Ballistic deficits in pulse shaping amplifiers

Abstract

The authors consider the problem of ballistic deficit, which is the loss of output signal amplitude due to the interplay between the finite charge-collection times in a detector and the characteristic time constants of the amplifier. Quantitative estimates of ballistic deficits have been developed by using numerical integration techniques on a microcomputer and by exact calculations using Laplace transforms. A practical procedure is developed in which an actual amplifier with even an unspecified complex-pole network can be accurately related to an equivalent semi-Gaussian shaping network the exact solution of which is known. Simple formulas for estimating ballistic deficits and resulting degradation in spectral energy resolutions are given.<>