Detectors
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N.
Goyal
,
F. J.
Iguaz
,
S.
Aplin
,
A.
Balerna
,
P.
Bell
,
J.
Casas
,
M.
Cascella
,
S.
Chatterji
,
C.
Cohen
,
E.
Collet
,
E N.
Gimenez
,
H.
Graafsma
,
H.
Hirsemann
,
K.
Klementiev
,
T.
Kolodziej
,
T.
Martin
,
Ralf H.
Menk
,
C.
Menneglier
,
C.
Meraihia
,
J. R.
Murias
,
M.
Porro
,
M.
Quispe
,
B.
Schmitt
,
S.
Scully
,
M.
Turcato
,
C.
Ward
,
E.
Welter
Open Access
Abstract: The first operational prototype of a high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector developed within the European LEAPS-INNOV project is presented in this work. This prototype features a monolithic, multi-element sensor optimized for high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy in the hard X-ray regime, intended for handing high count rates of 30 Mcps, across a broad energy range (5–100 keV). The present prototype demonstrates a throughput of about 150–200 kcps/pixel, corresponding to a total count rate of about 1.5–2 Mcps for the full 10 element detector. We discuss here a complete laboratory-based characterization of the detector’s performance, as well as an on-beam evaluation at the BM05 beamline of the ESRF synchrotron facility, using monochromatic X-rays in the 20–50 keV energy range. We provide a detailed performance assessment that also includes a phenomenological defect-depth estimation model.
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Dec 2026
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Detectors
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C. B.
Wunderer
,
M.
Hajheidari
,
A.
Marras
,
Th.
Wendt
,
F.
Anders
,
J.
Correa
,
M.
Dahlgruen
,
J.
Gebert
,
T.
Hirono
,
H.
Hirsemann
,
F.
Krivan
,
S.
Lange
,
S. Y.
Rah
,
I.
Shevyakov
,
V.
Vardanyan
,
M.
Hoesch
,
K.
Bagschik
,
N.
Guerrini
,
B.
Marsh
,
I.
Sedgwick
,
G.
Cautero
,
D.
Giuressi
,
R.
Menk
,
L.
Stebel
,
A.
Greer
,
T.
Nicholls
,
W.
Nichols
,
M.
Nakhostin
,
H. J.
Hyun
,
K. S.
Kim
,
S. H.
Kim
,
S. Y.
Park
,
F. J.
Iguaz
,
H.
Graafsma
Open Access
Abstract: PERCIVAL, “pixellated energy-resolving CMOS imager versatile and large”, is a 2-megapixel soft X-ray imager developed for use at FELs and modern-day synchrotrons. A combination of capabilities is necessary to meet the scientific needs: a large, uninterrupted imaging area with small pixels, high dynamic range, high frame rate, and soft X-ray suitable entrance window to the sensor. A single PERCIVAL sensor offers over 4 cm × 4 cm uninterrupted imaging area (1408 × 1484 pixels of 27 × 27 μm2). Three auto-adapting gains (per pixel per image) provide the large dynamic range from 13 e- noise to over 3 Me- signal. The sensor is designed for up to 300 Hz frame rate, and can be operated faster in ROI mode. The first generation of the sensor was hampered by severe crosstalk preventing parallel operation of ADC, streamout, and pixel switches and by non-uniformity of baselines over the sensor. A revised “respin” sensor addresses these issues at the root — and good noise performance at higher frame rates as well as a more uniform baseline can now be provided to users. The first generation DAQ system — still based on existing Virtex5 hardware — had limitations that ultimately prevented handling the fast data rates from a Percival running at full speed, or other complexities such as ROI operation. A complete overhaul of the percival-specific DAQ components (FPGA with periphery and firmware) today enables acquisition at envisioned frame rates and in ROI mode. This paper summarizes first laboratory results from the respin sensors in combination with the new DAQ hardware and firmware.
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Jan 2026
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Detectors
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N.
Goyal
,
S.
Aplin
,
A.
Balerna
,
P.
Bell
,
J.
Casas
,
M.
Cascella
,
S.
Chatterji
,
C.
Cohen
,
E.
Collet
,
P.
Fajardo
,
E. N.
Gimenez
,
H.
Graafsma
,
H.
Hiresmann
,
F.j.
Iguaz
,
K.
Klementiv
,
K.
Kolodjiez
,
L.
Manzanillas
,
T.
Martin
,
R. H.
Menk
,
M.
Porro
,
M.
Quispe
,
B.
Schmitt
,
S.
Scully
,
M.
Turcato
,
C.
Ward
,
E.
Welter
Abstract: The XAFS-DET work package of the European LEAPS-INNOV project is developing high-purity Germanium detectors for synchrotron applications requiring spectroscopic-grade response. The detectors integrate three key features: (1) newly designed monolithic Germanium sensors optimised to mitigate charge-sharing events, (2) an improved cooling and mechanical design structure supported by thermal simulations, and (3) complete electronic chain featuring a low-noise CMOS technology based preamplifier, enabling high X-ray count rate capability over a broad energy range (5-100 keV). This paper discusses the first integration and characterization of one of the two multi-element Ge detectors at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). The integration phase included validating high-throughput front-end electronics, integrating them with the Ge sensor, and operating them at liquid nitrogen temperature, in addition to the experimental characterization, which consists of electronics noise study and spectroscopic performance evaluation.
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Jul 2025
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Detectors
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J.
Correa
,
M.
Mehrjoo
,
R.
Battistelli
,
F.
Lehmkühler
,
A.
Marras
,
C. B.
Wunderer
,
T.
Hirono
,
V.
Felk
,
F.
Krivan
,
S.
Lange
,
I.
Shevyakov
,
V.
Vardanyan
,
M.
Zimmer
,
M.
Hoesch
,
K.
Bagschik
,
N.
Guerrini
,
B.
Marsh
,
I.
Sedgwick
,
G.
Cautero
,
L.
Stebel
,
D.
Giuressi
,
R. H.
Menk
,
A.
Greer
,
T.
Nicholls
,
W.
Nichols
,
U.
Pedersen
,
P.
Shikhaliev
,
N.
Tartoni
,
H. J.
Hyun
,
S. H.
Kim
,
S. Y.
Park
,
K. S.
Kim
,
F.
Orsini
,
F. J.
Iguaz
,
F.
Büttner
,
B.
Pfau
,
E.
Plönjes
,
K.
Kharitonov
,
M.
Ruiz-Lopez
,
R.
Pan
,
S.
Gang
,
B.
Keitel
,
H.
Graafsma
Open Access
Abstract: The PERCIVAL detector is a CMOS imager designed for the soft X-ray regime at photon sources. Although still in its final development phase, it has recently seen its first user experiments: ptychography at a free-electron laser, holographic imaging at a storage ring and preliminary tests on X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy. The detector performed remarkably well in terms of spatial resolution achievable in the sample plane, owing to its small pixel size, large active area and very large dynamic range; but also in terms of its frame rate, which is significantly faster than traditional CCDs. In particular, it is the combination of these features which makes PERCIVAL an attractive option for soft X-ray science.
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Jan 2023
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Detectors
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L.
Manzanillas
,
S.
Aplin
,
A.
Balerna
,
P.
Bell
,
J.
Casas
,
M.
Cascella
,
S.
Chatterji
,
C.
Cohen
,
G.
Dennis
,
P.
Fajardo
,
H.
Graafsma
,
H.
Hirsemann
,
F. J.
Iguaz
,
K.
Klementiev
,
T.
Kołodziej
,
T.
Martin
,
R.
Menk
,
F.
Orsini
,
M.
Porro
,
M.
Quispe
,
B.
Schmitt
,
N.
Tartoni
,
M.
Turcato
,
C.
Ward
,
E.
Welter
Abstract: In past years efforts have concentrated on the development of arrays of Silicon Drift Detectors for X-ray spectroscopy. This is in stark contrast to the little effort that has been devoted to the improvement of germanium detectors, in particular for synchrotron applications. Germanium detectors have better energy resolution and are more efficient in detecting high energy photons than silicon detectors. In this context, the detector consortium of the European project LEAPS-INNOV has set an ambitious R&D program devoted to the development of a new generation of multi-element monolithic germanium detectors for X-ray detection. In order to improve the performance of the detector under development, simulations of the different detector design options have been performed. In this contribution, the efforts in terms of R&D are outlined with a focus on the modelization of the detector geometry and first performance results. These performance results show that a signal-to-background ratio larger than 1000 can be achieved in the energy range of interest from 5 keV to 100 keV.
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Dec 2022
|
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Detectors
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F.
Orsini
,
S.
Aplin
,
A.
Balerna
,
P.
Bell
,
J.
Casas
,
M.
Cascella
,
S.
Chatterji
,
C.
Cohen
,
G.
Dennis
,
P.
Fajardo
,
H.
Graafsma
,
H.
Hirsemann
,
F. J.
Iguaz
,
K.
Klementiev
,
T.
Kołodziej
,
L.
Manzanillas
,
T.
Martin
,
R.
Menk
,
M.
Porro
,
M.
Quispe
,
B.
Schmitt
,
N.
Tartoni
,
M.
Turcato
,
C.
Ward
,
E.
Welter
Abstract: The high brilliance and coherent beams resulting from recent upgraded synchrotron radiation facilities open the way for a large range of experiments, where detectors play a key role in the techniques and methods developed to fully exploit the upgraded synchrotron. For instance, one of the major limitations of XAFS experiment is the performance of the detectors. In order to be able to measure more challenging samples and to cope with the very high photon flux of the current and future (diffraction limited) sources, technological developments of detectors are necessary. In this framework, the germanium detector developed in the European project LEAPS-INNOV aims at improving several technological aspects. This type of detector represents a very important class of instruments for X-ray spectroscopy due to the fact that they enable to detect efficiently photons of considerable higher energy with respect to silicon detectors. The objective of this project consists in pushing the detector performance beyond the state-of-the-art. Preliminary layout and main choices for the design studies of this new detector are presented in this paper.
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Oct 2022
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Detectors
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Alessandro
Marras
,
Jonathan
Correa
,
Sabine
Lange
,
Vahagn
Vardanyan
,
Tim
Gerhardt
,
Manuela
Kuhn
,
Frantisek
Krivan
,
Igor
Shevyakov
,
Manfred
Zimmer
,
Moritz
Hoesch
,
Kai
Bagschik
,
Frank
Scholz
,
Niccolo
Guerrini
,
Ben
Marsh
,
Iain
Sedgwick
,
Giuseppe
Cautero
,
Dario
Giuressi
,
Gregori
Iztok
,
Ralf H.
Menk
,
Martin
Scarcia
,
Luigi
Stebel
,
Tim
Nicholls
,
William
Nichols
,
Ulrik K.
Pedersen
,
Polad
Shikhaliev
,
Nicola
Tartoni
,
Hyojung
Hyun
,
Seonghan
Kim
,
Kyungsook
Kim
,
Seungyu
Rah
,
Arkadiusz
Dawiec
,
Fabienne
Orsini
,
Giovanni
Pinaroli
,
Alan
Greer
,
Steve
Aplin
,
April D.
Jewell
,
Todd J.
Jones
,
Shouleh
Nikzad
,
Michael E.
Hoenk
,
Frank
Okrent
,
Heinz
Graafsma
,
Cornelia B.
Wunderer
Open Access
Abstract: In this paper the back-side-illuminated Percival 2-Megapixel (P2M) detector is presented, along with its characterization by means of optical and X-ray photons. For the first time, the response of the system to soft X-rays (250 eV to 1 keV) is presented. The main performance parameters of the first detector are measured, assessing the capabilities in terms of noise, dynamic range and single-photon discrimination capability. Present limitations and coming improvements are discussed.
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Jan 2021
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Detectors
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I.
Sedgwick
,
F.
Krivan
,
I.
Shevyakov
,
M.
Zimmer
,
H.
Graafsma
,
G.
Cautero
,
D.
Giuressi
,
R.
Menk
,
G.
Pinaroli
,
L.
Stebel
,
A.
Greer
,
N.
Guerrini
,
U.
Pedersen
,
N.
Tartoni
,
S. Y.
Rah
,
H. J.
Hyun
,
K. S.
Kim
,
S. H.
Kim
,
B.
Boitrelle
,
F
Orsini
,
B.
Marsh
,
T.
Nicholls
,
A.
Marras
,
C. B.
Wunderer
,
J.
Correa
,
S.
Lange
,
M.
Kuhn
Abstract: High brilliance synchrotrons and Free Electron Lasers (FELs) require high performing detector systems to realise their full potential. High dynamic range, low noise and high frame rate are all of great importance. In this paper we describe the P2M CMOS sensor, designed for soft X-ray detection at such facilities. We refer to previous work on test devices demonstrating a noise of <16e-, a full well capacity of >5Me- and quantum efficiency of >80% at 400eV (and with good sensitivity even below this value). Initial test results on the first Front Side Illuminated (FSI) 2 Megapixel device are also presented, and an outline of future work is described.
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Nov 2019
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I10-Beamline for Advanced Dichroism - scattering
Detectors
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Alessandro
Marras
,
Cornelia
Wunderer
,
Jonathan
Correa
,
Benjamin
Boitrelle
,
Peter
Goettlicher
,
Manuela
Kuhn
,
Frantisek
Krivan
,
Sabine
Lange
,
Frank
Okrent
,
Igor
Shevyakov
,
Joshua
Supra
,
Maximilian
Tennert
,
Manfred
Zimmer
,
Niccola
Guerrini
,
Ben
Marsh
,
Iain
Sedgwick
,
Giuseppe
Cautero
,
Dario
Giuressi
,
Anastasya
Khromova
,
Ralf
Menk
,
Giovanni
Pinaroli
,
Luigi
Stebel
,
Alan
Greer
,
Tim
Nicholls
,
Ulrik
Pedersen
,
Nicola
Tartoni
,
Hyo Jung
Hyun
,
Kyung Sook
Kim
,
Seung Yu
Rah
,
Heinz
Graafsma
Abstract: In this paper, we are presenting the Percival detector, a monolithic CMOS Imager for detection of soft x-rays in Synchrotron Rings and Free Electron Lasers. The imager consists in a 2D array of many (2M) small (27um pitch) pixels, without dead or blind zones in the imaging area. The imager achieves low noise and high dynamic range by means of an adaptive-gain in-pixel circuitry, that has been validated on prototypes. The imager features on-chip Analogue-to-Digital conversion to 12+1 bits, and has a readout speed which is compatible with most of Free Electron Laser Facilities. For direct detection of low-energy x-rays, the imager is back-illuminated and post-processed to achieve 100% fill factor.
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Jan 2019
|
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Detectors
|
C. B.
Wunderer
,
J.
Correa
,
A.
Marras
,
S.
Aplin
,
B.
Boitrelle
,
P.
Goettlicher
,
F.
Krivan
,
M.
Kuhn
,
S.
Lange
,
M.
Niemann
,
F.
Okrent
,
I.
Shevyakov
,
M.
Zimmer
,
N.
Guerrini
,
B.
Marsh
,
I.
Sedgwick
,
G.
Cautero
,
D.
Giuressi
,
I.
Gregori
,
G.
Pinaroli
,
R.
Menk
,
L.
Stebel
,
A.
Greer
,
T.
Nicholls
,
U. K.
Pedersen
,
N.
Tartoni
,
H.
Hyun
,
K.
Kim
,
S.
Rah
,
H.
Graafsma
Abstract: The peak brilliance reached by today's Free-Electron Laser and Synchrotron light sources requires photon detectors matching their output intensity and other characteristics in order to fully realize the sources' potential. The Pixellated Energy Resolving CMOS Imager, Versatile And Large (Percival) is a dedicated soft X-ray imager (0.25–1 keV) developed for this purpose by a collaboration of DESY, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory/STFC, Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, Diamond Light Source, and Pohang Accelerator Laboratory. Following several generations of prototypes, the Percival "P2M" 2-Megapixel imager—a 4.5×5 cm monolithic, stitched sensor with an uninterrupted imaging area of 4×4 cm2 (1408×1484 pixels of 27×27 μm—was produced and has demonstrated basic functionality with a first-light image using visible light. It is currently being brought to full operation in a front-illuminated configuration. The readout system being commissioned in parallel has been developed specifically for this imager which will produce—at full 300 Hz frame rate—data at 20 Gbit/s. A first wafer with eight Percival P2M chips has undergone backthinning to enable soft X-ray detection. It has been diced and chips are currently being wirebonded. We summarize here the P2M system, the project status, and show the P2M sensor's first response to visible light.
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Jan 2019
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