Design of readout electronics based on peak-holding circuit and multiplexer for a fast neutron spectrometer

Background Fast neutron detection is meaningful in many research fields such as space environment monitoring. A scintillating fiber array model for fast neutron detection was proposed and developed in 1980s. Aerospace applications of the model require electronics in small size. Purpose To design a dedicated electronic system to readout and process the 384-channel signals from scintillating fiber array, and to use the designed system to fabricate a neutron detector for aerospace applications. Methods With the method of nuclear recoil, fast neutron is detected by tracking recoil proton of n–p scatter in scintillating plastic fibers. Using the peak-holding circuits and multiplexers, the system size and power consumption were reduced. Results The detector fabricated with the designed system, had 34 cm × 34 cm × 27 cm mechanical size, 20.4 kg weight, and 30.05 W power consumption. Comparing to traditional waveform sampling electronics, the designed electronics was highly integrated and had a small size. The readout electronics also gave a better energy resolution of 39% in neutron detection, while the energy resolution was 43% in previous version. Conclusion In this study, a highly integrated readout electronic system was designed and verified. The detector using the system gave good performance. The designed electronics had potential development in fast neutron detection and other high energy physics detection system.