AIDA: a 16-Channel Amplifier ASIC to Read Out the Advanced Implantation Detector Array for Experiments in Nuclear Decay Spectroscopy

We have designed a read-out ASIC for nuclear decay spectroscopy as part of the AIDA project - the Advanced Implantation Detector Array. AIDA will be installed in experiments at the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research in GSI, Darmstadt. The AIDA ASIC will measure the signals when unstable nuclei are implanted into the detector, followed by the much smaller signals when the nuclei subsequently decay. Implant energies can be as high as 20GeV; decay products need to be measured down to MeV within just a few microseconds of the initial implants. The ASIC uses two amplifiers per detector channel, one covering the 20GeV dynamic range, the other selectable over a 20MeV or 1GeV range. The amplifiers are linked together by diodes and bypass transistors which are normally switched off. The arrival of a large signal causes saturation of the low-energy amplifier and a fluctuation of the input voltage, which forward biases the link diode to the high-energy amplifier. The bypass transistors switch on and the remainder of the charge is integrated by the high-energy amplifier. The signal is shaped and stored by a peak-hold, then read out on a multiplexed output. Control logic resets the amplifiers and bypass circuit, allowing the low-energy amplifier to measure the subsequent decay signal. We present simulations and test results, demonstrating the AIDA ASIC operation over a wide range of input signals.