MainPage:Nuclear:Summer2013:FastAmplifier
Goal
Determine appropriate amplifier for a photomultiplier tube to be used in a detector, so as to prevent the background noise from drowning out the signal from the PMT.
Challenges
Slew Rate
The slew rate is defined as the measurement of how fast an amplifier can respond to an electrical signal. Thus, the slew rate determines the range of frequencies that can be amplified according to the formula S = 2πfVp, where f is the frequency of the signal and Vp is the peak voltage. In order for our amplifier to work with the PMT, the slew rate must be high enough to catch the frequency of it's signal.
Cost
While not necessarily a major concern, it would be in the best interest of the program to find an optimal solution that gives good results with as little cost as possible.
Amplifiers
There are two models of amplifiers we will test for usage in the detector: the LM 741C operational amplifier and the LMH 730154 high speed differential amplifier.
741C Op-Amp
Pros: Cheap ($0.75), very durable
Cons: Low slew rate, amplification bandwidth only extends to about 1 MHz
730154 Amp
Pros: High slew rate, amplification bandwidth of approximately 2 GHz
Cons: Relatively expensive (~$10), can be easily destroyed by static electricity accumulated on the body.
Procedure
We will begin by testing the PMT without an amplifier to see if we can get a discernible signal consistently, which could potentailly allow us to skip using an amplifier altogether. If this course of action does not pan out, we will move on to testing the PMT with both amplifiers and comparing the data. This should help us see which amplifier is the right fit for this usage.
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