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DGF Pixie-500 - NEW PRODUCT
500MHz Multichannel Digital Gamma Finder in PXI format


DGF Pixie-500 - Datasheet

(May 2010, 580KB, PDF format)

The DGF Pixie-500 is a multichannel data acquisition system for fast radiation detectors in nuclear physics and other applications requiring coincident radiation detection. It provides digital spectrometry and waveform acquisition for four input signals per module; several modules can be combined into a larger system. The DGF Pixie-500 is based on the CompactPCI/PXI standard which allows data transfer rates from Pixie-500 memory to the host computer of up to 109MB/s. Commercial CompactPCI modules - DSP processor boards, HV supplies, embedded host computers - can be added to build a flexible standalone data acquisition and analysis system.

Each of the four channels of a Pixie-500 module accepts signals directly from a detector preamplifier or photomultiplier tube. After a digitally controlled gain and offset stage, signals are digitized in a 12-bit ADC at a rate of 500MHz. Triggering, pile-up inspection and filtering of the data stream is performed in real time; pulse heights and other event data is calculated on an event-by event basis. Results are stored in 128k of spectrum memory and 128k of list mode memory.

The Pixie-500 module(s) can be controlled either by an in-crate single board computer or through a fiber optic link by a desktop computer. XIA provides a set of C driver functions as well as a graphical user interface, the Pixie-Viewer, based on Wavemetric's IGOR PRO.

The Pixie-500 Software page contains information about Pixie Viewer software, which is used to operate the Pixie-500.

The Pixie-500 Download page contains links to Datasheets, Manuals, Application Notes and Articles.

Click here for details about purchasing the Pixie-500.




Pixie-500 Software

Host software and drivers for the Pixie-4 and Pixie-500.
 

Pixie-500 Downloads

Datasheets, Manuals, Application Notes and Articles, as well as downloadable software and firmware.
 


PXI Support Products

PXI crates, interface modules, power supplies.


Pixie-16

16 integrated DGF channels on a single-width 6U PXI card
 

Features

  • 500MHz, 12-bit digitizing of input signal
  • 32bit/33MHz PCI interface with module-to-host transfer rates up to 109MB/s
  • Simultaneous amplitude measurement and pulse shape analysis for each channel
  • Pulse heights measured with up to 16 bits accuracy on each of the four channels
  • Waveform acquisition up to 16.3µs for each channel, in 2ns intervals
  • 32k x 32bit on-board spectrum memory for each channel
  • 128k x 32bit additional on-board memory for list mode data
  • Programmable gain, input offset, trigger and energy filter parameters
  • Coincident data acquisition across channels and modules
  • Triggers, run synchronization and clocks distributed over PXI backplane
  • Graphical user interface and C-based driver libraries
  • Operated through in-crate single board PC or through fiber optic link from desktop
  • Can be combined with commercial CompactPCI/PXI processor, power, and computer modules

Software

The Pixie-500 is best operated through XIAs host control software, the Pixie Viewer. In the Viewer, users can set all parameters relevant to the data acquisition, store them in settings files, and run the modules. Results can be displayed from data files to provide instant feedback on the state of the experiment.
The Pixie Viewer has several diagnostic tools for setting up a new system. There is a display of triggered and untriggered waveforms as they are seen by the Pixie module. The time between subsequent samples can be chosen between 53ns and 220µs, thus spanning an overall range from 434µs to 1.8 seconds. The waveforms can also be subjected to a fast Fourier transformation (FFT). These displays are useful to investigate if there is any electromagnetic interference in the system, from 50/60Hz to radio-frequency pickup. For system setup, users can employ automated tools to determine the decay time of the preamplifier and to set the offset to a specified fraction of the dynamic range.

The Pixie Viewer is based on IGOR PRO, distributed by WaveMetrics. IGOR PRO is a program package for data display, analysis, and experiment control. It has a rich graphical interface, is documented well and easy to program. Users can easily add their own data analysis to the data acquisition software that XIA supplies.
Experiments that run their own data acquisition software can use XIA’s driver (written in C) to integrate Pixie modules into their system. Module setup, start and stop of runs, and data readout can be performed using a small number of functions. The Pixie Viewer is based on the same driver and can be used as a programming example.

Pixie-500 Data Acquisition Systems

A basic data acquisition system can consist of a 6-slot PXI crate, one Pixie module, a single board host computer, a preamplifier power supply and a high voltage module. The host computer is used to download software and settings to the Pixie module, start and stop runs, read out the data and write it to disk.

Instead of a single board computer residing in the PXI crate, a regular desktop or laptop computer can act as a remote crate controller using a set of adapter cards with a high speed copper or fiber optic data link. Data readout speeds are somewhat lower (80 MByte/s) for remote controllers.

For bigger detector arrays, a larger PXI crate (up to 18 slots) can be used. One or more slots can be occupied by commercial, user-programmable DSP processor modules to process data for event reconstruction. High speed I/O modules can be added, either on the DSP modules or in a separate slot, for fast data readout from the Pixie front end electronics to external data processing computers.

The preamplifier power supply developed by XIA also includes an external trigger option. This allows the distribution of clocks and triggers between the PXI backplane and external electronics. Besides the system clock, distributed signals can include an external veto, run start synchronization, event triggers and timing signals.

Specifications

     
Inputs Analog

Four preamplifier inputs, jumper-selectable input impedance:
50 Ohms or 8.5 kOhm. Works with common resistive feedback preamplifiers of either signal polarity.


Digital

(TTL) Each module has an MMCX connector which can be programmed to be used for any of the following functions:

Gate: Logic input for externally timed data collection. Suppresses collection when actively held low.

Sync: Logic input to control time resolved data collection, such as scanning.

All clock, trigger and synchronization signals are bussed along the PXI backplane. A second MMCX connector can be used as output directly from the DSP in custom applications.

     
Data I/O Interface Compact PCI standard, 33 MHz, 32-bit

Data Transfer Rate Memory readout to host: 109 MB/sec
     
Digital Controls Gain

Coarse gain: Low (1) and High (3)
+/-10% digital gain adjustment for channel matching


Threshold Adjustable to 50% of the ADC input range

Filtering Peaking times 0.1 - 100 microseconds. Adjustable flat top to eliminate ballistic deficit effects.

Pileup Fast channel filter time, pulse detection threshold, and fast channel pileup inspection test limits may be set independently to achieve best results in every energy regime.

Data collection MCA limits and number of bins, waveform lengths
     
Data Outputs:
MCA 1024 to 32,768 channels (32 bits deep) per Pixie channel

List Mode Time stamp, energy, optional waveforms for each event stored in 128k (32-bit) word buffer.

Timing Events are time stamped with 500MHz clock in list mode.

Statistics All values required for pileup correction are available: livetime, realtime, input events, output events.

Diagnostics ADC trace, baseline distribution, baseline history, FFT noise spectrum

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http://www.xia.com/DGF_Pixie-500.html, last updated January 28, 2013
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