Commissariat a L'energie Atomique

Commissariat &#xc0; L'&#xc9;nergie Atomique Et Aux &#xc9;nergies Alternatives

Jean-Pierre Rostaing

Patrice Ouvrier-Buffet

Olivier Monnet

Arnaud Peizerat

Corinne Mestais

Patrick Villard

Olivier Billoint

Bertrand Dupont

Patrick Audebert

Jean-Paul Bonnefoy

Arnaud Verdant

Edith Beigne

Francis Glasser

Jean-Alain Nicolas

Alain Chapuis

Michael Tchagaspanian

Jean Du Port De Poncharra

Margaux Vigier

Fabrice Guellec

Michaël Tchagaspanian

Lo&iuml;ck Verger

Vigier Margaux

Anaïs Mollard

Ren&eacute; Dupre

Nicolas Monnier

Michaël Tchgaspanian

An electronic device includes a reference resistor, two first terminals between which the reference resistor is connected, and two second terminals between which a modified impedance value of the reference resistor is intended to be obtained. The electronic device also includes a first circuit that applies between the two second terminals a voltage substantially equal to that between the two first terminals, and a second circuit that flows between the two second terminals a second current the value of which corresponds to a fraction of a first current for flowing in the reference resistor between the two first terminals.

Device modifying the impedance value of a reference resistor

A summing circuit, including a capacitor, a switching circuit capable of connecting the capacitor between a first node (ana) and a second node (ref), between a third node and the second node in a first connection direction or between the third node and the second node in a second connection direction, an integrator coupled to the third node, a hysteresis comparator coupled to the output of the integrator, and a counter coupled to the output of the hysteresis comparator.

Summing circuit

A terahertz image matrix sensor including a matrix of pixels and comprising, for each pixel, an antenna for receiving a terahertz radiation modulated by a signal at a modulation frequency and a synchronous filter with N pathways, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 4, each pathway including a capacitive element and at least one first breaker controlled by a first signal at said modulation frequency.

Terahertz image sensor

A detection device comprises an array of pixels, each pixel including a sensor and generating an oscillating signal (S); and a frequency detection circuit () for detecting the frequency of the oscillating output signal of one or more of the pixels, the frequency detection circuit having: a window generation circuit () adapted to generate at least one output signal (WIN_SEN) indicating the start and end times of a first time duration (TWINDOW) corresponding to a plurality of periods of the oscillating output signal; and one or more counters () adapted to receive at least one reference signal (TCOUNT, TREAD) indicating the start and end times of a reference time duration (TREF), and to quantify a difference between the first time duration and the reference time duration.

Method and circuit for reading an array of oscillators

A device converts a random stream of voltage pulses into a regulated stream of digital data. The device includes a stream regulation device and an analog-digital converter at the output of the stream regulation device. The converter undertakes an analog-digital conversion at a conversion frequency. The stream regulation device includes a buffer memory of capacity K, where K is an integer and K&#x2267;1, in which the voltage signal for each received pulse is stored. Reading of the buffer memory is regulated at the conversion frequency.

Device for regulating a random stream of voltage pulses at the input of an analog-to-digital converter

A device for detecting ionizing radiation results in charges forming in a sensor covered with a plurality of electrodes that are each connected to an electronic circuit adapted to deliver, to a processing module, a first signal indicating when charge has been collected by the electrode connected to said circuit. Each central circuit is adapted, when a central electrode has collected charge, to determine a possible detection overlap with one of the adjacent electrodes; to determine a priority detection overlap with an adjacent priority circuit; to transmit or receive to/from the adjacent priority circuit a request to participate in a detection overlap and to receive or transmit from/to the adjacent priority circuit an indication of availability; and to transmit said first signal except in the case where an availability indication has been transmitted to the adjacent priority circuit.

Semiconductor-detector-based method and device for detecting ionising radiation

An electronic device to simply and efficiently measure energy of incident photons in a very short time and with a very high count rate and high precision, starting from current pulses from an ionizing electromagnetic radiation detector, the electronic device including an analog delay line with switched capacitors with controlled loss at an output from a charge preamplifier.

Device for converting current pulses into voltage pulses

An image sensor includes a plurality of self-resetting pixels including: a mechanism converting detected electromagnetic energy into a proportional electric current; an integrating capacitor including a mechanism for fast charging to a first electric level and for controlled discharging to a second electric level; a mechanism for comparing the controlled discharge; a loopback mechanism, allowing automatic repetition of fast charging and controlled discharging cycles and counting of number of cycles occurring during a determined integration time; a mechanism measuring a residual electric charge present in the integrating capacitor on completion of the integration period; and a calibration mechanism using the measurement mechanism to measure and compensate for operating and production dispersions specific to each pixel.

Image sensor

An integrated circuit intended to be assembled with an electromagnetic radiation detector, the integrated circuit comprising a device for processing signals stemming from the detector, the processing device being covered with at least one conductive plate for protection against electromagnetic radiation, intended to be placed between said detector and said integrated circuit, said conductive plate including one or more apertures letting through conductive elements providing an electrical connection between the processing device and the detector.

Electromagnetic coupling device of an electromagnetic radiation detector

This device for detecting an electromagnetic radiation, comprises a matrix of juxtaposed elementary sensors (), each associated with a common substrate in which a sequential addressing read circuit is prepared, specific to each of the sensors, thereby constituting as many pixels, the interaction of the radiation with the sensors generating electric charges to be converted to voltage for their subsequent processing, each of the said sensors being biased via an injection transistor (), of which one of the terminals is connected to an integration capacitance (), storing the electric charges generated by the sensor during an integration phase, and whereof the quantity of charges is then processed for conversion to voltage. Each of the pixels of the said matrix is associated with a current limiting device (), for limiting the current generated by each of the elementary sensors to a maximum called reference current, regardless of the radiation flux received by the pixel concerned.

Device for detecting an electromagnetic radiation with current limitation

The particle detection circuit comprises a plurality of basic circuits. Each basic circuit comprises a particle detector element connected to an associated counter and a summing circuit having a first input connected to the output of the counter. Basic circuits, each forming a subpixel, are grouped together by series connection of their summing circuits to form a pixel. The output of the pixel, formed by the output of the summing circuit of a last basic circuit of the pixel, supplies counting signals representative of the number of particles detected by the set of basic circuits of the pixel. Disabling certain basic circuits of the pixel, by selective zero resetting of the first input of their summing circuit, can enable only the particles detected by certain zones of the pixel to be counted.

Particle detection circuit comprising basic circuits forming subpixels

A device for measuring exposure to radiations including at least a component for detecting photons including at least a component for detecting photons or particles associated with at least one circuit for acquiring and counting detection events. The response curve of the number of counted events versus the number of photons or particles sensed by each detection component is a monotonous increasing curve.

Radiation detecting system with double resetting pulse count

An apparatus adapted to measure of current pulses that are very brief (a few nanoseconds) and of very low amplitude (a few microamps), such as those that can emanate from a photodetector used for the optical transmission of data at very high speed, or from a photodetector (photodiode or photoconductor) subject to a radiation that is of pulsed nature (in particular: X, gamma and other radiations). The circuit includes an integration stage (IT), a differentiation stage (DR), and a subtraction stage (SS). The time constants Rp.Cint and R.Cof the integration and differentiation stages are preferably equal.

Device for measuring very short current pulses

The invention concerns a radiation detection device comprising a plurality of detector elements (DET, DET), each detector element (DET) being associated with a circuit (AMP-CMP) for acquiring pulse signals (H) and for counting (CNT) detection events. The invention provides for means (COR) of correlating detection events corresponding to at least two detector elements (DET/DET).

Radiation detection system allowing improved counting of events

A charge pump including n cells in series, each cell comprising a shift capacitor (Cdi) and a storage capacitor (Cmi), respectively having a shift parasitic capacitor (Cpi) and a storage parasitic capacitor (Cqi). The presence of the parasitic capacitors (Cpi, Cqi) leads to a loss of charge transmitted to the cell. Each cell comprises charge injection means (Cdinji, Cminji) for partially or totally compensating, or even overcompensating, the lost charge quantity. The charge pump may be implemented in silicon-on-insulator technology.

Growing community of inventors

La Cote Saint-Andre, France

Jean-Pierre Rostaing