Dead-time compensation for a logarithmic display rate meter

Patent · Tue Sep 20 04:00:00 EDT 1988

OSTI ID:6881739

Larson, J A; Krueger, F P

This patent describes a compensation circuit for an event detector that is used to count occurrences of random events occurring at variable rates, the event detector having a characteristic live time during which a single event is detectable and having an actual dead time after the detection of an event during which the detector is disabled from detecting events, the compensation circuit compensating for the occurrence of events during the dead time. The compensation circuit consists of: means for generating a dead-time pulse of predetermined duration at least equal to the actual dead time, the dead time pulse initiated by detection of the occurrence of one of the random events; means for generating a live-time pulse corresponding to a time interval between the end of a dead-time pulse and the beginning of a following period of dead-time pulse; means for responsive to the means for generating a live-time pulse for averaging live-time pulses over time; means responsive to the means for generating a dead-time pulse for averaging dead-time pulses over time; means for obtaining a first voltage that is an analog of the logarithm of the average live-time pulses; means for obtaining a second voltage that is an analog of the logarithm of the averaged dead-time pulses time; and means for subtracting the first voltage from the second voltage to obtain a third voltage that is an analog of a count rate that is corrected for the occurrence of undetected events occurring during dead time.

• Assignee: Dept. of Energy, Washington, DC
• Patent Number(s): US 4772793
• OSTI ID: 6881739
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
420800 -- Engineering-- Electronic Circuits & Devices-- (-1989)
440300* -- Miscellaneous Instruments-- (-1989)
47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION
COUNTING CIRCUITS
COUNTING RATEMETERS
DESIGN
DISPLAY DEVICES
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
EQUIPMENT
FUNCTION GENERATORS
LOGARITHMIC RATEMETERS
OPERATION
PULSE GENERATORS
PULSE INTEGRATORS
RANDOMNESS
TIMING PROPERTIES