SOI pixel circuits with synchronized TMC for time-of-flight stigmatic imaging mass spectrometry

Abstract

We propose SOI pixel circuits with a synchronized time memory cell (TMC) for time-of-flight stigmatic imaging mass spectrometry. The circuits simultaneously detect the position and the fine/coarse flight time of an ion for the MALDI-ToF mass spectrometer. We discuss the circuit design and present the simulation results of a prototype detector comprised of a 32 x 32 pixel array in which each pixel pitch is 40 um and the time resolution is a minimum of 1 ns. The results of transient analysis demonstrate the fully correct synchronous operation at a 100-MHz clock frequency and simultaneous 32-word SRAM writing.