SBIR Phase I: Development of Low-Cost Single-Stage Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) Array Amplifiers for High-Resolution Particle and X-Ray Detectors

这个小型企业创新研究的第一阶段项目致力于开发一种基于squid的宽带低温粒子探测器放大芯片。NIST的Welty和Martinis最近提出并演示了一种实现宽带和廉价SQUID读出方案的新方法。这个SQUID放大器芯片集成了一个模拟SQUID和一个SQUID阵列。该公司目前正在生产和销售带有相关室温电子器件的SQUID放大器系统，其灵敏度优于2pa / Hz，带宽为2mhz，功耗约为1W，并且成本低。为了提高带宽，最近设计、制造并评估了由144个模拟SQUID集成的单级SQUID放大器芯片。本项目拟基于该单级SQUID芯片组装并演示一个完整的放大器系统，并继续优化其以获得更好的噪声特性和电流/磁灵敏度。该系统使SQUID放大器更有效地应用于x射线和粒子探测器的读出。为了商业化开发两级SQUID阵列放大器系统，该公司与John Martinis博士（NIST）、Blas Cabrera教授（斯坦福大学）和Richard Welty博士（原NIST）合作。这些合作努力将继续确保开发适合x射线和粒子探测器应用的系统。这种低成本的SQUID放大器的可用性将导致它们用于几乎所有的高能物理研究实验、高分辨率x射线光谱、成像探测器、粒子识别系统、用于绘制大脑功能的生物磁学以及检测飞机的腐蚀和裂缝。＊＊＊

*** 9760541 Radparvar This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses the development of a wide-bandwidth SQUID-based amplifier chip for cryogenic particle detectors. A novel approach for implementing a wide bandwidth and inexpensive SQUID readout scheme was recently proposed and demonstrated by Welty and Martinis at NIST. This SQUID amplifier chip integrates a single analog SQUID coupled to an array of SQUIDs. The firm is presently producing and marketing this SQUID amplifier system with associated room temperature electronics which exhibits a sensitivity of better than 2 pA/(Hz and bandwidth of 2 MHz, dissipates approximately 1W), and has low cost. To improve upon the bandwidth, a single-stage version of the SQUID amplifier chip integrated from 144 analog SQUIDs was recently designed, fabricated, and evaluated. This project proposes to assemble and demonstrate a complete amplifier system based on this single-stage SQUID chip and to continue its optimization for better noise characteristic and current/magnetic sensitivity. This system enables a more efficient application of the SQUID amplifiers to x-ray and particle detector readouts. In developing the two-stage SQUID array amplifier system for commercialization, the firm collaborated with Dr. John Martinis (NIST), Professor Blas Cabrera (Stanford University), and Dr. Richard Welty (formerly with NIST). These collaborative efforts will be continued to ensure development of a system suitable for x-ray and particle detector applications. The availability of such low-cost SQUID amplifiers would result in their use for nearly all high energy physics research experiments, high-resolution x-ray spectroscopy, imaging detectors, particle identification systems, biomagnetometry for the mapping of brain functions, and detection of corrosion and cracks in aircraft. ***