A distributed readout network ASIC for high-density electrode array targeting at neutrinoless double-beta decay search in a Time Projection Chamber

摘要

We present a distributed, self-organizing and fault-tolerant readout network Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) for the high-density electrode array targeting at neutrinoless double-beta decay search in Time Projection Chamber (TPC). A meter-sized plane tiled by approximately 1 × 10~5 single-electrode Topmetal-S sensors with a pitch of 5～10 mm is utilized to realize charge readout plane in a ton-scale high-pressure gaseous TPC. A sensor network is proposed under the premise of ensuring the tightness and radioactive purity of the high-pressure TPC. As a node of the network, each sensor not only generates and transmits its own data but also forwards the data from its adjacent sensors. Therefore, a Readout and Data-Routing Circuit (RDRC) is integrated into each sensor. To realize the RDRC, a distributed readout network ASIC is fabricated in a 130 nm CMOS Technology. A routing algorithm called Fault-Tolerance XY (FT-XY) is implemented to avoid the faulty sensors from disabling large sections of the network. A single ASIC and a 3 × 3 network have been tested. The test results show that the throughput of the 3 × 3 network reaches 110.52 Mbit/s.