A simple and versatile data acquisition system for software coincidence and pulse-height discrimination in 4πΒ-γ coincidence experiments

摘要

A simple but versatile data acquisition system for software coincidence experiments is described, in which any time stamping and live time controller are not provided.Signals from Β- and γ-channels are fed to separately two fast ADCs (16 bits, 25. MHz clock maximum) via variable delay circuits and pulse-height stretchers, and also to pulse-height discriminators. The discriminating level was set to just above the electronic noise. Two ADCs were controlled with a common clock signal, and triggered simultaneously by the logic OR pulses from both discriminators. Paired digital signals for each sampling were sent to buffer memories connected to main PC with a FIFO (First-In, First-Out) pipe via USB.After data acquisition in list mode, various processing including pulse-height analyses was performed using MS-Excel (version 2007 and later). The usefulness of this system was demonstrated for 4πΒ(PS)-4πγ coincidence measurements of 60Co, 134Cs and 152Eu. Possibilities of other extended applications will be touched upon.