An Ultra-Fast X-ray Imager for HED and X-ray Science

The detection of optical light has made steady advances over decades to the point where observing sub nanosecond events has become routine, but the x-ray regime has not kept pace. As a consequence, radiation hard x-ray imaging detectors with frame rates > 10 Hz are lacking. This technology gap is not only detrimental to scientific progress in traditional x-ray science fields like free electron lasers (FELs), but also in studying high energy density (HED) events like fusion. As the US moves toward cleaner sources of energy, fusion might hold the key to breaking the hold of fossil fuels in the energy market. The next generation of detector technology will enable practical applications of fusion technology through fundamental understanding of the physics behind it. The small business, with consultation from another specialized company, will advance a program to grow ultra-fast imaging detector technology for HED physics and synchrotron markets. The consulting team is composed of experts formerly working in a national laboratory sensor development group. The sensor group developed a ROIC (read out integrated circuit) that can capture 2-D data with a minimum gate time of 1-2 ns and only tens of picoseconds of jitter. These systems have a range of features that are attractive for fast, high energy imaging including up to 1.5 x 106 electron full well capacity, eight stored frames, 25 µm pixels, and tiling to produce larger arrays. The small business will leverage existing prototype sensors and electronics developed at national laboratories to define requirements for a robust commercial prototype suitable for a variety of markets and scientific applications. The main objectives of the Phase I program will be to study the designs of the national lab developed ROIC and generate a product roadmap for a robust commercial camera system. To complete these objectives the small business will initiate transfer of system knowledge required for camera development with the specialized company as they transfer of the ROIC fabrication process to a commercial producer. Existing laboratory electronics systems will also be evaluated for features to implement in a commercial device, and preliminary design documentation will be generated based on these results. Designing a commercial device based on the imaging ROIC above will result in camera configurations that serve a broad set of scientists FEL, fusion, and HED physics communities. The potential for immediate impact of a commercial product is at national laboratory facilities currently using proof of concept camera systems. A commercial offering will allow time and resources to better focus on science instead of debugging or repairing less robust systems.