First experimental characterization of ROTOR: the new switched-current VLSI amplifier for X-ray spectroscopy with silicon drift detectors

In this paper we present the results of an experimental characterization of ROTOR, a new VLSI shaping amplifier conceived for multi-anode Silicon Drift Detectors, or other multi-element solid-state X-ray detection systems. The readout scheme is suitable for the demanding requirements of new X-ray spectroscopy experiments with synchrotron light, like X-ray holography, where both high count-rates and good energy resolutions are required. The circuit, which is of time-variant nature, features a trapezoidal weighting function obtained by means of a switched-current technique. A first prototype of the circuit, integrated with the 1 /spl mu/m/5 V JFET/CMOS technology of the Fraunhofer-Institut, Duisburg (Germany), has been characterized in spectroscopy measurements with a Silicon Drift Detector. The experimental results are presented and discussed in the work.