A121 Charge Sensitive Preamplifier & Discriminator

Input Characteristics

Output Characteristics at Threshold

Input Test: 4 mV through 2 pF
Q = CV = 0.008 pC = 5 x 10⁴ electrons

General

A121 RESPONSE

STEP INPUT THROUGH 2 pF TEST CAPACITOR

Top Trace: Input (Pin 1) 200 mV/div
Middle Trace: Analog Out (Pin 5) 1 V/div
Bottom Trace: Output (Pin 9) 5 V/div
Time Base: 50 ns/div

A121 Pin Configuration

Typical test circuit

Trise: < 20 ns (negative-going edge)
Amplitude: 2 – 50 mV.

Charge transfer to the input is according to Q = Ct·V, where Q = total charge, Ct = value of test capacitor, and V = amplitude of voltage step. DO NOT connect the test pulser to the input directly or through a large capacitor (> 100 pF) as this can produce a large current in the input transistor and cause irreversible damage.

NOTES ON A121

• Pin 1, INPUT
  Pin 1 has a DC level of 1.2 V. This DC level should not be changed by external circuitry. Pin 1 should be AC coupled to the detector. The High Voltage coupling capacitor should have adequate voltage rating in order to prevent breakdown which could harm the A121.
  For detectors with anode at ground potential:
  An anode at ground potential needs a DC path to ground to maintain a fixed potential. This can be provided by DC coupling to the input of the A121, which will hold the anode at about 1.2 V. Alternatively, you can AC couple, but use a higher value resistor (1 MEG) to ground at the anode side of the capacitor.
• Protection to the A121 can be provided as follows:
  
• Pin 3, THRESHOLD ADJUST
  Threshold to the A121 can be changed remotely by changing the voltage level on Pin 3. A resistor from Pin 3 to Vs can be added in order to raise the threshold on the A121. The impedance at Pin 3 is about 10k ohms. (See “Figure B. A121 input threshold vs. control voltage on Pin 3” under the Performance tab.)
• Pin 5, ANALOG MONITOR
  Pin 5 provides a positive analog pulse output from the preamplifier section just prior to the discriminator with a rise time of about 10 ns. At maximum sensitivity (Pin 3 = 0 Volts) the amplitude of this pulse is proportional to the input charge, A = 15 V/pC. At threshold this will correspond to a 120 mV pulse. If a voltage is present on Pin 3, the size of the analog pulse will be divided by the same threshold attenuation factor the voltage produced. Example: If 1.3 V is present on Pin 3 (6dB attenuation is a factor of 2), the size of the analog pulse will be 60 mV. This output must be capacitively coupled to external circuitry and can be used to monitor detector gain variations by performing pulse height analysis.
• Pin 9, OUTPUT
  The final output stage of the A121 is produced from a 74AC00 gate with a 200 ohm series resistor.

PC121 Test Board for the A121

DIMENSION: 1.75 in X 1.75 in (4.5 cm X 4.5 cm)
MATERIAL: FR4

PC121 Operating Notes

• The PC121 accommodates two of the A121s, side by side.
• The input (Pin 1) of the A121 is held at a DC level of 1.2 V. Capacitors C1 and C2 isolate the input of the A121 from accidentally grounding it. Both C1 and C2 are rated at 200 V. THEY ARE NOT HIGH VOLTAGE COUPLING CAPACITORS. If the detector signal is at high voltage, an external high voltage coupling capacitor of adequate voltage rating must be connected from the detector to C1 and/or C2. This high voltage capacitor is not supplied with the PC121 due to the large variations of detector types and applications. Since the A121 is used in similar applications to the A111, please refer to the A111 connection diagrams and applications for additional information.
• Due to the high sensitivity at the input and the fast rise time signals that are generated at the output of the A121, care must be taken to the connections of the external wiring in order to avoid oscillations and noise pick-up. Enclosing the PC121 inside a small metal box is recommended.

A121s Orbiting Jupiter!

Amptek is proud to have supplied A121s for the JUNO mission to Jupiter, which entered into a polar orbit on July 4, 2016 to study Jupiter’s composition, gravity field, magnetic field, and polar magnetosphere. JUNO will also search for clues about how the planet formed, including whether it has a rocky core, the amount of water present within the deep atmosphere, mass distribution, and its deep winds.

Amptek’s A121s were used for the Jovian Auroral Distributions Experiment (JADE) on the Juno Mission to Jupiter.  Following are photographs of the A121s in place:

For more information about the mission instruments, click here

A121 Mechanical Diagram