Paper
Development of Readout Electronics for a High-Speed Event-Driven Neutron Imaging Detector Based on Timepix4
Authors
Qicai Li, Hongbin Liu, Dongcheng Cai, Haoran Guo, Xingfen Jiang, Haiyun Teng, Kai Wang, Xiuku Wang, Shengxiang Wang, Zhijia Sun, Yubin Zhao, Jianrong Zhou
Abstract
As the Chinese Spallation Neutron Source enters Phase II, the increase in proton beam power will lead to a further boost in the intensity of pulsed neutron beams. To address the demand for higher event-rate readout electronics for energy-resolved neutron imaging detectors, we have developed a high-performance readout electronics system based on the Timepix4 chip. The prototype electronics system comprises a Timepix4 chip board and a high-performance digital board, which are interconnected through a custom FMC interface. The advantage of this system is its ability to achieve the full bandwidth readout of 160 Gbps for a single Timepix4 chip. The electronics system, based solely on a single ZYNQ-MPSOC chip, is capable of fully meeting the required performance specifications within a compact form factor of 8 cm x 30 cm. Furthermore, the system features a high-capacity external SODIMM memory interface (supporting up to 32 GB), which ensures stable data readout through a single 40 Gbps QSFP+ interface. As of the present moment, notable progress has been achieved, including the successful establishment of 16 data channels between Timepix4 and FPGA that operate error-free and stably at a speed of 5.12 Gbps, which is half of the maximum theoretical speed of 10.24 Gbps. The threshold standard deviation across all pixels is less than 50 e- after equalization. And the clear structural results obtained from X-ray experiments indicate that the functionality is essentially complete, allowing further testing.
Metadata
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"raw_xml": "<entry>\n <id>http://arxiv.org/abs/2603.09499v1</id>\n <title>Development of Readout Electronics for a High-Speed Event-Driven Neutron Imaging Detector Based on Timepix4</title>\n <updated>2026-03-10T11:03:06Z</updated>\n <link href='https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.09499v1' rel='alternate' type='text/html'/>\n <link href='https://arxiv.org/pdf/2603.09499v1' rel='related' title='pdf' type='application/pdf'/>\n <summary>As the Chinese Spallation Neutron Source enters Phase II, the increase in proton beam power will lead to a further boost in the intensity of pulsed neutron beams. To address the demand for higher event-rate readout electronics for energy-resolved neutron imaging detectors, we have developed a high-performance readout electronics system based on the Timepix4 chip. The prototype electronics system comprises a Timepix4 chip board and a high-performance digital board, which are interconnected through a custom FMC interface. The advantage of this system is its ability to achieve the full bandwidth readout of 160 Gbps for a single Timepix4 chip. The electronics system, based solely on a single ZYNQ-MPSOC chip, is capable of fully meeting the required performance specifications within a compact form factor of 8 cm x 30 cm. Furthermore, the system features a high-capacity external SODIMM memory interface (supporting up to 32 GB), which ensures stable data readout through a single 40 Gbps QSFP+ interface. As of the present moment, notable progress has been achieved, including the successful establishment of 16 data channels between Timepix4 and FPGA that operate error-free and stably at a speed of 5.12 Gbps, which is half of the maximum theoretical speed of 10.24 Gbps. The threshold standard deviation across all pixels is less than 50 e- after equalization. And the clear structural results obtained from X-ray experiments indicate that the functionality is essentially complete, allowing further testing.</summary>\n <category scheme='http://arxiv.org/schemas/atom' term='physics.ins-det'/>\n <published>2026-03-10T11:03:06Z</published>\n <arxiv:comment>Published in JINST</arxiv:comment>\n <arxiv:primary_category term='physics.ins-det'/>\n <arxiv:journal_ref>JINST 20 (2025) C02031</arxiv:journal_ref>\n <author>\n <name>Qicai Li</name>\n </author>\n <author>\n <name>Hongbin Liu</name>\n </author>\n <author>\n <name>Dongcheng Cai</name>\n </author>\n <author>\n <name>Haoran Guo</name>\n </author>\n <author>\n <name>Xingfen Jiang</name>\n </author>\n <author>\n <name>Haiyun Teng</name>\n </author>\n <author>\n <name>Kai Wang</name>\n </author>\n <author>\n <name>Xiuku Wang</name>\n </author>\n <author>\n <name>Shengxiang Wang</name>\n </author>\n <author>\n <name>Zhijia Sun</name>\n </author>\n <author>\n <name>Yubin Zhao</name>\n </author>\n <author>\n <name>Jianrong Zhou</name>\n </author>\n <arxiv:doi>10.1088/1748-0221/20/02/C02031</arxiv:doi>\n <link href='https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/20/02/C02031' rel='related' title='doi'/>\n </entry>"
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