THE COLUMN ARCHITECTURE-A NOVEL ARCHITECTURE FOR EVENT-DRIVEN 2D PIXEL IMAGERS

We describe an electronic architecture for two-dimensional pixel array s that permits very large increases in rate capability for event- or d ata-driven applications relative to conventional x-y architectures. Th e column architecture also permits more efficient use of silicon area in applications requiring local buffering, frameless data acquisition, and it avoids entirely the problem of ambiguities that may arise in c onventional approaches. Two examples of active implementation are desc ribed: high energy physics and protein crystallography.