Logo
ScienceStack
Table of Contents
Fetching ...
Sign In

Radiation tolerance tests on key components of the ePIC-dRICH readout card

S. Geminiani, B. R. Achari, N. Agrawal, M. Alexeev, C. Alice, R. Ammendola, P. Antonioli, C. Baldanza, L. Barion, A. Biagioni, A. Calivà, M. Capua, F. Capuani, A. Ciardiello, E. Cisbani, M. Chiosso, M. Contalbrigo, F. Cossio, M. Da Rocha Rolo, A. De Caro, D. De Gruttola, G. Dellacasa, D. Falchieri, S. Fazio, O. Frezza, N. Funicello, M. Garbini, N. Jacazio, F. Lo Cicero, A. Lonardo, R. Malaguti, F. Mammoliti, M. Martinelli, M. Mignone, C. Mingioni, M. Nenni, F. Noto, L. Occhiuto, A. Paladino, D. Panzieri, P. Perticaroli, S. Plavully, L. Polizzi, L. Pontisso, R. Preghenella, R. Ricci, L. Rignanese, C. Ripoli, C. Rossi, E. Rovati, N. Rubini, M. Ruspa, A. Saputi, F. Simula, F. Spizzo, U. Tamponi, E. Tassi, G. Torromeo, C. Tuvè, G. M. Urciuoli, S. Vallarino, P. Vicini, R. Wheadon

TL;DR

The paper investigates radiation tolerance of the ePIC dRICH RDO readout card by proton irradiation to assess susceptibility to cumulative TID and SEUs in a harsh detector environment. It details two irradiation campaigns targeting key components (AU15P FPGA, Si5326/Si5319 clocks, LTM4709 regulators, and microcontrollers) and shows that most devices survive the anticipated TID, with a destructive failure observed in a microcontroller, and quantifiable SEU rates requiring mitigation. The study provides MTBF estimates for memory and logic elements under radiation and outlines mitigation strategies, including CRAM scrubbing, firmware SEU handling, jitter refresh, and EN-based control, guiding design choices for reliable dRICH operation. The results inform design changes for the RDO chain and outline plans for additional irradiation tests to validate SEU mitigation in the full system.

Abstract

The dual-radiator RICH detector of the ePIC experiment will employ over 300000 SiPM pixels as photosensors, organized into more than 1000 Photon Detection Units. Each PDU is a compact module, approximately 5x5x12 cm^3 in size, including four custom ASICs connected to 256 SiPMs and an FPGA-based readout card (RDO) responsible for data acquisition and control. Considering the moderately harsh radiation environment expected in the dRICH detector, this study reports on proton irradiation tests performed on key components of the RDO card to assess their tolerance to cumulative Total Ionizing Dose (TID) and Single Event Effects (SEE). All tested components demonstrated radiation tolerance beyond the TID levels expected for the dRICH environment, with the exception of the ATtiny417 microcontroller, which showed destructive failure. Furthermore, as expected, the observed Single Event Upset (SEU) rates call for appropriate mitigation strategies in the final system design.

Radiation tolerance tests on key components of the ePIC-dRICH readout card

TL;DR

The paper investigates radiation tolerance of the ePIC dRICH RDO readout card by proton irradiation to assess susceptibility to cumulative TID and SEUs in a harsh detector environment. It details two irradiation campaigns targeting key components (AU15P FPGA, Si5326/Si5319 clocks, LTM4709 regulators, and microcontrollers) and shows that most devices survive the anticipated TID, with a destructive failure observed in a microcontroller, and quantifiable SEU rates requiring mitigation. The study provides MTBF estimates for memory and logic elements under radiation and outlines mitigation strategies, including CRAM scrubbing, firmware SEU handling, jitter refresh, and EN-based control, guiding design choices for reliable dRICH operation. The results inform design changes for the RDO chain and outline plans for additional irradiation tests to validate SEU mitigation in the full system.

Abstract

The dual-radiator RICH detector of the ePIC experiment will employ over 300000 SiPM pixels as photosensors, organized into more than 1000 Photon Detection Units. Each PDU is a compact module, approximately 5x5x12 cm^3 in size, including four custom ASICs connected to 256 SiPMs and an FPGA-based readout card (RDO) responsible for data acquisition and control. Considering the moderately harsh radiation environment expected in the dRICH detector, this study reports on proton irradiation tests performed on key components of the RDO card to assess their tolerance to cumulative Total Ionizing Dose (TID) and Single Event Effects (SEE). All tested components demonstrated radiation tolerance beyond the TID levels expected for the dRICH environment, with the exception of the ATtiny417 microcontroller, which showed destructive failure. Furthermore, as expected, the observed Single Event Upset (SEU) rates call for appropriate mitigation strategies in the final system design.
Paper Structure (6 sections, 1 equation, 3 figures, 1 table)

This paper contains 6 sections, 1 equation, 3 figures, 1 table.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. The RDO card
  3. Irradiation tests of key RDO components
  4. Test setup instrumentation and methods
  5. Results
  6. Conclusions and Outlook

Figures (3)

  • Figure 1: PDU design: SiPM arrays, the ALCOR ASIC front-end boards and the RDO readout card.
  • Figure 2: Left: schematic of the PDU readout concept, showing the signal path from the 64-channel SiPM arrays through the ALCOR Front-End Boards to the AU15P SRAM FPGA hosted on the RDO card. Right: layout of the RDO card, with the main FPGA components highlighted in different colors for each subsystem.
  • Figure 3: Top:$V_{\mathrm{out}}$ and IMON as a function of TID for the High-LTM4709 configuration. Bottom:$V_{\mathrm{out}}$ and IMON as a function of TID for the Low-LTM4709 configuration.