High-Bandwidth Multichannel Fiber Optic System for Measuring gamma Rays

摘要

We describe an analog fiber optic gamma-ray diagnostic system that can transmit signals through fiber cables 600 to 700 m long with a system bandwidth exceeding 1 GHz and measure the relative timing between signals to within 0.3 ns. Gamma rays are converted to visible light via the Cerenkov process in a short length of a radiation-resistant optical fiber. A graded-index optical fiber transmits this pulse to a recording station where the broadened pulse is compensated for material dispersion and recorded using a streak camera. The streak camera can simultaneously record 20 to 30 data channels on a single piece of film. The system has been calibrated using electron linear accelerators and fielded on two experiments. (ERA citation 09:041090)