ROTOR: the VLSI switched current amplifier for high-rate high-resolution spectroscopy with asynchronous event occurrence

In this paper the authors present a novel JFET/CMOS signal processor, ROtational TrapezOidal Readout (ROTOR), conceived for high-rate high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy with asynchronous event occurrence. The circuit is of time-variant nature, uses no fast channel as a trigger, and displays a quasitrapezoidal weight function with virtually no exponential tail. Such a finite-width weight function is typically nearly optimal for submicrosecond processing times and is adequate when intense radiation fluxes must be handled. The filter also permits us to suppress possible ballistic deficits.