Scientists Connect 60 Smartphone Camera Sensors to Observe Antiproton Annihilation

Scientists at CERN’s Antimatter Factory, working on the AEgIS project, have decided to build a 3.84-gigapixel image sensor that will help observe proton annihilation – it was formed from 60 sensors used in modern smartphones.

Image source: home.cern

A team led by Professor Christoph Hugenschmidt of the Technical University of Munich has built an experimental detector using sensors originally developed for smartphone cameras. Instead of creating such a system from scratch, they repurposed 60 sensors with a resolution of 64 megapixels to form an array with a total resolution of 3.84 gigapixels called OPHANIM (Optical Photon and Antimatter Imager). With its help, they intend to record collisions of antiprotons with matter and the flashes that occur during annihilation.

To adapt the sensors for scientific use, the scientists had to remove some of the components designed for smartphone electronics, allowing the sensors to directly capture light images associated with annihilation events. The OPHANIM detector will allow scientists to observe annihilation events in real time with a resolution of about 0.6 microns, which is enough to distinguish new particles created during the process.

The implications of the work extend beyond antimatter research. OPHANIM’s ability to track particles with such precision could benefit a wide range of experiments at a relatively low cost, using hardware based on existing consumer solutions.