Development of a Compact Digital Multichannel Analyzer based on FPGA

Pham Hoai Phuong1, Nguyen Nhi Dien1, Nguyen Xuan Tan1, Trang The Dat1, Ong Quang Dong1, Nguyen Kien Cuong1
1 Dalat Nuclear Research Institute, Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (VINATOM)

Main Article Content

Abstract

In this work, we designed and built a digital multichannel analyzer (DMCA) using field-programmable gate array (FPGA), which is used to build a spectroscopic measurement system for a tomography device. DMCA's hardware was built with an ADC with 14-bit resolution and a sampling rate of 105 million samples per second (MSPs) combined with an FPGA board. The models of three functional blocks in DMCA, including pulse shaping filter, peak detection, and spectrum histogram processing, were simulated and optimized in the Matlab environment before they were integrated on the FPGA chip. The performance of DMCA was evaluated based on the high purity germanium (HPGe) detector with standard sources 60Co and 137Cs. The spectrum measured on the DMCA system showed that the drift of the spectral peak over time (100 hours) was of less than 1% and a resolution of 2.6 keV was at 1332 keV 60Co. The DMCA developed in this work demonstrated various advantages: stability, compactness, versatility, and cost effectiveness.

Article Details

Author Biographies

Pham Hoai Phuong, Dalat Nuclear Research Institute, Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (VINATOM)

01 Nguyen Tu Luc St., Dalat City, Lam Dong, 670000, Vietnam

Nguyen Nhi Dien, Dalat Nuclear Research Institute, Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (VINATOM)

01 Nguyen Tu Luc St., Dalat City, Lam Dong, 670000, Vietnam

Nguyen Xuan Tan, Dalat Nuclear Research Institute, Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (VINATOM)

01 Nguyen Tu Luc St., Dalat City, Lam Dong, 670000, Vietnam

Trang The Dat, Dalat Nuclear Research Institute, Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (VINATOM)

01 Nguyen Tu Luc St., Dalat City, Lam Dong, 670000, Vietnam

Ong Quang Dong, Dalat Nuclear Research Institute, Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (VINATOM)

01 Nguyen Tu Luc St., Dalat City, Lam Dong, 670000, Vietnam

Nguyen Kien Cuong, Dalat Nuclear Research Institute, Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (VINATOM)

01 Nguyen Tu Luc St., Dalat City, Lam Dong, 670000, Vietnam

References

[1]. Simões, J.B., Correia, C.M. Pulse processing architectures. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A, 422(1), 405–410, 1999.
[2]. Darvish-Molla, S. et al. Development of a compact and cost-effective multi-input digital signal processing system. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A, 879, 13-18, 2018.
[3]. Bolic, M., Drndarevic, V. Digital gamma-ray spectroscopy based on FPGA technology. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A, 482(3), 761–766, 2002.
[4]. Weihua, Z. The design of digital multi-channel analyzer based on FPGA. Energy Proceedings, 39, 428-433, 2013.
[5]. Lee, P. S., Lee, C. S. and Lee, J. H. Development of FPGA-based digital signal processing system for radiation spectroscopy. Radiation Measurement, 48, 12-17, 2013.
[6]. Saxena, S., Hawari, A. Investigation of FPGA-based real-time adaptive digital pulse shaping for high-count-rate applications. IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, 64(7), 1733-1738, 2017.
[7]. Qin, Z. J. et al. A pulse-shape discrimination method for improving gamma-ray spectrometry based on a new digital shaping filter. Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 145, 193-201, 2018.
[8]. Ouda, M. M. et al. Hardware implementation for pileup correction algorithms in gamma ray spectroscopy. International Journal of Computer Applications, 176(6),43-48, 2017.
[9]. Zeng, W. The design of digital multi-channel analyzer based on FPGA. Energy Proceedings, 39, 428-433, 2013.
[10]. Dambacher, M. et al. Development of the gamma-ray analysis digital filter multi-channel analyzer (GMCA). Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A, 652, 445-449, 2011.
[11]. Lee, P., Lee, C., Lee, J. Development of FPGA-based digital signal processing system for radiation spectroscopy. Radiation Measurement, 48, 12-17, 2013.
[12]. Susanto, A. et al. A systematic literature reviews of multichannel analyzer based on FPGA for gamma spectroscopy. Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1528, article 012016, 2020.
[13]. Garcia-Duran, A. et al. FPGA embedded multichannel analyzer, Applied Radiation and Isotope, 141, 282-287, 2018.
[14]. Kaur, S., Kaur, S. P. Design of FIR filter using hanning window, hamming window and modified hamming window. International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Engineering & Technology, 4(5), 2440-2443, 2015.
[15]. Bhaskara, P. C., Uplane, M. D. High frequency electromyogram noise removal from electrocardiogram using FIR low pass filter based on FPGA. Procedia Technology, 25, 497-504, 2016.
[16]. Knoll, G. F. Radiation detection and measurement (4th ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2010.
[17]. Bitter, R., Mohiuddin, T., Nawrocki, M. LabVIEW: Advanced Programming Techniques. Crc Press, 2006.
[18]. Sato, T. et al. Features of particle and heavy ion transport code system (PHITS) version 3.02. Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 55, 684-690, 2018.