CMOS: Front-End Electronics for Radiation Sensors offers a comprehensive introduction to integrated front-end electronics for radiation detectors, focusing on devices that capture individual particles or photons and are used in nuclear and high energy physics, space instrumentation, medical physics, homeland security, and related fields.
Emphasizing practical design and implementation, this book:
- Covers the fundamental principles of signal processing for radiation detectors
- Discusses the relevant analog building blocks used in the front-end electronics
- Employs systematically weak and moderate inversion regimes in circuit analysis
- Makes complex topics such as noise and circuit-weighting functions more accessible
- Includes numerical examples where appropriate
CMOS: Front-End Electronics for Radiation Sensors provides specialized knowledge previously obtained only through the study of multiple technical and scientific papers. It is an ideal text for students of physics and electronics engineering, as well as a useful reference for experienced practitioners.
Preface
Acknowledgments
List of Tables
About the Author
Front-End Specifications and Architecture Overview
Basic Features and Electrical Modeling of Radiation Sensors
Signal Formation in Detectors
Signal Polarity
Space Resolution and Detector Segmentation
Amplitude and Signal Shape Fluctuations
Sensor Capacitance
Leakage Current
Sensor Equivalent Circuit
Modeling of Composite Systems
Examples of Radiation Sensors
Key Parameters in Front-End Electronics
A First Front-End Amplifier
Peaking Time
Gain and Signal Polarity
Noise
Time Resolution
Pile-Up
Detection Efficiency and Derandomization
Front-End Architectures
Binary Front-End
Counting and Time-Over-Threshold Architectures
Time Pick-Off Systems
Sample and Hold and Peak Detectors
Analog Memories
Real Time Waveform Digitizers
Data Readout and Transmission
References
MOS Transistor Properties
Silicon Properties
Silicon Band Structure
Doping
Charge Transport in Silicon
Charge Transport by Drift
Mobility in Doped Silicon
Charge Transport by Diffusion
Einstein Relationship
Graded Doping
pn Junctions
Built-In Voltage
Depletion Region
Breakdown Voltage
Junction Capacitance
Contact Potentials
A First Look at MOS Transistors
The NMOS Transistors
The PMOS Transistors
Transistor Representations
CMOS Technologies
CMOS Radiation Sensors
Electrical Characteristics of MOS Transistors
The Threshold Voltage
Regions of Operation of the MOS Transistor
MOS Characteristics in the Linear Region
MOS Characteristics in Saturation
The Body Effect
MOS Capacitance
The PMOS Transistor
MOS Small Signal Parameters
Gate Transconductance
Bulk Transconductance
Output Conductance
MOS Small Signal Model
Weak and Moderate Inversion
The Deep Submicron MOS Transistor
Scaling Methods
Mobility Reduction
Velocity Saturation
Drain-Induced Barrier Lowering
Hot Carrier Effects
Gate Leakage Current
References
Input Stages
Transimpedance Amplifiers
The Transimpedance Amplifier as a Feedback Circuit
Common Source Amplifiers
Common Source Amplifier with Resistive Load
Current Mirrors
Common Source Amplifiers with Active Load
Source Degenerated Common Source Amplifiers
Feedback in Source Degenerated Amplifiers
Output Impedance of the Source Degenerated Amplifier
Cascode Amplifiers
Cascode Current Mirrors
Wide-Swing Current Mirrors
Telescopic Cascode Amplifiers
Folded Cascode
Unbuffered Transresistance Amplifiers
Source Followers
Buffered Cascode Amplifiers
Amplifiers with Rail-to-Rail Output Stage
Gain Boosting
Current Mode Input Stages
References
Input Stages in the Frequency Domain
The Common Source Amplifier in the Frequency Domain
Voltage Driven Common Source Amplifier
Current Driven Common Source Amplifier
Analysis of the Common Source Amplifier with the Miller Theorem
Frequency Performance of Cascode Amplifiers
Frequency Stability of Amplifiers
Feedback and Frequency Compensation of CMOS OTA
Phase Margin
Frequency Compensation
Effect of the Right-Half Plane Zero
Advanced Compensation Techniques
Frequency Stability and Compensation of Front-End Amplifiers
Transimpedance Amplifier with Ideal Output Buffer
Input Impedance
Transimpedance Amplifier with Real Output Buffer
Input Stages with Gain Boosting
The Charge Sensitive Amplifier
Frequency Performance of Current Mode Input Stages
References
Noise
Fundamental Concepts
Thermal and Shot Noise Spectral Density
Thermal Noise
Shot Noise
Noise in MOS Transistors
Channel Thermal Noise in MOS Transistors
Flicker Noise
Noise Calculations in Circuits
Noise in an RC Low-Pass Filter
Noise in a Single-Stage Front-End
Noise Filtering and Optimization of the Signal-to-Noise Ratio
The Matched Filter
Optimum Filter for Energy Measurements
Optimum Filter for Timing Measurements
References
Time Invariant Shapers
Ideal Charge Sensitive Amplifiers
The CR-RC Shaper
CR-RCn Shapers
Shapers with Complex Conjugate Poles
Noise Calculations in Time Invariant Shapers
Noise in CR-RC Shapers
Noise Calculations in CR-RCn Shapers
Noise Slope
Effect of 1/ fa Noise
Alternative Formalism for Noise Calculations
Noise Simulations
Pole-Zero Cancellation and Baseline Control
Pole-Zero Cancellation
Baseline Holders and Baseline Restorers
Baseline Restorers
Bipolar Shapers
Front-End with Transimpedance Input Stage
Gain and Bandwidth Limitations in Charge Sensitive Amplifiers
Effects of Finite Gain in the CSA
Effect of CSA Bandwidth Limitation
Effect of Finite Charge Collection Time
References
Time Variant Shapers
Ballistic Deficit and the Gated Integrator
Noise Analysis in the Time Domain
Time-Domain Noise Analysis of the CR-RC Filter
Time-Domain Noise Analysis of the Gated Integrator
Correlated Double Sampling
Time-Variant Filters in CMOS Technology
References
Transistor-Level Front-End Design
Transistor-Level Design of Charge Sensitive Amplifiers
Optimization of the Input Transistor
Load Design
Choice of Input Transistor Type
Passive Feedback Networks
Integrated Capacitors
Passive Resistors
Active Feedback Networks
Feedback Transistors in Linear Region
Transconductance Feedback
Feedback with DC Current Compensation
Constant Current Feedback
Power Supply Rejection
Implementation of Shaping Amplifiers
Single Stage Shapers
Multi-Stage Shapers
Active Shaping Networks
OTA-C Shapers
Compact Shaping Cells
Baseline Holder Design
Fully Differential Front-End
Implementation of Current Mode Front-Ends
References
Discriminators
Basic Discriminator Properties
Discriminator Gain and Speed Requirements
Discriminator Threshold Setting
General Purpose Voltage Discriminators
Two-Stage Discriminators
Discriminator with Cross-Coupled Loads
High-Speed Discriminators
Timing Discriminators
Jitter and Rise Time Variations
Time Walk
Leading-Edge Discriminators
Zero Crossing Discriminators
Constant Fraction Discriminators
Latched Comparators
Mismatch in CMOS Transistors
Mismatch due to Local Fluctuations
Mismatch Calculations in Circuits
Offset Compensation in Discriminators
Current Mode Discriminators
References
Data Converters
Basic ADC Properties
ADC Static Performance
ADC Dynamic Performance
ADC Architectures
Flash ADC
Single Ramp and Wilkinson ADC
Successive Approximation Register ADC (SAR ADC)
Conventional SAR ADC
Key Issues in SAR ADC Design
Low-Power SAR ADC Design
Basic TDC Properties
TDC Architectures
TDC with Analog Interpolators
TDC with Digital Delay Lines
Loop-Based TDC
Ring Oscillator TDC
Pulse Shrinking TDC
References
Appendix: Differential and Operational Amplifiers
Differential and Common Mode Signals
Differential Cell Large-Signal Behavior
Differential Cell Small-Signal Analysis
Differential Cells with Active Load
Differential Cell with Current Mirror Load
Operational Amplifiers
Single Stage Architectures
Two-Stage OTA
OTA with Class AB Output
OTA with Rail-to-Rail Input Stages
Fully Differential Amplifiers
References
Appendix: Practical Aspects in Front-End Design
The Front-End Design Cycle
Substrate Noise in Mixed-Signal ASICs
Off-Chip Data Transmission and LVDS I/O Ports
Bias Distribution in Multi-Channel Front-Ends
Front-End Calibration
Radiation Damage
References
Index
Biography
Angelo Rivetti received a degree in physics from the University of Torino, Italy, and a Ph.D in electrical engineering from the Politecnico di Torino, Italy. From 1998 to 2000, he worked at the Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (CERN), Meyrin, Switzerland on the implementation of radiation tolerant integrated circuits in commercial deep submicron complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) technologies. From 2000 to 2001, he was an assistant professor with the faculty of physics at the University of Torino. In December 2001, he joined the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Torino, Italy, where he developed very-large-scale integration (VLSI) front-end circuits now in use in the A Large Ion Collider Experiment (ALICE) and Common Muon and Proton Apparatus for Structure and Spectroscopy (COMPASS) experiments at CERN. He is currently a senior member of the research and technology staff at INFN. His research interests are in the design of mixed signal front-end electronics for hybrid and monolithic radiation detectors employed in high energy physics, medical imaging, and industrial applications.
"… an essential resource for whoever is involved with radiation sensors from the circuit design perspective. It nicely covers all topics of practical interest, gradually leading from general concepts to specific aspects and bringing several interesting examples. The author was able to effectively transfer his wide knowledge and experience, both as a researcher and as an educator, into this amazing piece of work. The book can lead newcomers to rapidly learn how to address the analysis and design of front-end circuits, but it is also suitable for experts to refresh some important concepts without the need to go through many scientific papers."
—Gian-Franco Dalla Betta, University of Trento, Italy"… a well-organized, clear, and comprehensive guide to the design of low-noise front-end electronics for sensors. An ideal introduction for beginners and students, and a valuable reference for experienced designers."
—Gianluigi De Geronimo, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York, USA and Stony Brook University, New York, USA"Reflecting the author’s extensive experience, the book covers the design and implementation of the front-end electronics optimized for the amplification, conditioning, and digitization of signals in radiation sensors. This body of knowledge, developed along many decades within the high energy and nuclear physics communities, was dispersed in many specialized articles. Now it is collected, summarized, and enriched in an impressive book of about 700 pages, which covers both the theoretical background and many implementation practical aspects. This is the book that many people in the field were waiting for."
—Joao Varela, Laboratory of Instrumentation and Experimental Particles Physics, Lisbon, Portugal and Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, Portugal