Vertilon Corporation has made every attempt to ensure that the information in this document is accurate and complete.
Vertilon assumes no liability for errors or for any incidental, consequential, indirect, or special damages including,
without limitation, loss of use, loss or alteration of data, delays, lost profits or savings, arising from the use of this
document or the product which it accompanies.
Vertilon reserves the right to change this product without prior notice. No responsibility is assumed by Vertilon for any
infringements of patents or other rights of third parties which may result from its use. No license is granted by implication
or otherwise under the patent and proprietary information rights of Vertilon Corporation.
SIB164B PMT Sensor Interface Board for Hamamatsu H7546B / H12428 Series
General Safety Precautions
Use Proper Power Source
The SIB164B is powered with a +5V power source directly from Vertilon’s PhotoniQ multi-channel data acquisition
systems. Use with any other power source may result in damage to the product.
Operate Inputs within Specified Range
To avoid electric shock, fire hazard, or damage to the product, do not apply a voltage to any input outside of its specified
range.
Electrostatic Discharge Sensitive
Electrostatic discharges may result in damage to the SIB164B. For these reasons, the SIB164B board is intended to be
operated in a user’s conductive instrument enclosure.
Do Not Operate in Wet or Damp Conditions
To avoid electric shock or damage to the product, do not operate in wet or damp conditions.
Do Not Operate in Explosive Atmosphere
To avoid injury or fire hazard, do not operate in an explosive atmosphere.
Simplified control through PhotoniQ graphical user interface
Interface board for Hamamatsu 64 channel multianode PMTs
Compatible with Hamamatsu H7546B & H12428 devices
Provides 64 channel interface to data acquisition systems
Separate high voltage input for PMT cathode bias
High speed preamplifier for last dynode output
Leading edge and zero slope discriminators
Adjustable discriminator gain and energy threshold
100% compatible with Vertilon’s PhotoniQ multichannel DAQs
No external power supply required
User Guide
The SIB164B multianode photomultiplier tube interface board provides the mechanical and electrical connectivity
between the Hamamatsu H7546B / H12428 64 anode PMTs and external signal processing electronics such as Vertilon’s
PhotoniQ multichannel data acquisition systems. The PMT is mounted to the bottom side of the SIB164B through 76
socket pins that connect the device’s 64 anode signals, high voltage input, and last dynode output to the board. The
anode signals are routed to two connectors located on the top of the board that each connect to a specialized high
density coaxial cable assembly. This arrangement allows the SIB164B to be conveniently mounted directly into the user’s
optical setup with the PMT facing outward from the bottom of the board and the sensor interface board (SIB) cables
exiting from the top. The SIB cables carry the 64 anodes from the PMT to the PhotoniQ where the charge from each is
separately integrated, digitized, and sent to a PC for display or further signal processing. The negative high voltage bias
to the PMT’s cathode is supplied directly from the PhotoniQ on a high voltage cable to a dedicated connector on the
SIB164B. For applications utilizing the last dynode output of the PMT, the SIB164B includes a two stage high speed
preamplifier whose output is available on an SMB connector. When specialized timing and triggering are required, this
output can be connected to a separate external discriminator and triggering electronics. Alternatively, for more general
purpose applications when the trigger requirements are not as stringent, one of the two on-board discriminators can be
used. A leading edge and zero slope discriminator — which respectively generate trigger signals based on a threshold
and pulse peak — are available to the user. Several adjustments are included for optimizing preamp gain, discriminator
gain, and discriminator energy thresholds. The full functionality and operation of the SIB164B is conveniently controlled
through the PhotoniQ’s graphical user interface. Intelligent software in the PhotoniQ constantly monitors the status of its
SIB connectors to determine the type of sensor interface board attached to them. Once recognized, a dialog box specific
to the recognized SIB is made available in the GUI through which the user has complete control over its operation.
The various functions on the SIB164B are described in greater detail on the following pages. When necessary, refer to
the functional block diagram shown in Figure 1 below.
Vinis a triangular pulse (18 nsec rise time, 30 nsec fall time)
applied to last dynode preamplifier input (DY12). Gain set to
high, pulse width set to medium wide, threshold set to 10%.
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Page 10
SIB164B PMT Sensor Interface Board for Hamamatsu H7546B / H12428 Series
Description Sym Min Typ Max Units Notes
TRIGGER OUTPUT
Output Impedance 50
Logic High Output Level V
Logic Low Output Level V
POWER
Supply Voltage V
Supply Current I
DIMENSIONS
supply
supply
+4.3 +4.8 V
OH
OL
+0.2 +0.6 V
+4.9 +5.0 +5.1 V
75 mA
Width W 84 mm
Length L 102 mm
Thickness T 1.57 mm
Table 1: Specifications
(IOH = -32mA)
(IOL = 32mA)
(not including SMB connectors which extend past PCB edge)
A typical setup using a SIB164B with a Hamamatsu H12428 PMT is shown below although the example is equally
applicable to the H7546B. The device is mounted to the SIB164B and positioned to detect incoming light from a
scintillator crystal or optical assembly. Two SIB cables connect the 64 anode outputs from the SIB164B to a PhotoniQ
IQSP482 or IQSP582 64 channel PMT data acquisition system. Through a USB 2.0 connection the digitized output data
from the PhotoniQ is sent to a PC for display, logging, or real time processing. Additional connections between the
SIB164B and PhotoniQ include a high voltage cable that provides up to 1000 volts of negative bias to the H12428
cathode, and a trigger cable that supplies the trigger to the PhotoniQ from one of the SIB164B’s two discriminators. In an
alternative configuration when precision timing or coincidence detection is required, an external discriminator with
coincidence logic can be placed between the SIB164B preamplifier output and the PhotoniQ trigger input.
Figure 2: Typical Setup
High Voltage Interface
The SIB164B employs the interface circuit shown below between the high voltage input connector, J3, and the high
voltage input to the H7546B / H12428. The monitor output (HVMON) allows the high voltage cathode bias for the PMT to
be indirectly monitored at a reduced voltage level. Voltage readings at the monitor point should be scaled by a factor of
667. Calibration of the scale factor may be required.
Warning: The high voltage section of the SIB164B contains signals at voltage levels
that can exceed negative 1000 volts. Never touch a component or signal in this area.
SIB164B PMT Sensor Interface Board for Hamamatsu H7546B / H12428 Series
Photomultiplier Tube Anode Circuits
The 64 anode signals (P1 – P64) from the PMT are routed directly on the SIB164B to two specialized connectors referred
to as sensor interface board (SIB) connectors. Anodes P1 to P32 route to SIB connector J1 and anodes P33 to P64 route
to SIB connector J2. Each SIB connector mates to a proprietary low-noise, high density SIB cable assembly that carries
the 32 anode signals on coaxial connections to a Vertilon PhotoniQ 64 channel PMT data acquisition system. Depending
on the required speed and dynamic range, either a PhotoniQ IQSP482 high dynamic range system or an IQSP582 high
speed system can be used as the main data acquisition unit. To minimize the possibility of damage due to ESD, the
PMT’s anodes each have a 2.2 Mohm shunt resistor to a common low impedance point. This point is biased at a voltage
equal to the bias voltage (VB) of the charge integrating transimpedance amplifiers on the PhotoniQ so that the PMT
anodes can be DC coupled to them. Figure 4 below illustrates the equivalent circuit as seen by each PMT anode.
Figure 4: Anode Circuit
Last Dynode Preamplifier
This last dynode preamplifier is an inverting, AC-coupled, two-stage configuration whose input is designed for small
positive voltage pulses from the last dynode (DY12) of the H7546B / H12428. The gain of the preamplifier is set by the
user through the PhotoniQ GUI dialog box shown on the next page. For specialized applications requiring external
discrimination or coincidence logic of the last dynode signal, the preamplifier output is available on SMB connector, J6.
Alternatively, the preamplifier output can be further processed by one of the two different discriminators on the SIB164B
to generate trigger signals in sync with the pulse on the last dynode.
SIB164B PMT Sensor Interface Board for Hamamatsu H7546B / H12428 Series
Leading Edge Discriminator
The leading edge discriminator is a simple timing circuit that generates a trigger signal when a charge pulse on the last
dynode output from the H7546B / H12428 PMT exceeds a user-defined threshold. It is implemented using a high speed
comparator connected to the output of the last dynode preamplifier. Referring to Figure 6, negative going pulses from the
preamplifier are compared to the discriminator threshold that is set through the SIB164B dialog box in the PhotoniQ GUI.
A logic high (for positive polarity control) is generated on the trigger output (SMB connector J5) after a small delay (td1)
from when the pulse first crosses the threshold, Vth. The trigger LED flashes indicating that a current pulse crossed the
threshold. The discriminator switches back to a logic low when the pulse crosses the threshold from the opposite direction
as it returns back to the baseline level. Because the trigger point is sensitive to the pulse height, this discriminator is
typically used in applications that do not require precision timing.
The zero slope discriminator works by generating a trigger signal at the inflection point of the input pulse. It is this
point where the pulse is at its peak and its slope transitions from positive to negative. Since AMP4 effectively
operates on the derivative of the input pulse, its output crosses zero where the slope of the pulse is zero. This occurs
at the pulse peak as shown in Figure 7. The threshold comparator compares AMP4 to the user-adjustable threshold
(Vth) to arm the discriminator after which the trigger output fires when the AMP4 signal again crosses the baseline.
The SIB164B connectors and cables are fully compatible with all Vertilon PhotoniQ systems. For applications utilizing
data acquisition systems other than Vertilon’s PhotoniQ series, the pinout for connectors J1 and J2 is provided in Table 5
as a reference.
Vertilon Corporation has made every attempt to ensure that the information in this document is accurate and complete. Vertilo
assumes no liability for errors or for any
a, delays, lost profits or savings, arising from the use
y Vertilon for any
by implication or otherwise under the patent and proprietary
incidental, consequential, indirect, or special damages including, without limitation, loss of use, loss or alteration of dat
of this document or the product which it accompanies. Vertilon reserves the right to change this product without prior notice. No responsibility is assumed b
infringements of patents or other rights of third parties which may result from its use. No license is granted
information rights of Vertilon Corporation.