Multi-chip front-end electronics LYRA for X and γ Ray detector for HERMES mission

We present the experimental results of the Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), called LYRA, specifically designed for the High-Energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of Satellites (HERMES) mission concept, a constellation of nano-satellites able to detect and localize high-energy rapid transient events (up to 2.2 MeV) as the Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) from the deep space. LYRA has been desied for the detection system composed by a combination of Gadolinium Aluminum Gallium Garnet (GAGG) scintillators for high-energy photons, coupled to a matrix of 120 silicon drift detectors (SDD), used for detecting both scintillation light and low-energy photons. The LYRA ASIC has been conceived with a multi-chip architecture: 120 LYRA Front-End chips (LYRA-FE) are placed in close proximity to the anodes of the SDD matrix for a first processing of the detector signals and trasmit them in current mode to four 32-channel LYRA Back-End chips (LYRA-BE) to complete the elaboration. The requirements that the LYRA ASIC have to fulfill for the HERMES project are challenging: the maximum input energy measured in Silicon must reach 120 keV — corresponding to 2.2 MeV on GAGG — with a linearity error below 1%, the electronic noise must be less then 30 el. r.m.s. and the power consumption less then 1 mW per channel in a system with 120 channels working in parallel. The characterization of LYRA has been carried out on a dedicated test board, coupling one channel of the ASIC with a 25 mm2 SDD. An input full scale range of 5.2 fC and an electronic noise of 22 el. r.m.s. have been measured at -33∘C with a power consumption of 745 µW per channel.

Application of Different Filtering Techniques in Digital Image Processing

Noise in an image is a random variation of brightness or color information in the original image. Noise is consistently presented in digital images during picture obtaining, coding, transmission, and processing steps. Image noise is most apparent in image regions with a low signal level. There are various reasons for the creation of noise in an image, such as electronic noise in amplifiers or detectors, disturbances and overheating of the sensor, disturbances in the medium of traveling for a digital image, etc. Noise is exceptionally hard to eliminate from the digital pictures without the earlier information of the noise model. There are various types of noise that can be available in a noise model. Filters are used to remove these types of noises in a digital image in image processing. In this research, we have implemented different filtering techniques that have been used to remove the noises in an image.

Gabber: Raising hell in technoculture1

Gabber is a hardcore electronic dance music genre, typified by extreme speed and overdrive, which developed in the Netherlands, with Rotterdam as its epicentre, during the early 1990s, when house music-inspired dance events dominated. The use of distorted noise and references to popular body horror, such as Hellraiser, dominated its scene, and soon gabber was commented on as ‘the metal of house music’, a statement that this article aims to investigate. Applying a genealogical discographic approach, the research found that the electronic noise music aesthetic of industrial music was crucial for the formation of the sound of gabber. The hardcore electronic dance music that developed from this is at once ironically nihilistic, a contrary critique, and a populist safety valve. The digital machine noise of hardcore seems to offer an immersive means to process the experience of (emasculating) fluidity within post-human accelerated technoculture, itself propelled by rapid digital capital and information technologies.

The current status of ultrasound practice in Kano metropolis, Nigeria

Background Ultrasound has been in clinical use to image the human body for over half a century. An audit should be performed on professional practice aimed at taking corrective measures where errors are identified and improvement in the practice when errors are not detected. This study is aimed at evaluating the current status of ultrasound practice in Kano metropolis, Nigeria. Results Out of the 70 (100%) administered questionnaires, 68 (97.14%) were returned, and 64 (91.43%) were properly filled. Fifty-eight (90.6%) knew the exact meaning of ultrasound, and 34 (53%) considered ultrasound as a modality of choice for imaging and diagnosis of abdominal masses. None of the participants was exposed to advanced ultrasound technology. Only 3 (4.7%) and 5 (7.8%) of the respondents performed infection control, air reverberation pattern and electronic noise checks. Conclusion Ultrasound practitioners demonstrate good knowledge of ultrasound and its application. However, there was unavailability of advanced ultrasound equipment. There was also poor understanding and practice of quality assurance among practitioners. Ultrasound equipment might have been grossly underutilized and qualities of images produced by the equipment are not certain were optimal.

Characterization of SABRE crystal NaI-33 with direct underground counting

Ultra-pure NaI(Tl) crystals are the key element for a model-independent verification of the long standing DAMA result and a powerful means to search for the annual modulation signature of dark matter interactions. The SABRE collaboration has been developing cutting-edge techniques for the reduction of intrinsic backgrounds over several years. In this paper we report the first characterization of a 3.4 kg crystal, named NaI-33, performed in an underground passive shielding setup at LNGS. NaI-33 has a record low $$^{39}$$ 39 K contamination of 4.3 ± 0.2 ppb as determined by mass spectrometry. We measured a light yield of 11.1 ± 0.2 photoelectrons/keV and an energy resolution of 13.2% (FWHM/E) at 59.5 keV. We evaluated the activities of $$^{226}$$ 226 Ra and $$^{228}$$ 228 Th inside the crystal to be $$5.9\pm 0.6~\upmu $$ 5.9 ± 0.6 μ Bq/kg and $$1.6\pm 0.3~\upmu $$ 1.6 ± 0.3 μ Bq/kg, respectively, which would indicate a contamination from $$^{238}$$ 238 U and $$^{232}$$ 232 Th at part-per-trillion level. We measured an activity of 0.51 ± 0.02 mBq/kg due to $$^{210}$$ 210 Pb out of equilibrium and a $$\alpha $$ α quenching factor of 0.63 ± 0.01 at 5304 keV. We illustrate the analyses techniques developed to reject electronic noise in the lower part of the energy spectrum. A cut-based strategy and a multivariate approach indicated a rate, attributed to the intrinsic radioactivity of the crystal, of $$\sim $$ ∼ 1 count/day/kg/keV in the [5–20] keV region.

Electronic noise analysis and in-orbit resolution verification of an electrostatic accelerometer

Based on the working principle of the signal detection and servo feedback control of the electrostatic accelerometer, in this paper, the main electronic noise components affecting the measurements of the accelerometer are analyzed and the corresponding expressions are determined. The resolution of the designed electrostatic accelerometer is lower than 10[Formula: see text]m/s2/Hz[Formula: see text], which cannot be verified directly due to limitations imposed by the vibration of the ground environment. However, it can be evaluated indirectly by the testing of electronic noise under open-loop conditions. Through this process, the resolution of 3× 10[Formula: see text]m/s2/Hz[Formula: see text] of the Taiji-1 inertial sensor was verified and found to be in agreement with results obtained in orbit.