Speaker
Description
High-Purity Germanium (HPGe) detectors, such as those employed in advanced gamma-ray spectroscopy arrays like AGATA, traditionally rely on discrete-component charge-sensitive preamplifiers (CSPs). These systems, while offering excellent energy resolution, impose significant power and area consumption. To overcome these limitations, the Nuclear Electronics Research Group of the University of Milan has developed a new integrated low-noise CSP using the AMS C35B4C3 350 nm CMOS technology. The circuit features a four-stage preamplifier with a pMOS input transistor optimized for low flicker noise and minimal input capacitance, followed by a high-performance Line Driver capable of driving 50 Ω loads. Despite a power consumption of only 25 mW, the ASIC achieves noise, linearity (0.3 ‰ INL), and energy resolution performance comparable to state-of-the-art circuits.
Tests with a 15 pF detector-equivalent capacitance and quasi-Gaussian shaping demonstrated full compatibility with existing nuclear spectroscopy systems. The reduced power consumption and compactness of the design open the way for direct integration within cryostats, paving the path toward next-generation low-noise, low-power and fully configurable front-end electronics for HPGe detector arrays.