Search arXivSearch

arXiv · 2609.22116

A Gamma/Electron Spectrometer with Logarithmic ADC based on LC Tank Ring-Down Oscillation Counting

Abstract

This paper describes the operating principle, circuit implementation, and mathematical basis of a logarithmic analog-to-digital converter (ADC) that exploits the natural exponential decay of a damped LC tank oscillator. An input charge pulse excites a tuned LC resonator into free oscillation. A multi-stage high-speed amplifier chain buffers the decaying waveform, and a fast comparator counts the number of oscillation cycles that exceed a programmable threshold. Because the tank envelope decays exponentially, the cycle count is proportional to the natural logarithm of the input charge, yielding logarithmic compression over a wide dynamic range without explicit logarithmic circuitry. The upgraded unit incorporates a modern MCU with USB, Ethernet interfaces and SD card for collected data storage. The architecture is well suited to applications requiring large dynamic range in a compact, low-power implementation.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

S. Abovyan, A. Chilingarian, D. Pokhsraryan, B. Sargsyan, T. Karapetyan, V. Danielyan. 2026-08-19. A Gamma/Electron Spectrometer with Logarithmic ADC based on LC Tank Ring-Down Oscillation Counting. https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.22116

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

True Alternating Current Scanning Tunneling Microscope (ACSTM): tunneling on insulators

Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) has revolutionized our atomic scale understanding of surfaces and accelerated progress in nanotechnology. This technique, however, is restricted to metal or semiconducting samples, as it requires a tiny current to stabilize the tip-sample distance with atomic scale precision. We developed a new imaging and feedback method that relies on true alternating current (AC) without any direct current (DC) component. This technique does not only enable the imaging on non-conducting surfaces with atomic step resolution, like (thin) glass and oxides, it provides also access to high-frequency electronic signal coming from the sample. We demonstrate that it is possible to measure on 25nm thick silicon oxide with 10 MHz tunneling current.

physics.ins-det

Charged-particle topology reconstruction with an in-liquid SiPM array

Liquid scintillator detectors instrumented with photosensors inside the scintillation volume preserve local optical information that is largely lost in conventional boundary-readout geometries. We demonstrate that this information is sufficient for charged-particle topology reconstruction using a sparse three-dimensional lattice of silicon photomultipliers. After validating the Geant4 detector response against measured photon-count distributions, a simulation-trained, time-informed convolutional neural network reconstructs the entry and exit points of through-going muons with median residuals of 1.91~cm and 2.39~cm, respectively. The reconstructed endpoints are geometrically consistent with acceptance regions defined by external trigger counters in cosmic-ray muon data. The same framework also reconstructs the production vertices of simulated positron starting-track events with a median residual of about 4.5~cm. These results establish the feasibility of topology-sensitive reconstruction using sparse in-liquid photosensor arrays in homogeneous liquid scintillator detectors.

physics.ins-det

Characterization of immersed SiPM arrays in liquid scintillator between room temperature and $-30\,^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$

Liquid scintillator detectors instrumented with distributed silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) arrays can be used in compact, topology-sensitive, and low-background experiments, but the temperature dependence of SiPMs immersed directly in the scintillation medium has not been widely characterized. We report the operation of a 125-liter linear-alkylbenzene-based liquid scintillator detector read out by 125 SiPM channels immersed in the active volume, over the range from room temperature to $-30\,^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$. The detector response was measured with cosmic-ray muons, including stopping muons followed by their Michel-electron decay. Cooling from $+15\,^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$ to $-30\,^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$ reduced the SiPM dark-count rate by a factor of 13.5, increased the single-photoelectron response by 49.1%, and increased the cosmic-ray muon light yield by 16.7%. The improved photoelectron separation and baseline stability at low temperature enabled a selection of stopping-muon events, from which the effective muon lifetime was measured to be $1959\pm132\,\mathrm{ns}$, consistent with the value expected for a hydrocarbon scintillator once $μ^{-}$ capture on carbon is taken into account.

physics.ins-det