Megapixels @ Megahertz -- The AGIPD High-Speed Cameras for the European XFEL

• Published in: arXiv.org
• Main Authors: Trunk, Ulrich, Allahgholi, Aschkan, Becker, Julian, Delfs, Annette, Dinapoli, Roberto, Göttlicher, Peter, Graafsma, Heinz, Greiffenberg, Dominic, Hirsemann, Helmut, Jack, Stefanie, Klyuev, Alexander, Krüger, Hans, Kuhn, Manuela, Laurus, Torsten, Marras, Alessandro, Mezza, Davide, Mozzanica, Aldo, Poehlsen, Jennifer, Ofir Shefer Shalev, Sheviakov, Igor, Schmitt, Bernd, Schwandt, Jörn, Shi, Xintian, Smoljanin, Sergej, Zhang, Jiaguo, Zimmer, Manfred
• Format: Paper Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 06.08.2019
• Subjects: Data transmission; Digitization; Free electron lasers; High speed cameras; Image acquisition; Image transmission; Low noise; Photons; Physics - Instrumentation and Detectors; Pixels; Sensors
• ISSN: 2331-8422
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.1908.02103

The European XFEL is an extremely brilliant Free Electron Laser Source with a very demanding pulse structure: trains of 2700 X-Ray pulses are repeated at 10 Hz. The pulses inside the train are spaced by 220 ns and each one contains up to \(10^{12}\) photons of 12.4 keV, while being \(\le 100\) fs in length. AGIPD, the Adaptive Gain Integrating Pixel Detector, is a hybrid pixel detector developed by DESY, PSI, and the Universities of Bonn and Hamburg to cope with these properties. It is a fast, low noise integrating detector, with single photon sensitivity (for \(\text{E}_{\gamma} \ge 6\) keV) and a large dynamic range, up to \(10^4\) photons at 12.4 keV. This is achieved with a charge sensitive amplifier with 3 adaptively selected gains per pixel. 352 images can be recorded at up to 6.5 MHz and stored in the in-pixel analogue memory and read out between pulse trains. The core component of this detector is the AGIPD ASIC, which consists of \(64 \times 64\) pixels of \(200 {\mu}\text{m} \times 200 {\mu}\text{m}\). Control of the ASIC's image acquisition and analogue readout is via a command based interface. FPGA based electronic boards, controlling ASIC operation, image digitisation and 10 GE data transmission interface AGIPD detectors to DAQ and control systems. An AGIPD 1 Mpixel detector has been installed at the SPB experimental station in August 2017, while a second one is currently commissioned for the MID endstation. A larger (4 Mpixel) AGIPD detector and one to employ Hi-Z sensor material to efficiently register photons up to \(\text{E}_{\gamma} \approx 25\) keV are currently under construction.