Frequently Asked Questions
Hardware
Q: Does it work?
A: No, not yet. The files current posted (as of 14/09/15) are for our
version 1 prototype which has a number of known bugs/issues:
including - readout speed issues with the Raspberry Pi (we're using
interrupts that don't go fast enough under standard Raspian), an
unintentional hard limit for the event detection rate of 1 Hz as a
result of the way the high precision timing is implemented, and some
issues with the ADC's - specifically they're not configured to caputre
in the correct way and aren't pipelined. Finally, the rather neat Murata
HV PSU we've integrated isn't sufficiently stable (too much noise) for
use with our preference of Hammamatsu SiPMT. We're addressing all these
issues (and more) for version 2!
Q: What about the detector medium?
A: Version 1 is based on using a pair of Hammamatsu SiPMT's, a block of
plastic scintillator and a wavelength shifting fibre. All these items
are commercially available from people like Saint Gobain.
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James Devine 14/09/15