A 12-bit 30 MS/s SAR ADC in 180 nm CMOS for PMT signal readout

Abstract

Photomultiplier Tubes (PMTs) are widely used as the photon detector in high energy physics experiments for their fast response and high sensitivity. High precision charge measurement is usually required for PMT readout, and especially in cosmic ray experiments a large dynamic range is also demanded. This paper describes an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), which aims to work with a front-end analog ASIC to perform charge measurement based on the digital peak detection method. This ADC design is based on the power-efficient Successive Approximation Register (SAR) architecture, to achieve a 12-bit resolution with a sampling rate of up to 30 MS/s. Test results indicate that the Effective Number of Bits (ENOB) of this ADC is better than 9.2 bits with a sampling rate of 30 MS/s.

A prototype Radiation Energy Measuring Integrated Circuit with an asynchronous current-pulse reset block providing analog-to-digital conversion in 28 nm CMOS

“…Importantly, the required biomedical imaging system should be able to simultaneously record both the intensity and energy of incoming photons, thus enabling so-called color imaging. As a result, ongoing global efforts [4][5][6][7][8] are focused on the development of such imaging systems.…”

Spectrum1k — integrated circuit for medical imaging designed in CMOS 40 nm

“…Therefore, the required system should allow recording both the intensity and energy of incoming photons at once and in this way to allow for so-called color imaging. Therefore, there are ongoing worldwide efforts [4][5][6][7][8] that aim on developing this type of imaging system.…”