XPOL-III: a New-Generation VLSI CMOS ASIC for High-Throughput X-ray Polarimetry

TL;DR

The XPOL-III ASIC is a new high-speed, low-dead-time readout chip for X-ray polarimetry detectors, enabling next-generation space missions with improved data throughput and performance.

Contribution

It introduces a novel ASIC design that significantly reduces dead time and enhances trigger sensitivity for X-ray polarimetry detectors.

Findings

Achieved nearly tenfold reduction in dead time per event.

Maintained detector performance with no degradation in key capabilities.

Demonstrated suitability for future high-throughput X-ray missions.

Abstract

While the successful launch and operation in space of the Gas Pixel Detectors onboard the PolarLight cubesat and the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer demonstrate the viability and the technical soundness of this class of detectors for astronomical X-ray polarimetry, it is clear that the current state of the art is not ready to meet the challenges of the next generation of experiments, such as the enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry mission, designed to allow for a significantly larger data throughput. In this paper we describe the design and test of a new custom, self-triggering readout ASIC, dubbed XPOL-III, specifically conceived to address and overcome these limitations. While building upon the overall architecture of the previous generations, the new chip improves over its predecessors in several, different key areas: the sensitivity of the trigger electronics, the flexibility in the definition of the readout window, as well as the maximum speed for the serial event readout. These design improvements, when combined, allow for almost an order of magnitude smaller dead time per event with no measurable degradation of the polarimetric, spectral, imaging or timing capability of the detector, providing a good match for the next generation of X-ray missions.