I. Sidelnik

Commercial CMOS pixel array for beta and gamma radiation particle counting

We present the response of a Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) CMOS image sensor to different ionizing particles, with the aim of developing a low cost radiation detector. We first analyze the images obtained by exposing the imagers to X-rays from 55Fe, gamma and beta particles from 137Cs. Then the detector is successfully used to monitor different gamma fluxes produced by the RA6 nuclear research reactor, Argentina, during a startup procedure.

Analysis of SRAM-Based FPGA SEU Sensitivity to Combined EMI and TID-Imprinted Effects

This work proposes a novel methodology to evaluate SRAM-based FPGAs susceptibility with respect to Single-Event Upset (SEU) as a function of noise on VDD power pins, TotalIonizing Dose (TID) and TID-imprinted effect on BlockRAM cells. The proposed procedure is demonstrated for SEU measurements on a Xilinx Spartan 3E FPGA operating in an 8 MV Pelletron accelerator for the SEU test with heavy-ions, whereas TID was deposited by means of a Shimadzu XRD-7000 X-ray diffractometer. In order to observe the TID-induced imprint effect inside the BlockRAM cells, a second SEU test with neutrons was performed with Americium/Beryllium (241AmBe). The noise was injected into the power supply bus according to the IEC 61.000-4-29 standard and consisted of voltage dips with 16.67% and 25% of the FPGAs VDD at frequencies of 10 Hz and 5 kHz, respectively. At the end of the experiment, the combined SEU failure rate, given in error/bit.day, is calculated for the FPGAs BlockRAM cells. The combined failure rate is defined as the average SEU failure rate computed before and after exposition of the FPGA to the TID.

X-ray micrographic imaging system based on COTS CMOS sensors

This paper presents the use of Commercial Off The Shelf CMOS image sensors for the acquisition of X-ray images with high spatial resolution. The X-ray images, with application in biology, electronic components inspection or paleontology research, are obtained with 8 keV photons from a Cu tube. The quantum efficiency of the detector is estimated using attenuation lengths of photons in the sensor, and compared to traditional scintillator conversion layers.