Detector signal reading circuit, detector signal processing method

Abstract

This application discloses a detector signal reading circuit and detector signal processing method, which can solve the technical problem of position distortion and timing error in signal reading due to the parasitic effects of the detector. The detector signal reading circuit, which can be integrated into an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), includes: a detector module, a delay coding module, and a signal processing module. The detector module includes multiple detectors, and the delay coding module includes multiple signal transmission lines. The differential delay lengths of the multiple signal transmission lines are different and arranged according to the delay coding rule. The input ends of the signal transmission lines are connected to the output ends of the detectors in a one-to-one correspondence, and the signal processing module is connected to the output ends of the multiple signal transmission lines. The delay coding module is used to receive the current pulse signal output by the detector and transmit the current pulse signal to the signal processing module via the signal transmission line. The signal processing module is used to process the current pulse signal according to the delay coding rule to obtain detector information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of detector signal processing, and in particular to a detector signal reading circuit and a detector signal processing method. Background Art

[0002] Large-scale detection systems typically utilize multiple detectors to improve resolution and image quality. However, this also presents a drawback: the need for numerous readout circuits. Equipping each detector with a separate readout circuit is clearly impractical. To address this issue, methods are needed to reduce the number of output channels.

[0003] Currently, detector signals are often read using a resistor position encoding circuit. To read the signal, the detector must be connected between the resistors in the resistor position encoding circuit. Since the prototype of the resistor position encoding circuit is often based on Anger's current distribution theory, the output pulse current of each detector can be distributed to four output terminals. The signal ratio of each output terminal is determined by the distributed resistivity. The output signals from the four output terminals can be used to calculate the signal position and the time when the detector was hit by a photon.

[0004] However, since each detector has parasitic capacitance, when this parasitic capacitance is connected in parallel with the resistors in the resistor position encoding circuit, parasitic effects occur. When the detector's parasitic capacitance is connected to the resistor network, the current pulse generated in the detector is affected by the RC time constant. If the duration of the current pulse is not long enough compared to the RC time constant, the current pulse height will not reach its original peak value, resulting in position distortion and detector positioning error. Furthermore, parasitic effects slow the pulse rise time, and the rise time of the current pulse at different positions is also different. This pulse waveform distortion increases the time walk effect of the timing trigger circuit. If used to measure the timing information of the detector, it will produce large timing errors. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of this, the present invention provides a detector signal reading circuit and a detector signal processing method, which can solve the technical problem that the existing detector signal reading has position distortion and timing error due to the parasitic effect of the detector.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present application provides a detector signal reading circuit, which includes: a detector module, a delay coding module, and a signal processing module, wherein the detector module includes multiple detectors, and the delay coding module includes multiple signal transmission lines, wherein the differential delay lengths of the multiple signal transmission lines are different and are arranged according to the delay coding rule;

[0007] The input ends of the plurality of signal transmission lines in the delay coding module are connected to the output ends of the plurality of detectors in the detector module in a one-to-one correspondence, and the signal processing module is connected to the output ends of the plurality of signal transmission lines;

[0008] Among them, the delay coding module is used to receive the current pulse signal output by at least one of the detectors, and transmit the current pulse signal to the signal processing module through the signal transmission line; the signal processing module is used to process the current pulse signal according to the delay coding rule to obtain detector information.

[0009] Optionally, the signal transmission line includes a first signal line and a second signal line, and a first delay length of the first signal line and a second delay length of the second signal line are arranged according to an opposite delay coding rule, so that the differential delay lengths of the second delay lengths and the first delay lengths corresponding to different signal transmission lines are different;

[0010] The input ends of the first signal line and the second signal line of the signal transmission circuit are simultaneously connected to the output end of one of the detectors, so as to transmit the current pulse signal to the signal processing module through the first signal line and the second signal line respectively.

[0011] Optionally, the signal processing module includes a first adder, a second adder, a third adder, and an analog-to-digital converter;

[0012] The input end of the first adder is connected to the output ends of the plurality of first signal lines, and is used to add the current pulse signal transmitted by at least one of the detectors through the first signal line to obtain a first current pulse signal;

[0013] The input end of the second adder is connected to the output ends of the plurality of second signal lines, and is used to add the current pulse signal transmitted by at least one of the detectors through the second signal line to obtain a second current pulse signal;

[0014] The input end of the third adder is connected to the output ends of the first adder and the second adder, and is used to add the first current pulse signal and the second current pulse signal to obtain a third current pulse signal;

[0015] The analog-to-digital converter is connected to the output end of the third adder and is used to perform analog-to-digital conversion on the third current pulse signal to obtain detector energy.

[0016] Optionally, the signal processing module further includes a first timer, a second timer, and a first time-to-digital converter and a second time-to-digital converter;

[0017] The input end of the first timer is connected to the output end of the first adder, and is used to generate a first square wave signal when the first current pulse signal is detected. The input end of the first time-to-digital converter is connected to the output end of the first timer, and is used to output the first current pulse signal through the first signal line by measuring the first square wave signal and arriving at a first arrival time of the first timer;

[0018] The input end of the second timer is connected to the output end of the second adder, and is used to generate a second square wave signal when the second current pulse signal is detected. The input end of the second time-to-digital converter is connected to the output end of the second timer, and is used to output the second current pulse signal through the second signal line by measuring the second square wave signal and arrive at the second arrival time of the second timer.

[0019] According to another aspect of the present application, a detector signal processing method is provided, which is applied to the above-mentioned detector signal reading circuit, and the method includes:

[0020] The detector energy is collected at the output of the analog-to-digital converter;

[0021] receiving a first arrival time output by the first time-to-digital converter and a second arrival time output by the second time-to-digital converter;

[0022] Determining a detector position struck by the photon based on the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and a first preset formula;

[0023] Calculating the time at which the detector is struck according to the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and a second preset formula;

[0024] The output includes detector information including the detector energy, the detector position hit by the photon, and the time of the hit.

[0025] Preferably, determining the position of the detector hit by the photon based on the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and a first preset formula includes:

[0026] Based on the one-to-one connection relationship between the detector and the signal transmission line in the detector signal reading circuit and the delay coding rule of the delay length corresponding to the signal transmission line, a position query table is generated, and the position query table stores the ideal differential transmission time corresponding to each detector position in the detector module;

[0027] The actual differential transmission duration is calculated using the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and a first preset formula. The characteristic description of the first preset formula is: ΔT = T A -T B, where ΔT is the actual differential transmission time, T A is the first arrival time, T B is the second arrival time;

[0028] The actual differential transmission time is compared with the ideal differential transmission time, and the position of the detector hit by the photon is determined according to the comparison result.

[0029] Optionally, the formula feature description of the second preset formula is: Among them, T is the time when the detector is hit, T A is the first arrival time, T B is the second arrival time, v is the signal propagation speed, L is the basic length of the signal transmission line in the delay coding module, N is the number of detectors in the detector module, and d is the unit delay length.

[0030] According to another aspect of the present application, a detector signal processing device is provided, which implements the above-mentioned detector signal processing method when executed, and includes:

[0031] an acquisition module for collecting detector energy at the output end of the analog-to-digital converter;

[0032] A first calculation module is configured to receive a first arrival time output by the first time-to-digital converter and a second arrival time output by the second time-to-digital converter;

[0033] a determination module, configured to determine a position of a detector struck by a photon based on the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and a first preset formula;

[0034] a second calculation module, configured to calculate the time at which the detector is hit according to the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and a second preset formula;

[0035] The output module is used to output detector information including the detector energy, the detector position hit by the photon, and the time of the hit.

[0036] Optionally, the determining module is specifically configured to:

[0037] Based on the one-to-one connection relationship between the detector and the signal transmission line in the detector signal reading circuit and the delay coding rule of the delay length corresponding to the signal transmission line, a position query table is generated, and the position query table stores the ideal differential transmission time corresponding to each detector position in the detector module;

[0038] The actual differential transmission duration is calculated using the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and a first preset formula. The characteristic description of the first preset formula is: ΔT = T A-T B , where ΔT is the actual differential transmission time, T A is the first arrival time, T B is the second arrival time;

[0039] The actual differential transmission time is compared with the ideal differential transmission time, and the position of the detector hit by the photon is determined according to the comparison result.

[0040] Optionally, the formula feature description of the second preset formula applied by the second calculation module is: Among them, T is the time when the detector is hit, T A is the first arrival time, T B is the second arrival time, v is the signal propagation speed, L is the basic length of the signal transmission line in the delay coding module, N is the number of detectors in the detector module, and d is the unit delay length.

[0041] According to another aspect of the application, a dedicated integrated circuit is provided, which includes the above-mentioned detector signal reading circuit.

[0042] According to another aspect of the present application, a storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored, and when the program is executed by a processor, the above-mentioned detector signal processing method is implemented.

[0043] According to another aspect of the present application, a game account control device is provided, including a storage medium, a processor, and a computer program stored on the storage medium and executable on the processor, wherein the processor implements the above-mentioned detector signal processing method when executing the program.

[0044] The present application provides a detector signal reading circuit and a detector signal processing method, wherein the detector signal reading circuit includes: a detector module, a delay coding module, and a signal processing module, wherein the detector module includes multiple detectors, the delay coding module includes multiple signal transmission lines, the length of the signal transmission line is equal to the basic length plus the delay length, the differential delay lengths of the multiple signal transmission lines are different, and are arranged according to the delay coding rule. By connecting the input ends of the multiple signal transmission lines in the delay coding module to the output ends of the multiple detectors in the detector module in a one-to-one correspondence, and at the same time connecting the signal processing module to the output ends of the multiple signal transmission lines, the delay coding module can be used to receive the current pulse signal output by at least one detector, and the current pulse signal is transmitted to the signal processing module after different differential delay lengths, and the signal processing module is further used to process the current pulse signal according to the delay coding rule to obtain detector information. Given that the differential delay length of each signal transmission line is different and is arranged according to the delay coding rule, in this application, the differential delay length of the signal transmission line can be used to determine the detector position and time information. Since the resistor network is removed from the circuit, the position distortion and timing error caused by the parasitic effects of the detector in the traditional detector signal reading circuit can be eliminated, and further, accurate measurement of the detector position and time can be achieved.

[0045] The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of the present invention. In order to more clearly understand the technical means of the present invention, it can be implemented in accordance with the contents of the specification. In order to make the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the present invention are specifically listed below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] The drawings described herein are used to provide a further understanding of the present invention and constitute a part of the present invention. The exemplary embodiments of the present invention and their descriptions are used to explain the present invention and do not constitute an improper limitation of the present invention. In the drawings:

[0047] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the circuit structure of a detector signal reading circuit provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0048] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the circuit structure of a discrete position encoding circuit based on a resistor network in the prior art provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0049] Figure 3 A schematic flow chart of a detector signal processing method provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0050] Figure 4 A schematic structural diagram of a detector signal processing device provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0051] In the picture:

[0052] 1-Detector module;

[0053] 2-Delay coding module;

[0054] 3-signal processing module, 31-first adder, 32-second adder, 33-third adder, 34-analog-to-digital converter, 35-first timer, 36-second timer, 37-first time-to-digital converter, 38-second time-to-digital converter. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0055] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise" and the like to indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0056] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of the technical features being referred to. Thus, a feature identified as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present invention, "plurality" means two or more, unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0057] In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," "connect," "fixed," etc. should be understood broadly. For example, they may refer to fixed, detachable, or integral connections; mechanical or electrical connections; direct or indirect connections through an intermediary; or internal communication between two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention based on specific circumstances.

[0058] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and in combination with embodiments. It should be noted that, in the absence of conflict, the embodiments and features of the embodiments of the present invention can be combined with each other.

[0059] For existing detector signal reading circuits, such as Figure 2As shown, the circuit consists of a resistor network and a detector array. Each detector in the array is connected to a node in the row resistors, and the column resistors at both ends connect these row resistors together. The position of the signal is encoded by the resistor network according to the current attenuation ratio. Therefore, an array only needs four channels to measure. Using the output signals (A, B, C, D) of these four position codes, the position of the signal is calculated using the formula. Its principle is similar to the center of gravity position algorithm. First, the origin of the plane rectangular coordinate system is set (0,0), and then the current I of the signals A, B, C, and D output through the four corner points of the resistor network is calculated. A , I B , I C , I D Calculate the signal's coordinates. For example, assume the origin (0,0) is at the center of the array. Add the currents of the two corner signals B and D, subtract the currents of the two corner signals C and D, and divide by the sum of the currents of the four signals A, B, C, and D to obtain the signal's horizontal coordinate, X. Add the currents of the two corner signals A and B, subtract the currents of the two corner signals A and C, and divide by the sum of the currents of the four signals A, B, C, and D to obtain the signal's vertical coordinate, Y. If you sum the circuit's A, B, C, and D signals and measure the arrival time of the summed signal, you can also read the time when the detector was struck by a photon.

[0060] However, in Figure 2 There is a typical positioning error in the discrete position encoding circuit based on the resistor network. Figure 2 It can be seen from the resistor network that the resistivity at different locations is different. The equivalent resistance values ​​of the nodes connected to the detector are not equal, and the maximum and minimum equivalent resistance values ​​differ by several times. In addition, capacitors are connected in parallel at different locations, so the equivalent RC integral constant of each node will have a large difference, which will cause the pulse amplitude error to differ by several times. This pulse amplitude error caused by the equivalent RC integral constant will produce obvious position distortion. This distortion will become very difficult to correct whether using a compensation circuit or an algorithm, and the position distortion cannot be completely eliminated. In addition, Figure 2The circuit in this example has a second drawback: after the detector is connected to the resistor network, the rising edge of the generated current pulse slows down, and the rise time of the current pulse varies at different locations. This distortion of the pulse waveform can exacerbate the time-walk effect in the timing trigger circuit. This is because after the detector's parasitic capacitance is connected to the resistor network, the rise time of the pulse becomes the charging time of the RC circuit. Since the RC values ​​at different locations vary, the rise time also varies. This results in significant distortion of the current pulse waveform output from resistor networks A, B, C, and D. If used to measure time information, this will result in significant timing errors. Furthermore, due to the scale of the readout circuit, this method requires four ADCs to sample the pulses. Due to the inherent distortion errors in the circuit, a high-precision ADC is also required to improve measurement accuracy.

[0061] In view of the problems existing in the above-mentioned prior art, Figure 1 A detector signal reading circuit according to some embodiments of the present invention is described.

[0062] In the present application, a detector signal reading circuit is provided which is different from the above-mentioned discrete position encoding circuit based on a resistor network, such as Figure 1 As shown, the detector signal reading circuit includes: a detector module 1, a delay coding module 2, and a signal processing module 3, wherein the detector module 1 includes multiple detectors, and the multiple detectors constitute a detector matrix. The delay coding module 2 includes multiple signal transmission lines, and the line length of the signal transmission line is equal to the basic length plus the delay length. The differential delay lengths of the multiple signal transmission lines are different and are arranged according to the delay coding rule; the input ends of the multiple signal transmission lines in the delay coding module 2 are connected one-to-one with the output ends of the multiple detectors in the detector module 1, and the signal processing module 3 is connected to the output ends of the multiple signal transmission lines; wherein the delay coding module 2 is used to receive the current pulse signal output by at least one detector, and transmit the current pulse signal to the signal processing module 3 through the signal transmission line; the signal processing module 3 is used to process the current pulse signal according to the delay coding rule to obtain detector information. There is no resistor network in the detector signal reading circuit in this application, and thus it will not cause parasitic effects on the detector, thereby eliminating the position distortion and timing errors caused by the parasitic effects of the detector in the traditional circuit.

[0063] In a specific application scenario, as a preferred method, such as Figure 1As shown, multiple signal transmission lines respectively include a first signal line and a second signal line, and the first delay length of the first signal line and the second delay length of the second signal line are arranged according to opposite delay coding rules, so that the differential delay lengths of the second delay lengths and the first delay lengths corresponding to different signal transmission lines are different; the input ends of the first signal line and the second signal line of the signal transmission line are simultaneously connected to the output end of one of the detectors, for transmitting the current pulse signal to the signal processing module 3 through the first signal line and the second signal line respectively.

[0064] In large-scale detection systems, it is often necessary to set up a detector module, which includes multiple detectors to improve resolution and image quality. The detector signal reading circuit provided in this application is used to read signals from multiple detectors, wherein the number of detectors included in the detector module varies according to the actual application detection scenario. Figure 1 In the present application, the circuit implementation scheme in which the detector module includes four detectors is described as an example, but it does not constitute a limitation on the technical scheme in the present application. Obviously, when the number of detectors is greater than four or less than four, the same technical effect can be achieved by adaptively adjusting the number of signal transmission lines of the delay coding module and the corresponding circuit connection relationship.

[0065] like Figure 1 As shown, the detector module 1 includes four detectors: detector-0, detector-1, detector-2, and detector-3. To facilitate the positioning analysis of the detectors, the four detectors can be arranged in a regular matrix to obtain a detector array. Correspondingly, the delay coding module 2 connects the detectors one-to-one with four signal transmission lines equal to the number of detectors. The line length of the signal transmission line is equal to the basic length L plus the delay length N*d, where N is the extension coefficient and d is the unit delay length. The extension coefficient N of the corresponding delay lengths of the multiple signal transmission lines is different and arranged according to the delay coding rule. The delay coding rule can be that the extension coefficients N of the multiple signal transmission lines are arranged according to the delay coding matrix, so that the differential delay lengths of the multiple signal transmission lines are different and arranged according to the delay coding rule. Among them, the delay coding matrix can be specifically a triangular matrix.

[0066] In this embodiment, each signal transmission line may include a first signal line and a second signal line, and the first delay length of the first signal line and the second delay length of the second signal line are arranged according to opposite delay coding rules. For example, the extension coefficient N of the first delay length of the first signal line corresponding to the multiple signal transmission lines is arranged in an upper triangular matrix, and the extension coefficient N of the second delay length of the second signal line corresponding to the multiple signal transmission lines is arranged in a lower triangular matrix, or the extension coefficient N of the first delay length of the first signal line corresponding to the multiple signal transmission lines is arranged in a lower triangular matrix, and the extension coefficient N of the second delay length of the second signal line is arranged in an upper triangular matrix. Through this arrangement, the differential delay lengths corresponding to the first delay length and the second delay length of each signal transmission line can be different, so that the position information of the detector can be accurately located according to the different differential delay lengths. See Figure 1 As shown, the signal transmission line connected to detector-0 includes a first signal line A0 and a second signal line B0, the signal transmission line connected to detector-1 includes a first signal line A1 and a second signal line B1, the signal transmission line connected to detector-2 includes a first signal line A2 and a second signal line B2, and the signal transmission line connected to detector-3 includes a first signal line A3 and a second signal line B3. The extension coefficients N corresponding to the first signal lines A0, A1, A2, and A3 are arranged according to an upper triangular matrix, which are 3, 2, 1, and 0 respectively. The extension coefficients N corresponding to the second signal lines B0, B1, B2, and B3 are arranged according to a lower triangular matrix, which are 0, 1, 2, and 3 respectively. As a result, the differential delay length between the first delay length and the second delay length corresponding to the signal transmission line connected to detector-0 is: L+3d-L=3d, the differential delay length between the first delay length and the second delay length corresponding to the signal transmission line connected to detector-1 is: L+2d-(L+d)=1d, the differential delay length between the first delay length and the second delay length corresponding to the signal transmission line connected to detector-2 is: L+d-(L+2d)=-1d, and the differential delay length between the first delay length and the second delay length corresponding to the signal transmission line connected to detector-3 is: L-(L+3d)=-3d.

[0067] It should be noted that the delay coding rule of the present invention is not limited to the above one, but may also include other variations of the above principle, even if the differential delay lengths corresponding to the first delay length and the second delay length of each signal transmission line are different, so that the position information of the detector can be accurately located according to different differential delay lengths.

[0068] In a specific application scenario, as a preferred method, such as Figure 1As shown, the signal processing module 3 may include a first adder 31, a second adder 32, a third adder 33, and an analog-to-digital converter 34. The input end of the first adder 31 is connected to the output end of the first signal line, and is used to add the current pulse signal transmitted by at least one detector via the first signal line to obtain a first current pulse signal. The input end of the second adder 32 is connected to the output end of the second signal line, and is used to add the current pulse signal transmitted by at least one detector via the second signal line to obtain a second current pulse signal. The input end of the third adder 33 is connected to the output ends of the first and second adders, and is used to add the first and second current pulse signals to obtain a third current pulse signal. The analog-to-digital converter 34 is connected to the output end of the third adder 33, and is used to perform analog-to-digital conversion on the third current pulse signal to obtain detector energy. Through the above circuit connection, only one low-precision analog-to-digital converter is required to be added to achieve detector energy collection. The entire circuit structure is simple, and fewer circuit components are used than in existing circuits, thereby reducing the cost of reading detector signals.

[0069] In a specific application scenario, as a preferred method, such as Figure 1 As shown, the signal processing module 3 may further include a first timer 35, a second timer 36, a first time-to-digital converter 37, and a second time-to-digital converter 38. The input of the first timer 35 is connected to the output of the first adder 31, and is used to generate a first square wave signal when the first current pulse signal is detected. The input of the first time-to-digital converter 37 is connected to the output of the first timer 35, and is used to obtain and output a first arrival time of the first current pulse signal transmitted through the first signal line by measuring the first square wave signal. The input of the second timer 36 is connected to the output of the second adder 32, and is used to generate a second square wave signal when the second current pulse signal is detected. The input of the second time-to-digital converter 38 is connected to the output of the second timer 36, and is used to obtain and output a second arrival time of the second current pulse signal transmitted through the second signal line by measuring the second square wave signal. Through the above circuit connection, the detector position and time measurement can be determined using the signal line length. The circuit does not have a resistor network, eliminating the position distortion and timing errors caused by the parasitic effects of the detector in traditional circuits, and can achieve accurate position and time measurement. In addition, the entire circuit structure is simple and uses fewer circuit components than existing circuits, thereby saving detector signal reading costs.

[0070] In a specific application scenario, the working process of the above-mentioned detector signal reading circuit is: when the detector in the detector module is hit by light, a current pulse signal can be generated, and the signal transmission line connected to the detector can transmit the current pulse signal according to the first signal line and the second signal line respectively. For the transmission of the current pulse signal in the first signal line, the current pulse signal is transmitted to the first adder after passing through the first signal line having the basic length plus the first delay length. The first adder transmits the added first current pulse signal to the first timer. After detecting the rising edge of the pulse of the first current pulse signal, the first timer generates a first square wave signal and transmits the first square wave signal to the first time-to-digital converter. The first time-to-digital converter can further obtain the first arrival time of the first current pulse signal transmitted through the first signal line by converting the first square wave signal. On the other hand, for the transmission of the same current pulse signal in the second signal line, the current pulse signal is transmitted to the second adder after passing through the second signal line having the basic length plus the second delay length. The second adder transmits the added second current pulse signal to the second timer. After detecting the rising edge of the pulse of the second current pulse signal, the second timer generates a second square wave signal and transmits the second square wave signal to the second time-to-digital converter. The second time-to-digital converter can further obtain the second arrival time of the second current pulse signal transmitted through the second signal line by converting the second square wave signal. Correspondingly, after the first adder adds the current pulse signal to obtain the first current pulse signal, and the second adder adds the current pulse signal to obtain the second current pulse signal, the third adder can add the first current pulse signal and the second current pulse signal again to obtain the third current pulse signal. The first adder transmits the added third current pulse signal to the analog-to-digital converter so that the analog-to-digital converter can convert and process the third current pulse signal.

[0071] During the subsequent analysis of the detector information, given that the differential delay lengths of the first and second delay lengths corresponding to different signal transmission lines vary, the same signal propagation speed can result in different differential transmission times for the first and second delay lengths corresponding to different signal transmission lines. This creates a one-to-one correspondence between the differential transmission times and the detector positions. Therefore, the time and position of a photon striking a detector in the detector array can be determined based on the positioning equations or position lookup table. Accordingly, after converting the third current pulse signal using an analog-to-digital converter, the energy of the photon striking a detector in the detector array can be determined by analyzing the conversion result.

[0072] The detector signal reading circuit provided by the above embodiment steps, given that each signal transmission line is divided into a first signal line and a second signal line, and the first delay length of the first signal line and the second delay length of the second signal line are arranged according to the opposite delay coding rule, the differential delay lengths of the multiple signal transmission lines are different; thus, at the same signal propagation speed, the differential transmission time lengths of the first delay length and the second delay length corresponding to different signal transmission lines can be different, so that the differential transmission time length corresponds to the position of the detector one-to-one. Therefore, by setting a positioning equation group or a position lookup table, the time and position of the detector hit by the photon in the detector array can be determined. Since the resistor network is removed from the circuit, the position distortion and timing error caused by the parasitic effects of the detector in the traditional detector signal reading circuit can be eliminated, and further accurate measurement of the detector position and time can be achieved. In addition, the circuit structure of the detector signal reading circuit in the present application is simple, and the number of connected devices is small, which can reduce the cost of reading the detector signal. Compared with the prior art, the present application does not require the use of a high-precision analog-to-digital converter to realize position recognition, and only requires an additional low-precision analog-to-digital converter for energy information collection.

[0073] In one embodiment, Figure 3 As shown, a detector signal processing method is also provided, which is described by taking the method applied to the detector signal reading circuit of any of the above embodiments as an example, and includes the following steps:

[0074] 101. Collect detector energy at the output of the analog-to-digital converter.

[0075] In specific application scenarios, the third adder in the detector signal reading circuit can be used to calculate the sum of the current pulse signals transmitted by all first and second signal lines, and then perform analog-to-digital conversion via an analog-to-digital converter. Furthermore, in this embodiment, detector energy can be collected at the output of the analog-to-digital converter. This detector energy can be used to determine validity and filter out invalid triggers.

[0076] 102. Receive a first arrival time output by a first time-to-digital converter and a second arrival time output by a second time-to-digital converter.

[0077] The first arrival time is the timing point detected by the first timer after the current pulse signal is delayed and transmitted through the first signal line, and the second arrival time is the timing point detected by the second timer after the current pulse signal is delayed and transmitted through the second signal line. In this embodiment, after the current pulse signal is delayed and transmitted through the first signal line, it reaches the first timer through the first adder. After detecting the rising edge of the current pulse signal, the first timer generates a first square wave signal. The first time-to-digital converter converts the first square wave signal to obtain the first arrival time of the current pulse signal. Similarly, after the current pulse signal is delayed and transmitted through the second signal line, it reaches the second timer through the second adder. After detecting the rising edge of the current pulse signal, the second timer generates a second square wave signal. The second time-to-digital converter converts the second square wave signal to obtain the second arrival time of the current pulse signal.

[0078] 103. Determine the position of the detector hit by the photon based on the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and a first preset formula.

[0079] For this embodiment, the steps of the embodiment may specifically include: generating a position query table based on the one-to-one connection relationship between the detector and the signal transmission line in the detector signal reading circuit and the delay coding rule of the signal transmission line corresponding to the delay length, wherein the position query table stores the ideal differential transmission time corresponding to each detector position in the detector module; calculating the actual differential transmission time using the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and a first preset formula, wherein the characteristic description of the first preset formula is: ΔT = T A -T B , where ΔT is the actual differential transmission time, T A is the first arrival time, T B is the second arrival time; compare the actual differential transmission time with the ideal differential transmission time, and determine the position of the detector hit by the photon based on the comparison result.

[0080] For this embodiment, Figure 1Taking the circuit connection structure shown as an example, the detector module includes four detectors: detector-0, detector-1, detector-2, and detector-3. The signal transmission line connected to detector-0 includes the first signal line A0 and the second signal line B0, the signal transmission line connected to detector-1 includes the first signal line A1 and the second signal line B1, the signal transmission line connected to detector-2 includes the first signal line A2 and the second signal line B2, and the signal transmission line connected to detector-3 includes the first signal line A3 and the second signal line B3. The extension coefficients N corresponding to the first signal lines A0, A1, A2, and A3 are 3, 2, 1, and 0, respectively, and the extension coefficients N corresponding to the second signal lines B0, B1, B2, and B3 are 0, 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Accordingly, through the above circuit, it can be determined that the first actual differential transmission time length corresponding to the signal transmission line connected to detector-0 is: ΔT=T A0 -T B0 , the second actual differential transmission time corresponding to the signal transmission line connected to detector-1 is: ΔT = T A1 -T B1 , the third actual differential transmission time corresponding to the signal transmission line connected to detector-2 is: ΔT = T A2 -T B2 , the fourth actual differential transmission time corresponding to the signal transmission line connected to detector-3 is: ΔT=T A3 -T B3 .

[0081] In a specific application scenario, in order to locate the detector position based on the actual differential transmission time, the differential delay length of the corresponding connected signal transmission line can be determined based on the known line connections of each detector. Further, under the condition of ideal signal propagation speed (the signal transmission speed in the first signal line and the second signal line is the same and stable), the ideal differential transmission time of the signal transmission line connected to each detector is calculated based on the differential delay length and the signal propagation speed. After that, the ideal differential transmission time can be used to generate a position query table corresponding to the detector position in the detector matrix. The position query table stores the ideal differential transmission time corresponding to each detector position in the detector matrix. After calculating the actual differential transmission time, the actual differential transmission time is compared with each ideal differential transmission time in the position query table, and the position of the detector hit by the photon is determined based on the comparison result. Specifically, when comparing the actual differential transmission time with each ideal differential transmission time in the position query table and determining the position of the detector hit by the photon based on the comparison result, the time difference between the actual differential transmission time and each ideal differential transmission time can be calculated, and then the absolute value of the time difference can be compared with the preset time threshold to filter out the target ideal differential transmission time whose corresponding time difference is less than the preset time threshold from the ideal differential transmission time, and the position of the detector hit by the photon can be retrieved in the position query table based on the target ideal differential transmission time.

[0082] Following the above example, Figure 1 As shown, the detector module 1 includes four detectors: detector-0, detector-1, detector-2, and detector-3. The four detectors are arranged regularly in a matrix form to obtain a detector array. If the differential delay length corresponding to the signal transmission line connected to detector-0 is determined to be: L+3d-L=3d, the differential delay length corresponding to the signal transmission line connected to detector-1 is determined to be: L+2d-(L+d)=1d, the differential delay length corresponding to the signal transmission line connected to detector-2 is determined to be: L+d-(L+2d)=-1d, and the differential delay length corresponding to the signal transmission line connected to detector-3 is determined to be: L-(L+3d)=-3d. Further calculation shows that the first ideal differential transmission time length corresponding to the signal transmission line connected to detector-0 is: The second ideal differential transmission time corresponding to the signal transmission line connected to detector-1 is: The third ideal differential transmission time corresponding to the signal transmission line connected to detector-2 is: The ideal differential transmission time corresponding to the signal transmission line connected to detector-3 is: Wherein, v is the signal propagation speed. Accordingly, a position query table for each detector position in the above detector matrix can be generated according to the detector matrix, as shown in Table 1. Furthermore, the time difference between the actual differential transmission time and each ideal differential transmission time can be calculated, and then the absolute value of the time difference can be compared with the preset time threshold, and the position of the detector hit by the photon can be determined based on the comparison result. If it is determined that the time difference corresponding to the actual differential transmission time and the fourth ideal differential transmission time is less than the preset time threshold, the fourth ideal differential transmission time can be used to determine the position of the detector hit by the photon. The position of the detector hit by the photon is found in the position lookup table as F(1,1) in the detector matrix F, which corresponds to detector -3.

[0083] Table 1:

[0084]

[0085]

[0086] 104. Calculate the time when the detector is hit according to the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and a second preset formula.

[0087] In this embodiment, the first arrival time and the second arrival time can be substituted into the second preset formula to further calculate the time when the detector was hit. The formula characteristics of the second preset formula are described as follows: Among them, T is the time when the detector is hit, T A is the first arrival time, T B is the second arrival time, v is the signal propagation speed, L is the basic length of the signal transmission line in the delay coding module, N is the number of detectors in the detector module, and d is the unit delay length.

[0088] 105. Output detector information including detector energy, detector position hit by the photon, and detector hit time.

[0089] The detector signal processing method in this embodiment can collect detector energy at the output end of the analog-to-digital converter; after receiving the first arrival time output by the first time-to-digital converter and the second arrival time output by the second time-to-digital converter, further determine the detector position hit by the photon based on the first arrival time, the second arrival time and the first preset formula; and calculate the time when the detector was hit based on the first arrival time, the second arrival time and the second preset formula; finally, the detector information including the detector energy, the detector position hit by the photon and the time when it was hit can be obtained. Through the technical solution in this application, the detector position and time information can be determined based on the delay length of the signal transmission line based on the detector signal reading circuit without a resistor network, and the energy information can be collected. Since the detector signal reading circuit eliminates the position distortion and timing error caused by the parasitic effect of the detector in the traditional signal reading circuit, the accuracy of the detector information can be guaranteed when performing detector signal processing, while improving the efficiency of signal processing.

[0090] Further, as Figure 3 The specific implementation of the method shown in the embodiment of the present application provides a detector signal processing device, such as Figure 4 As shown, the device includes: an acquisition module 41, a first calculation module 42, a determination module 43, a second calculation module 44, and an output module 45;

[0091] The acquisition module 41 can be used to collect the detector energy at the output end of the analog-to-digital converter;

[0092] A first calculation module 42 may be configured to receive a first arrival time output by a first time-to-digital converter and a second arrival time output by a second time-to-digital converter;

[0093] A determination module 43, configured to determine a detector position hit by a photon based on the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and a first preset formula;

[0094] A second calculation module 44 is configured to calculate the time at which the detector is struck based on the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and a second preset formula;

[0095] The output module 45 can be used to output detector information including detector energy, the position of the detector hit by the photon, and the time of being hit.

[0096] In a specific application scenario, when determining the position of the detector hit by the photon based on the first arrival time, the second arrival time and the first preset formula, the determination module 43 can be specifically used to generate a position query table based on the one-to-one connection relationship between the detector and the signal transmission line in the detector signal reading circuit and the delay coding rule of the delay length corresponding to the signal transmission line. The position query table stores the ideal differential transmission time corresponding to each detector position in the detector module; the actual differential transmission time is calculated using the first arrival time, the second arrival time and the first preset formula. The characteristic description of the first preset formula is: ΔT=T A -T B , where ΔT is the actual differential transmission time, T A is the first arrival time, T B is the second arrival time, v is the signal propagation speed; compare the actual differential transmission time with the ideal differential transmission time, and determine the position of the detector hit by the photon based on the comparison result.

[0097] In a specific application scenario, the formula feature description of the second preset formula applied by the second calculation module is: Among them, T is the time when the detector is hit, T A is the first arrival time, T B is the second arrival time, v is the signal propagation speed, L is the basic length of the signal transmission line in the delay coding module, N is the number of detectors in the detector module, and d is the unit delay length.

[0098] It should be noted that for other corresponding descriptions of the functional units involved in the detector signal processing device provided in this embodiment, please refer to Figure 3 The corresponding description will not be repeated here.

[0099] Based on the above Figure 1 The detector signal reading circuit shown in FIG. 1 is a circuit for reading a detector signal. Accordingly, this embodiment further provides an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), which includes the above-mentioned Figure 1 The detector signal reading circuit is shown.

[0100] Based on the above Figure 3 The method shown in FIG. 1 is a method for performing the above-mentioned operations. Accordingly, this embodiment further provides a storage medium, which may be volatile or non-volatile, and stores computer-readable instructions. When the computer-readable instructions are executed by the processor, the above-mentioned operations are performed. Figure 3 The detector signal processing method shown.

[0101] Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a storage medium (which can be a CD-ROM, USB flash drive, mobile hard disk, etc.), including a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods of various implementation scenarios of the present application.

[0102] Based on the above Figure 3 The method shown and Figure 4 In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the embodiment of the virtual device shown in the figure further provides a computer device, which includes a storage medium and a processor; the storage medium is used to store a computer program; the processor is used to execute the computer program to achieve the above-mentioned Figure 3 The detector signal processing method shown.

[0103] Optionally, the computer device may further include a user interface, a network interface, a camera, a radio frequency (RF) circuit, a sensor, an audio circuit, a Wi-Fi module, etc. The user interface may include a display, an input unit such as a keyboard, etc., and may optionally include a USB interface, a card reader interface, etc. The network interface may optionally include a standard wired interface, a wireless interface (such as a Wi-Fi interface), etc.

[0104] Those skilled in the art will understand that the computer device structure provided in this embodiment does not constitute a limitation on the physical device, and may include more or fewer components, or a combination of certain components, or different component arrangements.

[0105] The storage medium may also include an operating system and a network communication module. The operating system is a program that manages the hardware and software resources of the computer device and supports the execution of information processing programs and other software and / or programs. The network communication module is used to enable communication between components within the storage medium and with other hardware and software in the information processing device.

[0106] Through the description of the above implementation methods, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the present application can be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, or by hardware.

[0107] By applying the technical solution of the present application, compared with the current existing technology, the present application can collect detector energy at the output end of the analog-to-digital converter; after receiving the first arrival time output by the first time-to-digital converter and the second arrival time output by the second time-to-digital converter, further determine the position of the detector hit by the photon based on the first arrival time, the second arrival time and the first preset formula; and calculate the time when the detector was hit based on the first arrival time, the second arrival time and the second preset formula; finally, the detector information including the detector energy, the position of the detector hit by the photon and the time when it was hit can be obtained. Through the technical solution in the present application, the detector position and time information can be determined based on the delay length of the signal transmission line based on the detector signal reading circuit without a resistor network, and the energy information can be collected. Since the detector signal reading circuit eliminates the position distortion and timing error caused by the parasitic effect of the detector in the traditional signal reading circuit, the accuracy of the detector information can be guaranteed when the detector signal is processed, while the efficiency of signal processing is improved.

[0108] Those skilled in the art will understand that the accompanying drawings are only schematic diagrams of a preferred implementation scenario, and the modules or processes in the accompanying drawings are not necessarily required to implement the present application. Those skilled in the art will understand that the modules in the devices in the implementation scenario can be distributed in the devices of the implementation scenario according to the implementation scenario description, or can be changed accordingly and located in one or more devices different from the implementation scenario. The modules of the above-mentioned implementation scenario can be combined into one module, or can be further split into multiple sub-modules.

[0109] The serial numbers of the above application are for descriptive purposes only and do not represent the advantages or disadvantages of the implementation scenarios. The above disclosure only discloses several specific implementation scenarios of the present application, but the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes that can be conceived by those skilled in the art should fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A detector signal reading circuit, characterized in that: The detector signal reading circuit includes: a detector module, a time delay encoding module, and a signal processing module, wherein the detector module includes four detectors, and the four detectors are arranged in a matrix form to obtain a detector array; The delay coding module includes four signal transmission lines, the line length of the signal transmission line is equal to the sum of the basic length and the delay length, and the delay length is equal to the product of the extension coefficient and the unit delay length; The signal transmission line includes a first signal line and a second signal line, wherein a first delay length of the first signal line and a second delay length of the second signal line are arranged according to an opposite delay coding rule, wherein the extension coefficients of the first delay lengths of the first signal lines are arranged in an upper triangular matrix, and the extension coefficients of the second delay lengths of the second signal lines are arranged in a lower triangular matrix, so that the differential delay lengths between the second delay lengths and the first delay lengths corresponding to different signal transmission lines are different, so that the differential delay lengths of the plurality of signal transmission lines are different and are arranged according to the delay coding rule; The input ends of the plurality of signal transmission lines in the delay coding module are connected to the output ends of the plurality of detectors in the detector module in a one-to-one correspondence, and the signal processing module is connected to the output ends of the plurality of signal transmission lines; In which, the input ends of the first signal line and the second signal line of the signal transmission circuit are simultaneously connected to the output ends of one of the detectors, and are used to transmit the current pulse signal to the signal processing module through the first signal line and the second signal line respectively; the delay coding module is used to receive the current pulse signal output by at least one of the detectors, and transmit the current pulse signal to the signal processing module through the signal transmission line; the signal processing module is used to process the current pulse signal according to the delay coding rule to obtain detector information.

2. The detector signal reading circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The signal processing module includes a first adder, a second adder, a third adder, and an analog-to-digital converter; The input end of the first adder is connected to the output ends of the plurality of first signal lines, and is used to add the current pulse signal transmitted by at least one of the detectors through the first signal line to obtain a first current pulse signal; The input end of the second adder is connected to the output ends of the plurality of second signal lines, and is used to add the current pulse signal transmitted by at least one of the detectors through the second signal line to obtain a second current pulse signal; The input end of the third adder is connected to the output ends of the first adder and the second adder, and is used to add the first current pulse signal and the second current pulse signal to obtain a third current pulse signal; The analog-to-digital converter is connected to the output end of the third adder and is used to perform analog-to-digital conversion on the third current pulse signal to obtain detector energy.

3. The detector signal reading circuit according to claim 2, characterized in that: The signal processing module further includes a first timer, a second timer, and a first time-to-digital converter and a second time-to-digital converter; The input end of the first timer is connected to the output end of the first adder, and is used to generate a first square wave signal when the first current pulse signal is detected. The input end of the first time-to-digital converter is connected to the output end of the first timer, and is used to output a first arrival time of the first current pulse signal transmitted through the first signal line by measuring the first square wave signal. The input end of the second timer is connected to the output end of the second adder, and is used to generate a second square wave signal when the second current pulse signal is detected. The input end of the second time-to-digital converter is connected to the output end of the second timer, and is used to output the second arrival time of the second current pulse signal transmitted through the second signal line by measuring the second square wave signal.

4. A detector signal processing method, characterized in that: The method is applied to the detector signal reading circuit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, and the method comprises: The detector energy is collected at the output of the analog-to-digital converter; receiving a first arrival time output by the first time-to-digital converter and a second arrival time output by the second time-to-digital converter; Determining a detector position struck by the photon based on the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and a first preset formula; Calculating the time at which the detector is struck according to the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and a second preset formula; The output includes detector information including the detector energy, the detector position hit by the photon, and the time of the hit.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The determining the position of the detector hit by the photon according to the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and a first preset formula includes: Based on the one-to-one connection relationship between the detector and the signal transmission line in the detector signal reading circuit and the delay coding rule of the delay length corresponding to the signal transmission line, a position query table is generated, and the position query table stores the ideal differential transmission time corresponding to each detector position in the detector module; The actual differential transmission duration is calculated using the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and a first preset formula. The characteristic description of the first preset formula is: ΔT = T A -T B , where ΔT is the actual differential transmission time, T A is the first arrival time, T B is the second arrival time; The actual differential transmission time is compared with the ideal differential transmission time, and the position of the detector hit by the photon is determined according to the comparison result.

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The formula feature description of the second preset formula is: Among them, T is the time when the detector is hit, T A is the first arrival time, T B is the second arrival time, v is the signal propagation speed, L is the basic length of the signal transmission line in the delay coding module, N is the number of detectors in the detector module, and d is the unit delay length.

7. A detector signal processing device, characterized in that: When executed, the device implements the detector signal processing method according to any one of claims 4 to 6, and the device includes: an acquisition module for collecting detector energy at the output end of the analog-to-digital converter; A first calculation module is configured to receive a first arrival time output by the first time-to-digital converter and a second arrival time output by the second time-to-digital converter; a determination module, configured to determine a position of a detector struck by a photon based on the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and a first preset formula; a second calculation module, configured to calculate the time at which the detector is hit according to the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and a second preset formula; The output module is used to output detector information including the detector energy, the detector position hit by the photon, and the time of the hit.

8. A dedicated integrated circuit, characterized in that: The ASIC includes the detector signal reading circuit according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

9. A computer device comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the detector signal processing method according to any one of claims 4 to 6 is implemented.

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