CDT GmbH
CASCADE Detector
Technologies
represented© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbHAll rights reserved - 1 08.11.2006

by REPIC
in Japan

Dr. Christian J. Schmidt
andDr. Martin Klein• Detectors• Readout Electronics• Complete Systems• 10B Coatings
CDT GmbH
Hans-Bunte-Str. 8-1069123 Heidelberg
Germany
www.n-cdt.com

CASCADE Detector Technologies GmbH in Heidelberg

Berlin© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 2 -Frankfurt
Heidelberg
CDT is a university spin-off dedicatedto neutron detector technology.
It founds upon detector development
work since 1997 at the Heidelberg
physics institute.

REPIC

Heidelberg, a Pool of Synergies© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 3 -CDT as a Spin-Off builds upon this know
how and benefits today and in the futurefrom this infrastructure.
Long tradition developing gas detectors for High Energy Physics
experiments.



Neutron Physics at the Physikalische Institut:group of Prof. Dubbers.



Development and Production of Neutron
Supermirror Guides (S-DH GmbH)

ASIC-Laboratory: Development and test of highly
integrated readout-electronic (ASIC-Chips) for
various experiments and detector systems.

REPIC

CDT: Development, Production and Sale

Coating-Plants for 10Boron

Clean-Room for Detector-ProductionDevelopment and Test of Readout Electronics

Programming of Control Firmware and Software

Rely upon commercial suppliers for all
mechanical components and electronics
optical Gbit link

© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 4 -1GB
DDR RamCipix x1
Cipix y1

Cipix y0

Cipix x0

backplane of the detector

REPIC

Distributedin Japan© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbHAll rights reserved - 5 08.11.2006

through REPIC

Dr. Martin Klein
andDr. Christian J. Schmidt

CASCADE Neutron
Detector System using
GEM
a High-Rates Detector
for Neutron Applicationsin Science andResearch

CDT GmbH
Hans-Bunte-Str. 8-1069123 Heidelberg
Germany
www.n-cdt.com

Modern Detector Needs
 Large position sensitive detector areas, no blind areas:

0.1 m2 to several 10 m2
 Pixel size 1 mm2 to 1 cm2
 Detection efficiency 50% to 100%
 Rate capability far beyond 100 kHz (108 Hz over Detector)
 Time resolution better 1 µs for TOF-experiments© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 6 - Negligible sensitivity to gamma radiation
 Robust technology
 Serviceability

Maximize detector up-time!
Cut down-time from 1/2a to 1d

 Large scale manufacturability

REPIC

A prototype is not enough!

How to detect neutrons?
 Conversion of the neutral neutron into charged particles

via nuclear reaction
 Detection of the charged particles with detectors forionizing radiation: e.g.


Gas-Detectors



Scintillation-Detectors



Semiconductor-Detectors© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 7 - Efficient neutron converters:
 3He + n

→ 3H + p + 0.76 MeV

5330 b 6Li + n

→ 3H + α + 4.49 MeV

940 b

 157Gd + n → 158Gd + γ + e-(29-181 keV)
 10B + n

→ 7Li + α + 2.79 MeV (6%)→ 7Li* + α + 2.31 MeV (94%)

REPIC

O 7Li + γ (0.48 MeV)

254000 b
3838 b

Neutron Detector Technology
Today:
 Thousands of single 3He counter tubes
 spatial resolution (~ cm) low count rate capability (~ 20 kHz) time resolution (~ 10 µs)© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 8 -Tomorrow:

IN5 at the ILL/Grenobleprobe large area detectors (105 Pixel / 300x300 mm2)
 high rate capable (> 1 MHz / Pixel)
 very good time resolution (~ 1 µs)
 modern electronic (ASIC, FPGA)

detectormodule and:
 industrially producible
 serviceable, with spare parts available

REPIC

30 cm

 highest availability (off the shelf...) one touch operation

Solid Neutron Converters, Pro`s and Con`s
 A solid converter separates

Neutron conversion from gas detection.
 Operation at environmental pressure Æ lightweight detector housing.
 Large detection areas feasible with negligible blind area.
 No detector ageing with continuous purge of cheap counting gas(Ar, CO2 and others).
 Very simple and robust concept
Aluminium entrance-window© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 9 -Aluminium drift-electrode
Boron-layer Neutron conversion very localized

Æ time resolution ~ ns
 Poor detection efficiency

readout structure

REPICÆ 5% thermal neutrons
with a single 10B layer

Solid Neutron Converter Coatings
10B + n→ 7Li + α + 2.79 MeV

O 7Li*+ α + 2.31 MeV( 6%) 3838 b(94%)

 Overcome single layer dreadful detection efficiency withmultiple, cascaded layers.
Aluminium entrance-window
Aluminium drift-electrode
Boron-layer

Need a coated substrate that is opaque for Neutrons …

© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 10 -

 while transparent for charges.

The Sauli GEM can do just this!
 Also: rate-capability 107 Hz/cm2
readout structure

REPIC

The Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM)
Ions Electrons

Amplifier ModeIn hole high fields allow
Gas amplification 1 - 400
pictures from Sauli© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 11 -Transparent ModeAt gain 1, electric fields
transport charges throughthe holes

The GEM inherently introduces high rates capability of 10 MHz/cm2 !

REPIC

taken from Sauli et al.: http://www.cern.ch/GDD

CASCADE: Multiple Boron Layers on GEMs
→ 7Li + α + 2.79 MeV

10B + n

O 7Li*+ α + 2.31 MeV

( 6%)
(94%)

GEMs can be operated to
be transparent for charges!

© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 12 -Æ they can be cascaded!
Each one can carry two
Boron layers



Last one operated as
amplifier

REPIC

Accumulate single layer detection efficiency
up to 50% for thermal neutrons (1.8Å) andup to 75% for cold neutrons (5Å).

3838 bDetection Efficiency
Detection Efficiency© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 13 -

0,9
0,8
0,7
0,6

10 coated GEM foils

0,5
0,4
0,3
0,2
0,1
0,0

REPIC

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Neutron Wavelength [Angström]

14

The Assembled 2D-Detector: the neutron „GameCube“ *Power supply
and thermal
management© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 14 -EMI shielding(500 µm Al)
Detector entrance
window (100 µm Al)
FPGA based
readout board
ASIC frontendelectronic

REPIC

GEM-foils coated with 10B
and 2D readout structure* GameCube is a trademark of Nintendo.

Neutron-Pictures with the 2D-200 CASCADE Detector System
0,070

120
0,095

Water
Flow-Controller

old PC-Mouse

0,13

100

0,18

0,24

80

0,32

0,44

60

0,59

Tesa-Tape

40

1,1

1,5

Pixel (1.56mm)© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 15 -

0,81

REPIC

20

2,0

2,7

3,5

20

40

60

80

Pixel (1.56mm)

100

120

measured at
instrument EKN
at FZ Jülich

Position Resolution and Contrast
PSF measured using a beam of 0.3mm diameter
8

10

200

8E7
2,6E7

7
6

Counts

10

8,3E6

160

FWHM = 2.6mm

5

10

4

10

© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 16 -

2,8E5

120

8,9E4
2,9E4

80

9,3E3
3E3

3

9,6E2

40

10

3,1E2
100

2

10 0

2,7E6
8,6E5

Y Axis [mm]

10

0

13

26

38

51

64

77

90

102 115 128

040

Position [mm]REPIC

measured at instrument EKN at FZ Jülich

80

120

X Axis [mm]

160

200

Log- Scale!

TOF Dynamics Achieved 2003 at PF1A/ILL
7Time of Flight measurements2
at ILL/ PF1A on a single readout strip of 1cm

10

Maximum inst. rate: 2.7 MHz
Maximum detected ever: 4 MHz
Limit due to pre-amp pulse width
20

1E9
4.6E8
2.2E8
1E8
4.6E7
2.2E7
1E7
4.6E6
2.2E6
1E6
4.6E5
2.2E5
1E5

18

5

10

Background due to- neutron gas at ILL/PF1A- and leaking chopper!

4

10

3

10

Neutron Wavelength [Angstrom]

Instantaneous Rate [Hz]© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 17 -

6

10

2

Flux Through 0.4 x 2.0 cm at PF1 A
as Measured with the CASCADE Detector
3d n/(dλ dt dx) [Hz/(Angstrom cm)]

16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

2

10

-25

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

5

Lateral Angle [mrad]
0

5

10

15

20

25

Neutron TOF for 108cm [ms]

REPIC

30

10

15

20

Reflectometry at HADAS/FZJ
Reflectometer HADAS: slit collimation, λ = 4.52 Åstandard
HADAS detector© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 18 -CASCADEdetector

REPIC

CASCADE 2D-200 Readout System
N‘s

CASCADE
Detector
Frontend

ASIC -Board(X1)
ASIC -Board(Y0)
ASIC -Board(Y1)© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 19 -OpticalGigabit Link

ASIC-Board(X0)

FPGA based
Readout board

SRAM (8 MByte)
for monitoring
DDR-SDRAM(1 GByte) for
histogramming• 4 CIPix ASIC reading 128x128 channels• FPGA based readout, control of CIPix,
data-preprocessing and compression• boards mounted directly on the rear of the detector• electrically decoupled from host computer

REPIC

80 MByte/s

Optical Gigabit
LinkPC• Data acquisition:
on board RAM for 256 Mio.
Counters (32 bit), giving:• 16 k pixels with• 16 k timebins each

• Fast On-Line Monitoring:
1 Mio. Counters (32 bit) freely
configurabel: e.g.
• 16 k pixels time integrated• 16 k pixels integrating TOF in awindow from e.g. 10ms to 11ms

CIPix Readout ASIC
CASCADE shifts High-Rates-Bottleneck to electronic readout !
High Energy Physics has been there! They provide solutions:

Heidelberg ASIC Lab developed
64 channel X 10 MHz
ASIC pre-amp and discriminator© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 20 -on one chip: The CIPix for H1
CIPix and supporting electronics willpump neutron data to the computer.

No more analogue hf-simulations tocope with readout distortions….
Just read and digitise signals individually

REPIC© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 21 -CIPix Architecture: 64 channels in parallelREPICFPGA-based Readout of the 2D-200 Detector
optical Gbit link

1GB
DDR Ramactual design of
the ASIC board© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 22 -ASIC x1

ASIC y1

ASIC x0

ASIC y0

size: 49mm x 58mm

backplane of the detector

Integral Count Rate: 1MHz; local count rate: 333kHz (10% dead time)

REPIC

Detector Tests at JAEA JRR-3 on Nov. 6th 2006
One day beam time at JRR-3, first time test in Japan.
Many thanks to Dr. Kazuhiko Soyama for allowing the beam time
as well as the very pleasureable experimental work together.

© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 23 -81 kHz overall rate

Beam on, log scale

REPIC

Beam off, log scale

Measurement of the Spatial Resolution at JAEA

Intensity© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 24 -projection to y-axis

horizontal narrow slit,~0.5mm wide

FWHM
~ 1.6 ch* 1.56 mm= 2.6 mmy-channel number

REPIC Pixel Size 1.56 mm, Analogue Resolution ~ 2.6 mm

Customized Systems:
CASCADE-U for Ultra
Cold Neutrons(UCN)© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbHAll rights reserved - 25 08.11.2006

very low backgroundapplication!

Dr. Martin Klein
andDr. Christian J. Schmidt

CDT GmbH
Hans-Bunte-Str. 8-1069123 Heidelberg
Germany
www.n-cdt.com

CASCADE-U for UCN and VCN Detection
CASCADE-U Detection Principlen Entrance n

GEMnWindow
Drift electrode

Entrance gap

Boron layer
Converter gap

Transfer gap© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 26 -KaptonCopper Gas In

Adapter to Wilsonflange
Teflon ringTop-flange
Sidewall-flange
Bottom-flange

REPIC

GEM
Readout structure

Gas Out

UCN-Results measured at ILL
1.0
0.9

10000

Counts8000

detection efficientcy

UCN's
10
50 nm B

6000

4000

2000

0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5

200nm 10B

0.4

101nm 10B

0.3
0.2

57nm 10B
4

6

8

10

UCN velocity [m/s]© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 27 -

0

25

50

75

100 125 150 175 200 225 250

PHA channel numberVery low background < 0.01Hz.

In combination with the ASIC/FPGA readout electronic:


REPIC



High count rate capability of up to 100MHz.

Polarisation analysis through iron coated entrance window.

12

CASCADE DAQ-Box: one touch solution for a single ASIC
ASIC board© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 28 -USB 2.0
interface

FPGA

Positions for
up to 4 Submodules

Example for two
Sub-modulesUSB 2.0-Interface to PC, Software-Library and Windows Control Program.



FPGA for event reconstruction, histograming and interface to ASIC.

Memory sub-module (16 MB) to store data (histogram) on board.

Interface to ASIC board (direct connection or via flat cable).

REPIC

Conclusion
CDT is an expert on high rates, high resolution position sensitive
detection of neutrons. We offer: CASCADE 2D-200, a standard GEM-based system for detection ofthermal and cold neutrons.
 highly integrated readout electronics.
 application specific systems for UCN and VCN.
 application specific systems for very high time resolution (MIEZE).

© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 29 -

 customized detector solutions.
 accessories:
 gas flow controllers.
 10B coatings.

In Japan CDT is represented by REPIC.

REPIC

Thank you very much

© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 30 -for yourattention!

REPIC© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbHAll rights reserved - 31 08.11.2006

Appendix

Dr. Martin Klein
andDr. Christian J. Schmidt

CDT GmbH
Hans-Bunte-Str. 8-1069123 Heidelberg
Germany
www.n-cdt.com

The Scaleable CASCADE Detector Concept
Disentangled Detection-Mechanism
1. Neutrons are converted by a solid converter, no pressure vesselImagine a large area detector that you can lift with one hand

© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 32 -2. Fragmentation products deposit energy in low-cost counting gas atambient pressurecontinuous purge of counting gas gives long term stabilitydetector can be serviced within a few hours, no UHV cleaning needed

3. GEM-amplifier raises Signal/Noise beyond needs
4. Simple readout structures: charges are collected by simple conducting
structures of macroscopic size (e.g. strips, pads, circular patterns, etc.)
5. Highly integrated ASIC/FPGA readout electronics

REPIC

CASCADE: TOF-Time Resolution
 Inherent time resolution potential on the nanosecond scale.

Æ Neutron conversion localized to within 1µm.
Æ Identify layer of conversion via GEM-readout.

© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 33 -

 TOF-Resolution

supported by
CIPix readout
down toΔt = 100ns.

REPIC

Pulse Height Spectra for a single Boron Layer
3000

0.4 µm2500
BoronFit, 400 nm
measured pulse
height spectrum

1200

1000

© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 34 -800

CountsCounts

2000

1500

600

1000

400

500

200

0

0

REPIC

measured pulse
height spectrum
Fit, 2300 nm

2.3 µmBoron

0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0

energy [MeV]energy [MeV]Cumulated detection efficiency for thermal neutrons (1.8 Å)
100
90

1

[%]

80
50

70
60
50
40

© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 35 -

30
20
10
0

REPIC

0

1

2

3

Parameter: Number of doubly coated GEMs

4

© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbHAll rights reserved - 36 08.11.2006

A look into
neutron physics

Dr. Christian J. Schmidt
andDr. Martin Klein• Neutron Physics• Neutron Sources• Applications

CDT GmbH
Hans-Bunte-Str. 8-1069123 Heidelberg
Germany
www.n-cdt.com

Neutron Physics
Neutron explores solids:
Structure and Dynamicchange of shape of DNA
in dependency of H2O
molecules

Neutron explores
magnetic fields in solids© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 37 -e.g. NEC: non volatile RAM
Market Volume:

HT supra conductor:
MgB2: Tc = 40 K

~ $ 1000 Bill. over 10 years

Research and Productionneed Neutrons

modern Neutron Sources ($ 2 Bill.)

REPIC

Neutron sees Protons:
Contrast Variation H } D SNS J-PARC
 ESS

USA
JAPAN
EU

2006
2008
2010/12

Infrastructure for basic research with Neutrons

Neutron Sourcee. g. FRM II

Instrument Hall withmore than 20 Instruments© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 38 -Detector Array

Inelastic Scattering SpectrometerIN5 at ILL / Grenoble
REPIC

2m

Big Science for „Everybody“
View in thereactor poolof the ILL© Copyright 2006 CDT GmbH - 39 -Reactor Sources:
 ILL / Grenoble

Spallation Sources:

 FRM II / München

 ISIS / England HMI / Berlin

 PSI / Schweiz

 FZJ / Jülich

 IPNS / USA HIFAR / Australien SNS / USA (2006)

 IBR / Rußland

 J-PARC / Japan (2008)

 more than 20 other Sources
REPIC

 ESS

SNS in the USA isunder construction