A New Fully Integrated Amplifier and Charge-to-Time Converter Module for Ion Beam Characterization

A wide-range self-contained amplifier and charge-to-time converter module for energy detectors was designed, prototyped and built. The charge-to-time conversion is accomplished using a LeCroy MQT300L integrated circuit and a switch is provided to convert either positive or negative charge inputs. This new module replaces the charge preamplifier, shaping amplifier, fast amplifier, CFD, and level discriminator normally found in a traditional NIM-based system and can be placed close to the detector. It is powered from a small, dedicated AC-DC power supply. The module is self-triggering and provides an ECL timing signal from an onboard constant fraction discriminator. The outputs are routed to a standard RJ45 connector and conditioned for long cabling. Details of module linearity and timing resolution will be discussed.