Experiment 1: Operation of Oscilloscope and Nuclear Electronics

Purpose
The purpose of this experiment is to introduce the student to the Oscilloscope, Pulser and NIM modules.
These are the instruments that are used in counting systems in Nuclear Physics.

Description
Almost all nuclear radiation measurements involve the use of electronic equipment. Some systems will
be complete instruments such as the survey instruments introduced in an earlier session. More
general/especially in the laboratory, a system for a particular measurement will be assembled using
standard instrument packages. For nuclear counting measurements most of the instrumentation
conforms to the Nuclear Instrument Module (NIM) Standard that was established in the early 1960's to
standardize the equipment used in low energy nuclear physics. The NIM Standard specifies the size of the
modules, the power supply voltages and currents, the signal shapes and levels, the input and output
characteristics of the modules and the connectors, (refer G. F. Knoll textbook)
When interconnecting the instrument modules, particular care must be exercised that the output of one
module is compatible with the input of the next module. It is also important to know when a module is
malfunctioning or not adjusted properly. Although tests can be devised to test a system's operation, the
fastest way to insure the proper adjustment and operation is to observe the shapes of the electric pulses
going into and out of each module. An oscilloscope is used for this purpose.
An oscilloscope is a device that permits one to examine the time dependence of electric signals. Its vertical
axis (y) corresponds to the amplitude of a signal and the horizontal axis corresponds to time. Thus using
an oscilloscope while assembling a radiation detection system will permit us to insure that the individual
modules are working properly and the signals from the modules agree with the specifications stated by
the manufacturer.
The typical laboratory oscilloscope is a versatile instrument with forty or more controls. However, the
various controls can generally be grouped into four main functions, those governing the focusing and
intensity of the beam, those governing the scale of y axis, those governing the scale of x axis called time
base), and those responsible for creating stable CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) displays (called triggering). Refer
to the manual of the oscilloscopes for a detailed descriptions of each control.
A Pulser is designed to simulate the output signal "of a nuclear particle reaction in a nuclear detector and
is used to check the performance (linearity, electronic resolution, etc.) of a radiation counting system. The
pulser (ORTEC 480) provides pulses characterized by a fast rise time, (usually < 10 ns 10-90%) and a slow
exponential decay time (several hundred micro-seconds). The output amplitude is adjustable by
attenuation switches or a potentiometer.
The signal chain shown in Fig. 1 represents a basic measurement scheme in which only the number or
rate of pulses from a detector is to be recorded.

DiscriPreDetector Amplifier Amplifier

minator

Timer

Counter

Figure 1. Basic pulse counting system

In this experiment a pulser is used to simulate the output of a detector. A preamplifier has two main
functions. It is usually located next to a detector to serve as an impedance matcher. It also minimizes the
capacitance loading on the detector and thus maximizes signal to noise ratio. The output of a preamplifier
is a linear tail pulse with a fast rise time (< 1 s) and a slow fall time (> 50 s). The function of a linear
amplifier is to amplify and shape the pulses from the preamplifier for pulse height analyzing. Most
amplifiers use CR-RC network to provide output pulses with Gaussian shaping. The differentiation and
integration time constant are on the order of s. A Gaussian shaping amplifier requires an input pulse
with a fast rise time (< 1 s) and a decay time (> 50 s) with either a positive or negative polarity. The
output of the amplifier is a positive unipolar or a bipolar pulse with a positive leading edge. Bipolar pulses
are used for high counting rate experiments or timing experiments. More details on pulse shaping are
given in chapter 16 of the Knoll's textbook. In order to count properly, the shaped linear pulses must be
converted into logic pulses. A single channel analyzer (SCA) or an integral discriminator can be used for
this purpose. If the linear pulses meet the conditions imposed by the SCA or integral discriminator, logic
pulses are generated. The integral discriminator usually is built in a counter unit which counts and displays
the number of logic pulses. The integral discrimination mode of operation is the simplest method for
converting shaped linear pulses into logic pulses. When the linear pulse exceeds the discrimination level
(or called threshold), a logic pulse is produced and counted. A more common method of analyzing pulse
height is using an SCA in the differential discriminator mode (or window mode). In this mode, two
discriminators, a lower level discriminator (LLD) and an upper level discriminator (ULD), are used together
to select the desired pulse height. If the input pulse amplitude exceeds the LLD level but not the ULD level,
logic pulse is then generated. Therefore, a differential pulse height spectrum can be obtained directly by
adjusting the LLD and ULD settings sequentially. In modern pulse height analyzing system, a multichannel
analyzer (MCA) is used to obtain the differential pulse height spectrum in a parallel operation. The working
principle of an MCA will be discussed in a later lab session.

Part 1: Oscilloscope functional check

Equipment
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Oscilloscope: TDS 3032C SERIES

Pulser: Ortec 480

Procedure
1. Oscilloscope Turn-On Procedure
-

Turn the power on and set the controls and switches as follows:

2. Vertical Controls
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Vertical mode : Channel 1

Input coupling: GND (to find this press the menu button on the vertical scale).
Volts/division: 5 (try using the big knob on the vertical scale)

3. Time base and triggering

-

Triggering source: channel 1 (to find this press menu button on the trigger scale)
Triggering source coupling: DC (to find this press menu button on trigger scale)
Trigger Level: 0
Trigger mode: Auto
Slope out: (+)
Time/div: 1 ms (try using the knob on the horizontal scale)

There need not be a signal connected to the scope at this moment to see a trace displayed on the screen.
Now, adjust the channel 1 Position and Horizontal Position to center the trace on the screen. You now
have the most basic display: a free running trace with a voltage level zero volt (any DC level will be referred
to this GND level).
Turn the TIME/DIV knob to 20 ms and 200 ms. What you have just done is to change the horizontal sweep
speed (time setting). We usually use a fast sweep to observe a fast varying signal and a slow sweep to
observe a slowly varying signal.
4. Using a probe to do the self-calibration procedure of the oscilloscope.
-

Connect the Oscilloscope probe to channel 1.

Attach the probe tip and reference lead to the Probe Comp connectors.
Push the Autoset button, you should see a square wave in the display.

Write down the amplitude in Volts and frequency in KHz of the square wave.
Amplitude of square wave: _______________________________
Frequency of square wave: _______________________________
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Part 2: Observing the output signal of a Pulser

Equipment
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Oscilloscope
Pulser
NIM Bin

1. Slide the pulser inside the NIM bin

2. Turn the NIM bin power switch on and set the pulser controls as follows:
-

PULSE HEIGHT: fully clockwise

All ATTENUATORS: x l
OFF/ON: ON
Polarity POS/NEG: POS
TIME/DIV: 2 ms (on the Oscilloscope)
Direct Output: with Terminator

All attenuation switches in these two models should be pressed down to get x l attenuation.
3. Connect the pulser ATTEN OUTPUT to the scope channel 1 with a BNC ended coaxial cable.
4. Turn the channel 1 input coupling switch to AC. Now, you should see the pulses output from the pulser
on the screen. Adjust the time base and horizontal position so that only the first pulse can be seen. These
pulses have a fast leading edge (less than 10 ns) with a slow trailing edge to simulate the typical output
pulse from a nuclear detector. In order to see the leading edge clearly, you have to change the time base,
increase intensity and shield the strayed light around.
5. Do you see a stable display when you turn the Trigger Level knob fully clockwise and counter-clockwise?
6. Try to get a stable display with the Trigger mode by adjusting the Trigger Level and measure the
amplitude of the pulse (use proper Volt/div setting).
Amplitude: _______________________________
7. Turn the channel 1 input coupling switch to DC. Is there any measurable DC level in the pulse? Increase
the VOLT/DIV to see the small difference.
DC level in the pulse: _______________________________
8. Play the horizontal sweep speed by changing the TIme/div knob to determine the repetition rate of the
pulse (frequency).
Repetition rate of the pulse: _______________________________
9. Measure the time that it takes for the pulse falling to 90%, 50%, and 10% of the peak amplitude using
proper Time/dIv settings. Does the tail of the pulse follow exponential decay? What is the time constant?
10. Turn the Trigger level knob to slightly less than zero. Set the Polarity switch of the pulser to NEG. What
happened to the first pulse?
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11. Set the attenuation of the pulser to x2 and measure the peak amplitude. You probably need to change
the Volt/div setting. Measure the peak amplitude when the attenuation is at X5, X10, and X50. You may
need to adjust trigger level for a stable display. Once the input signal is properly triggered, the Trigger
light will be on.
Peak amplitude with Attenuator at 2: _______________________________
Peak amplitude with Attenuator at 5: _______________________________
Peak amplitude with Attenuator at 10: _______________________________
Peak amplitude with Attenuator at 50: _______________________________

Part 3: Observing the output of preamplifier

Equipment
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Oscilloscope
Pulser ORTEC 480
Preamplifier ORTEC 142A
Amplifier ORTEC 485
Discriminator ORTEC 551
T-shape BNC connector

Procedures
1. Turn on the pulser and feed the ATTN output to CH 1 of the scope. Adjust the attenuation switch and/or
pulse height knob of the pulser so that the pulser produces 0.2 V negative pulses. Record the settings of
your pulser.
2. Connect the power cable of the preamplifier to a power source located on the rear of a linear amplifier.
The 142A preamplifier is designed to operate over a detector input capacitance range from 0-100 pF. Feed
the pulser ATTN output to both the scope CH 1 and the preamplifier TEST input with a "T" shaped BNC
connector.
3. Feed the energy (E) output of the preamplifier to CH 2 of the scope. You should observe two traces:
one is the output of the pulser and the other is the output of preamplifier. Compare the shape and
amplitude of the two signals. How does the preamplifier shape change when you change the pulser
amplitude?

Part 4: Observing the output of a linear shaping amplifier

1. Set the controls of the amplifier as follows:
-

Fine Gain: minimum (fully counter-clockwise)

Coarse Gain 2
Polarity UNIPOLAR, POS (because preamp output is positive)

2. Reconfigure your cables so you can see both the pulser output and the amplifier output on the
oscilloscope at the same time.
3. Reconfigure your cables so you can see both the preamplifier output and the amplifier output on the
oscilloscope at the same time.