2024/11/01 by M. G. Wiebusch, Wiebusch, Michael
Physics and Astronomy · Medicine · #Nuclear Physics and Applications #Medical Imaging Techniques and Applications #Radiation Detection and Scintillator Technologies
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2411.00501
This work presents a custom analog front-end card designed for the read-out of PMTs coupled to lanthanum bromide scintillators. It integrates 16 discrete analog constant fraction discriminators (CFDs) on a compact 12x10 cm board, providing precise timing information for nuclear lifetime measurements. The design emphasizes cost-effectiveness, utilizing off-the-shelf discrete components, as well as compactness, achieved by using miniature coaxial connectors and cables as delay elements. The focus of this paper lies on the unusual and extremely minimalist analog shaper/discriminator design which is devised without operational amplifiers, making use of only a handful of RF transistors and LVDS receivers in place of comparators.