A fast digital timing and analysis system based on real-time dCFD technique for nuclear physics experiments

In this paper a fast digital real-time spectrometer was developed for timing and analysis of nuclear pulse signals. The hardware system design and algorithm implementation with field-programming gate array （FPGA） and digital signal processor （DSP） were introduced. The performance of the digital constant fraction discrimination （dCFD） platform was experimentally tested with Agilent 80 MHz function/arbitrary waveform generator and LaC13：Ce3＋ scintillator detector for 22Na positron annihilation gamma spectroscopy. The amplitude and time information of ＂/photon was online obtained. The energy resolution could be 5.525% and the timing resolution 293.75 ps, the system error estimation of dCFD approach was also studied. The results showed that this spectrometer achieved a timing resolution close to that of traditional CFD timing resolution with a more sim- plified system structure.

Design of a high-sampling-rate electronic module for array-detector positron annihilation lifetime measurements

Introduction In this study,a high-time-resolution electronic module with a high channel density and low power consumption was designed for the measurement of the multi-detector array positron annihilation lifetimes.This electronic module consisted of 32 input channels,and each channel provided a high sampling rate up to 5.12 GSPS based on a Domino Ring Sampler 4(DRS4)chip.Compared to the high-speed flash analog-digital converter(FADC),DRS4 chip has a higher channel density with an affordable lower price and power consumption.Methods The developed electronic module was also capable of real-time data analysis for directly extracting the time information of input signals at the data acquisition site,thereby significantly decreasing the data rate.The digital constant fraction discriminator(DCFD)algorithm was implemented in the field programmable gate array(FPGA)for performing the time pick-up.Results The coincidence time resolution of the electronic module was measured,and the test results revealed a value of 26 ps.A prototypical 16-pixel detector module of the multi-detector system was evaluated using this electronic module,and the coincidence time resolution of the prototypical module was 411.84 ps.Conclusions The electronic module was confirmed to satisfy the severe requirements of the multi-array-detector positron annihilation lifetime measurement system.It was also suitable for other high-time-resolution,high-channel-density,costeffective,and low-power-consumption applications.