Data encoding efficiency in pixel detector readout with charge information

The average minimum number of bits needed for lossless readout of a pixel detector is calculated, in the regime of interest for particle physics where only a small fraction of pixels have a non-zero value per frame. This permits a systematic comparison of the readout efficiency of different encoding imple- mentations. The calculation is compared to the number of bits used by the FE-I4 pixel readout chip of the ATLAS experiment.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure

A review of advances in pixel detectors for experiments with high rate and radiation

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments ATLAS and CMS have established hybrid pixel detectors as the instrument of choice for particle tracking and vertexing in high rate and radiation environments, as they operate close to the LHC interaction points. With the High Luminosity-LHC upgrade now in sight, for which the tracking detectors will be completely replaced, new generations of pixel detectors are being devised. They have to address enormous challenges in terms of data throughput and radiation levels, ionizing and non-ionizing, that harm the sensing and readout parts of pixel detectors alike. Advances in microelectronics and microprocessing technologies now enable large scale detector designs with unprecedented performance in measurement precision (space and time), radiation hard sensors and readout chips, hybridization techniques, lightweight supports, and fully monolithic approaches to meet these challenges. This paper reviews the world-wide effort on these developments.Comment: 84 pages with 46 figures. Review article.For submission to Rep. Prog. Phy

Optimal use of Charge Information for the HL-LHC Pixel Detector Readout

The pixel detectors for the High Luminosity upgrades of the ATLAS and CMS detectors will preserve digitized charge information in spite of extremely high hit rates. Both circuit physical size and output bandwidth will limit the number of bits to which charge can be digitized and stored. We therefore study the effect of the number of bits used for digitization and storage on single and multi-particle cluster resolution, efficiency, classification, and particle identification. We show how performance degrades as fewer bits are used to digitize and to store charge. We find that with limited charge information (4 bits), one can achieve near optimal performance on a variety of tasks.Comment: 27 pages, 20 figure

Application of Time Projection Chambers with GEMs and Pixels to WIMP Searches and Fast Neutron Detection

We present work on the detection of neutral particles via nuclear recoils in gas-filled Time Projection Chambers (TPCs). We employ Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs) to amplify the signal and silicon pixel electronics to detect the avalanche charge. These technologies allow ionization in the target gas to be detected with low noise, improved position and time resolution, and high efficiency. We review experimental results obtained in previous years, and report on ongoing simulation studies and construction of the first prototype at the University of Hawaii. We also present prospects of using such detectors to perform direction-sensitive searches for WIMP dark matter and fast neutron from fissionable material.Comment: Proceedings of 2nd International Conference on Technology and Instrumentation in Particle Physics (TIPP 2011), to be published in Physics Procedia, 8 pages, 9 figure