Mercury High Performance Digital Pulse Processor with mapping features

The Mercury’s trapezoidal digital FIR filters offer significantly enhanced throughputs and achieve energy resolutions comparable to analog systems. Energy resolution is nearly independent of count rate up to maximum throughput. The full computer interface allows all data taking and calibration operations to be automated, greatly reducing the possibility of human error. Data can be collected either into a full spectrum of up to 16K channels or as regions of interest (ROI’s) and passed to the host without stopping data collection. The full spectrum allows peak fitting and/or deconvolution to be performed on a detector by detector basis, leading to more accurate intensity extractions, particularly where scatter peaks are changing rapidly with energy.

The Mercury offers several timing modes, including fast scanning with full MCA readout or multiple ROI’s, where time and energy are stored for each event. The onboard memory manager allows full access to the data even during data collection. To allow deadtimeless operation for fast scanning, the memory is organized into two completely independent banks, allowing readout of one bank while the other is filled. Peak readout speeds across the USB interface exceed 15 MB/sec.

The Mercury provides hardwired TTL outputs from the user-defined SCA/ROI regions, allowing easy integration into external counting systems.

• 4 MB of high-speed memory allows ample storage for timing applications such as mapping with full spectra or multiple ROI’s
• Peak USB 2.0 transfer rates exceed 15 MB/sec.
• Front-panel auxiliary port with digital I/O lines. The standard configuration provides trigger, livetime and 14 ROI outputs
• Peaking time range: 0.1 to 160 microsec
• Maximum throughput up to 1,000,000 counts/sec/channel.
• Digitization: 14 bits at 50 MHz
• Low noise front end offers excellent resolution, and provides excellent performance in the soft x-ray region (110 – 1500 eV).
• 16 bit gain DAC and input offset are computer controlled.
• Pileup inspection criteria are computer selectable.
• Accurate ICR and livetime for precise deadtime correction and count rate linearity.
• External GATE and SYNC connections for controlling the mapping modes.