The Constant Fraction Discriminators CFD8c, CFD7x, CFD4c, CFD1c and CFD1x (11.0.1701.1)
Page 21 of 25
Figure 3.25b: Signal traces triggered on CFD timing signal. Upper trace: input signal (as in Figure 3.24b),
lower trace: ramp monitor outputs with
Ramp
switch turned on. Left picture: “pure”
ramp
signal
(obtained without signal input to on
A
in
socket), right: with signal connected to
A
in
(normal operation)
The
ramp
monitor output
M
Ramp
allows observing the “pure”
ramp
signal when there is no input on
A
in
and the switch labelled
Ramp
on is set to
on
. If the
ramp
signal is turned
off
by the switch
one can observe the input signal connected to
A
in
at the
monitor output
M
Ramp
. During normal operation the input signal and the
ramp
signal are superimposed (“
ramp
on”, see Figure
3.25b right). If the
ramp
starts from a higher level due to the overlaid (positive) input signal it takes longer until it reaches the
reset value.
The higher the input signal at the start moment of the ramp, the longer is the delay between the CFD timing and the
stop
signal
and the wider is the
CFDx
signal. This is indicated in Figure 3.26b.
The
ramp
slope is about -1 V per 12 ns, giving an almost linear correspondence between pulse height and time delay, with a
typically 10 to 20 ns offset for pulse height zero given by the minimum duration of the
ramp
signal.
If the cable length between
A
in
and
A
out
is optimally chosen, the start of the “pure”
ramp
signal will appear at the same time as
the signal maximum. To achieve this, one has to compare the relative timing of the input signal (
ramp
off) and the start of the
ramp
signal in absence of an input to
A
in
which can be observed at the
ramp
monitor (see Figure 3.24b left and Figure 3.25b left
– the scope markers are set at the same position!). As a thumb rule, the cable length between
A
in
and
A
out
will be about the
same as the
CFD delay
cable length (for determining relative pulse height distributions it is not mandatory that the cable length
is exactly set).
Figure 3.26b: upper trace:
CFDx
output, middle trace:
stop
output (with a pulse width set by the
Stop
Width
potentiometer setting), lower trace:
ramp
monitor, all traces triggered on the
stop
signal.
The
stop
signal should be used if there is a spare TDC channel available
*
Note that the
CFDx
output is turned off while the
ramp
switch is turned off