A Digital Signal Processing Module for Ge Semiconductor Detectors

We have developed a digital signal processing module (APV7109) for a germanium semiconductor detector. The benchmark test of this module has shown good energy resolution and high throughput compared with conventional analog modules. By adding an extension module, the APV7109 can perform more advanced on-line calculations using the pulse shapes delivered by the on-board programmable logic. Therefore, user defined algorithms for pulse shape analysis can be used to adapt this module to various applications. Tests have demonstrated the feasibility of this extensible design.