Versatile readout ASIC for Micro-patterned Gaseous Detectors – VersASIC

Micro-Pattern Gaseous Detectors (MPGD) are largely used in particle physics experiments, thanks to their low material budget, remarkable performance and rather low cost for large-size detectors. The future experiments, and in particular the EPIC experiment on the future electron-ion collider EIC (BNL, USA), expected to take data from 2030, are planning to have several of such detectors to track scattered particles. The present MPGD readout electronics show certain limitations making them partly incompatible with the needs of emerging experiments. Either the streaming DAQ paradigm is not supported, or the performance is dropping rapidly with the increase of detector capacitance, or the readout of time projection chambers is not feasible. In addition, the ASICs are produced in somewhat older technologies that may become obsolete soon.

The Sao Paulo University and the IRFU, CEA Saclay, are studying a new versatile radiation-hard multi-channel readout ASIC named "SALSA" adapted to most of the MPGD applications. This radiation hard chip is implemented in a modern 65 nm technology allowing to integrate more functionalities in the data treatment blocks (embedded DSP with inter-channel communication), to reach higher digitization and data processing speeds than with the presently used technologies, with a smaller die size and lower power consumption. Its configurable analog frontend will be compatible with large capacitance electrodes of tracking detectors, low amplitude signals from photon gaseous detectors, as well as long signals from TPCs. Its capability to work in streaming readout environment as well as in classical triggered data acquisition systems, and the possibility to accept a large range of input clock frequencies, make it able to be integrated easily in a large variety of experimental setups.

The project partners, with a rich and complementary experience in the development of frontend ASICs, plan to produce several prototypes to optimize the implementation for the different functional blocks of the chip. The SALSA readout ASIC will be an excellent candidate to be at the heart of a common MPGD readout electronics of the EPIC experiment at EIC and very likely on other experiments. This project is also included in the R&D roadmap proposed by ECFA, in the framework of the DRD1 collaboration devoted to the development of the gaseous detectors and their readout electronics.