References and Links
FADC
An FADC, or Flash Analog-to-Digital Converter, is an electronic device
which is used to continuously convert an analog waveform into digital
data. Our group at Washington
University developed custom high-speed (500Msps) FADC
boards for use with the VERITAS
project which help maximize the signal-to-noise ratio for detecting
Cherenkov light from gamma-ray induced air showers (see Atmospheric Cherenkov Imaging
Technique ) and minimize dead-time for the
VERITAS array.
The board seen at the top left is the latest version of our
10-channel FADC. The board also serves as the motherboard for CFD's
and provides a number of features including: programmable delays, a
buffered discriminator hit pattern latch, event rate scalers,
zero-suppression logic, and a high-speed VME block-transfer. In addition
to the hardware, software to control the data acquisition was also
developed.
[ Closer view of the
FADC board... ]
CFD
A Constant Fraction Discriminator (CFD) daughterboard was also developed by the Washington University group. Minimizing jitter in the trigger is also a key element to minimize data rate and maximize the signal-to-noise ratio.
hbar.wustl.edu>
