A new preprocessing and control board for the phase 2 electronics of AGATA experiment

International audienceThe electronics of AGATA HPGe segmented gamma ray detector faces a new challenge in the search of a bigger integration and cost reduction for the phase 2 of the experiment going beyond 45 crystals. This opportunity can be used to introduce a new architecture based on commercial standards while keeping backward compatibility with current electronics. In this sense, new FPGA devices and fast Ethernet links can be used to ease the preprocessing and control task and allowing for processor farms to distribute the processing load. At the same time, modularity should be a key feature of the design in the aim to make it upgradable in time and technology. This paper presents the design of a new preprocessing and control board that could fulfill with the experiment requirements having in mind that it should not be only a new system but also should serve as replacement of the current electronics. The design is intended to process the data coming from 3 crystals (114 channels) in the same board, with a total aggregate bandwidth of 216 Gpbs using 2 Gbps input optical fiber links in SNAP12 format and with a data readout done through Ethernet fiber optics. It is expected that, with this new system, the level of integration will raise up to 3 times while cost will scale down a 30% with respect to the current electronics

Characterization of LaBr3:Ce and CeBr3 calorimeter modules for 3D imaging in gamma-ray astronomy

International audienceFor the purpose of future space instrumentation for gamma-ray astronomy, we developed a small prototype of a Compton telescope and studied novel detector modules aimed for Compton imaging. We assembled and tested 2 modules, one with a cerium-doped lanthanum(111) bromide (LaBr3:Ce) crystal and the other with cerium(111) bromide (CeBr3). Both crystals measure 5 x 5 cm(2) in area and are 1 cm thick. They are coupled to and read out by 64-channel multi-anode PMTS. Our goals are to obtain the best possible energy resolution and position resolution in 3D on the first impact of an incident gamma-ray within the detector. Both information are vital for successful reconstruction of a Compton image with the telescope prototype. We developed a test bench to experimentally study both modules and have utilized a customized readout electronics and data acquisition system. Furthermore, we have written a detailed Geant4 simulation of the experiment, and utilize simulated data to train an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) algorithm to create a simplified 3D impact position reconstruction method. We give experimental test results obtained by both modules and present detailed parametrization and results from the Geant4 simulation and from the ANN. We compare and discuss the performance of the modules and conclude by giving a brief overview of the future prospects for using such modules in gamma-ray astronomy. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

New setup for the characterisation of the AGATA detectors

A crucial step in the process of γ-ray tracking is related to the location of the interaction points of all the γ-rays within the AGATA (Advanced GAmma Tracking Array) segmented detectors. This requires a full understanding of the sensitivity of each highly segmented high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors via the characterisation of the 2D and 3D position response. In this paper, we describe the experimental scanning setup that we developed at Orsay for the AGATA detectors. A collimated 137Cs source on an automated x-y positioning table was used for the front face scanning of the AGATA symmetric prototype detector. The 3D scanning measurement is performed using coincidence techniques based on γ-ray Compton scattering from the AGATA detector into an ancillary coupled detector. In our setup, TOHR (high resolution tomograph developed for small animal imaging) is used as an ancillary detector. The data is collected using TIGRESS cards for digital signal processing. The data flow, readout and storage is NARVAL as used for the full AGATA project. The analysis of the collected data and the obtained results is shown to illustrate our device performances

A Development of a 40-Gb/s Readout Interface STARE for the AGATA Project

International audienceThe Advanced GAmma Tracking Array (AGATA) multidetector spectrometer will provide precise information for the study of the properties of the exotic nuclear matter (very unbalanced proton (Z) and neutron (N) numbers) along proton- and neutron-drip lines and of super-heavy nuclei. This is done using the latest technology of particle accelerators. The AGATA spectrometer consists of 180 high-purity germanium detectors. Each detector is segmented into 38 segments. The very harsh project requirements are to measure gamma-ray energies with very high resolution ( < 1\times 10^{-3} ) at a high detector counting rate (50 K events/s/crystal). This results in a very high data transfer rate per crystal (5–8 Gb/s). The 38 segments are sampled at 100 MHz with 14 bits of resolution. The samples are continuously transferred to the control and processing (CAP) module, which reduces the data rate from 64 to 5 Gb/s. The CAP module also adds continuous monitoring data, which results in total outgoing data rate of 10 Gb/s. The serial transfer acquisition and readout over Ethernet (STARE) module is designed to fit between the CAP module and the computer farm. It will package the data from the CAP module and transmit it to the server farm using a 10-Gb/s user datagram protocol (UDP) connection with a delivery insurance mechanism implemented to ensure that all data are transferred

Data-flow coupling and data-acquisition triggers for the PreSPEC-AGATA campaign at GSI

The PreSPEC setup for high-resolution \u27gamma-ray spectroscopy using radioactive ion beams was employed for experimental campaigns in 2012 and 2014. The setup consisted of the state of the art Advanced GAmma Tracking Array (AGATA) and the High Energy gamma cleteCTOR (HECTOR+) positioned around a secondary target at the final focal plane of the GSI FRagment Separator (FRS) to perform in-beam gamma-ray spectroscopy of exotic nuclei. The Lund York Cologne CAlorimeter (LYCCA) was used to identify the reaction products. In this paper we report on the trigger scheme used during the campaigns. The dataflow coupling between the Multi-Branch System (MBS) based Data AcQuisition (DAQ) used for FRS-LYCCA and the "Nouvelle Acquisition temps Reel Version 1.2 Avec Linux" (NARVAL) based acquisition system used for AGATA are also described

AGATA phase 2 advancements in front-end electronics

The AGATA collaboration has a long-standing leadership in the development of front-end electronics for high resolution γ -ray spectroscopy using large volume high purity germanium detectors. For two decades, the AGATA collaboration has been developing state-of-the-art digital electronics processing with high resolution sampling ADC, high-speed signal transfer and fast readout to a high throughput computing (HTC) farm for on-line pulse shape analysis. The collaboration is presently addressing the next challenge of equipping a 4 π array with more than 6000 channels in high resolution mode, generating approximately 10 MHz of total trigger requests, coupled to a large variety of complementary instruments. A next generation of front-end electronics, presently under design, is based on industrial products (System on Module FPGA’s), has higher integration and lower power consumption. In this contribution, the conceptual design of the new electronics is presented. The results of the very first tests of the pre-production electronics are presented as well as future perspectives.ISSN:1434-6001ISSN:1434-601

AGATA: Advancements in Software Developments

International audiencePresently, gamma-ray tracking in germanium segmented detectors is realised by applying two advanced, complex algorithms. While they have already triggered an intensive R&D, they are still subject to further improvements. Making such algorithms effective, online in real time conditions and/or offline for deeper analysis, in data pipelines do require many additional software developments. This review paper gives an overview of the various bricks of software produced so far by the AGATA collaboration. It provides hints of what is foreseen for the next phases of the project up to its full configuration namely with 180 capsules in the array