Photomultiplier Tubes Photon Counting Read-Out-Chip
SPACIROC 3 is a 64-channel chip reading out negative fast input current pulses such as those provided by Multi Anode Photo Multipliers for space-borne and low-power applications. SPACIROC 3 counts photon individually within a Gate Time Unit (GTU).
The 64 inputs from MA-PMT Anodes are read-out by a current amplifier followed by a discriminator. Threshold of that discriminator is set by a 10b DAC and an individual 7b DAC to compensate for the non-uniformity between detector channels. Each channel provides a 100% trigger rate for signal greater than 1/3 photoelectron. The digital part operates continuously and handles data conversion of each Photon Counting channel. The digital data are transmitted through a dedicated parallel communication links within the defined Gate Time Unit (GTU). The ASIC data output rate is 40 MHz. Spaciroc is radiation tolerant and its power consumption is lower than 1 mW/channel.
| TRL Technology Readiness Level | 9 - Full system running, reliability proven - learn more |
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| Available versions |
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| Detector Read-Out | SiPM, MAPMT |
| Number of Channel | 64 |
| Signal Polarity | Negative |
| Sensitivity | Trigger on 1/3 photo-electron or 50 fC with a 106 PM gain |
| Timing Resolution | Not relevant |
| Dynamic Range | Min Gate Time Unit 1.6us, max count 255 per GTU - Photon counting rate > 100MHz |
| Packaging & Dimension |
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| Power Consumption |
below 1 mW / channel - supply voltage 3.3V |
| Inputs | 64 current inputs |
| Outputs |
8 serial data outputs (8b) for photon counting |
| Internal Programmable Features |
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| Evaluation systems |
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