Fast sampling for Picosecond timing Jean-François Genat EFI Chicago, Dec 17-18 th 2007

Fast sampling for Picosecond timing

Jean-François Genat

EFI Chicago, Dec 17-18th 2007

Outline

• Time picking strategies

• Timing using MCPs

• Fast Sampling chip

• Technologies

• Conclusions

Jean-Francois Genat, EFI, Dec 17-18th 2007, Chicago

Time picking techniques


Discriminators can be:

- Single Threshold- Derivative’s Zero-crossing- Multiple Thresholds- CFDs (many flavours)

All make assumptions on the signal waveformdepending upon detector + front end processing

Fast sampling and digitization

Extract most of the pulse information if sampling is fast enough to resolve the signal rise-time

Digital processing allows any kind of time (and amplitude) extractionTime accuracy depends on the sampling rate and amplitude ranges

10-100 GHz sampling

Fast sampling:

High rate sampling and pulse reconstruction knowing the waveform allows to get accurately:

- Amplitude- Time

using for instance least squares algorithms (Cleland & Stern)

On-chip digital oscilloscopes, integrated in multi-channel analog memory chips: Labrador (Hawaii), SAM (Saclay)Digital signal processing can also be integrated


Outline




• Technologies

• Conclusions


MCPs timing performance


Fast signals

-0,45

-0,4

-0,35

-0,3

-0,25

-0,2

-0,15

-0,1

-0,05

0

0,05

0,1

1

50

9

10

17

15

25

20

33

25

41

30

49

35

57

40

65

45

73

50

81

55

89

60

97

66

05

71

13

76

21

0 1 2 3 4 5 ns


Fast Sampling with Si detectorsInput signal 30ns peaking time(detector + noise)S/N = 30

Noise spectrumSerial, 1/f

Amplitude and time spreadssigma(a) =2%, sigma(t)= 1.2 ns

Peaking time = 50ns


A few nanoseconds measured (M. Friedl, M. Pernicka, Vienna)

Fast sampling simulations


Peaking time = 200ps256 samplesS/N=50

Sigma(time) = 6ps

Peaking time = 160ps128 samplesS/N=60

Sigma(time) = 8.3ps

Residual (no noise) : 3ps

Simulated waveforms: White noise added to randomly delayed pulses

2ns 1ns

No sensitivity to amplitude distributionInfinite dynamic range assumed

Outline




• Technologies

• Conclusions


10-100 GHz sampling

Output

Counter and picosecond Vernier timer

ReadCntrl

Triggeringdiscriminators

Analog storage

Inputs

Figure 1 Fast sampler block diagram

Write and Read control

WilkinsonAD

Timestamps

500 MHz Clock


Blocks


Capacitor bank (SCA):- number of channels- depth- dynamic range- droop, crosstalk

Timing generator - time step- clock frequency- use Vernier to increase sampling

frequency

Triggering Discriminators - threshold- speed - delay

ADC (Wilkinson) - number of channels- number of bits- clock speed

Control and processing

Overall:- input to SCA bandwidth - temperature sensitivity- calibration - power

Timing generator


N taps main DLLClock input

th = Tclock/N, tv = Tclock/MN and M relatively primes LSB = th-tv

M taps Vernier DLLs

N x M delayed outputs

th

tv

Increasing delays

Use as much as possibleclock locked looped delays

Routing of delays to SCA critical

Digital Delay Lines: DLL

Clock feeds the digital delay line Phase arbiter locks delays on clock period

Delay locked loop:Interpolate delays within a clock period

N delay elements Delays control

Time arbiter

Clock

M. Bazes IBM, Proc. IEEE JSSC 1985 p 75


Phase lock

Lag Lag Lead OK

Clock

DLL output

Phase arbiter

Delay control


Delay elements

Active RC element: R resistance of a switched on transistor C total capacitance at the connecting node

Typically RC = 1-100 using current IC technologies

N delay elements

NN is technology dependent: the fastest, the best !

Within a chip ~ 1 % a wafer ~ 5-10% a lot ~ 10-20%

[Mantyniemi et al. IEEE JSSC 28-8 pp 887-894]


Time controlled delay

CMOS Technology 90nm: ~ 20-40 ps 65nm in production today

Propagation delay ~ 10-100 ps

Delay controlsthru gatesvoltages

PMOS

NMOS

B=A

100ps TDC 0.6m CMOS (1992)

Spread=12 ps


PMOS

NMOS

Delay control thru Vdd

Vdd

Switched Capacitors Array

write read

reset


Flavours:

- Sampling Cap switched in the loop of an opamp - Differential implementation

Discriminators


Do not need the ps accuracy (reference is the main clock)Stops the sampling after a (programmable) delay

ADC


Wilkinson preferred in terms of power and Silicon areasince heavily parallel

See Eric Delagnes slide:

Fast Wilkinson:

Clock interpolated using a DLL 100 ps counter 10 times faster Same 12 bit accuracy

ILC 130nm Silicon strips chip

Waveforms

CMOS 130nm

Counter

Single ramp10 bits ADC

Can be used for fast decision

Ch #

Analog samplers

iVi > th (includes auto-zero)SparsifierChannel n+1

Channel n-1

Time tag

Preamp +Shapers

Strip

reset

Clock 3-96 MHz

reset


ADC

Outline




• Technologies

• Conclusions


Technologies


SiGe - Not many benefits compared to Deep Sub-Micron CMOS - In addition CMOS from BiCMOS not as fast as pure DSM CMOS

2006

CMOS


Present designs in CMOS:

CERN HPTDC IBM .25 m 25ps timing generator

development .13 m 6ps timing generator

Hawaii BLAB 1 TSMC .25 m 6 GHz 10b sampling dev 2 TSMC .25 m 10 GHz

Saclay SAM AMS .35 m 2 GHz 12b sampling

90nm CMOS available from MOSIS, Europractice

Drawbacks- Reduced voltage supply- Leaks

Outline




• Technologies

• Conclusions


Backup

J-F Genat, RP220/420 Paris Workshop, Sept 12th 2007

Multi-threshold performance

Multi-threshold: sampling times instead of amplitudes :

- Number of thresholds 4-8- Thresholds values equally spaced- Order of the fit: 2d order optimum

Extrapolated time

MCP PMT single photon signals

Actual MCPs signalsK. InamiUniv. NagoyaTr = 500pstts= 30ps

N photo-electrons improves as N

MCPs segmented anode signals simulation20 photoelectrons tts = 860 fsH. Frisch, Univ. Chicago + Argonne


BUT

Documents

Fast sampling for Picosecond timing Jean-François Genat EFI Chicago, Dec 17-18 th 2007