High Resolution Photon Timing with MCP-PMTs: A Comparison of a Commercial Constant Fraction Discriminator (CFD) with the ASIC-based Waveform Digitizers TARGET and WaveCatcher
There is a considerable interest to develop new time-of-flight detectors using, for example, micro-channel-plate photodetectors (MCP-PMTs). The question we pose in this paper is if new waveform digitizer ASICs, such as the WaveCatcher and TARGET, operating with a sampling rate of 2-3 GSa/s can compete with 1GHz BW CFD/TDC/ADC electronics. We have performed a series of measurements with these waveform digitizers coupled to MCP-PMTs operating at low gain and with a signal equivalent to {approx}40 photoelectrons. The tests were done with a laser diode on detectors operating under the same condition used previously in SLAC and Fermilab beam tests. Our test results indicate that one can achieve similar resolution with both methods. Although the commercial CFD-based electronics does exist and performs very well, it is difficult to implement on a very large scale, and therefore the custom electronics is needed. In addition, the analog delay line requirement makes it very difficult to incorporate CFD discriminators in ASIC designs.
- Research Organization:
- SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-76SF00515
- OSTI ID:
- 981373
- Report Number(s):
- SLAC-PUB-14048; TRN: US1003915
- Journal Information:
- Nucl.Instrum.Meth.A629:123-132,2011, Vol. 629, Issue 1; ISSN 0168-9002
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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