- By:
- Gofron, Kazimierz J; Vacaliuc, Bogdan ; Wlodek, Jakub; Guyotte, Gregory S; Wall, Starra ; Giles, Seth J; Funama, Fumiaki
- Page Number:
- 90-94
- Book Title:
- International Conference on Accelerator and Large Experimental Physics Control Systems (19th)
- Publication Date:
- March 12, 2026
- Publisher Location:
- JACoW Publishing, Geneva, Switzerland
- Conference Name:
- ICALEPCS 2023: International Conference on Accelerator and Large Experimental Physics Control Systems
- Conference Location:
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Conference Sponsor:
- iThemba Labs
- View DOI Listing:
- https://doi.org/10.18429/JACoW-ICALEPCS2023-MO2AO05
Abstract
TimePix3 is a 65k hybrid pixel readout chip with simultaneous Time-of-Arrival (ToA) and Time-over-Threshold (ToT) recording in each pixel*. The chip operates without a trigger signal with a sparse readout where only pixels containing events are read out. The flexible architecture allows 40 MHits/s/cm² readout throughput, using simultaneous readout and acquisition by sharing readout logic with transport logic of superpixel matrix formed using 2x4 structure. The chip ToA records 1.5625 ns time resolution. The X-ray and charged particle events are counted directly. However, indirect neutron counts use 6Li fission in a scintillator matrix, such as ZnS(Ag). The fission space-charge region is limited to 5-9 um. A photon from scintillator material excites a photocathode electron, which is further multiplied in dual-stack MCP. The neutron count event is a cluster of electron events at the chip. We report on the EPICS areaDetector** ADTimePix3 driver that controls Serval*** using json commands. The driver directs data to storage and to a real-time processing pipeline and configures the chip. The time-stamped data are stored in raw .tpx3 file format and passed through a socket where the clustering software identifies individual neutron events. The conventional 2D images are available as images for each exposure frame, and a preview is useful for sample alignment. The areaDetector driver allows integration of time-enhanced capabilities of this detector into SNS beamlines controls and unprecedented time resolution.
