Speaker
Description
The Argentine Neutron Beam Laboratory (LAHN) will incorporate the Advanced Neutron Diffractometer for Engineering and Science (ANDES), one of the instruments developed entirely by the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA), which will operate using neutron beams provided by the RA-10 multipurpose reactor. The ANDES position-sensitive neutron detector is a key component of the instrument; whose output is processed by a data acquisition chain comprising front-end electronics, data acquisition hardware, and reconstruction software to determine the impact position of each neutron. This work presents the design basis and current development status of a device that emulates the pulses generated by the detector in response to neutron interactions, producing signals equivalent to those obtained during real measurements. The system reproduces both the amplifier output signals and the constant fraction discriminator (CFD) output signals of the detector. It is implemented in a module compliant with the Nuclear Instrumentation Module (NIM) standard in both mechanical dimensions and power supply. In addition, it includes a custom-developed application that allows the user to define the impact position of an individual neutron or generate predefined event patterns. The system requirements were established through a comprehensive study of the detector operation and the response of its associated electronics, complemented by preliminary tests aimed at characterizing the signals to be emulated. The objective of this development is to provide a tool for validating and developing the complete data acquisition and processing chain without requiring the availability of either the detector or a neutron beam, thereby facilitating integration, maintenance, and future upgrades of the instrument.
Key Words
Neutron Detectors, FPGA, SoC, Signal Emulation, CFD, NIM