Digital pulse-timing technique for the neutron detector array NEDA

A new digital pulse-timing algorithm, to be used with the future neutron detector array NEDA, has been developed and tested. The time resolution of four 5 in. diameter photomultiplier tubes (XP4512, R4144, R11833-100, and ET9390-kb), coupled to a cylindrical 5 in. by 5 in. BC501A liquid scintillator detector was measured by employing digital sampling electronics and a constant fraction discriminator (CFD) algorithm. The zero crossing of the CFD algorithm was obtained with a cubic spline interpolation, which was continuous up to the second derivative. The performance of the algorithm was studied at sampling rates of 500 MS/s and 200 MS/s. The time resolution obtained with the digital electronics was compared to the values acquired with a standard analog CFD. The result of this comparison shows that the time resolution from the analog and the digital measurements at 500 MS/s and at 200 MS/s are within 15% for all the tested photomultiplier tubes.