Energy resolution and power consumption of Timepix detector for different detector settings and saturation of front-end electronics

Abstract

An ongoing research project in the area of radiation monitoring employing the Timepix technology from the CERN-based Medipix2 Collaboration profits greatly from optimizing the precision of the position and energy information obtained for the detected quanta. Wider applications of the Timepix technology as a radiation monitor also puts new demands on the precision and speed of the energy calibration. We compare the analog signal in pixel front-end electronics for different sources used during detector evaluation and energy calibration. We use the direct measurement of the analog signal from the pixel preamplifier and comparator to characterize pulse shape differences for different sources, e.g. internal test pulses, external test pulses, ionizing radiation, etc. and study their interchangeability.