with a transmission electron microscope at nanometer scale using micro channel plates and multistrip anodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hollander, R. W.; Bom, V. R.; van Eijk, C. W. E.; Faber, J. S.; Hoevers, H.; Kruit, P.

1994-09-01

The elemental composition of a sample at nanometer scale is determined by measurement of the characteristic energy of Auger electrons, emitted in coincidence with incoming primary electrons from a microbeam in a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). Single electrons are detected with position sensitive detectors, consisting of MicroChannel Plates (MCP) and MultiStrip Anodes (MSA), one for the energy of the Auger electrons (Auger-detector) and one for the energy loss of primary electrons (EELS-detector). The MSAs are sensed with LeCroy 2735DC preamplifiers. The fast readout is based on LeCroy's PCOS III system. On the detection of a coincidence (Event) energy data of Auger and EELS are combined with timing data to an Event word. Event words are stored in list mode in a VME memory module. Blocks of Event words are scanned by transputers in VME and two-dimensional energy histograms are filled using the timing information to obtain a maximal true/accidental ratio. The resulting histograms are stored on disk of a PC-386, which also controls data taking. The system is designed to handle 10 5 Events per second, 90% of which are accidental. In the histograms the "true" to "accidental" ratio will be 5. The dead time is 15%.

Hybrid CMOS-Graphene Sensor Array for Subsecond Dopamine Detection.

PubMed

Nasri, Bayan; Wu, Ting; Alharbi, Abdullah; You, Kae-Dyi; Gupta, Mayank; Sebastian, Sunit P; Kiani, Roozbeh; Shahrjerdi, Davood

2017-12-01

We introduce a hybrid CMOS-graphene sensor array for subsecond measurement of dopamine via fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV). The prototype chip has four independent CMOS readout channels, fabricated in a 65-nm process. Using planar multilayer graphene as biologically compatible sensing material enables integration of miniaturized sensing electrodes directly above the readout channels. Taking advantage of the chemical specificity of FSCV, we introduce a region of interest technique, which subtracts a large portion of the background current using a programmable low-noise constant current at about the redox potentials. We demonstrate the utility of this feature for enhancing the sensitivity by measuring the sensor response to a known dopamine concentration in vitro at three different scan rates. This strategy further allows us to significantly reduce the dynamic range requirements of the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) without compromising the measurement accuracy. We show that an integrating dual-slope ADC is adequate for digitizing the background-subtracted current. The ADC operates at a sampling frequency of 5-10 kHz and has an effective resolution of about 60 pA, which corresponds to a theoretical dopamine detection limit of about 6 nM. Our hybrid sensing platform offers an effective solution for implementing next-generation FSCV devices that can enable precise recording of dopamine signaling in vivo on a large scale.

Functional Brachyury Binding Sites Establish a Temporal Read-out of Gene Expression in the Ciona Notochord

PubMed Central

Passamaneck, Yale J.; Gazdoiu, Stefan; José-Edwards, Diana S.; Kugler, Jamie E.; Oda-Ishii, Izumi; Imai, Janice H.; Nibu, Yutaka; Di Gregorio, Anna

2013-01-01

The appearance of the notochord represented a milestone in Deuterostome evolution. The notochord is necessary for the development of the chordate body plan and for the formation of the vertebral column and numerous organs. It is known that the transcription factor Brachyury is required for notochord formation in all chordates, and that it controls transcription of a large number of target genes. However, studies of the structure of the cis-regulatory modules (CRMs) through which this control is exerted are complicated in vertebrates by the genomic complexity and the pan-mesodermal expression territory of Brachyury. We used the ascidian Ciona, in which the single-copy Brachyury is notochord-specific and CRMs are easily identifiable, to carry out a systematic characterization of Brachyury-downstream notochord CRMs. We found that Ciona Brachyury (Ci-Bra) controls most of its targets directly, through non-palindromic binding sites that function either synergistically or individually to activate early- and middle-onset genes, respectively, while late-onset target CRMs are controlled indirectly, via transcriptional intermediaries. These results illustrate how a transcriptional regulator can efficiently shape a shallow gene regulatory network into a multi-tiered transcriptional output, and provide insights into the mechanisms that establish temporal read-outs of gene expression in a fast-developing chordate embryo. PMID:24204212

Functional Brachyury binding sites establish a temporal read-out of gene expression in the Ciona notochord.

PubMed

Katikala, Lavanya; Aihara, Hitoshi; Passamaneck, Yale J; Gazdoiu, Stefan; José-Edwards, Diana S; Kugler, Jamie E; Oda-Ishii, Izumi; Imai, Janice H; Nibu, Yutaka; Di Gregorio, Anna

2013-10-01

The appearance of the notochord represented a milestone in Deuterostome evolution. The notochord is necessary for the development of the chordate body plan and for the formation of the vertebral column and numerous organs. It is known that the transcription factor Brachyury is required for notochord formation in all chordates, and that it controls transcription of a large number of target genes. However, studies of the structure of the cis-regulatory modules (CRMs) through which this control is exerted are complicated in vertebrates by the genomic complexity and the pan-mesodermal expression territory of Brachyury. We used the ascidian Ciona, in which the single-copy Brachyury is notochord-specific and CRMs are easily identifiable, to carry out a systematic characterization of Brachyury-downstream notochord CRMs. We found that Ciona Brachyury (Ci-Bra) controls most of its targets directly, through non-palindromic binding sites that function either synergistically or individually to activate early- and middle-onset genes, respectively, while late-onset target CRMs are controlled indirectly, via transcriptional intermediaries. These results illustrate how a transcriptional regulator can efficiently shape a shallow gene regulatory network into a multi-tiered transcriptional output, and provide insights into the mechanisms that establish temporal read-outs of gene expression in a fast-developing chordate embryo.

The NOAO NEWFIRM Data Handling System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zárate, N.; Fitzpatrick, M.

2008-08-01

The NOAO Extremely Wide-Field IR Mosaic (NEWFIRM) is a new 1-2.4 micron IR camera that is now being commissioned for the 4m Mayall telescope at Kitt Peak. The focal plane consists of a 2x2 mosaic of 2048x2048 arrays offerring a field-of-view of 27.6' on a side. The use of dual MONSOON array controllers permits very fast readout, a scripting interface allows for highly efficient observing modes. We describe the Data Handling System (DHS) for the NEWFIRM camera which is designed to meet the performance requirements of the instrument as well as the observing environment in which in operates. It is responsible for receiving the data stream from the detector and instrument software, rectifying the image geometry, presenting a real-time display of the image to the user, final assembly of a science-grade image with complete headers, as well as triggering automated pipeline and archival functions. The DHS uses an event-based messaging system to control multiple processes on a distributed network of machines. The asynchronous nature of this processing means the DHS operates independently from the camera readout and the design of the system is inherently scalable to larger focal planes that use a greater number of array controllers. Current status and future plans for the DHS are also discussed.

Technology of uncooled fast polycrystalline PbSe focal plane arrays in systems for muzzle flash detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kastek, Mariusz; PiÄ tkowski, Tadeusz; Polakowski, Henryk; Barela, Jaroslaw; Firmanty, Krzysztof; Trzaskawka, Piotr; Vergara, German; Linares, Rodrigo; Gutierrez, Raul; Fernandez, Carlos; Montojo Supervielle, Maria Teresa

2014-05-01

The paper presents some aspects of muzzle flash detection using low resolution polycrystalline PbSe 32×32 and 80×80 detectors FPA operating at room temperature (uncooled performance). These sensors, which detect in MWIR (3 - 5 microns region) and are manufactured using proprietary technology from New Infrared Technologies (VPD PbSe - Vapor Phase Deposition of polycrystalline PbSe), can be applied to muzzle flash detection. The system based in the uncooled 80×80 FPA monolithically integrated with the CMOS readout circuitry has allowed image recording with frame rates over 2000 Hz (true snapshot acquisition), whereas the lower density, uncooled 32×32 FPA is suitable for being used in low cost infrared imagers sensitive in the MWIR band with frame rates above 1000 Hz. The FPA detector, read-out electronics and processing electronics (allows the implementation of some algorithms for muzzle flash detection) of both systems are presented. The systems have been tested at field test ground. Results of detection range measurement with two types of optical systems (wide and narrow field of view) have been shown. The theoretical analysis of possibility detection of muzzle flash and initial results of testing of some algorithms for muzzle flash detection have been presented too.

New simulation and measurement results on gateable DEPFET devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bähr, Alexander; Aschauer, Stefan; Hermenau, Katrin; Herrmann, Sven; Lechner, Peter H.; Lutz, Gerhard; Majewski, Petra; Miessner, Danilo; Porro, Matteo; Richter, Rainer H.; Schaller, Gerhard; Sandow, Christian; Schnecke, Martina; Schopper, Florian; Stefanescu, Alexander; Strüder, Lothar; Treis, Johannes

2012-07-01

To improve the signal to noise level, devices for optical and x-ray astronomy use techniques to suppress background events. Well known examples are e.g. shutters or frame-store Charge Coupled Devices (CCDs). Based on the DEpleted P-channel Field Effect Transistor (DEPFET) principle a so-called Gatebale DEPFET detector can be built. Those devices combine the DEPFET principle with a fast built-in electronic shutter usable for optical and x-ray applications. The DEPFET itself is the basic cell of an active pixel sensor build on a fully depleted bulk. It combines internal amplification, readout on demand, analog storage of the signal charge and a low readout noise with full sensitivity over the whole bulk thickness. A Gatebale DEPFET has all these benefits and obviates the need for an external shutter. Two concepts of Gatebale DEPFET layouts providing a built-in shutter will be introduced. Furthermore proof of principle measurements for both concepts are presented. Using recently produced prototypes a shielding of the collection anode up to 1 • 10-4 was achieved. Predicted by simulations, an optimized geometry should result in values of 1 • 10-5 and better. With the switching electronic currently in use a timing evaluation of the shutter opening and closing resulted in rise and fall times of 100ns.

Ultra-fast laser system

DOEpatents

Dantus, Marcos; Lozovoy, Vadim V

2014-01-21

A laser system is provided which selectively excites Raman active vibrations in molecules. In another aspect of the present invention, the system includes a laser, pulse shaper and detection device. A further aspect of the present invention employs a femtosecond laser and binary pulse shaping (BPS). Still another aspect of the present invention uses a laser beam pulse, a pulse shaper and remote sensing.

Disorder trapping by rapidly moving phase interface in an undercooled liquid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galenko, Peter; Danilov, Denis; Nizovtseva, Irina; Reuther, Klemens; Rettenmayr, Markus

2017-08-01

Non-equilibrium phenomena such as the disappearance of solute drag, the origin of solute trapping and evolution of disorder trapping occur during fast transformations with originating metastable phases [D.M. Herlach, P.K. Galenko, D. Holland-Moritz, Metastable solids from undrercooled melts (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2007)]. In the present work, a theoretical investigation of disorder trapping by a rapidly moving phase interface is presented. Using a model of fast phase transformations, a system of governing equations for the diffusion of atoms, and the evolution of both long-range order parameter and phase field variable is formulated. First numerical solutions are carried out for a congruently melting binary alloy system.

Hybrid cryptosystem implementation using fast data encipherment algorithm (FEAL) and goldwasser-micali algorithm for file security

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rachmawati, D.; Budiman, M. A.; Siburian, W. S. E.

2018-05-01

On the process of exchanging files, security is indispensable to avoid the theft of data. Cryptography is one of the sciences used to secure the data by way of encoding. Fast Data Encipherment Algorithm (FEAL) is a block cipher symmetric cryptographic algorithms. Therefore, the file which wants to protect is encrypted and decrypted using the algorithm FEAL. To optimize the security of the data, session key that is utilized in the algorithm FEAL encoded with the Goldwasser-Micali algorithm, which is an asymmetric cryptographic algorithm and using probabilistic concept. In the encryption process, the key was converted into binary form. The selection of values of x that randomly causes the results of the cipher key is different for each binary value. The concept of symmetry and asymmetry algorithm merger called Hybrid Cryptosystem. The use of the algorithm FEAL and Goldwasser-Micali can restore the message to its original form and the algorithm FEAL time required for encryption and decryption is directly proportional to the length of the message. However, on Goldwasser- Micali algorithm, the length of the message is not directly proportional to the time of encryption and decryption.

INTEGRAL Long-Term Monitoring of the Supergiant Fast X-Ray Transient XTE J1739-302

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blay, P.; Martinez-Nunez, S.; Negueruela, I.; Pottschmidt, K.; Smith, D. M.; Torrejon, J. M.; Reig, P.; Kretschmar, P.; Kreykenbohm, I.

2008-01-01

Context. In the past few years, a new class of High Mass X-Ray Binaries (HMXRB) has been claimed to exist, the Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients (SFXT). These are X-ray binary systems with a compact companion orbiting a supergiant star which show very short and bright outbursts in a series of activity periods overimposed on longer quiescent periods. Only very recently the first attempts to model the behaviour of these sources have been published, some of them within the framework of accretion from clumpy stellar winds. Aims. Our goal is to analyze the properties of XTE J1739-302/IGR J17391-3021 within the context of the clumpy structure of the supergiant wind. Methods. We have used INTEGRAL and RXTE/PCA observations in order to obtain broad band (1 - 200 keV) spectra and light curves of XTE J1739-302 and investigate its X-ray spectrum and temporal variability. Results. We have found that XTE J1739-302 follows a much more complex behaviour than expected. Far from presenting a regular variability pattern, XTE J1739-302 shows periods of high, intermediate, and low flaring activity.

A pixelated charge readout for Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asaadi, J.; Auger, M.; Ereditato, A.; Goeldi, D.; Hänni, R.; Kose, U.; Kreslo, I.; Lorca, D.; Luethi, M.; von Rohr, C. Rudolf; Sinclair, J.; Stocker, F.; Tognina, C.; Weber, M.

2018-02-01

Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers (LArTPCs) are ideally suited to perform long-baseline neutrino experiments aiming to measure CP violation in the lepton sector, and determine the ordering of the three neutrino mass eigenstates. LArTPCs have used projective wire readouts for charge detection since their conception in 1977. However, wire readouts are notoriously fragile and therefore a limiting factor in the design of any large mass detectors. Furthermore, a wire readout also introduces intrinsic ambiguities in event reconstruction. Within the ArgonCube concept—the liquid argon component of the DUNE near detector—we are developing a pixelated charge readout for LArTPCs. Pixelated charge readout systems represent the single largest advancement in the sensitivity of LArTPCs. They are mechanically robust and provide direct 3D readout, serving to minimise reconstruction ambiguities, enabling more advanced triggers, further reducing event pile-up and improving background rejection. This article presents first results from a pixelated LArTPC prototype built and operated in Bern.

Level 1 Daq System for Kloe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aloisio, A.; Cavaliere, S.; Cevenini, F.; Della Volpe, D.; Merola, L.; Anastasio, A.; Fiore, D. J.

KLOE is a general purpose detector optimized to observe CP violation in K0 decays. This detector will be installed at the DAΦNE Φ-factory, in Frascati (Italy) and it is expected to run at the end of 1997. The KLOE DAQ system can be divided mainly into the front-end fast readout section (the Level 1 DAQ), the FDDI Switch and the processor farm. The total bandwidth requirement is estimated to be of the order of 50 Mbyte/s. In this paper, we describe the Level 1 DAQ section, which is based on custom protocols and hardware controllers, developed to achieve high data transfer rates and event building capabilities without software overhead.

Chirped fiber Bragg grating written in highly birefringent fiber in simultaneous strain and temperature monitoring.

PubMed

Bieda, Marcin S; Sobotka, Piotr; Woliński, Tomasz R

2017-02-20

A new sensor configuration is proposed for simultaneous strain and temperature monitoring in a composite material that is based on a chirped fiber Bragg grating (CFBG) written in a highly birefringent (HB) polarization-maintaining fiber. The sensor is designed in the reflective configuration in which the CFBG acts both as a reflector and a sensing element. Since CFBG and HB fiber induce changes in the state of polarization (SOP), interference between polarization modes in the reflected spectrum is observed and analyzed. We used a simple readout setup to enable fast, linear operation of strain sensing as well simultaneous strain and temperature measurements in the composite.

Highly Specific and Wide Range NO2 Sensor with Color Readout.

PubMed

Fàbrega, Cristian; Fernández, Luis; Monereo, Oriol; Pons-Balagué, Alba; Xuriguera, Elena; Casals, Olga; Waag, Andreas; Prades, Joan Daniel

2017-11-22

We present a simple and inexpensive method to implement a Griess-Saltzman-type reaction that combines the advantages of the liquid phase method (high specificity and fast response time) with the benefits of a solid implementation (easy to handle). We demonstrate that the measurements can be carried out using conventional RGB sensors; circumventing all the limitations around the measurement of the samples with spectrometers. We also present a method to optimize the measurement protocol and target a specific range of NO 2 concentrations. We demonstrate that it is possible to measure the concentration of NO 2 from 50 ppb to 300 ppm with high specificity and without modifying the Griess-Saltzman reagent.

Fast and sensitive detection of an oscillating charge

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bian, X.; Hasko, D. G.; Milne, W. I.

We investigate the high-frequency operation of a percolation field effect transistor to monitor microwave excited single trapped charge. Readout is accomplished by measuring the effect of the polarization field associated with the oscillating charge on the AC signal generated in the channel due to charge pumping. This approach is sensitive to the relative phase between the polarization field and the pumped current, which is different from the conventional approach relying on the amplitude only. Therefore, despite the very small influence of the single oscillating trapped electron, a large signal can be detected. Experimental results show large improvement in both signal-to-noisemore » ratio and measurement bandwidth.« less

A Fluorescent In Vitro Assay to Investigate Paralog-Specific SUMO Conjugation.

PubMed

Eisenhardt, Nathalie; Chaugule, Viduth K; Pichler, Andrea

2016-01-01

Protein modification with the small ubiquitin-related modifier SUMO is a potent regulatory mechanism implicated in a variety of biological pathways. In vitro sumoylation reactions have emerged as a versatile tool to identify and characterize novel SUMO enzymes as well as their substrates. Here, we present detailed protocols for the purification and fluorescent labeling of mammalian SUMO paralogs for their application in sumoylation assays. These assays provide a fast readout for in vitro SUMO chain formation activity of E3 ligases in a paralog-specific manner. Finally, we critically analyze the application of fluorescent SUMO proteins to study substrate modification in vitro revealing also the drawbacks of the system.

An optical fiber-based flexible readout system for micro-pattern gas detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, C.; Feng, C. Q.; Zhu, D. Y.; Liu, S. B.; An, Q.

2018-04-01

This paper presents an optical fiber-based readout system that is intended to provide a general purpose multi-channel readout solution for various Micro-Pattern Gas Detectors (MPGDs). The proposed readout system is composed of several front-end cards (FECs) and a data collection module (DCM). The FEC exploits the capability of an existing 64-channel generic TPC readout ASIC chip, named AGET, to implement 256 channels readout. AGET offers FEC a large flexibility in gain range (4 options from 120 fC to 10 pC), peaking time (16 options from 50 ns to 1 us) and sampling freqency (100 MHz max.). The DCM contains multiple 1 Gbps optical fiber serial link interfaces that allow the system scaling up to 1536 channels with 6 FECs and 1 DCM. Further scaling up is possible through cascading of multiple DCMs, by configuring one DCM as a master while other DCMs in slave mode. This design offers a rapid readout solution for different application senario. Tests indicate that the nonlinearity of each channel is less than 1%, and the equivalent input noise charge is typically around 0.7 fC in RMS (root mean square), with a noise slope of about 0.01 fC/pF. The system level trigger rate limit is about 700 Hz in all channel readout mode. When in hit channel readout mode, supposing that typically 10 percent of channels are fired, trigger rate can go up to about 7 kHz. This system has been tested with Micromegas detector and GEM detector, confirming its capability in MPGD readout. Details of hardware and FPGA firmware design, as well as system performances, are described in the paper.

Fast and reliable symplectic integration for planetary system N-body problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hernandez, David M.

2016-06-01

We apply one of the exactly symplectic integrators, which we call HB15, of Hernandez & Bertschinger, along with the Kepler problem solver of Wisdom & Hernandez, to solve planetary system N-body problems. We compare the method to Wisdom-Holman (WH) methods in the MERCURY software package, the MERCURY switching integrator, and others and find HB15 to be the most efficient method or tied for the most efficient method in many cases. Unlike WH, HB15 solved N-body problems exhibiting close encounters with small, acceptable error, although frequent encounters slowed the code. Switching maps like MERCURY change between two methods and are not exactly symplectic. We carry out careful tests on their properties and suggest that they must be used with caution. We then use different integrators to solve a three-body problem consisting of a binary planet orbiting a star. For all tested tolerances and time steps, MERCURY unbinds the binary after 0 to 25 years. However, in the solutions of HB15, a time-symmetric HERMITE code, and a symplectic Yoshida method, the binary remains bound for >1000 years. The methods' solutions are qualitatively different, despite small errors in the first integrals in most cases. Several checks suggest that the qualitative binary behaviour of HB15's solution is correct. The Bulirsch-Stoer and Radau methods in the MERCURY package also unbind the binary before a time of 50 years, suggesting that this dynamical error is due to a MERCURY bug.

Learning Optimized Local Difference Binaries for Scalable Augmented Reality on Mobile Devices.

PubMed

Xin Yang; Kwang-Ting Cheng

2014-06-01

The efficiency, robustness and distinctiveness of a feature descriptor are critical to the user experience and scalability of a mobile augmented reality (AR) system. However, existing descriptors are either too computationally expensive to achieve real-time performance on a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet, or not sufficiently robust and distinctive to identify correct matches from a large database. As a result, current mobile AR systems still only have limited capabilities, which greatly restrict their deployment in practice. In this paper, we propose a highly efficient, robust and distinctive binary descriptor, called Learning-based Local Difference Binary (LLDB). LLDB directly computes a binary string for an image patch using simple intensity and gradient difference tests on pairwise grid cells within the patch. To select an optimized set of grid cell pairs, we densely sample grid cells from an image patch and then leverage a modified AdaBoost algorithm to automatically extract a small set of critical ones with the goal of maximizing the Hamming distance between mismatches while minimizing it between matches. Experimental results demonstrate that LLDB is extremely fast to compute and to match against a large database due to its high robustness and distinctiveness. Compared to the state-of-the-art binary descriptors, primarily designed for speed, LLDB has similar efficiency for descriptor construction, while achieving a greater accuracy and faster matching speed when matching over a large database with 2.3M descriptors on mobile devices.

Edge-SIFT: discriminative binary descriptor for scalable partial-duplicate mobile search.

PubMed

Zhang, Shiliang; Tian, Qi; Lu, Ke; Huang, Qingming; Gao, Wen

2013-07-01

As the basis of large-scale partial duplicate visual search on mobile devices, image local descriptor is expected to be discriminative, efficient, and compact. Our study shows that the popularly used histogram-based descriptors, such as scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) are not optimal for this task. This is mainly because histogram representation is relatively expensive to compute on mobile platforms and loses significant spatial clues, which are important for improving discriminative power and matching near-duplicate image patches. To address these issues, we propose to extract a novel binary local descriptor named Edge-SIFT from the binary edge maps of scale- and orientation-normalized image patches. By preserving both locations and orientations of edges and compressing the sparse binary edge maps with a boosting strategy, the final Edge-SIFT shows strong discriminative power with compact representation. Furthermore, we propose a fast similarity measurement and an indexing framework with flexible online verification. Hence, the Edge-SIFT allows an accurate and efficient image search and is ideal for computation sensitive scenarios such as a mobile image search. Experiments on a large-scale dataset manifest that the Edge-SIFT shows superior retrieval accuracy to Oriented BRIEF (ORB) and is superior to SIFT in the aspects of retrieval precision, efficiency, compactness, and transmission cost.

A reconfigurable image tube using an external electronic image readout

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lapington, J. S.; Howorth, J. R.; Milnes, J. S.

2005-08-01

We have designed and built a sealed tube microchannel plate (MCP) intensifier for optical/NUV photon counting applications suitable for 18, 25 and 40 mm diameter formats. The intensifier uses an electronic image readout to provide direct conversion of event position into electronic signals, without the drawbacks associated with phosphor screens and subsequent optical detection. The Image Charge technique is used to remove the readout from the intensifier vacuum enclosure, obviating the requirement for additional electrical vacuum feedthroughs and for the readout pattern to be UHV compatible. The charge signal from an MCP intensifier is capacitively coupled via a thin dielectric vacuum window to the electronic image readout, which is external to the sealed intensifier tube. The readout pattern is a separate item held in proximity to the dielectric window and can be easily detached, making the system easily reconfigurable. Since the readout pattern detects induced charge and is external to the tube, it can be constructed as a multilayer, eliminating the requirement for narrow insulator gaps and allowing it to be constructed using standard PCB manufacturing tolerances. We describe two readout patterns, the tetra wedge anode (TWA), an optimized 4 electrode device similar to the wedge and strip anode (WSA) but with a factor 2 improvement in resolution, and an 8 channel high speed 50 ohm device, both manufactured as multilayer PCBs. We present results of the detector imaging performance, image resolution, linearity and stability, and discuss the development of an integrated readout and electronics device based on these designs.

Trigger readout electronics upgrade for the ATLAS Liquid Argon Calorimeters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dinkespiler, B.

2017-09-01

The upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) scheduled for the 2019-2020 shut-down period, referred to as Phase-I upgrade, will increase the instantaneous luminosity to about three times the design value. Since the current ATLAS trigger system does not allow sufficient increase of the trigger rate, an improvement of the trigger system is required. The Liquid Argon (LAr) Calorimeter read-out will therefore be modified to deliver digital trigger signals with a higher spatial granularity in order to improve the identification efficiencies of electrons, photons, tau, jets and missing energy, at high background rejection rates at the Level-1 trigger. The new trigger signals will be arranged in 34000 so-called Super Cells which achieves 5-10 times better granularity than the trigger towers currently used and allows an improved background rejection. The readout of the trigger signals will process the signal of the Super Cells at every LHC bunch-crossing at 12-bit precision and a frequency of 40 MHz. The data will be transmitted to the Back End using a custom serializer and optical converter and 5.12 Gb/s optical links. In order to verify the full functionality of the future Liquid Argon trigger system, a demonstrator set-up has been installed on the ATLAS detector and is operated in parallel to the regular ATLAS data taking during the LHC Run-2 in 2015 and 2016. Noise level and linearity on the energy measurement have been verified to be within our requirements. In addition, we have collected data from 13 TeV proton collisions during the LHC 2015 and 2016 runs, and have observed real pulses from the detector through the demonstrator system. The talk will give an overview of the Phase-I Upgrade of the ATLAS Liquid Argon Calorimeter readout and present the custom developed hardware including their role in real-time data processing and fast data transfer. This contribution will also report on the performance of the newly developed ASICs including their radiation tolerance and on the performance of the prototype boards in the demonstrator system based on various measurements with the 13 TeV collision data. Results of the high-speed link test with the prototypes of the final electronic boards will be also reported.

A multiball read-out for the spherical proportional counter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giganon, A.; Giomataris, I.; Gros, M.; Katsioulas, I.; Navick, X. F.; Tsiledakis, G.; Savvidis, I.; Dastgheibi-Fard, A.; Brossard, A.

2017-12-01

We present a novel concept of proportional gas amplification for the read-out of the spherical proportional counter. The standard single-ball read-out presents limitations for large diameter spherical detectors and high-pressure operations. We have developed a multi-ball read-out system which consists of several balls placed at a fixed distance from the center of the spherical vessel. Such a module can tune the volume electric field at the desired value and can also provide detector segmentation with individual ball read-out. In the latter case, the large volume of the vessel becomes a spherical time projection chamber with 3D capabilities.

A new fast detection system at the KWS-2 high-intensity SANS diffractometer of the JCNS at MLZ - prototype test

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radulescu, A.; Arend, N.; Drochner, M.; Ioffe, A.; Kemmerling, G.; Ossovyi, V.; Staringer, S.; Vehres, G.; McKinny, K.; Olechnowicz, B.; Yen, D.

2016-09-01

A new detection system based on an array of 3He tubes and innovative fast detection electronics was designed and produced by GE Reuter Stokes for the high-intensity small-angle neutron scattering diffractometer KWS-2, operated by the Jülich Centre for Neutron Science (JCNS) at the Heinz Meier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ). The new detector consists of a panel array of 144 3He tubes and a new fast read-out electronics. The electronics is mounted in a closed case in the backside of the 3He tubes panel array and will operate at ambient atmosphere under cooling air stream. The new detection system is composed of eighteen 8-pack modules of 3He-tubes that work independently of one another (each unit has its own processor and electronics). Knowing beforehand the performance of one detector unit and of one single tube detector is prerequisite for tuning and maximizing the performance of the complete detection system. In this paper we present the results of the tests of the prototyped 8-pack of 3He-tubes and corresponding electronics, which have been carried out at the JCNS instruments KWS-2 (in high flux conditions) and TREFF.

Beam test results of a 16 ps timing system based on ultra-fast silicon detectors

DOE PAGES

Cartiglia, N.; Staiano, A.; Sola, V.; ...

2017-04-01

In this paper we report on the timing resolution obtained in a beam test with pions of 180 GeV/c momentum at CERN for the first production of 45 μm thick Ultra-Fast Silicon Detectors (UFSD). UFSD are based on the Low- Gain Avalanche Detector (LGAD) design, employing n-on-p silicon sensors with internal charge multiplication due to the presence of a thin, low-resistivity diffusion layer below the junction. The UFSD used in this test had a pad area of 1.7 mm 2. The gain was measured to vary between 5 and 70 depending on the sensor bias voltage. The experimental setup includedmore » three UFSD and a fast trigger consisting of a quartz bar readout by a SiPM. The timing resolution was determined by doing Gaussian fits to the time-of-flight of the particles between one or more UFSD and the trigger counter. For a single UFSD the resolution was measured to be 34 ps for a bias voltage of 200 V, and 27 ps for a bias voltage of 230 V. For the combination of 3 UFSD the timing resolution was 20 ps for a bias voltage of 200 V, and 16 ps for a bias voltage of 230 V.« less

Beam test results of a 16 ps timing system based on ultra-fast silicon detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cartiglia, N.; Staiano, A.; Sola, V.; Arcidiacono, R.; Cirio, R.; Cenna, F.; Ferrero, M.; Monaco, V.; Mulargia, R.; Obertino, M.; Ravera, F.; Sacchi, R.; Bellora, A.; Durando, S.; Mandurrino, M.; Minafra, N.; Fadeyev, V.; Freeman, P.; Galloway, Z.; Gkougkousis, E.; Grabas, H.; Gruey, B.; Labitan, C. A.; Losakul, R.; Luce, Z.; McKinney-Martinez, F.; Sadrozinski, H. F.-W.; Seiden, A.; Spencer, E.; Wilder, M.; Woods, N.; Zatserklyaniy, A.; Pellegrini, G.; Hidalgo, S.; Carulla, M.; Flores, D.; Merlos, A.; Quirion, D.; Cindro, V.; Kramberger, G.; Mandić, I.; Mikuž, M.; Zavrtanik, M.

2017-04-01

In this paper we report on the timing resolution obtained in a beam test with pions of 180 GeV/c momentum at CERN for the first production of 45 μm thick Ultra-Fast Silicon Detectors (UFSD). UFSD are based on the Low-Gain Avalanche Detector (LGAD) design, employing n-on-p silicon sensors with internal charge multiplication due to the presence of a thin, low-resistivity diffusion layer below the junction. The UFSD used in this test had a pad area of 1.7 mm2. The gain was measured to vary between 5 and 70 depending on the sensor bias voltage. The experimental setup included three UFSD and a fast trigger consisting of a quartz bar readout by a SiPM. The timing resolution was determined by doing Gaussian fits to the time-of-flight of the particles between one or more UFSD and the trigger counter. For a single UFSD the resolution was measured to be 34 ps for a bias voltage of 200 V, and 27 ps for a bias voltage of 230 V. For the combination of 3 UFSD the timing resolution was 20 ps for a bias voltage of 200 V, and 16 ps for a bias voltage of 230 V.

Accounting for Dark Current Accumulated during Readout of Hubble's ACS/WFC Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryon, Jenna E.; Grogin, Norman A.; Coe, Dan A.; ACS Team

2018-06-01

We investigate the properties of excess dark current accumulated during the 100-second full-frame readout of the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) Wide Field Channel (WFC) detectors. This excess dark current, called "readout dark", gives rise to ambient background gradients and hot columns in each ACS/WFC image. While readout dark signal is removed from science images during the bias correction step in CALACS, the additional noise from the readout dark is currently not taken into account. We develop a method to estimate the readout dark noise properties in ACS/WFC observations. We update the error (ERR) extensions of superbias images to include the appropriate noise from the ambient readout dark gradient and stable hot columns. In recent data, this amounts to about 5 e-/pixel added variance in the rows farthest from the WFC serial registers, and about 7 to 30 e-/pixel added variance along the stable hot columns. We also flag unstable hot columns in the superbias data quality (DQ) extensions. The new reference file pipeline for ACS/WFC implements these updates to our superbias creation process.

New electronics for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (NECTAr)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naumann, C. L.; Delagnes, E.; Bolmont, J.; Corona, P.; Dzahini, D.; Feinstein, F.; Gascón, D.; Glicenstein, J.-F.; Guilloux, F.; Nayman, P.; Rarbi, F.; Sanuy, A.; Tavernet, J.-P.; Toussenel, F.; Vincent, P.; Vorobiov, S.

2012-12-01

The international CTA consortium has recently entered into its preparatory phase towards the construction of the next-generation Cherenkov Telescope Array CTA. This experiment will be a successor, and based on the return of experience from the three major current-generation arrays H.E.S.S., MAGIC and VERITAS, and aims to significantly improve upon the sensitivity as well as the energy range of its highly successful predecessors. Construction is planned to begin by 2013, and when finished, CTA will be able to explore the highest-energy gamma ray sky in unprecedented detail. To achieve this increase in sensitivity and energy range, CTA will employ the order of 100 telescopes of three different sizes on two sites, with around 1000-4000 channels per camera, depending on the telescope size. To equip and reliably operate the order of 100000 channels of photodetectors (compared to 6000 of the H.E.S.S. array), a new kind of flexible and powerful yet inexpensive front-end hardware will be required. One possible solution is pursued by the NECTAr (New Electronics for the Cherenkov Telescope Array) project. Its main feature is the integration of as much as possible of the front-end electronics (amplifiers, fast analogue samplers, memory and ADCs) into a single ASIC, which will allow very fast readout performances while significantly reducing the cost and the power consumption per channel. Also included is a low-cost FPGA for digital treatment and online data processing, as well as an Ethernet connection. Other priorities of NECTAr are the modularity of the system, a high degree of flexibility in the trigger system as well as the possibility of flexible readout modes to optimise the signal-to-noise ratio while at the same time allowing a significant reduction of data rates, both of which could improve the sensitivity of CTA compared to current detection systems. This paper gives an overview over the development work for the Nectar system, with particular focus on its main component, the NECTAr ASIC.

Characterization and development of an event-driven hybrid CMOS x-ray detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Griffith, Christopher

2015-06-01

Hybrid CMOS detectors (HCD) have provided great benefit to the infrared and optical fields of astronomy, and they are poised to do the same for X-ray astronomy. Infrared HCDs have already flown on the Hubble Space Telescope and the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission and are slated to fly on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Hybrid CMOS X-ray detectors offer low susceptibility to radiation damage, low power consumption, and fast readout time to avoid pile-up. The fast readout time is necessary for future high throughput X-ray missions. The Speedster-EXD X-ray HCD presented in this dissertation offers new in-pixel features and reduces known noise sources seen on previous generation HCDs. The Speedster-EXD detector makes a great step forward in the development of these detectors for future space missions. This dissertation begins with an overview of future X-ray space mission concepts and their detector requirements. The background on the physics of semiconductor devices and an explanation of the detection of X-rays with these devices will be discussed followed by a discussion on CCDs and CMOS detectors. Next, hybrid CMOS X-ray detectors will be explained including their advantages and disadvantages. The Speedster-EXD detector and its new features will be outlined including its ability to only read out pixels which contain X-ray events. Test stand design and construction for the Speedster-EXD detector is outlined and the characterization of each parameter on two Speedster-EXD detectors is detailed including read noise, dark current, interpixel capacitance crosstalk (IPC), and energy resolution. Gain variation is also characterized, and a Monte Carlo simulation of its impact on energy resolution is described. This analysis shows that its effect can be successfully nullified with proper calibration, which would be important for a flight mission. Appendix B contains a study of the extreme tidal disruption event, Swift J1644+57, to search for periodicities in its X-ray light curve. iii.

Local readout enhancement for detuned signal-recycling interferometers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rehbein, Henning; Müller-Ebhardt, Helge; Somiya, Kentaro; Li, Chao; Schnabel, Roman; Danzmann, Karsten; Chen, Yanbei

2007-09-01

High power detuned signal-recycling interferometers currently planned for second-generation interferometric gravitational-wave detectors (for example Advanced LIGO) are characterized by two resonances in the detection band, an optical resonance and an optomechanical resonance which is upshifted from the suspension pendulum frequency due to the so-called optical-spring effect. The detector’s sensitivity is enhanced around these two resonances. However, at frequencies below the optomechanical resonance frequency, the sensitivity of such interferometers is significantly lower than non-optical-spring configurations with comparable circulating power; such a drawback can also compromise high-frequency sensitivity, when an optimization is performed on the overall sensitivity of the interferometer to a class of sources. In this paper, we clarify the reason for such a low sensitivity, and propose a way to fix this problem. Motivated by the optical-bar scheme of Braginsky, Gorodetsky, and Khalili, we propose to add a local readout scheme which measures the motion of the arm-cavity front mirror, which at low frequencies moves together with the arm-cavity end mirror, under the influence of gravitational waves. This scheme improves the low-frequency quantum-noise-limited sensitivity of optical-spring interferometers significantly and can be considered as an incorporation of the optical-bar scheme into currently planned second-generation interferometers. On the other hand it can be regarded as an extension of the optical-bar scheme. Taking compact binary inspiral signals as an example, we illustrate how this scheme can be used to improve the sensitivity of the planned Advanced LIGO interferometer, in various scenarios, using a realistic classical-noise budget. We also discuss how this scheme can be implemented in Advanced LIGO with relative ease.

DIODE STEERED MANGETIC-CORE MEMORY

DOEpatents

Melmed, A.S.; Shevlin, R.T.; Laupheimer, R.

1962-09-18

A word-arranged magnetic-core memory is designed for use in a digital computer utilizing the reverse or back current property of the semi-conductor diodes to restore the information in the memory after read-out. In order to ob tain a read-out signal from a magnetic core storage unit, it is necessary to change the states of some of the magnetic cores. In order to retain the information in the memory after read-out it is then necessary to provide a means to return the switched cores to their states before read-out. A rewrite driver passes a pulse back through each row of cores in which some switching has taken place. This pulse combines with the reverse current pulses of diodes for each column in which a core is switched during read-out to cause the particular cores to be switched back into their states prior to read-out. (AEC)

Zonal wavefront sensing with enhanced spatial resolution.

PubMed

Pathak, Biswajit; Boruah, Bosanta R

2016-12-01

In this Letter, we introduce a scheme to enhance the spatial resolution of a zonal wavefront sensor. The zonal wavefront sensor comprises an array of binary gratings implemented by a ferroelectric spatial light modulator (FLCSLM) followed by a lens, in lieu of the array of lenses in the Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor. We show that the fast response of the FLCSLM device facilitates quick display of several laterally shifted binary grating patterns, and the programmability of the device enables simultaneous capturing of each focal spot array. This eventually leads to a wavefront estimation with an enhanced spatial resolution without much sacrifice on the sensor frame rate, thus making the scheme suitable for high spatial resolution measurement of transient wavefronts. We present experimental and numerical simulation results to demonstrate the importance of the proposed wavefront sensing scheme.

Small-tip fast recovery imaging using non-slice-selective tailored tip-up pulses and RF-spoiling

PubMed Central

Nielsen, Jon-Fredrik; Yoon, Daehyun; Noll, Douglas C.

2012-01-01

Small-tip fast recovery (STFR) imaging is a new steady-state imaging sequence that is a potential alternative to balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP). Under ideal imaging conditions, STFR may provide comparable signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and image contrast as bSSFP, but without signal variations due to resonance offset. STFR relies on a tailored “tip-up”, or “fast recovery”, RF pulse to align the spins with the longitudinal axis after each data readout segment. The design of the tip-up pulse is based on the acquisition of a separate off-resonance (B0) map. Unfortunately, the design of fast (a few ms) slice- or slab-selective RF pulses that accurately tailor the excitation pattern to the local B0 inhomogeneity over the entire imaging volume remains a challenging and unsolved problem. We introduce a novel implementation of STFR imaging based on non-slice-selective tip-up pulses, which simplifies the RF design problem significantly. Out-of-slice magnetization pathways are suppressed using RF-spoiling. Brain images obtained with this technique show excellent gray/white matter contrast, and point to the possibility of rapid steady-state T2/T1-weighted imaging with intrinsic suppression of cerebrospinal fluid, through-plane vessel signal, and off-resonance artifacts. In the future we expect STFR imaging to benefit significantly from parallel excitation hardware and high-order gradient shim systems. PMID:22511367

Spin Rate Distribution of Small Asteroids Shaped by YORP Effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pravec, Petr

2008-09-01

We studied a distribution of spin rates of main belt/Mars crossing (MB/MC) asteroids with diameters 3-15 km using data obtained within the Photometric Survey of Asynchronous Binary Asteroids (Pravec et al. 2008). We found that the spin distribution of the small asteroids is uniform in the range from f = 1 to 9.5 d-1, and there is an excess of slow rotators with f < 1 d-1. The observed distribution appears to be controlled by the Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack (YORP) effect. The magnitude of the excess of slow rotators is related to the residence time of slowed down asteroids in the excess and the rate of spin rate change outside the excess. We estimated a median YORP spin rate change of 0.022 d-1/Myr for asteroids in our sample (i.e., a median time in which the spin rate changes by 1 d-1 is 45 Myr), thus the residence time of slowed down asteroids in the excess is 110 Myr. The spin rate distribution of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) with sizes in the range 0.2-3 km ( 5-times smaller in median diameter than the MB/MC asteroids sample) shows a similar excess of slow rotators, but there is also a concentration of NEAs at fast spin rates with f = 9-10 d-1. The concentration at fast spin rates is correlated with a narrower distribution of spin rates of primaries of binary systems among NEAs; the difference may be due to the apparently more evolved population of binaries among MB/MC asteroids. Reference: Pravec, P., and 30 colleagues, 2008. Spin rate distribution of small asteroids. Icarus, in press. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2008.05.012

Radio Pulse Search and X-Ray Monitoring of SAX J1808.4−3658: What Causes Its Orbital Evolution?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Patruno, Alessandro; King, Andrew R.; Jaodand, Amruta

The accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar SAX J1808.4−3658 shows a peculiar orbital evolution that proceeds at a very fast pace. It is important to identify the underlying mechanism responsible for this behavior because it can help to understand how this system evolves and which physical processes (such as mass loss or spin–orbit coupling) are occurring in the binary. It has also been suggested that, when in quiescence, SAX J1808.4−3658 turns on as a radio pulsar, a circumstance that might provide a link between accreting millisecond pulsars and black-widow (BW) radio pulsars. In this work, we report the results of a deepmore » radio pulsation search at 2 GHz using the Green Bank Telescope in 2014 August and an X-ray study of the 2015 outburst with Chandra , Swift XRT, and INTEGRAL . In quiescence, we detect no radio pulsations and place the strongest limit to date on the pulsed radio flux density of any accreting millisecond pulsar. We also find that the orbit of SAX J1808.4−3658 continues evolving at a fast pace. We compare the orbital evolution of SAX J1808.4−3658 to that of several other accreting and nonaccreting binaries, including BWs, redbacks, cataclysmic variables, black holes, and neutron stars in low-mass X-ray binaries. We discuss two possible scenarios: either the neutron star has a large moment of inertia and is ablating the donor, generating mass loss with an efficiency of 40%, or the donor star has a strong magnetic field of at least 1 kG and is undergoing quasi-cyclic variations due to spin–orbit coupling.« less

TIGER: A data analysis pipeline for testing the strong-field dynamics of general relativity with gravitational wave signals from coalescing compact binaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agathos, M.; Del Pozzo, W.; Li, T. G. F.; Van Den Broeck, C.; Veitch, J.; Vitale, S.

2014-04-01

The direct detection of gravitational waves with upcoming second-generation gravitational wave observatories such as Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo will allow us to probe the genuinely strong-field dynamics of general relativity (GR) for the first time. We have developed a data analysis pipeline called TIGER (test infrastructure for general relativity), which uses signals from compact binary coalescences to perform a model-independent test of GR. In this paper we focus on signals from coalescing binary neutron stars, for which sufficiently accurate waveform models are already available which can be generated fast enough on a computer that they can be used in Bayesian inference. By performing numerical experiments in stationary, Gaussian noise, we show that for such systems, TIGER is robust against a number of unmodeled fundamental, astrophysical, and instrumental effects, such as differences between waveform approximants, a limited number of post-Newtonian phase contributions being known, the effects of neutron star tidal deformability on the orbital motion, neutron star spins, and instrumental calibration errors.

GPU-accelerated low-latency real-time searches for gravitational waves from compact binary coalescence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yuan; Du, Zhihui; Chung, Shin Kee; Hooper, Shaun; Blair, David; Wen, Linqing

2012-12-01

We present a graphics processing unit (GPU)-accelerated time-domain low-latency algorithm to search for gravitational waves (GWs) from coalescing binaries of compact objects based on the summed parallel infinite impulse response (SPIIR) filtering technique. The aim is to facilitate fast detection of GWs with a minimum delay to allow prompt electromagnetic follow-up observations. To maximize the GPU acceleration, we apply an efficient batched parallel computing model that significantly reduces the number of synchronizations in SPIIR and optimizes the usage of the memory and hardware resource. Our code is tested on the CUDA ‘Fermi’ architecture in a GTX 480 graphics card and its performance is compared with a single core of Intel Core i7 920 (2.67 GHz). A 58-fold speedup is achieved while giving results in close agreement with the CPU implementation. Our result indicates that it is possible to conduct a full search for GWs from compact binary coalescence in real time with only one desktop computer equipped with a Fermi GPU card for the initial LIGO detectors which in the past required more than 100 CPUs.

Front-end electronics for PWO-based PHOS calorimeter of ALICE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muller, Hans; Budnikov, Dmitry; Ippolitov, Mikhail; Li, Qingxia; Manko, Vladislav; Pimenta, Rui; Rohrich, Dieter; Sibiryak, Iouri; Skaali, Bernhard; Vinogradov, Alexandre

2006-11-01

The electromagnetic Photon Spectrometer (PHOS) of ALICE consists of five modules with 56×64 PWO crystals, operated at -25 °C. Glued to each crystal are APD diodes which amplify a lightyield of 4.4 photoelectrons/MeV, followed by charge-sensitive pre-amplifiers with a charge conversion gain of ca. 1 V/pC. We describe our new 32-channel shaper/digitizer and readout electronics for gain-programmable photodiodes. These Front-End Electronics (FEE) cards are installed below the crystals in an isolated warm volume in geometrical correspondence to 2×16 crystal rows per card. With a total detector capacitance of 100 pF and a noise level of 3 MeV, the FEEs cover a 14 bit dynamic range from 5 MeV to 80 GeV. The low noise level is achieved by operating the APDs and preamplifiers at low temperature and by applying a relatively long shaping time of 1 μs. The offline timing resolution, obtained via a Gamma-2 fit is less than 2 ns. The second-order, dual-gain shapers produce semi-Gaussian output for 10 bit ADCs with embedded multi-event buffers. A Readout Control Unit (RCU) masters data readout with address-mapped access to the event-buffers and controls registers via a custom bus which interconnects up to 14 FEE cards. Programmable bias voltage controllers on the FEE cards allow for very precise gain adjustment of each individual APD. Being co-designed with the TRU trigger cards, each FEE card generates eight fast signal sums (2×2 crystals) as input to the TRU. FPGA-based algorithms generate level-0 and level-1 trigger decisions at 40 MHz and allow PHOS also to operate in self-triggered mode. Inside each PHOS module there are 112 FEE and 8 TRU cards which dissipate ca. 1 kW heat which is extracted via a water cooling system.

LAMBDA 2M GaAs—A multi-megapixel hard X-ray detector for synchrotrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pennicard, D.; Smoljanin, S.; Pithan, F.; Sarajlic, M.; Rothkirch, A.; Yu, Y.; Liermann, H. P.; Morgenroth, W.; Winkler, B.; Jenei, Z.; Stawitz, H.; Becker, J.; Graafsma, H.

2018-01-01

Synchrotrons can provide very intense and focused X-ray beams, which can be used to study the structure of matter down to the atomic scale. In many experiments, the quality of the results depends strongly on detector performance; in particular, experiments studying dynamics of samples require fast, sensitive X-ray detectors. "LAMBDA" is a photon-counting hybrid pixel detector system for experiments at synchrotrons, based on the Medipix3 readout chip. Its main features are a combination of comparatively small pixel size (55 μm), high readout speed at up to 2000 frames per second with no time gap between images, a large tileable module design, and compatibility with high-Z sensors for efficient detection of higher X-ray energies. A large LAMBDA system for hard X-ray detection has been built using Cr-compensated GaAs as a sensor material. The system is composed of 6 GaAs tiles, each of 768 by 512 pixels, giving a system with approximately 2 megapixels and an area of 8.5 by 8.5 cm2. While the sensor uniformity of GaAs is not as high as that of silicon, its behaviour is stable over time, and it is possible to correct nonuniformities effectively by postprocessing of images. By using multiple 10 Gigabit Ethernet data links, the system can be read out at the full speed of 2000 frames per second. The system has been used in hard X-ray diffraction experiments studying the structure of samples under extreme pressure in diamond anvil cells. These experiments can provide insight into geological processes. Thanks to the combination of high speed readout, large area and high sensitivity to hard X-rays, it is possible to obtain previously unattainable information in these experiments about atomic-scale structure on a millisecond timescale during rapid changes of pressure or temperature.

General-purpose readout electronics for white neutron source at China Spallation Neutron Source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Q.; Cao, P.; Qi, X.; Yu, T.; Ji, X.; Xie, L.; An, Q.

2018-01-01

The under-construction White Neutron Source (WNS) at China Spallation Neutron Source is a facility for accurate measurements of neutron-induced cross section. Seven spectrometers are planned at WNS. As the physical objectives of each spectrometer are different, the requirements for readout electronics are not the same. In order to simplify the development of the readout electronics, this paper presents a general method for detector signal readout. This method has advantages of expansibility and flexibility, which makes it adaptable to most detectors at WNS. In the WNS general-purpose readout electronics, signals from any kinds of detectors are conditioned by a dedicated signal conditioning module corresponding to this detector, and then digitized by a common waveform digitizer with high speed and high precision (1 GSPS at 12-bit) to obtain the full waveform data. The waveform digitizer uses a field programmable gate array chip to process the data stream and trigger information in real time. PXI Express platform is used to support the functionalities of data readout, clock distribution, and trigger information exchange between digitizers and trigger modules. Test results show that the performance of the WNS general-purpose readout electronics can meet the requirements of the WNS spectrometers.

Fast Single-Shot Hold Spin Readout in Double Quantum Dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bogan, Alexander; Studenikin, Sergei; Korkusinski, Marek; Aers, Geof; Gaudreau, Louis; Zawadzki, Piotr; Sachrajda, Andy; Tracy, Lisa; Reno, John; Hargett, Terry

Solid state spin qubits in quantum dots hold promise as scalable, high-density qubits in quantum information processing architectures. While much of the experimental investigation of these devices and their physics has focused on confined electron spins, hole spins in III-V semiconductors are attractive alternatives to electrons due to the reduced hyperfine coupling between the spin and the incoherent nuclear environment. In this talk, we will discuss a measurement protocol of the hole spin relaxation time T1 in a gated lateral GaAs double quantum dot tuned to the one and two-hole regimes, as well as a new technique for single-shot projective measurement of a single spin in tens of nanoseconds or less. The technique makes use of fast non-spin-conserving inter-dot transitions permitted by strong spin-orbit interactions for holes, as well as the latching of the charge state of the second quantum dot for enhanced sensitivity. This technique allows a direct measurement of the single spin relaxation time on time-scales set by physical device rather than by limitations of the measurement circuit.

Design and characterization of the ePix10k: a high dynamic range integrating pixel ASIC for LCLS detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caragiulo, P.; Dragone, A.; Markovic, B.; Herbst, R.; Nishimura, K.; Reese, B.; Herrmann, S.; Hart, P.; Blaj, G.; Segal, J.; Tomada, A.; Hasi, J.; Carini, G.; Kenney, C.; Haller, G.

2015-05-01

ePix10k is a variant of a novel class of integrating pixel ASICs architectures optimized for the processing of signals in second generation LINAC Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-Ray cameras. The ASIC is optimized for high dynamic range application requiring high spatial resolution and fast frame rates. ePix ASICs are based on a common platform composed of a random access analog matrix of pixel with global shutter, fast parallel column readout, and dedicated sigma-delta analog to digital converters per column. The ePix10k variant has 100um×100um pixels arranged in a 176×192 matrix, a resolution of 140e- r.m.s. and a signal range of 3.5pC (10k photons at 8keV). In its final version it will be able to sustain a frame rate of 2kHz. A first prototype has been fabricated and characterized. Performance in terms of noise, linearity, uniformity, cross-talk, together with preliminary measurements with bump bonded sensors are reported here.

A 75-ps Gated CMOS Image Sensor with Low Parasitic Light Sensitivity

PubMed Central

Zhang, Fan; Niu, Hanben

2016-01-01

In this study, a 40 × 48 pixel global shutter complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor with an adjustable shutter time as low as 75 ps was implemented using a 0.5-μm mixed-signal CMOS process. The implementation consisted of a continuous contact ring around each p+/n-well photodiode in the pixel array in order to apply sufficient light shielding. The parasitic light sensitivity of the in-pixel storage node was measured to be 1/8.5 × 107 when illuminated by a 405-nm diode laser and 1/1.4 × 104 when illuminated by a 650-nm diode laser. The pixel pitch was 24 μm, the size of the square p+/n-well photodiode in each pixel was 7 μm per side, the measured random readout noise was 217 e− rms, and the measured dynamic range of the pixel of the designed chip was 5500:1. The type of gated CMOS image sensor (CIS) that is proposed here can be used in ultra-fast framing cameras to observe non-repeatable fast-evolving phenomena. PMID:27367699

A 75-ps Gated CMOS Image Sensor with Low Parasitic Light Sensitivity.

PubMed

Zhang, Fan; Niu, Hanben

2016-06-29

In this study, a 40 × 48 pixel global shutter complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor with an adjustable shutter time as low as 75 ps was implemented using a 0.5-μm mixed-signal CMOS process. The implementation consisted of a continuous contact ring around each p+/n-well photodiode in the pixel array in order to apply sufficient light shielding. The parasitic light sensitivity of the in-pixel storage node was measured to be 1/8.5 × 10⁷ when illuminated by a 405-nm diode laser and 1/1.4 × 10⁴ when illuminated by a 650-nm diode laser. The pixel pitch was 24 μm, the size of the square p+/n-well photodiode in each pixel was 7 μm per side, the measured random readout noise was 217 e(-) rms, and the measured dynamic range of the pixel of the designed chip was 5500:1. The type of gated CMOS image sensor (CIS) that is proposed here can be used in ultra-fast framing cameras to observe non-repeatable fast-evolving phenomena.

Development of Residual Gas Profile Monitors at GSI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giacomini, T.; Barabin, S.; Forck, P.; Liakin, D.; Skachkov, V.

2004-11-01

Beam profile measurements at modern ion synchrotrons and storage rings require high timing performances on a turn-by-turn basis. High spatial resolutions are essential for cold beams and beamwidth measurings. The currently used RGM supported very interesting measurements and applications. Due to the readout technology the spatial and time resolution is limited. To meet the expanded demands a more comprehensive device is under development. It will be an all-purpose residual gas monitor to cover the wide range of beam currents and transversal particle distributions. Due to the fast profile detection it will operate on primary electrons after residual gas ionization. A magnetic field of 100 mT binds them to the ionization point inside 0.1-mm orbits. The high-resolution mode will be read out by a digital CCD camera with an upstream MCP-phosphor screen assembly. It is planned to read out the fast turn-by-turn mode by an array of 100 photodiodes with a resolution of 1 mm. Every photodiode is equipped with an amplifier-digitizer device providing a frame rate of ˜ 10 MSamples/s.

Fast regional readout CMOS Image Sensor for dynamic MLC tracking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zin, H.; Harris, E.; Osmond, J.; Evans, P.

2014-03-01

Advanced radiotherapy techniques such as volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) require verification of the complex beam delivery including tracking of multileaf collimators (MLC) and monitoring the dose rate. This work explores the feasibility of a prototype Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor Image Sensor (CIS) for tracking these complex treatments by utilising fast, region of interest (ROI) read out functionality. An automatic edge tracking algorithm was used to locate the MLC leaves edges moving at various speeds (from a moving triangle field shape) and imaged with various sensor frame rates. The CIS demonstrates successful edge detection of the dynamic MLC motion within accuracy of 1.0 mm. This demonstrates the feasibility of the sensor to verify treatment delivery involving dynamic MLC up to ~400 frames per second (equivalent to the linac pulse rate), which is superior to any current techniques such as using electronic portal imaging devices (EPID). CIS provides the basis to an essential real-time verification tool, useful in accessing accurate delivery of complex high energy radiation to the tumour and ultimately to achieve better cure rates for cancer patients.

Investigation of Very Fast Light Detectors: Silicon Photomultiplier and Micro PMT for a Cosmic Ray Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cervantes, Omar; Reyes, Liliana; Hooks, Tyler; Perez, Luis; Ritt, Stefan

2016-03-01

To construct a cosmic detector array using 4 scintillation detectors, we investigated 2 recent light sensor technologies from Hamamatsu, as possible readout detectors. First, we investigated several homemade versions of the multipixel photon counter (MPPC) light sensors. These detectors were either biased with internal or external high voltage power supplies. We made extensive measurements to confirm for the coincidence of the MPPC devices. Each sensor is coupled to a wavelength shifting fiber (WSF) that is embedded along a plastic scintillator sheet (30cmx60cmx1/4''). Using energetic cosmic rays, we evaluated several of these homemade detector modules placed above one another in a light proof enclosure. Next, we assembled 2 miniaturized micro photomultiplier (micro PMT), a device recently marketed by Hamamatsu. These sensors showed very fast response times. With 3 WSF embedded in scintillator sheets, we performed coincidence experiments. The detector waveforms were captured using the 5GS/sec domino ring sampler, the DRS4 and our workflow using the CERN PAW package and data analysis results would be presented. Title V Grant.

Ultrafast photon counting applied to resonant scanning STED microscopy.

PubMed

Wu, Xundong; Toro, Ligia; Stefani, Enrico; Wu, Yong

2015-01-01

To take full advantage of fast resonant scanning in super-resolution stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy, we have developed an ultrafast photon counting system based on a multigiga sample per second analogue-to-digital conversion chip that delivers an unprecedented 450 MHz pixel clock (2.2 ns pixel dwell time in each scan). The system achieves a large field of view (∼50 × 50 μm) with fast scanning that reduces photobleaching, and advances the time-gated continuous wave STED technology to the usage of resonant scanning with hardware-based time-gating. The assembled system provides superb signal-to-noise ratio and highly linear quantification of light that result in superior image quality. Also, the system design allows great flexibility in processing photon signals to further improve the dynamic range. In conclusion, we have constructed a frontier photon counting image acquisition system with ultrafast readout rate, excellent counting linearity, and with the capacity of realizing resonant-scanning continuous wave STED microscopy with online time-gated detection. © 2014 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2014 Royal Microscopical Society.

Improved detection of electrical activity with a voltage probe based on a voltage-sensing phosphatase.

PubMed

Tsutsui, Hidekazu; Jinno, Yuka; Tomita, Akiko; Niino, Yusuke; Yamada, Yoshiyuki; Mikoshiba, Katsuhiko; Miyawaki, Atsushi; Okamura, Yasushi

2013-09-15

  One of the most awaited techniques in modern physiology is the sensitive detection of spatiotemporal electrical activity in a complex network of excitable cells. The use of genetically encoded voltage probes has been expected to enable such analysis. However, in spite of recent progress, existing probes still suffer from low signal amplitude and/or kinetics too slow to detect fast electrical activity. Here, we have developed an improved voltage probe named Mermaid2, which is based on the voltage-sensor domain of the voltage-sensing phosphatase from Ciona intestinalis and Förster energy transfer between a pair of fluorescent proteins. In mammalian cells, Mermaid2 permits ratiometric readouts of fractional changes of more than 50% over a physiologically relevant voltage range with fast kinetics, and it was used to follow a train of action potentials at frequencies of up to 150 Hz. Mermaid2 was also able to detect single action potentials and subthreshold voltage responses in hippocampal neurons in vitro, in addition to cortical electrical activity evoked by sound stimuli in single trials in living mice.

A beam radiation monitor based on CVD diamonds for SuperB

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cardarelli, R.; Di Ciaccio, A.

2013-08-01

Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) diamond particle detectors are in use in the CERN experiments at LHC and at particle accelerator laboratories in Europe, USA and Japan mainly as beam monitors. Nowadays it is considered a proven technology with a very fast signal read-out and a very high radiation tolerance suitable for measurements in high radiation environment zones i.e. near the accelerators beam pipes. The specific properties of CVD diamonds make them a prime candidate for measuring single particles as well as high-intensity particle cascades, for timing measurements on the sub-nanosecond scale and for beam protection systems in hostile environments. A single-crystalline CVD (scCVD) diamond sensor, read out with a new generation of fast and high transition frequency SiGe bipolar transistor amplifiers, has been tested for an application as radiation monitor to safeguard the silicon vertex tracker in the SuperB detector from excessive radiation damage, cumulative dose and instantaneous dose rates. Test results with 5.5 MeV alpha particles from a 241Am radioactive source and from electrons from a 90Sr radioactive source are presented in this paper.

The MROI fast tip-tilt correction and target acquisition system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, John; Buscher, David; Fisher, Martin; Haniff, Christopher; Rea, Alexander; Seneta, Eugene B.; Sun, Xiaowei; Wilson, Donald; Farris, Allen; Olivares, Andres; Selina, Robert

2012-07-01

The fast tip-tilt correction system for the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer (MROI) is being designed and fabricated by the University of Cambridge. The design of the system is currently at an advanced stage and the performance of its critical subsystems has been verified in the laboratory. The system has been designed to meet a demanding set of specifications including satisfying all performance requirements in ambient temperatures down to -5 °C, maintaining the stability of the tip-tilt fiducial over a 5 °C temperature change without recourse to an optical reference, and a target acquisition mode with a 60” field-of-view. We describe the important technical features of the system, which uses an Andor electron-multiplying CCD camera protected by a thermal enclosure, a transmissive optical system with mounts incorporating passive thermal compensation, and custom control software running under Xenomai real-time Linux. We also report results from laboratory tests that demonstrate (a) the high stability of the custom optic mounts and (b) the low readout and compute latencies that will allow us to achieve a 40 Hz closed-loop bandwidth on bright targets.

LDEF Experiment P0006 Linear Energy Transfer Spectrum Measurement (LETSME) quick look report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

A preliminary analysis of the various passive radiation detector materials included in the P0006 LETSME experiment flown on LDEF (Long Duration Exposure Facility) is presented. It consists of four tasks: (1) readout and analysis of thermoluminescent detectors (TLD); (2) readout and analysis of fission foil/mica detectors; (3) readout and analysis of (6)LiF/CR-39 detectors; and (4) preliminary processing and readout of CR-39 and polycarbonate plastic nuclear track detectors (PNTD).

Fast-food exposure around schools in urban Adelaide.

PubMed

Coffee, Neil T; Kennedy, Hannah P; Niyonsenga, Theo

2016-12-01

To assess whether exposure to fast-food outlets around schools differed depending on socio-economic status (SES). Binary logistic regression was used to investigate the presence and zero-inflated Poisson regression was used for the count (due to the excess of zeroes) of fast food within 1000 m and 15000 m road network buffers around schools. The low and middle SES tertiles were combined due to a lack of significant variation as the 'disadvantaged' group and compared with the high SES tertile as the 'advantaged' group. School SES was expressed using the 2011 Australian Bureau of Statistics, socio-economic indices for areas, index of relative socio-economic disadvantage. Fast-food data included independent takeaway food outlets and major fast-food chains. Metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia. A total of 459 schools were geocoded to the street address and 1000 m and 1500 m road network distance buffers calculated. There was a 1·6 times greater risk of exposure to fast food within 1000 m (OR=1·634; 95 % 1·017, 2·625) and a 9·5 times greater risk of exposure to a fast food within 1500 m (OR=9·524; 95 % CI 3·497, 25·641) around disadvantaged schools compared with advantaged schools. Disadvantaged schools were exposed to more fast food, with more than twice the number of disadvantaged schools exposed to fast food. The higher exposure to fast food near more disadvantaged schools may reflect lower commercial land cost in low-SES areas, potentially creating more financially desirable investments for fast-food developers.

Analysis of PAMP-Triggered ROS Burst in Plant Immunity.

PubMed

Sang, Yuying; Macho, Alberto P

2017-01-01

The plant perception of pathogen-associated molecular patterns triggers a plethora of cellular immune responses. One of these responses is a rapid and transient burst of reactive oxygen species (ROS) mediated by plasma membrane-localized NADPH oxidases. The ROS burst requires a functional receptor complex and the contribution of several additional regulatory components. In laboratory conditions, the ROS burst can be detected a few minutes after the treatment with an immunogenic microbial elicitor. For these reasons, the elicitor-triggered ROS burst has been often exploited as readout to probe the contribution of plant components to early immune responses. Here, we describe a detailed protocol for the measurement of elicitor-triggered ROS burst in a simple, fast, and easy manner.

Measuring the complex admittance and tunneling rate of a germanium hut wire hole quantum dot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yan; Li, Shu-Xiao; Gao, Fei; Li, Hai-Ou; Xu, Gang; Wang, Ke; Liu, He; Cao, Gang; Xiao, Ming; Wang, Ting; Zhang, Jian-Jun; Guo, Guo-Ping

2018-05-01

We investigate the microwave reflectometry of an on-chip reflection line cavity coupled to a Ge hut wire hole quantum dot. The amplitude and phase responses of the cavity can be used to measure the complex admittance and evaluate the tunneling rate of the quantum dot, even in the region where transport signal through the quantum dot is too small to be measured by conventional direct transport means. The experimental observations are found to be in good agreement with a theoretical model of the hybrid system based on cavity frequency shift and linewidth shift. Our experimental results take the first step towards fast and sensitive readout of charge and spin states in Ge hut wire hole quantum dot.

Ultrafast Pulse Sequencing for Fast Projective Measurements of Atomic Hyperfine Qubits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ip, Michael; Ransford, Anthony; Campbell, Wesley

2015-05-01

Projective readout of quantum information stored in atomic hyperfine structure typically uses state-dependent CW laser-induced fluorescence. This method requires an often sophisticated imaging system to spatially filter out the background CW laser light. We present an alternative approach that instead uses simple pulse sequences from a mode-locked laser to affect the same state-dependent excitations in less than 1 ns. The resulting atomic fluorescence occurs in the dark, allowing the placement of non-imaging detectors right next to the atom to improve the qubit state detection efficiency and speed. We also discuss methods of Doppler cooling with mode-locked lasers for trapped ions, where the creation of the necessary UV light is often difficult with CW lasers.

A study of timing properties of Silicon Photomultipliers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avella, Paola; De Santo, Antonella; Lohstroh, Annika; Sajjad, Muhammad T.; Sellin, Paul J.

2012-12-01

Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are solid-state pixelated photodetectors. Lately these sensors have been investigated for Time of Flight Positron Emission Tomography (ToF-PET) applications, where very good coincidence time resolution of the order of hundreds of picoseconds imply spatial resolution of the order of cm in the image reconstruction. The very fast rise time typical of the avalanche discharge improves the time resolution, but can be limited by the readout electronics and the technology used to construct the device. In this work the parameters of the equivalent circuit of the device that directly affect the pulse shape, namely the quenching resistance and capacitance and the diode and parasitic capacitances, were calculated. The mean rise time obtained with different preamplifiers was also measured.

Digital radiography using amorphous selenium: photoconductively activated switch (PAS) readout system.

PubMed

Reznik, Nikita; Komljenovic, Philip T; Germann, Stephen; Rowlands, John A

2008-03-01

A new amorphous selenium (a-Se) digital radiography detector is introduced. The proposed detector generates a charge image in the a-Se layer in a conventional manner, which is stored on electrode pixels at the surface of the a-Se layer. A novel method, called photoconductively activated switch (PAS), is used to read out the latent x-ray charge image. The PAS readout method uses lateral photoconduction at the a-Se surface which is a revolutionary modification of the bulk photoinduced discharge (PID) methods. The PAS method addresses and eliminates the fundamental weaknesses of the PID methods--long readout times and high readout noise--while maintaining the structural simplicity and high resolution for which PID optical readout systems are noted. The photoconduction properties of the a-Se surface were investigated and the geometrical design for the electrode pixels for a PAS radiography system was determined. This design was implemented in a single pixel PAS evaluation system. The results show that the PAS x-ray induced output charge signal was reproducible and depended linearly on the x-ray exposure in the diagnostic exposure range. Furthermore, the readout was reasonably rapid (10 ms for pixel discharge). The proposed detector allows readout of half a pixel row at a time (odd pixels followed by even pixels), thus permitting the readout of a complete image in 30 s for a 40 cm x 40 cm detector with the potential of reducing that time by using greater readout light intensity. This demonstrates that a-Se based x-ray detectors using photoconductively activated switches could form a basis for a practical integrated digital radiography system.

Progress on the FDM Development at SRON: Toward 160 Pixels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

den Hartog, R. H.; Bruijn, M. P.; Clenet, A.; Gottardi, L.; Hijmering, R.; Jackson, B. D.; van der Kuur, J.; van Leeuwen, B. J.; van der Linden, A. J.; van Loon, D.; Nieuwenhuizen, A.; Ridder, M.; van Winden, P.

2014-08-01

SRON is developing the electronic read-out for arrays of transition edge sensors using frequency domain multiplexing in combination with base-band feedback. The astronomical applications of this system are the read-out of soft X-ray micro-calorimeters in a potential instrument on the European X-ray mission-under-study Athena+ and far-IR bolometers for the Safari instrument on the Japanese mission SPICA. In this paper we demonstrate the simultaneous read-out of 38 bolometer pixels at a 12 aW/Hz dark NEP level. The stability of the read-out is assessed over 400 s. time spans. Although some 1/f noise is present, there are several bolometers for which 1/f-free read-out can be demonstrated.

A fast and low-cost genotyping method for hepatitis B virus based on pattern recognition in point-of-care settings

PubMed Central

Qiu, Xianbo; Song, Liuwei; Yang, Shuo; Guo, Meng; Yuan, Quan; Ge, Shengxiang; Min, Xiaoping; Xia, Ningshao

2016-01-01

A fast and low-cost method for HBV genotyping especially for genotypes A, B, C and D was developed and tested. A classifier was used to detect and analyze a one-step immunoassay lateral flow strip functionalized with genotype-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) on multiple capture lines in the form of pattern recognition for point-of-care (POC) diagnostics. The fluorescent signals from the capture lines and the background of the strip were collected via multiple optical channels in parallel. A digital HBV genotyping model, whose inputs are the fluorescent signals and outputs are a group of genotype-specific digital binary codes (0/1), was developed based on the HBV genotyping strategy. Meanwhile, a companion decoding table was established to cover all possible pairing cases between the states of a group of genotype-specific digital binary codes and the HBV genotyping results. A logical analyzing module was constructed to process the detected signals in parallel without program control, and its outputs were used to drive a set of LED indicators, which determine the HBV genotype. Comparing to the nucleic acid analysis to HBV viruses, much faster HBV genotyping with significantly lower cost can be obtained with the developed method. PMID:27306485

A binary link tracker for the BaBar level 1 trigger system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Berenyi, A.; Chen, H.K.; Dao, K.

1999-08-01

The BaBar detector at PEP-II will operate in a high-luminosity e{sup +}e{sup {minus}} collider environment near the {Upsilon}(4S) resonance with the primary goal of studying CP violation in the B meson system. In this environment, typical physics events of interest involve multiple charged particles. These events are identified by counting these tracks in a fast first level (Level 1) trigger system, by reconstructing the tracks in real time. For this purpose, a Binary Link Tracker Module (BLTM) was designed and fabricated for the BaBar Level 1 Drift Chamber trigger system. The BLTM is responsible for linking track segments, constructed bymore » the Track Segment Finder Modules (TSFM), into complete tracks. A single BLTM module processes a 360 MBytes/s stream of segment hit data, corresponding to information from the entire Drift Chamber, and implements a fast and robust algorithm that tolerates high hit occupancies as well as local inefficiencies of the Drift Chamber. The algorithms and the necessary control logic of the BLTM were implemented in Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), using the VHDL hardware description language. The finished 9U x 400 mm Euro-format board contains roughly 75,000 gates of programmable logic or about 10,000 lines of VHDL code synthesized into five FPGAs.« less

The Swift Supergiant Fast X-ray Transient Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romano, P.; Barthelmy, S.; Bozzo, E.; Burrows, D.; Ducci, L.; Esposito, P.; Evans, P.; Kennea, J.; Krimm, H.; Vercellone, S.

2017-10-01

We present the Swift Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients project, a systematic study of SFXTs and classical supergiant X-ray binaries (SGXBs) through efficient long-term monitoring of 17 sources including SFXTs and classical SGXBs across more than 4 orders of magnitude in X-ray luminosity on timescales from hundred seconds to years. We derived dynamic ranges, duty cycles, and luminosity distributions to highlight systematic differences that help discriminate between different theoretical models proposed to explain the differences between the wind accretion processes in SFXTs and classical SGXBs. Our follow-ups of the SFXT outbursts provide a steady advancement in the comprehension of the mechanisms triggering the high X-ray level emission of these sources. In particular, the observations of the outburst of the SFXT prototype IGR J17544-2619, when the source reached a peak X-ray luminosity of 3×10^{38} erg s^{-1}, challenged for the first time the maximum theoretical luminosity achievable by a wind-fed neutron star high mass X-ray binary. We propose that this giant outburst was due to the formation of a transient accretion disc around the compact object. We also created a catalogue of over 1000 BAT flares which we use to predict the observability and perspectives with future missions.

X-ray imaging using amorphous selenium: photoinduced discharge (PID) readout for digital general radiography.

PubMed

Rowlands, J A; Hunter, D M

1995-12-01

Digital radiographic systems based on photoconductive layers with the latent charge image readout by photoinduced discharge (PID) are investigated theoretically. Previously, a number of different systems have been proposed using sandwiched photoconductor and insulator layers and readout using a scanning laser beam. These systems are shown to have the general property of being very closely coupled (i.e., optimization of one imaging characteristic usually impacts negatively on others). The presence of a condensed state insulator between the photoconductor surface and the readout electrode does, however, confer a great advantage over systems using air gaps with their relatively low breakdown field. The greater breakdown field of condensed state dielectrics permits the modification of the electric field during the period between image formation and image readout. The trade-off between readout speed and noise makes this system suitable for instant general radiography and even rapid sequence radiography, however, the system is unsuitable for the low exposure rates used in fluoroscopy.

Investigation of Readout RF Pulse Impact on the Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer Spectrum

PubMed Central

Huang, Sheng-Min; Jan, Meei-Ling; Liang, Hsin-Chin; Chang, Chia-Hao; Wu, Yi-Chun; Tsai, Shang-Yueh; Wang, Fu-Nien

2015-01-01

Chemical exchange saturation transfer magnetic resonance imaging (CEST-MRI) is capable of both microenvironment and molecular imaging. The optimization of scanning parameters is important since the CEST effect is sensitive to factors such as saturation power and field homogeneity. The aim of this study was to determine if the CEST effect would be altered by changing the length of readout RF pulses. Both theoretical computer simulation and phantom experiments were performed to examine the influence of readout RF pulses. Our results showed that the length of readout RF pulses has unremarkable impact on the Z-spectrum and CEST effect in both computer simulation and phantom experiment. Moreover, we demonstrated that multiple refocusing RF pulses used in rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement (RARE) sequence induced no obvious saturation transfer contrast. Therefore, readout RF pulse has negligible effect on CEST Z-spectrum and the optimization of readout RF pulse length can be disregarded in CEST imaging protocol. PMID:26455576

The low energy detector of Simbol-X

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lechner, P.; Andricek, L.; Briel, U.; Hasinger, G.; Heinzinger, K.; Herrmann, S.; Huber, H.; Kendziorra, E.; Lauf, T.; Lutz, G.; Richter, R.; Santangelo, A.; Schaller, G.; Schnecke, M.; Schopper, F.; Segneri, G.; Strüder, L.; Treis, J.

2008-07-01

Simbol-X is a French-Italian-German hard energy X-ray mission with a projected launch in 2014. Being sensitive in the energy range from 500 eV to 80 keV it will cover the sensitivity gap beyond the energy interval of today's telescopes XMM-Newton and Chandra. Simbol-X will use an imaging telescope of nested Wolter-I mirrors. To provide a focal length of 20 m it will be the first mission of two independent mirror and detector spacecrafts in autonomous formation flight. The detector spacecraft's payload is composed of an imaging silicon low energy detector in front of a pixelated cadmium-telluride hard energy detector. Both have a sensitive area of 8 × 8 cm2 to cover a 12 arcmin field of view and a pixel size of 625 × 625 μm2 adapted to the telescope's resolution of 20 arcsec. The additional LED specifications are: high energy resolution, high quantum efficiency, fast readout and optional window mode, monolithic device with 100 % fill factor and suspension mounting, and operation at warm temperature. To match these requirements the low energy detector is composed of 'active macro pixels', combining the large, scalable area of a Silicon Drift Detector and the low-noise, on-demand readout of an integrated DEPFET amplifier. Flight representative prototypes have been processed at the MPI semiconductor laboratory, and the prototype's measured performance demonstrates the technology readiness.

On the determination of the post-irradiation time from the glow curve of TLD-100.

PubMed

Weinstein, M; German, U; Dubinsky, S; Alfassi, Z B

2003-01-01

The ratio of peak 3 to the sum of peaks 4 + 5 in TLD-100 was measured for various pre-irradiation and post-irradiation time periods, under conditions characteristic of routine personal dosimetry. It was confirmed that the value of this ratio depends only on the elapsed time between the prior readout and the present one, independent of the moment when the irradiation took place during the total time interval (storage time). This effect indicates that fading of peak 3 seems to be due mainly to changes in the unoccupied traps, and not to decay of trapped charges, being almost independent of the presence of electrons or holes in the traps. This observation leads to the conclusion that the suggestions in the past to use the decay of peak 3 in TLD-100 for the measurement of the elapsed time between irradiation and readout may have been wrong. On the other hand, the decay of peak 2 can be used to measure the elapsed time from irradiation, since the rate of decay is different when related to pre-irradiation and post-irradiation times, indicating a much higher decay rate of the trapped charges (Randall-Wilkins decay). However, because of the fast decay rate of peak 2, its use for determination of the elapsed time since irradiation is of little practical significance.

The TT-PET project: a thin TOF-PET scanner based on fast novel silicon pixel detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bandi, Y.; Benoit, M.; Cadoux, F. R.; Forshaw, D. C.; Hänni, R.; Hayakawa, D.; Iacobucci, G.; Michal, S.; Miucci, A.; Paolozzi, L.; Ratib, O.; Ripiccini, E.; Tognina, C.; Valerio, P.; Weber, M.

2018-01-01

The TT-PET project aims at developing a compact Time-of-flight PET scanner with 30ps time resolution, capable of withstanding high magnetic fields and allowing for integration in a traditional MRI scanner, providing complimentary real-time PET images. The very high timing resolution of the TT-PET scanner is achieved thanks to a new generation of Silicon-Germanium (Si-Ge) amplifiers, which are embedded in monolithic pixel sensors. The scanner is composed of 16 detection towers as well as cooling blocks, arranged in a ring structure. The towers are composed of multiple ultra-thin pixel modules stacked on top of each other. Making it possible to perform depth of interaction measurements and maximize the spatial resolution along the line of flight of the two photons emitted within a patient. This will result in improved image quality, contrast, and uniformity while drastically reducing backgrounds within the scanner. Allowing for a reduction in the amount of radioactivity delivered to the patient. Due to an expected data rate of about 250 MB/s a custom readout system for high data throughput has been developed, which includes noise filtering and reduced data pressure. The realisation of a first scanner prototype for small animals is foreseen by 2019. A general overview of the scanner will be given including, technical details concerning the detection elements, mechanics, DAQ readout, simulation and results.

Improved Space Object Observation Techniques Using CMOS Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schildknecht, T.; Hinze, A.; Schlatter, P.; Silha, J.; Peltonen, J.; Santti, T.; Flohrer, T.

2013-08-01

CMOS-sensors, or in general Active Pixel Sensors (APS), are rapidly replacing CCDs in the consumer camera market. Due to significant technological advances during the past years these devices start to compete with CCDs also for demanding scientific imaging applications, in particular in the astronomy community. CMOS detectors offer a series of inherent advantages compared to CCDs, due to the structure of their basic pixel cells, which each contain their own amplifier and readout electronics. The most prominent advantages for space object observations are the extremely fast and flexible readout capabilities, feasibility for electronic shuttering and precise epoch registration, and the potential to perform image processing operations on-chip and in real-time. Presently applied and proposed optical observation strategies for space debris surveys and space surveillance applications had to be analyzed. The major design drivers were identified and potential benefits from using available and future CMOS sensors were assessed. The major challenges and design drivers for ground-based and space-based optical observation strategies have been analyzed. CMOS detector characteristics were critically evaluated and compared with the established CCD technology, especially with respect to the above mentioned observations. Similarly, the desirable on-chip processing functionalities which would further enhance the object detection and image segmentation were identified. Finally, the characteristics of a particular CMOS sensor available at the Zimmerwald observatory were analyzed by performing laboratory test measurements.

Correction of geometric distortion in Propeller echo planar imaging using a modified reversed gradient approach.

PubMed

Chang, Hing-Chiu; Chuang, Tzu-Chao; Lin, Yi-Ru; Wang, Fu-Nien; Huang, Teng-Yi; Chung, Hsiao-Wen

2013-04-01

This study investigates the application of a modified reversed gradient algorithm to the Propeller-EPI imaging method (periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction based on echo-planar imaging readout) for corrections of geometric distortions due to the EPI readout. Propeller-EPI acquisition was executed with 360-degree rotational coverage of the k-space, from which the image pairs with opposite phase-encoding gradient polarities were extracted for reversed gradient geometric and intensity corrections. The spatial displacements obtained on a pixel-by-pixel basis were fitted using a two-dimensional polynomial followed by low-pass filtering to assure correction reliability in low-signal regions. Single-shot EPI images were obtained on a phantom, whereas high spatial resolution T2-weighted and diffusion tensor Propeller-EPI data were acquired in vivo from healthy subjects at 3.0 Tesla, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. Phantom images show success of the smoothed displacement map concept in providing improvements of the geometric corrections at low-signal regions. Human brain images demonstrate prominently superior reconstruction quality of Propeller-EPI images with modified reversed gradient corrections as compared with those obtained without corrections, as evidenced from verification against the distortion-free fast spin-echo images at the same level. The modified reversed gradient method is an effective approach to obtain high-resolution Propeller-EPI images with substantially reduced artifacts.

GMR biosensor arrays: a system perspective.

PubMed

Hall, D A; Gaster, R S; Lin, T; Osterfeld, S J; Han, S; Murmann, B; Wang, S X

2010-05-15

Giant magnetoresistive biosensors are becoming more prevalent for sensitive, quantifiable biomolecular detection. However, in order for magnetic biosensing to become competitive with current optical protein microarray technology, there is a need to increase the number of sensors while maintaining the high sensitivity and fast readout time characteristic of smaller arrays (1-8 sensors). In this paper, we present a circuit architecture scalable for larger sensor arrays (64 individually addressable sensors) while maintaining a high readout rate (scanning the entire array in less than 4s). The system utilizes both time domain multiplexing and frequency domain multiplexing in order to achieve this scan rate. For the implementation, we propose a new circuit architecture that does not use a classical Wheatstone bridge to measure the small change in resistance of the sensor. Instead, an architecture designed around a transimpedance amplifier is employed. A detailed analysis of this architecture including the noise, distortion, and potential sources of errors is presented, followed by a global optimization strategy for the entire system comprising the magnetic tags, sensors, and interface electronics. To demonstrate the sensitivity, quantifiable detection of two blindly spiked samples of unknown concentrations has been performed at concentrations below the limit of detection for the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Lastly, the multiplexing capability and reproducibility of the system was demonstrated by simultaneously monitoring sensors functionalized with three unique proteins at different concentrations in real-time. 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

GMR Biosensor Arrays: A System Perspective

PubMed Central

Hall, D. A.; Gaster, R. S.; Lin, T.; Osterfeld, S. J.; Han, S.; Murmann, B.; Wang, S. X.

2010-01-01

Giant magnetoresistive biosensors are becoming more prevalent for sensitive, quantifiable biomolecular detection. However, in order for magnetic biosensing to become competitive with current optical protein microarray technology, there is a need to increase the number of sensors while maintaining the high sensitivity and fast readout time characteristic of smaller arrays (1 – 8 sensors). In this paper, we present a circuit architecture scalable for larger sensor arrays (64 individually addressable sensors) while maintaining a high readout rate (scanning the entire array in less than 4 seconds). The system utilizes both time domain multiplexing and frequency domain multiplexing in order to achieve this scan rate. For the implementation, we propose a new circuit architecture that does not use a classical Wheatstone bridge to measure the small change in resistance of the sensor. Instead, an architecture designed around a transimpedance amplifier is employed. A detailed analysis of this architecture including the noise, distortion, and potential sources of errors is presented, followed by a global optimization strategy for the entire system comprising the magnetic tags, sensors, and interface electronics. To demonstrate the sensitivity, quantifiable detection of two blindly spiked samples of unknown concentrations has been performed at concentrations below the limit of detection for the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Lastly, the multipexability and reproducibility of the system was demonstrated by simultaneously monitoring sensors functionalized with three unique proteins at different concentrations in real-time. PMID:20207130

Development and characterization of high-resolution neutron pixel detectors based on Timepix read-out chips

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krejci, F.; Zemlicka, J.; Jakubek, J.; Dudak, J.; Vavrik, D.; Köster, U.; Atkins, D.; Kaestner, A.; Soltes, J.; Viererbl, L.; Vacik, J.; Tomandl, I.

2016-12-01

Using a suitable isotope such as 6Li and 10B semiconductor hybrid pixel detectors can be successfully adapted for position sensitive detection of thermal and cold neutrons via conversion into energetic light ions. The adapted devices then typically provides spatial resolution at the level comparable to the pixel pitch (55 μm) and sensitive area of about few cm2. In this contribution, we describe further progress in neutron imaging performance based on the development of a large-area hybrid pixel detector providing practically continuous neutron sensitive area of 71 × 57 mm2. The measurements characterising the detector performance at the cold neutron imaging instrument ICON at PSI and high-flux imaging beam-line Neutrograph at ILL are presented. At both facilities, high-resolution high-contrast neutron radiography with the newly developed detector has been successfully applied for objects which imaging were previously difficult with hybrid pixel technology (such as various composite materials, objects of cultural heritage etc.). Further, a significant improvement in the spatial resolution of neutron radiography with hybrid semiconductor pixel detector based on the fast read-out Timepix-based detector is presented. The system is equipped with a thin planar 6LiF convertor operated effectively in the event-by-event mode enabling position sensitive detection with spatial resolution better than 10 μm.

NuSTAR Hard X-Ray Observation of the Gamma-Ray Binary Candidate HESS J1832-093

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mori, Kaya; Gotthelf, E. V.; Hailey, Charles J.; Hord, Ben J.; de Oña Wilhelmi, Emma; Rahoui, Farid; Tomsick, John A.; Zhang, Shuo; Hong, Jaesub; Garvin, Amani M.; Boggs, Steven E.; Christensen, Finn E.; Craig, William W.; Harrison, Fiona A.; Stern, Daniel; Zhang, William W.

2017-10-01

We present a hard X-ray observation of the TeV gamma-ray binary candidate HESS J1832-093, which is coincident with the supernova remnant G22.7-0.2, using the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array. Non-thermal X-ray emission from XMMU J183245-0921539, the X-ray source associated with HESS J1832-093, is detected up to ˜30 keV and is well-described by an absorbed power-law model with a best-fit photon index {{Γ }}=1.5+/- 0.1. A re-analysis of archival Chandra and XMM-Newton data finds that the long-term X-ray flux increase of XMMU J183245-0921539 is {50}-20+40 % (90% C.L.), much less than previously reported. A search for a pulsar spin period or binary orbit modulation yields no significant signal to a pulse fraction limit of {f}p< 19 % in the range 4 ms < P< 40 ks. No red noise is detected in the FFT power spectrum to suggest active accretion from a binary system. While further evidence is required, we argue that the X-ray and gamma-ray properties of XMMU J183245-0921539 are most consistent with a non-accreting binary generating synchrotron X-rays from particle acceleration in the shock formed as a result of the pulsar and stellar wind collision. We also report on three nearby hard X-ray sources, one of which may be associated with diffuse emission from a fast-moving supernova fragment interacting with a dense molecular cloud.

Mutual information against correlations in binary communication channels.

PubMed

Pregowska, Agnieszka; Szczepanski, Janusz; Wajnryb, Eligiusz

2015-05-19

Explaining how the brain processing is so fast remains an open problem (van Hemmen JL, Sejnowski T., 2004). Thus, the analysis of neural transmission (Shannon CE, Weaver W., 1963) processes basically focuses on searching for effective encoding and decoding schemes. According to the Shannon fundamental theorem, mutual information plays a crucial role in characterizing the efficiency of communication channels. It is well known that this efficiency is determined by the channel capacity that is already the maximal mutual information between input and output signals. On the other hand, intuitively speaking, when input and output signals are more correlated, the transmission should be more efficient. A natural question arises about the relation between mutual information and correlation. We analyze the relation between these quantities using the binary representation of signals, which is the most common approach taken in studying neuronal processes of the brain. We present binary communication channels for which mutual information and correlation coefficients behave differently both quantitatively and qualitatively. Despite this difference in behavior, we show that the noncorrelation of binary signals implies their independence, in contrast to the case for general types of signals. Our research shows that the mutual information cannot be replaced by sheer correlations. Our results indicate that neuronal encoding has more complicated nature which cannot be captured by straightforward correlations between input and output signals once the mutual information takes into account the structure and patterns of the signals.

KMTNet Time-series Photometry of the Doubly Eclipsing Binary Stars Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Kyeongsoo; Koo, Jae-Rim; Lee, Jae Woo; Kim, Seung-Lee; Lee, Chung-Uk; Park, Jang-Ho; Kim, Hyoun-Woo; Lee, Dong-Joo; Kim, Dong-Jin; Han, Cheongho

2018-05-01

We report the results of photometric observations for doubly eclipsing binaries OGLE-LMC-ECL-15674 and OGLE-LMC-ECL-22159, both of which are composed of two pairs (designated A&B) of a detached eclipsing binary located in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The light curves were obtained by high-cadence time-series photometry using the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network 1.6 m telescopes located at three southern sites (CTIO, SAAO, and SSO) between 2016 September and 2017 January. The orbital periods were determined to be 1.433 and 1.387 days for components A and B of OGLE-LMC-ECL-15674, respectively, and 2.988 and 3.408 days for OGLE-LMC-ECL-22159A and B, respectively. Our light curve solutions indicate that the significant changes in the eclipse depths of OGLE-LMC-ECL-15674A and B were caused by variations in their inclination angles. The eclipse timing diagrams of the A and B components of OGLE-LMC-ECL-15674 and OGLE-LMC-ECL-22159 were analyzed using 28, 44, 28, and 26 new times of minimum light, respectively. The apsidal motion period of OGLE-LMC-ECL-15674B was estimated by detailed analysis of eclipse timings for the first time. The detached eclipsing binary OGLE-LMC-ECL-15674B shows a fast apsidal period of 21.5 ± 0.1 years.

geant4 hadronic cascade models analysis of proton and charged pion transverse momentum spectra from p + Cu and Pb collisions at 3, 8, and 15 GeV/c

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abdel-Waged, Khaled; Benha University, Faculty of Science, Physics Department; Felemban, Nuha

2011-07-15

We describe how various hadronic cascade models, which are implemented in the geant4 toolkit, describe proton and charged pion transverse momentum spectra from p + Cu and Pb collisions at 3, 8, and 15 GeV/c, recently measured in the hadron production (HARP) experiment at CERN. The Binary, ultrarelativistic quantum molecular dynamics (UrQMD) and modified FRITIOF (FTF) hadronic cascade models are chosen for investigation. The first two models are based on limited (Binary) and branched (UrQMD) binary scattering between cascade particles which can be either a baryon or meson, in the three-dimensional space of the nucleus, while the latter (FTF) considersmore » collective interactions between nucleons only, on the plane of impact parameter. It is found that the slow (p{sub T}{<=}0.3 GeV/c) proton spectra are quite sensitive to the different treatments of cascade pictures, while the fast (p{sub T}>0.3 GeV/c) proton spectra are not strongly affected by the differences between the FTF and UrQMD models. It is also shown that the UrQMD and FTF combined with Binary (FTFB) models could reproduce both proton and charged pion spectra from p + Cu and Pb collisions at 3, 8, and 15 GeV/c with the same accuracy.« less

Splitter board for steamer tube readout at the SLD

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bacchetta, N.; Bisello, D.; Castro, A.

1989-10-01

This paper presents a controller board designed as a part of the data acquisition system for the readout of limited streamer tube strips in the warm iron calorimeter for the SLD detector. The board controls the data readout and allows for remote setting and diagnostic of the system.

InSb arrays with CCD readout for 1.0- to 5.5-microns infrared applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Phillips, J. D.; Scorso, J. B.; Thom, R. D.

1976-01-01

There were two approaches for fabricating indium antimonide (InSb) arrays with CCD readout discussed. The hybrid approach integrated InSb detectors and silicon CCDs in a modular assembly via an advanced interconnection technology. In the monolithic approach, the InSb infrared detectors and the CCD readout were integrated on the same InSb chip. Both approaches utilized intrinsic (band-to-band) photodetection with the attendant advantages over extrinsic detectors. The status of each of these detector readout concepts, with pertinent performance characteristics, was presented.

The IBL readout system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dopke, J.; Falchieri, D.; Flick, T.; Gabrielli, A.; Kugel, A.; Mättig, P.; Morettini, P.; Polini, A.; Schroer, N.

2011-01-01

The first upgrade for the ATLAS Pixel Detector will be an additional layer, which is called IBL (Insertable B-Layer). To readout this new layer, built from new electronics, an update of the readout electronics is necessary. The aim is to develop a system which is capable to read out at a higher bandwidth, but also compatible with the existing system to be integrated into it. This paper describes the necessary development to reach a new readout system, concentrating on the requirements of a newly designed Back of Crate card as the optical interface in the counting room.

An encoding readout method used for Multi-gap Resistive Plate Chambers (MRPCs) for muon tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yue, X.; Zeng, M.; Wang, Y.; Wang, X.; Zeng, Z.; Zhao, Z.; Cheng, J.

2014-09-01

A muon tomography facility has been built in Tsinghua University. Because of the low flux of cosmic muon, an encoding readout method, based on the fine-fine configuration, was implemented for the 2880 channels induced signals from the Multi-gap Resistive Plate Chamber (MRPC) detectors. With the encoding method, the number of the readout electronics was dramatically reduced and thus the complexity and the cost of the facility was reduced, too. In this paper, the details of the encoding method, and the overall readout system setup in the muon tomography facility are described. With the commissioning of the facility, the readout method works well. The spatial resolution of all MRPC detectors are measured with cosmic muon and the preliminary imaging result are also given.

Ionisation density effects following optical excitation in LiF:Mg, Ti (TLD-100).

PubMed

Weiss, D; Horowitz, Y; Oster, L

2007-01-01

The TL signal following 5 eV photon excitation of previously irradiated and readout material has been studied as a function of ionisation density and various experimental parameters: (i) maximum temperature of the first readout; (ii) photon fluence; (iii) photon energy and (iv) beta ray dose. Following alpha particle irradiation, the ratio of the second-readout to first-readout TL signal, epsilon(alpha,) has been found to be 10-20 times higher than that following beta irradiation, indicative of the possibility of using the double ratio epsilon(alpha)/epsilon(beta) as a mixed-field discriminator. The beginning of an attempt to explain this unusual effect is offered in the framework of the track structure theory and kinetic modelling of the beta ray dose-response of the first and second readouts.

Detuned surface plasmon resonance scattering of gold nanorods for continuous wave multilayered optical recording and readout.

PubMed

Taylor, Adam B; Kim, Jooho; Chon, James W M

2012-02-27

In a multilayered structure of absorptive optical recording media, continuous-wave laser operation is highly disadvantageous due to heavy beam extinction. For a gold nanorod based recording medium, the narrow surface plasmon resonance (SPR) profile of gold nanorods enables the variation of extinction through mulilayers by a simple detuning of the readout wavelength from the SPR peak. The level of signal extinction through the layers can then be greatly reduced, resulting more efficient readout at deeper layers. The scattering signal strength may be decreased at the detuned wavelength, but balancing these two factors results an optimal scattering peak wavelength that is specific to each layer. In this paper, we propose to use detuned SPR scattering from gold nanorods as a new mechanism for continuous-wave readout scheme on gold nanorod based multilayered optical storage. Using this detuned scattering method, readout using continuous-wave laser is demonstrated on a 16 layer optical recording medium doped with heavily distributed, randomly oriented gold nanorods. Compared to SPR on-resonant readout, this method reduced the required readout power more than one order of magnitude, with only 60 nm detuning from SPR peak. The proposed method will be highly beneficial to multilayered optical storage applications as well as applications using a continuous medium doped heavily with plasmonic nanoparticles.

High-Mass Stars in the Centers of Young Dense Clusters: Mass Segregation, Binary Mergers and Gamma-Ray Bursts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zinnecker, H.

We start by discussing dense, young star-clusters, particularly the 30 Doradus cluster with its core R136. The question of mass segregation and core collapse of the massive stars is addressed. Analytical estimates of relaxation times and collision times predict that the central N=10 subsystem of massive stars in the R136 core will evolve dynamically in such a way and fast enough (i.e. within their main-sequence lifetime of a few Myr) that a dominant massive binary system is formed whose orbit will shrink to a point where merging of the components appears inevitable. The merger product will be spinning rapidly, and we put forward the idea that this rare and very massive object might be the perfect precursor of a gamma-ray burst (collapsar).

Advanced system on a chip microelectronics for spacecraft and science instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paschalidis, Nikolaos P.

2003-01-01

The explosive growth of the modern microelectronics field opens new horizons for the development of new lightweight, low power, and smart spacecraft and science instrumentation systems in the new millennium explorations. Although this growth is mostly driven by the commercial need for low power, portable and computationally intensive products, the applicability is obvious in the space sector. The additional difficulties needed to be overcome for applicability in space include radiation hardness for total ionizing dose and single event effects (SEE), and reliability. Additionally, this new capability introduces a whole new philosophy of design and R&D, with strong implications in organizational and inter-agency program management. One key component specifically developed towards low power, small size, highly autonomous spacecraft systems, is the smart sensor remote input/output (TRIO) chip. TRIO can interface to 32 transducers with current sources/sinks and voltage sensing. It includes front-end analog signal processing, a 10-bit ADC, memory, and standard serial and parallel I/Os. These functions are very useful for spacecraft and subsystems health and status monitoring, and control actions. The key contributions of the TRIO are feasibility of modular architectures, elimination of several miles of wire harnessing, and power savings by orders of magnitude. TRIO freely operates from a single power supply 2.5- 5.5 V with power dissipation <10 mW. This system on a chip device rapidly becomes a NASA and Commercial Space standard as it is already selected by thousands in several new millennium missions, including Europa Orbiter, Mars Surveyor Program, Solar Probe, Pluto Express, Stereo, Contour, Messenger, etc. In the Science Instrumentation field common instruments that can greatly take advantage of the new technologies are: energetic-particle/plasma and wave instruments, imagers, mass spectrometers, X-ray and UV spectrographs, magnetometers, laser rangefinding instruments, etc. Common measurements that apply to many of these instruments are precise time interval measurement and high resolution read-out of solid state detectors. A precise time interval measurement chip was specially developed that achieves ˜100 ps (×10 improvement) time resolution at a power dissipation ˜20 mW (×50 improvement), dead time ˜1.5 μs (×20 improvement), and chip die size 5 mm×5 mm versus two 20 cm×20 cm doubled sided boards. This device is selected as a key enabling technology for several NASA particle, delay line imaging, and laser range finding instruments onboard (NASA Image, Messenger, etc. missions). Another device with universal application is radiation energy read-out from solid state detectors. Multi-channel low-power and end-to-end sensor input—digital output is key for the new generation instruments. The readout channel comprises of a Charge Sensitive Preamplifier with a target sensitivity of ˜1 KeV FWHM at 20 pf detector capacitance, a Shaper Amplifier with programmable time constant/gain, and an ADC. The read-out chip together with the precise time interval chip comprises the essential elements of a common particle spectroscopy instrument. To mention some more applications fast-signal acquisition—and digitization is a very useful function for a category of instrument such as mass spectroscopy and profile laser rangefinding. The single chip approach includes a high bandwidth preamplifier, fast sampling ˜5 ns, analog memory ˜10K locations, 12-bit ADC and serial/parallel I/Os. The wealth of the applications proves the advanced microelectronics field as a key enabling technology for the new millennium space exploration.