Single-Chip Read-Out IC for High-Time-Resolution Megapixel-Class Imaging Systems

Alphacore Inc. will design a monolithic multichannel readout integrated circuit (ROIC) that combines low-noise preamplifiers and fast shaping amplifiers with low-power 200MS/s flash analog to digital converters (ADCs). Such monolithic ROIC is currently not available and it is critically needed to provide an order of magnitude improvement to the effective event count rate of the existing imager systems that use micro channel plates in combination with cross strip anodes. This improvement in count rate is needed by NNSA in their current remote sensing systems and it also provides benefits to other time-dependent imaging applications. The challenging design specifications are met by employing innovative circuit techniques that take advantage of the performance enhancement possibilities provided by advanced compound-semiconductor technologies. Alphacore plans to bring significant value to the customers by providing a technically superior readout solution by reducing the dead-time and event pile-up and enabling to work with much higher event rates due to the new preamplifier and high-speed ADC designs. Examples of commercial applications are: Time-dependent imager applications for airborne/space borne platforms. Nuclear power industry safety monitoring applications Radiation diagnostics and therapeutic equipment Biological fluorescence imaging applications