A multi-channel digital acquisition system for nuclear spectroscopy experiments

A multi-channels data acquisition system for nuclear spectroscopy applications with HPGe detectors has been designed, manufactured and tested. It is based on a front-end electronics for analog signal conditioning, followed by a free running analog to digital converter. The digital output data-stream is collected and transmitted on twisted copper wires by means of programmable logic devices and dedicated serializers. In order to satisfy the needs of actual multi-channels experiments, we implemented additional functionalities into the digital section of the original data acquisition system, e.g. trigger, baseline estimator, trigger counter, self-alignment of ADC data and readout clock, etc. Provided a suitable electronic hardware design and by taking advantage of the potentialities of programmable logic devices, it is possible to substantially upgrade, even within years of distance, the functionality of the original spectroscopy modules at a very small fraction of the initial investment.