ADA5Dv0, an Analog Front-End Prototype for the Readout of LGAD Detectors

This paper presents an analog front-end channel for the readout of Low Gain Avalanche Diodes (LGADs) based particle detectors for the next generation of space-borne experiments. The circuit has been designed in a 65 nm CMOS technology. The charge generated by the detector is integrated by a Charge Sensitive Amplifier (CSA) with dynamic signal compression features to achieve improved noise performance, along with enhanced time resolution capabilities over the wide range of input charge to be detected (from 38 fC to 16 pC). An RC-CR shaper with selectable shaping time, a fast discriminator and a Time-to-Amplitude Converter (TAC) complete the readout circuit. An SNR around 300, together with a time resolution of slightly below 50 ps, is achieved in post-layout simulations.