CSPAD-140k: A versatile detector for LCLS experiments

The CSPAD-140k is a 140 kilopixel detector based on the Cornell-SLAC hybrid Pixel Array Detector (CSPAD) platform, developed around the CSPAD ASIC. Room temperature operation, 14 bit on chip digitization with a purely digital data interface, and scaling modularity are some important characteristics that make this platform an effective choice for designing detector variants optimized for a range of experiments and applications. The CSPAD-140k has an active area of approximately 4 x 4 cm(2) and four ASICs, bundled in a small, inexpensive and easy-to-deploy package. Due to its versatility it has already been used successfully in several experiments at the CXI, XPP and XCS instruments at LCLS. This work also describes problems faced by scaling from a prototype system to a full size X-ray camera and presents the current status on the improvements achieved. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.