title: Data acquisition schemes for continuous two-particle time-of-flight coincidence experiments.
abstract: Three data acquisition schemes for two-particle coincidence experiments with a continuous source are discussed. The single-start/single-stop technique, implemented with a time-to-pulse-height converter, results in a complicated spectrum and breaks down severely at high count rates. The single-start/multiple-stop setup, based on a time-to-digital converter and the first choice in today's similar coincidence experiments, performs significantly better at high count rates, but its performance is still hampered if the time-of-flight range is large, and the false coincidence background is variable if the event frequency and the collection efficiency of the starts are both high. A straightforward, multistart/multistop setup is proposed for coincidence experiments. By collecting all detector data, it ensures the highest signal-to-noise ratio, constant background, and fast data acquisition and can now be easily constructed with commercially available time-to-digital converters. Analytical and numerically evaluated formulas are derived to characterize the performance of each setup in a variety of environments. Computer simulated spectra are presented to illustrate the analytically predicted features of the various raw time-of-flight distributions obtained with each technique.
authors.affiliation: Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Andras
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bodi
authors.forename: Bálint
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sztáray
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Baer
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gerber
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D016208:Databases, Factual; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods*