High-resolution energy and fast timing measurements for nuclear spectroscopy using digital signal processing

Simultaneous high-resolution energy and picosecond timing measurements have been established with an 8-channel, 14-bit, 500 MS/s digitizer coupled to semiconductor and scintillation radiation detectors, resulting in performance equivalent to that obtained with analog electronics. By interpolating between the 2 nanosecond time stamps associated with the sampling frequency, timing up to few tens of picoseconds is achieved. Energy resolution and linearity are determined to be excellent. Coincidence and precise lifetime measurements performed indicate the utility in complex gamma-ray spectroscopic studies.