Luca Ghislotti

I am a Computer Engineer and a Ph.D. student in microelectronics for high-energy physics at the Microelectronics Laboratory in the Department of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Bergamo. I work as a technologist at the Pavia branch of the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) within the CSN2 particle physics division, and I previously served as an associate research fellow at the Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory (CAL) of Columbia University.

My research focuses on the design and characterization of analog integrated circuits for the readout of silicon-strip detectors employed in high energy physics and astrophysics experiments.

I am currently contributing to the development of the General AntiParticle Spectrometer (GAPS) Antarctic balloon experiment as part of the GAPS collaboration. GAPS is a NASA, JAXA, INFN and ASI experiment that is designed to precisely measure the flux of low-energy cosmic-ray antideuterons, antiprotons, and antihelium as an indirect signature of dark matter.

Download my curriculum here.

selected publications

Energy threshold calibration of the GAPS experiment Si(Li) tracker readout electronics

L. Ghislotti, M. Boezio , L. Fabris , P. Lazzaroni , M. Manghisoni , L. Ratti , V. Re , E. Riceputi , and G. Zampa

Il Nuovo Cimento C, Apr 2024

Abs

GAPS (General AntiParticle Spectrometer) is a stratospheric balloon experiment designed to detect low-energy cosmic ray antinuclei ( <0.25 GeV) as an indirect signature of dark matter. The experiment exploits an innovative particle identification approach based on the formation of an excited atom and its consequent de-excitation and decay. GAPS will provide unprecedented sensitivity to cosmic antideuterons, an antiproton spectrum in a hitherto unexplored energy range and high sensitivity to cosmic antihelium. The first flight is foreseen to take place from the McMurdo Station in Antarctica during the austral summer of 2024. The instrument is currently undergoing integration and calibration in anticipation of launch. In this paper, the latest tracker electronics energy threshold calibration results will be presented.
Low-Noise Wide Dynamic Range Charge Sensitive Amplifier in 65 nm CMOS Technology for the Second Flight of the GAPS Experiment

Luca Ghislotti, Paolo Lazzaroni , Massimo Manghisoni , and Elisa Riceputi

In 2024 19th Conference on Ph.D Research in Microelectronics and Electronics (PRIME) , Jun 2024

Abs

This work describes a low-noise charge sensitive amplifier designed in a commercial 65nm CMOS technology for the second flight of the General AntiParticle Spectrometer balloon experiment, aimed at the indirect search of dark matter. The circuit has been developed as part of the upgrade of the chip employed in the readout of the lithium-drifted silicon detectors of the inner tracker and features dynamic signal compression to cope with the wide input dynamic range. A novel solution using dynamic threshold MOSFETs for the non-linear feedback capacitor implementation has been investigated. The paper will discuss the amplifier architecture, with a focus on the input and feedback device design and the relevant simulation results.