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Optical timing receiver for the NASA laser ranging system. Part I. Constant-fraction discriminator

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/4182548· OSTI ID:4182548
Position-resolution capabilities of the NASA laser ranging system are essentially determined by time-resolution capabilities of its optical timing receiver. The optical timing receiver consists of a fast photoelectric device, primarily a standard of microchannel-plate-type photomultiplier or an avalanche photodiode detector, a timing discriminator, a high-precision time-interval digitizer, and a signal-processing system. The time-resolution capabilities of the receiver are determined by the photoelectron time spread of the photoelectric device, the time walk and resolution characteristics of the timing discriminator, and the time-interval digitizer. It is thus necessary to evaluate available fast photoelectronic devices with respect to their time-resolution capabilities, and to design a very low time walk timing discriminator and a high-precision time digitizer which will be used in the laser ranging system receiver. (auth)
Research Organization:
California Univ., Berkeley (USA). Lawrence Berkeley Lab.
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-48
NSA Number:
NSA-33-003119
OSTI ID:
4182548
Report Number(s):
LBL--4219
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English