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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Simulation and Modeling of Time-Resolved X-Ray Detector for the Saturn Accelerator

In this work, we present the technology-aided computer design (TCAD) device simulation and modeling of a silicon p-i-n diode for detecting time-dependent X-ray radiation. We show that the simulated forward and reverse breakdown current–voltage characteristics agree well with the measured data under nonradiation environment by only calibrating carrier lifetimes for the forward bias case and avalanche model critical fields for the reverse bias condition. Using the calibrated parameters and other nominal material properties, we simulated the radiation responses of the p-i-n diode and compared with experimental data when the diode was exposed to X-ray radiation at Sandia’s Saturn facility and the Idaho State University (ISU) TriMeV facility. For Saturn’s Gaussian dose-rate pulses, we show three findings from TCAD simulations. First, the simulated photocurrents are in excellent agreement with the measured data for two dose-rate pulses with peak values of 1.16×10 10 and 1.88×10 10 rad(Si)/s. Second, the simulation results of high dose-rate pulses predict increased delayed photocurrents with longer time tails in the diode electrical responses due to excess carrier generation. Third, simulated peak values of diode radiation responses versus peak dose rates at different bias conditions provide useful guidance to determine the dose-rate range that the p-i-n diode can reliably detect in experiment. For TriMeV’s non-Gaussian dose-rate pulse, our simulated diode response is in decent agreement with the measured data without further calibration. We also studied the effects of device geometry, recombination process, and dose-rate enhancement via TCAD simulations to understand the higher measured response in the time after the peak dose-rate radiation for the p-i-n diode exposed to TriMeV irradiation.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2024

Three Photon Excited Image Scanning Microscopy for in-Depth Super-Resolution Studies of Biological Samples

Multiphoton laser scanning microscopy is a powerful tool for deep imaging of thick biological samples. Image scanning microscopy (ISM) has demonstrated significant improvements in the signal-to-noise ratio in confocal laser scanning microscopy, while at the same time improving upon the effectively attainable resolution. Two-photon excitation (2PE), combined with ISM, has been shown to allow for deep tissue imaging with enhanced resolution compared to 2PE microscopy. Three-photon excitation (3PE) has enabled record imaging depth and contrast for multiphoton imaging, due to the superior suppression of out-of-focus signal generation. In this paper, we demonstrate super-resolution 3PE ISM. This is achieved using a single-photon avalanche detector array, and 1040-nm pulses for 3PE of blue fluorescence. This method enables subdiffraction limited resolution imaging of biological samples stained with blue fluorescent markers, such as mouse myocardial and spinal cord tissues stained with 4 ′ , 6 -diamidino-2-phenylindole. Deconvolution improves the resolving power further and allows for imaging with better than λ / 8 resolution with respect to the 3PE wavelength λ . With the ISM pixel reassignment procedure, we demonstrate a resolution enhancement of ∼ 1.6 laterally, compared to the resolution attained using a photomultiplier tube in a non-descanned detection arrangement, and a factor of ∼ 1.8 enhancement in axial resolution. The experimentally measured three-dimensional point spread function volume is shrunk ∼ 4.4 -fold, which is close to the theoretically expected enhancement. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2024

A preliminary investigation into the feasibility of laser ablation U–Pb isotope ratio measurement via all‐faraday cup detection with 10 11 ‐ and 10 13 ‐Ω amplifiers on the Neoma multicollector‐inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometer

Rationale Signal detection for uranium–lead (U–Pb) dating of zircon is typically performed via ion counters. Here, we develop a preliminary understanding of the strengths and limitations of faraday‐cup‐based detection. Methods A suite of zircon reference materials and the NIST‐610 glass were sampled using laser ablation followed by U–Pb isotope ratio measurement on a Neoma multicollector‐inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometer. Results We were able to produce geologically accurate 207 Pb/ 206 Pb, 206 Pb/ 238 U, and 207 Pb/ 235 U ratios for the NIST‐610 glass and the zircon standards, with ages ranging from ~2.5 Ga to ~337 Ma (TanBrown A, Oracle, 91550, Mud Tank, Temora, and Plešovice). Two of the younger zircon standards examined (94‐35, ~55.6 Ma, and Fish Canyon, 28.6 Ma) yielded accurate 206 Pb/ 238 U but not 207 Pb/ 235 U or 207 Pb/ 206 Pb ratios, whereas the youngest zircon standard (Penglai, ~4.4 Ma) failed for all three ratios of interest. The accuracy and precision of the all‐faraday method are directly tied to signal intensity, with reliable data capable of being produced even when both isotopes in a ratio have signals below ~0.001 V (equivalent to ~62 500 cps on an ion counter). Conclusion The all‐faraday cup multicollection method provides sufficient sensitivity to obtain geologically meaningful U–Pb data, with possible advantages being that laser pit depth‐dependent changes in the observed interelemental fractionation behavior may be easier to correct using a static collector configuration compared to when the ion beam is swept across a single detector while also removing the need for an interdetector‐type calibration. Further work is needed to refine the all‐faraday cup method (e.g., application of background subtraction and common Pb corrections, outlier removal, and interelement as well as down‐hole fractionation corrections), but our initial results demonstrate that the faraday detector method has sufficient sensitivity to warrant further study.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Graph Neural Network for Object Reconstruction in Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers

The Exa.TrkX project presents a graph neural network (GNN) technique for low-level reconstruction of neutrino interactions in a Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC). GNNs are still a relatively novel technique, and have shown great promise for similar reconstruction tasks in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Graphs describing particle interactions are formed by treating each detector hit as a node, with edges describing the relationships between hits. We utilise a multi-head attention message passing network which performs graph convolutions in order to label each node with a particle type.We present an updated variant of our GNN architecture, with several improvements. After testing the model on more realistic simulation with regions of unresponsive wires, the target was modified from edge classification to node classification in order to increase robustness. Removing edges as a classification target opens up a broader possibility space for edge-forming techniques; we explore the model’s performance across a variety of approaches, such as Delaunay triangulation, kNN, and radius-based methods. We also extend this model to the 3D context, sharing information between detector views. By using reconstructed 3D spacepoints to map detector hits from each wire plane, the model naively constructs 2D representations that are independent yet fully consistent.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Hardware design and testing of the generic rear transition module for the global trigger subsystem of ATLAS Phase-II Upgrade

Abstract In the framework of the ATLAS experiment’s Phase-II Upgrade at the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC), new and improved trigger hardware and algorithms will be implemented onto a single-level, 10 μs-latency architecture. The Global Trigger is a new subsystem which will bring event-filter capabilities by performing offline-like algorithms on full-granularity calorimeter data. The implementation of the functionality is firmware-focused and composed of several processing nodes, which are hosted on identical hardware, made up of an Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (ATCA) front board, called Global Common Module (GCM), and a rear transition module (RTM), called Generic RTM (GRM). The GRM, which was developed to mitigate the risks deriving from the complex design and power management of the GCM, features an advanced Xilinx Versal Prime system-on-chip and can handle communication with the GCM and Front-End Link eXchange (FELIX) subsystem and trigger processors through 124 25.8 Gb/s transceiver links, for readout and control. Additionally, the GRM mounts a Low-Power GigaBit Transceiver (lpGBT) chip which enables emulation of the detector front-ends for integration tests. This paper presents the GRM hardware design and its testing.

Instruments & Instrumentation↗
DOE OSTI2024

Toward an integrated multi-gigahertz ionizing particle diagnostic

Needs arising at both current and future accelerator facilities call for the development of radiation-hardened position-sensing diagnostics that can operate with multi-GHz repetition rates. Such instruments are likely to also have applications in the diagnosis of rapid plasma behavior. Here, building on the recent work of our Advanced Accelerator Diagnostics Collaboration, we are exploring the development of integrated multi-GHz ionizing particle detection systems based on chemical-vapor deposition diamond sensors, with the initial goal of producing a quadrant detector that can determine the intensity and centroid position of a particle beam at a repetition rate between 5 and 10 GHz. Results from our initial high-speed characterization work are presented, including those from a single-channel sensor with a GHz response. Approaches to achieving multi-GHz (5–10 GHz) rate capability, including the design of a dedicated Application Specific Integrated Circuit and the use of 3D RF-solver computer aided design software, are presented and discussed in more detail. 3D RF simulations suggest clean pulses of duration less than 250 ps (FWHM less than 125 ps) can be achieved with the approaches developed by this work.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Design and performance of the Fermilab Constant Fraction Discriminator ASIC

Here, we present the design and performance characterization results of the novel Fermilab Constant Fraction Discriminator ASIC (FCFD) developed to readout low gain avalanche detector (LGAD) signals by directly using a constant fraction discriminator (CFD) to measure signal arrival time. Silicon detectors with time resolutions less than 30ps will play a critical role in future collider experiments, and LGADs have been demonstrated to provide the required time resolution and radiation tolerance for many such applications. The FCFD has a specially designed discriminator that is robust against amplitude variations of the signal from the LGAD that normally requires an additional correction step when using a traditional leading edge discriminator. The application of the CFD directly in the ASIC promises to be more reliable and reduces the complication of evolving time-walk corrections throughout the operational lifetime of the detector system. We will present a summary of the measured performance of the FCFD for input signals generated by internal charge injection, LGAD signals from an infrared laser, and LGAD signals from minimum-ionizing particles. The mean time response for LGAD signals with charge ranging between 5 and 26 fC has been measured to vary no more than 10ps, orders of magnitude more stable than an uncorrected leading edge discriminator based measurement, and effectively removes the need for any additional time-walk correction. The measured contribution to the time resolution from the FCFD ASIC is found to be 10ps for signals with charge above 20fC.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2020

Study of CdZnTeSe Gamma-Ray Detector under Various Bias Voltages

Cadmium zinc telluride selenide (CdZnTeSe) is a new semiconductor material for gamma-ray detection and spectroscopy applications at room temperature. It has very high crystal quality compared to similar materials such as cadmium telluride and cadmium zinc telluride. The consistency of peak position in radiation detection devices is important to practical applications. In this paper, we have characterized a CdZnTeSe planar detector for bias voltages in the range of -20 V to -200 V and amplifier shaping time of 2, 3 and 6 μs. The peak position of the 59.6-keV gamma line of 241 Am becomes more stable as the absolute value of the applied voltage increases. The best energy resolution of 8.5% was obtained for the 59.6-keV gamma peak at -160 V bias voltage and 3-μs shaping time. The energy resolution was relatively stable in the -120 V to -200 V range for a 6-μs shaping time. Future work will be focused on the study of the peak position and energy resolution over time.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Reducing ion diffusion at atmospheric pressure through intermingled positive and negative ions

Increasing ion molecule reaction times for ambient ionization techniques can increase sensitivity of detection. Longer reaction times result in an increase in analyte signal relative to the reactant ion signal, however with a subsequent decrease in the total ion intensity. This loss in the total number of ions reaching the detector limits the extent to which increased reaction time can improve detection in practical applications. In this study ion loss was measured using either electric fields or gas flow to control ion transit time. Ion transit times ranged from 40 ms to 8s, which resulted in ion densities ranging from 5 x 10 6 to 2 x 10 4 ions/cm 3 , respectively. These results provide insights into practical reaction time limitations or experimental boundaries when exploring sensitivity enhancements in ambient ionization. When exploring longer reaction times with an atmospheric flow tube coupled to a mass spectrometer (AFT-MS), an additional corona discharge ionization source of the same polarity was added in an attempt to increase total ion signal, but no improvement in signal was observed. This observation suggested that there was a maximum ion density being reached by the corona discharge that could not be increased by adding more of the same polarity ions. A hypothesis was that intermingling both polarities of ions would reduce ion loss and increase the measured ion signal. When two corona discharge sources—one each of positive and negative polarity—were used simultaneously in an AFT-MS, the total ion signal of either polarity measured by the MS was approximately double the current from a single corona discharge source. An increase in the negative ion signal was also observed when ~10 parts-per-trillion vapor levels of an explosive (RDX) were introduced. In this case both the nitrate reactant ions and the RDX signal more than doubled with the addition of a corona discharge source producing positive ions. When intermingling positive and negative ions, an increase in ion current was also observed when the AFT was coupled directly to a Faraday detector or to an ion mobility spectrometer. This was the first demonstration of interfacing the AFT to an IMS. The observations and developments from this work will help in creating more portable instruments with improved sensitivity for detection of chemicals.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Thallium-based scintillators for high-resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy: Ce 3+ - doped Tl 2 LaCl 5 and Tl 2 LaBr 5

In this paper we report on the crystallographic and scintillation properties of Tl 2 LaCl 5 :Ce 3 + and Tl 2 LaBr 5 :Ce 3 + , two novel thallium-containing high-resolution scintillators for gamma-ray spectroscopy. Crystals of Tl 2 LaCl 5 :Ce 3 + and Tl 2 LaBr 5 :Ce 3 + were grown by the Vertical Bridgman method up to 1-inch diameter and 1-inch long. Single crystals of Tl 2 LaCl 5 :Ce 3 + and Tl 2 LaBr 5 :Ce 3 + belong to the orthorhombic system with space group 62 and have a density of 5.16 and 5.98 g/cm 3 , respectively. The scintillators show high light yields of up to 68,000 photons/MeV, excellent gamma-ray energy resolution of ≤ 3% at 662 keV, a fast scintillation decay, and a proportional response over a wide range of energies from 32 keV up to 1275 keV. Density Functional Theory calculations show that the Ce 3 + energy levels are inside the bandgap despite the smaller bandgap of Tl 2 LaCl 5 and Tl 2 LaBr 5 compared to K 2 LaCl 5 and K 2 LaBr 5 . Finally, a systematic Ce 3 + concentration study was performed for Tl 2 LaCl 5 :Ce 3 + and trends observed.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2021

Crystal growth, density functional theory, and scintillation properties of Tl 3 LnCl 6 :Ce 3+ and TlLn 2 Cl 7 :Ce 3+ (Ln = Y, Gd)

In this paper we report on the crystal growth, density functional theory (DFT) calculations and scintillation properties of Tl 3 LnCl 6 :Ce and TlLn 2 Cl 7 :Ce(Ln = Y, Gd). Crystals were grown by the Vertical Bridgman technique up to 16 mm in diameter and 25 mm long. Crystals of Tl 3 YCl 6 :Ce and Tl 3 GdCl 6 :Ce belong to the family of the Nesohalides which have the monoclinic crystal structure. Crystals of TlY 2 Cl 7 :Ce and TlGd 2 Cl 7 :Ce belong to the family of the Phyllohalides which have either the monoclinic or the orthorhombic crystal structure. We report the light yields of these Nesohalides and Phyllohalides are typically on the order of 35,000–40,000 ph/MeV.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2022

Skipper-CCDs: Current applications and future

This work briefly discusses the potential applications of the Skipper-CCD technology in astronomy and reviews its current use in dark matter and neutrino experiments. An overview of the ongoing efforts to build multi-kilogram experiments with these sensors is given, in the context of the Oscura experiment. First results from the characterization of Oscura sensors from the first 200 mm wafer-fabrication run with a new vendor are presented. The overall yield of the electron counting capability of these sensors is 71%. In conclusion, a noise of 0.087 e - RMS, with 1225 samples/pix, and a dark current of (0.031±0.013) e - /pix/day at 140 K were measured.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2025

Progress in end-to-end optimization of fundamental physics experimental apparata with differentiable programming

In this article we examine recent developments in the research area concerning the creation of end-to-end models for the complete optimization of measuring instruments. The models we consider rely on differentiable programming methods and on the specification of a software pipeline including all factors impacting performance — from the data-generating processes to their reconstruction and the inference on the parameters of interest — along with the careful specification of a utility function well aligned with the end goals of the experiment. Building on previous studies originated within the MODE Collaboration, we focus specifically on applications involving instruments for particle physics experimentation, as well as industrial and medical applications that share the detection of radiation as their data-generating mechanism. This report illustrates the most recent advancements in the area, and outlines, for each of the discussed applications as well as for automatic differentiation itself, ongoing and future work.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

BeyondPlanck: VII. Bayesian estimation of gain and absolute calibration for cosmic microwave background experiments

We present a Bayesian calibration algorithm for cosmic microwave background (CMB) observations as implemented within the global end-to-end BEYONDPLANCK framework and applied to the Planck Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) data. Following the most recent Planck analysis, we decomposed the full time-dependent gain into a sum of three nearly orthogonal components: one absolute calibration term, common to all detectors, one time-independent term that can vary between detectors, and one time-dependent component that was allowed to vary between one-hour pointing periods. Each term was then sampled conditionally on all other parameters in the global signal model through Gibbs sampling. The absolute calibration is sampled using only the orbital dipole as a reference source, while the two relative gain components were sampled using the full sky signal, including the orbital and Solar CMB dipoles, CMB fluctuations, and foreground contributions. We discuss various aspects of the data that influence gain estimation, including the dipole-polarization quadrupole degeneracy and processing masks. Comparing our solution to previous pipelines, we find good agreement in general, with relative deviations of -0.67% (-0.84%) for 30 GHz, 0.12% (-0.04%) for 44 GHz and -0.03% (-0.64%) for 70 GHz, compared to Planck PR4 and Planck 2018, respectively. We note that the BEYONDPLANCK calibration was performed globally, which results in better inter-frequency consistency than previous estimates. Additionally, WMAP observations were used actively in the BEYONDPLANCK analysis, which both breaks internal degeneracies in the Planck data set and results in an overall better agreement with WMAP. Finally, we used a Wiener filtering approach to smoothing the gain estimates. We show that this method avoids artifacts in the correlated noise maps as a result of oversmoothing the gain solution, which is difficult to avoid with methods like boxcar smoothing, as Wiener filtering by construction maintains a balance between data fidelity and prior knowledge. Although our presentation and algorithm are currently oriented toward LFI processing, the general procedure is fully generalizable to other experiments, as long as the Solar dipole signal is available to be used for calibration.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Quantification and visualization of uncertainties in reconstructed penumbral images of implosions at Omega

Penumbral imaging is a technique used in plasma diagnostics in which a radiation source shines through one or more large apertures onto a detector. To interpret a penumbral image, one must reconstruct it to recover the original source. The inferred source always has some error due to noise in the image and uncertainty in the instrument geometry. Interpreting the inferred source thus requires quantification of that inference’s uncertainty. Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms have been used to quantify uncertainty for similar problems but have never been used for the inference of the shape of an image. Because of this, there are no commonly accepted ways of visualizing uncertainty in two-dimensional data. This paper demonstrates the application of the Hamiltonian Monte Carlo algorithm to the reconstruction of penumbral images of fusion implosions and presents ways to visualize the uncertainty in the reconstructed source. This methodology enables more rigorous analysis of penumbral images than has been done in the past.

Instruments & Instrumentation↗
DOE OSTI2024

Experimental determination of axion signal power of dish antennas and dielectric haloscopes using the reciprocity approach

The reciprocity approach is a powerful method to determine the expected signal power of axion haloscopes in a model-independent way. Especially for open and broadband setups like the MADMAX dielectric haloscope the sensitivity to the axion field is difficult to calibrate since they do not allow discrete eigenmode analysis and are optically too large to fully simulate. The central idea of the reciprocity approach is to measure a reflection-induced test field in the setup instead of trying to simulate the axion-induced field. In this article, the reciprocity approach is used to determine the expected signal power of a dish antenna and a minimal dielectric haloscope directly from measurements. The results match expectations from simulation but also include important systematic effects that are too difficult to simulate. In particular, the effect of antenna standing waves and higher order mode perturbations can be quantified for the first time in a dielectric haloscope.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2020

Performance of the CMS Level-1 trigger in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV

At the start of Run 2 in 2015, the LHC delivered proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13\TeV. During Run 2 (years 2015–2018) the LHC eventually reached a luminosity of 2.1× 1034 cm-2s-1, almost three times that reached during Run 1 (2009–2013) and a factor of two larger than the LHC design value, leading to events with up to a mean of about 50 simultaneous inelastic proton-proton collisions per bunch crossing (pileup). The CMS Level-1 trigger was upgraded prior to 2016 to improve the selection of physics events in the challenging conditions posed by the second run of the LHC. This paper describes the performance of the CMS Level-1 trigger upgrade during the data taking period of 2016–2018. The upgraded trigger implements pattern recognition and boosted decision tree regression techniques for muon reconstruction, includes pileup subtraction for jets and energy sums, and incorporates pileup-dependent isolation requirements for electrons and tau leptons. In addition, the new trigger calculates high-level quantities such as the invariant mass of pairs of reconstructed particles. The upgrade reduces the trigger rate from background processes and improves the trigger efficiency for a wide variety of physics signals.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2024

The DAMIC-M Low Background Chamber

The DArk Matter In CCDs at Modane (DAMIC-M) experiment isdesigned to search for light dark matter (m$_{χ}$ < 10 GeV/c$^{2}$)at the Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane (LSM) in France. DAMIC-Mwill use skipper charge-coupled devices (CCDs) as a kg-scale activedetector target. Its single-electron resolution will enable eV-scaleenergy thresholds and thus world-leading sensitivity to a range ofhidden sector dark matter candidates. A DAMIC-M prototype, the LowBackground Chamber (LBC), has been taking data at LSM since2022. The LBC provides a low-background environment, which has beenused to characterize skipper CCDs, study dark current, and measureradiopurity of materials planned for DAMIC-M. It also allows testingof various subsystems like readout electronics, data acquisitionsoftware, and slow control. This paper describes the technicaldesign and performance of the LBC.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗