A fast readout electronic system for accurate spatial detection in ion beam tracking for the next generation of particle accelerators

Abstract

This paper presents the design, implementation, and measurements of a complete electronic frontend intended for high-resolution spatial detection of ion beams at counting rates higher than 106 particles per second (p/s). The readout system is made up of three main multichannel building blocks, namely, a transimpedance preamplifier, a signal-conditioning line receiver, and a charge-to-digital converter, as well as some off-the-shelf components. The preamplifier and the line receiver have been specifically designed and optimized to minimize the overlapping probability of ion beams tracking, at high counting rates, in low-pressure gaseous secondary electron detectors. Experimental results are shown, considering α particles sources and particles beams, featuring an adaptive shaping time frame of 170-230 ns with a peak signal-to-noise ratio of up to 25 dB. These performance metrics are competitive with the state of the art, demonstrating the suitability of the reported data acquisition and instrumentation system for precise and fast particle tracking detection.