Digital pulse processor using moving average technique

A digital pulse processor with improved differential linearity and reduced dead time is designed. The circuit uses an 8-b flash analog-to-digital converter (ADC) running at 36 MHz and continually sampling the signal from the preamplifier or shaping amplifier. The digitized signal is then processed by a digital moving averager. A digital peak detector is used for measuring the amplitude of the shaped pulses. A novel, threshold-free circuit is designed that combines both the moving average and peak detection functions. The circuit also provides a timing signal with an uncertainty of one sampling period. The number of the averaged samples (equivalent to the shaping time constant) is digitally controlled