PMT pulse data aquistition

[kungfuPhysicist]

I am attempting to read data from a 7.5-10ns pulse generated by a Hamamatsu H6779 PMT. The NI DAQ which my University has provided me with does not have the sample rate to deal with such data.

(1) Is there any equipment from NI or other organisations which would be useful to me?

(2) Is there anyway of forcing the NI DAQ to trigger from such a short pulse? (doubtful)

(3) Is it possible to plug data straight from a port on my computer into LabVIEW? (just point me in the direction of the VI's and I will work out the rest)

(4) Is it possible to read such a signal from an oscilloscope directly into LabVIEW, negating the need for a DAQ at all? or is the DAQ central to data aquisition in it?

Mark

Message Edited by kungfuPhysicist on 07-19-2007 09:03 AM

Message Edited by kungfuPhysicist on 07-19-2007 09:07 AM

[johnsold]

Mark,

What data are you trying to read from the PMT? Amplitude, waveshape or timing of pulses? What is the maximum repetition rate of the pulses?

One technique used in old scintillation counters was to use a peak capture circuit and digitize the captured value at a much slower rate. They also used an analog logarithmic amplifier to handle sevaral decades of dynamic range. The slower rate is defined by the repetition rate rather than by the pulse width. The peak capture circuit for 7.5 ns pulses is non-trivial as it will require a bandwidth in excess of 100 MHz.

For timing a oneshot pulse stretcher can be used with the counters found on many DAQ boards.

Lynn

[kungfuPhysicist]

All of the above data is required. The freq of the pulses should be around 10Hz (measuring muon events on the surface using, you guessed it, a scintillator), so not too fast. Thanks for the advice, am researching these things now. 🙂

(Though don't stop helping, people!)

[pincpanter]

Normally, for this type of signals, a specialized, high performance electronics for the nuclear field is used (from ORTEC, CANBERRA, CAEN, etc.).
Usage of LabView with this electronics could be a little involved, though.