Distortion of the per-pixel signal in the Timepix detector observed in high energy carbon ion beams¹

Within the application of the pixelated semiconductor Timepix detector for ion beam therapy purposes, distortion and non-linearity in the spectrometric pixel response to high energy carbon ions were observed. In this contribution, these effects are studied in detail. A distinct correlation between the arrival time of a particle during the exposure time and the respective detector signal was found. The hypothesis to explain these findings by oscillations in the pixel electronics leading to a second rise of the preamplifier output above threshold is discussed. Depending on the particle arrival time, the distortions can result in an artificially increased counter value and consequently an enlarged detector signal in energy mode. The effect appears when the signal per-pixel is above approximately 1 MeV, therefore becomig especially significant for measurements with heavy ions.