Signal processing and electronics for nuclear spectrometry. Proceedings of a technical meeting

The IAEA has responded to Member States needs by implementing programmatic activities that provide interested Member States, particularly those in developing countries, with support to increase, and in some cases establish national and regional capabilities for the proper operation, calibration, maintenance and utilization of instruments in nuclear spectrometry applications. Technological advances in instrumentation, as well as the consequent high rate of obsolescence, make it important for nuclear instrumentation laboratories in Member States to keep their knowledge and skills up to date. This publication reviews the current status, developments and trends in electronics and digital methods for nuclear spectrometry, providing useful information for interested Member States to keep pace with new and evolving technologies. All nuclear spectrometry systems contain electronic circuits and devices, commonly referred to as front-end electronics, which accept and process the electrical signals produced by radiation detectors. This front-end electronics are composed of a chain of signal processing subsystems that filter, amplify, shape, and digitise these electrical signals to finally produce digitally encoded information about the type and nature of the radiation that stimulated the radiation detector. The design objective of front-end electronics is to obtain maximum information about the radiation and with the highest possible accuracy. Historically, the front-end electronics has consisted of all analog components. The performance delivered has increased continually over time through the development and implementation of new and improved analog electronics and electronic designs. The development of digital electronics, programmable logic, and digital signal processing techniques has now enabled most of the analog front-end electronics to be replaced by digital electronics, opening up new opportunities and delivering new benefits not previously achievable. Digital electronics and digital signal processing methods are enabling advances in numerous spectrometry applications such as lightweight, portable and hand held radiation instruments, and high-resolution digital medical imaging systems. The objective of this technical meeting was to review the current status, developments and trends in nuclear electronics and signal processing, and their application with various radiation detectors. The meeting discussed the problems faced and the solutions employed, to improve the performances of data acquisition systems and high-tech equipment used for nuclear spectrometry. Presentations made at the meeting elaborated operational experiences with modern signal processing and electronics, and highlighted the latest developments in this field. This publication summarizes the findings and conclusions arising from this technical meeting