Prafull Purohit

Instrumentation

Over the years, I have developed a passion for scientific instrumentation mainly for two reasons:

Research instruments enable new discoveries and also help validate existing knowledge

(important for society and people)

They often involve designing new systems (custom sensors and electronics), troubleshooting, and prototyping

(important for me)

I have worked on a number of pixel array detectors (PAD) development projects at Cornell University. These detectors are often used in imaging applications at Synchrotron and Electron Microscopes.

Some major projects to which I contributed:

1. Electron Microscope Pixel Array Detector (EMPAD)

Designed for high-speed, high-dynamic range imaging on scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM)
Licensed to Thermo Fisher Scientific
The detector was a major factor in winning the Guinness world record for Highest resolution microscope

2. Mixed-Mode Pixel Array Detector (MMPAD)

Designed for high-speed, high-dynamic range x-ray imaging experiments at 1 KHz frame rate
Licensed to Sydor Technologies

3. Keck Pixel Array Detector (Keck-PAD)

Designed for time-resolved x-ray imaging experiments
Records 8 successive snapshots/frames at 10 MHz burst rate
Licensed to Sydor Technologies

4. High-Dynamic Range Pixel Array Detector (HDR-PAD)

Designed as a next-generation high-speed, high-dynamic range detector
The main goal was to achieve a 10 kHz frame rate

5. FPGA Pixel Array Detector (FPGA-PAD)

Designed with the goal to move functionality from hardware into the firmware by mating an FPGA to PAD ASIC via a wide-bandwidth connection and read pixels with an event-driven readout.

My role in these projects:

Designed firmware for high-speed FPGA-based readout system
Provided recommendations for printed circuit board (PCB) designs
Contributed to the mechanical and electrical systems (thermal & vacuum control, power supplies)
Low-level programming to control detector electronics and external instruments from acquisition PC
Assisted in planning, setup, and operation of experiments at:
- Advanced Photon Source (APS)
- Cornell High-Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS)
- Cornell Electron Microscope Facility

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