Introducing... The Readout Electronics Project

If you've followed my main blog and online engineering portfolio this far, then you know a little about me already. If not, I'm Christina Holman. I just finished my first year at Wellesley College and I loved every minute of it. Throughout the year, I pursued my potential dual-majors in Economics and Electrical Engineering. I explored my passion for engineering and interests in other STEM fields, from electricity and magnetism to engineering fundamentals to multivariable calculus. I even took my first course in economics and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thus far, the future looks quite bright.

I was fortunate enough to hear of the Science Center Summer Research Program and the few research opportunities in physics. I was even more fortunate to be selected to work under Prof. James Battat with his ongoing investigation into dark matter. Although the project is under the label of "Physics," many of the skills and knowledge deals with engineering principles, so I cannot be any more excited to dive in. I met with him before I left for the two-week break about my particular project and, just my luck, he suggested an electrical engineering topic that we call the Readout Electronics Project (and for which I made a separate blog).
Sketch of the electronic aspects

The Problem

To create a dark matter particle detector that not only detects the presence but also the geometry of a particle, the electronics system's readout must be very quick. Additionally, the detector must be able to read 1000 channels (wires) through which particles pass, each at 1 MHz and then process it into digital data.... In layman's terms, I need to develop a circuit that can process a lot of activity at high speeds. This is a very advanced electrical engineering project -- way above my paygrade -- but it will let me develop the skills I desire as well as tell me if my career path is right for me.

Breaking Down the Project

8-channel, 1 MHz sampling ADC
from linear.com
In speaking with Prof. Battat, he highlighted some of the parts that would be necessary: analog-to-digital converters (ADC), multiplexers, and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA). I am currently researching all  of their functions as well as looking at potential ADC chips from manufacturers. Finally, to dip my toe into the water, I'm reading a research paper on dark matter, which is surprisingly very interesting. (I had no idea all these things are going on in the field.) By Monday, with all this knowledge, I'll definitely be ready to begin.

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