ORTEC FTA820A User manual

Model FTA820A Octal Fast Timing Amplifier
and
Model FTA420C Quad Fast Timing Amplifier
Operating Manual
Printed in U.S.A. ORTEC®Part No. 740350 1002
Manual Revision D

ii
$GYDQFHG 0HDVXUHPHQW 7HFKQRORJ\ ,QF
a/k/a/ ORTEC®, a subsidiary of AMETEK®, Inc.
WARRANTY
ORTEC*warrantsthattheitemswillbedelivered freefrom defectsin material or workmanship. ORTECmakes
no other warranties, express or implied, and specificall
y
NO WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
ORTEC’s exclusive liabilit
y
is limited to repairin
g
or replacin
g
at ORTEC’s option, items found b
y
ORTEC to
be defective in workmanship or materials within one
y
ear from the date of deliver
y
. ORTEC’s liabilit
y
on an
y
claim of an
y
kind, includin
g
ne
g
li
g
ence, loss, or dama
g
es arisin
g
out of, connected with, or from the
performance or breach thereof, or from the manufacture, sale, deliver
y
, resale, repair, or use of an
y
item or
services covered b
y
this a
g
reement or purchase order, shall in no case exceed the price allocable to the item
or service furnished or an
y
part thereof that
g
ives rise to the claim. In the event ORTEC fails to manufacture
ordeliveritemscalledfor inthisa
g
reementorpurchaseorder,ORTEC’sexclusiveliabilit
y
andbu
y
er’sexclusive
remed
y
shall be release of the bu
y
er from the obli
g
ation to pa
y
the purchase price. In no event shall ORTEC
be liable for special or conse
q
uential dama
g
es.
Quality Control
Before bein
g
approved for shipment, each ORTEC instrument must pass a strin
g
ent set of
q
ualit
y
control tests
desi
g
ned to expose an
y
flaws in materials or workmanship. Permanent records of these tests are maintained
for use in warrant
y
repair and as a source of statistical information for desi
g
n improvements.
Repair Service
If it becomes necessar
y
to return this instrument for repair, it is essential that Customer Services be contacted
in advance of its return so that a Return Authorization Number can be assi
g
ned to the unit. Also, ORTEC must
be informed, either in writin
g
, b
y
telephone
[(
865
)
482-4411
]
or b
y
facsimile transmission
[(
865
)
483-2133
]
, of
the nature of the fault of the instrument bein
g
returned and of the model, serial, and revision
(
“Rev” on rear
panel
)
numbers. Failure to do so ma
y
cause unnecessar
y
dela
y
s in
g
ettin
g
the unit repaired. The ORTEC
standardprocedurere
q
uiresthatinstrumentsreturnedforrepairpassthesame
q
ualit
y
controlteststhatareused
for new-production instruments. Instruments that are returned should be packed so that the
y
will withstand
normal transit handlin
g
and must be shipped PREPAID via Air Parcel Post or United Parcel Service to the
desi
g
nated ORTEC repair center. The address label and the packa
g
e should include the Return Authorization
Number assi
g
ned. Instruments bein
g
returned that are dama
g
ed in transit due to inade
q
uate packin
g
will be
repaired at the sender's expense, and it will be the sender's responsibilit
y
to make claim with the shipper.
Instruments not in warrant
y
should follow the same procedure and ORTEC will provide a
q
uotation.
Damage in Transit
Shipments should be examined immediatel
y
upon receipt for evidence of external or concealed dama
g
e. The
carrier makin
g
deliver
y
should be notified immediatel
y
of an
y
such dama
g
e, since the carrier is normall
y
liable
for dama
g
e in shipment. Packin
g
materials, wa
y
bills, and other such documentation should be preserved in
order to establish claims. After such notification to the carrier, please notif
y
ORTEC of the circumstances so
that assistance can be provided in makin
g
dama
g
e claims and in providin
g
replacement e
q
uipment, if
necessar
y
.
Cop
y
ri
g
ht © 2002, Advanced Measurement Technolo
gy
, Inc. All ri
g
hts reserved.
*ORTEC®is a re
g
istered trademark of Advanced Measurement Technolo
gy
, Inc. All other trademarks used herein are
the propert
y
of their respective owners.

iii
CONTENTS
SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS AND SYMBOLS ............................................... iv
SAFETY WARNINGS AND CLEANING INSTRUCTIONS ..................................... v
1. DESCRIPTION ................................................................... 1
2. SPECIFICATIONS ................................................................ 1
2.1. PERFORMANCE ............................................................. 1
2.2. ELECTRICALANDMECHANICAL................................................ 1
3. INSTALLATION .................................................................. 1
4. CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION ........................................................... 2
5. MAINTENANCE.................................................................. 2

iv
SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS AND SYMBOLS
This manual contains up to three levels of safety instructions that must be observed in order to avoid
personal injury and/or damage to equipment or other property. These are:
DANGER Indicates a hazard that could result in death or serious bodily harm if the safety instruction is
not observed.
WARNING Indicates a hazard that could result in bodily harm if the safety instruction is not observed.
CAUTION Indicates a hazard that could result in property damage if the safety instruction is not
observed.
Please read all safety instructions carefully and make sure you understand them fully before attempting to
use this product.
In addition, the following symbol may appear on the product:
ATTENTION – Refer to Manual
DANGER – High Voltage
Please read all safety instructions carefully and make sure you understand them fully before attempting to
use this product.

v
DANGER Opening the cover of this instrument is likely to expose dangerous voltages. Disconnect the
instrument from all voltage sources while it is being opened.
WARNING Using this instrument in a manner not specified by the manufacturer may impair the
protection provided by the instrument.
CAUTION To prevent moisture inside of the instrument during external cleaning, use only enough liquid
to dampen the cloth or applicator.
SAFETY WARNINGS AND CLEANING INSTRUCTIONS
Cleaning Instructions
To clean the instrument exterior:
 Unplug the instrument from the ac power supply.
 Remove loose dust on the outside of the instrument with a lint-free cloth.
 Remove remaining dirt with a lint-free cloth dampened in a general-purpose detergent and water
solution. Do not use abrasive cleaners.
 Allow the instrument to dry completely before reconnecting it to the power source.

vi

1
ORTEC MODEL FTA820A OCTAL FAST TIMING AMPLIFIER
AND MODEL FTA420C QUAD FAST TIMING AMPLIFIER
1. DESCRIPTION
The Model FTA820A and FTA420C Fast Timing
Amplifiersare high-performance, wide-bandwidth
amplifiersdesigned for boosting very fast linear
signalsfrom photomultipliers, electron multipliers,
silicon surface-barrierdetectors,and other
detectorsused infasttiming applications. The rise
time on both versions is<1 nswith a 5-V output,
enabling excellent timing resolution.
Both unitsare single-width NIM modules. The
FTA820A isan 8-channel unit with a gain of 200,
noninverting. The4-channel FTA420Coffersagain
of 20, noninverting. LEMO type 00C50 connectors
are used for all signal connections.
2. SPECIFICATIONS
2.1. PERFORMANCE
GAINFOR EACHCHANNEL (10% gain tolerance
on both versions):
FTA820A200, noninverting.
FTA420C 20, noninverting.
NUMBER OF CHANNELS
FTA820A 8
FTA420C 4
RISE TIME


1 ns.
NOISE 

20 µV rmsequivalent input noise.
BANDWIDTH10 to 350 MHz.
PROPAGATIONDELAY 

30-psvariationbetween
channels.
OUTPUT RANGE0to  5 V with 50-  load.
INPUTSOne per channel. LEMO connector; input
impedance 50  .
OUTPUTSOne per channel. LEMO connector;
0 to  5V output witha50-  load. Output
impedance 

1  .
2.2. ELECTRICAL AND MECHANICAL
POWER REQUIRED
FTA820A+12 V, 400 mA.
FTA420C +12 V, 200 mA.
DIMENSIONS Standardsingle-widthNIMmodule,
3.4 cm × 22.1 cm (1.35 in. × 8.714 in.) per
DOE/ER-0457T.
WEIGHT
Net 1 kg (2.2 lb).
Shipping 2.7kg(5.9lb).
3. INSTALLATION
The FTA820A and FTA420C contain no internal
power supply and must obtain power from a NIM-
standard bin and power supply. The bin and power
supply should be turned Off when modulesare
inserted and removed. The power supply voltages
should be checked after modulesare inserted.
Ensure that the unit hassufficient cooling air
circulating toprevent any localized heating of the
solid-state circuitry used throughout the module.
The FTA820A and FTA420Cshould not be
subjected to temperaturesin excess of 50 ( C.

2
4. CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION
The FTA820A Amplifier has a noninverting gain of
200. The FTA420C has a noninverting gain of 20.
The FTA820A is composed of eight separate
amplifiers; the FTA420C has four separate
amplifiers. The amplifiers are constructed on a
single printed wiring board. Each section is
identical, and the circuit description that follows
relates to any of the four sections. Component
designations are the same for each channel except
that channel 1 components have a prefix of “1”,
channel 2 components have a prefix of “2”, and so
on for all four channels.
The “A” version has five gain stages, 1Q1 through
1Q4, connected in the Common-Emitter
configuration, and 1Q5 connected in the Emitter-
Follower configuration. Each stage is ac-coupled to
isolate bias voltages and to strongly reject low-
frequencycomponents.Inputprotectionisfurnished
by diode 1D1.
Consider the first stage formed around 1Q1.
Resistor 1R2 furnishes base-injection bias for the
transistor, the series combination 1C2 and 1R3
provides shunt feedback, and resistor 1R4 is an
unbypassed emitter resistor which, along with 1C3,
peaks the high-frequency response of the stage.
Eachof theotherCommon-Emitterstagesoperated
in a similar manner with specific component values
set for optimum gain distribution and risetime. The
final two Common-Emitter stages, 1Q3 and 1Q4,
have variable peaking capacitors, 1C20 and 1C21,
which are set in test to give an overall rise time of
<1 ns. Transistor 1Q5 is connected in the Emitter-
Follower configuration and provides excellent
output drive capability, 0 to  5 V, and low output
impendence, <1  .
The grounding for each section of the amplifier is
isolated from the frame except at the front panel.
Each individual amplifier section receives its circuit
ground via coax to the front panel, and a high-
quality ground connection must be maintained for
proper operation.
The “C” version has two fewer Common-Emitter
amplifier stages than the “A” version. There is no
signal inversion from input to output, and the
overall gain is nominally 20. The operation of each
stage is similar to that of the “A” version except for
the distribution of gain and rise time among the
various amplifier stages. Peaking capacitors 1C3
and 1C7 are set in test to give an overall rise time
<1 ns.
5. MAINTENANCE
The FTA820A and FTA420C require very little maintenance other than routine removal of dust and tightening
of mechanical connections. Be sure to observe the cleaning instructions and safetywarnings at thefront
of this manual.

3
Pin Function Pin Function
1 +3 V 23 Reserved
2


3 V 24 Reserved
3 Spare Bus 25 Reserved
4 Reserved Bus 26 Spare
5 Coaxial 27 Spare
6 Coaxial *28 +24 V
7 Coaxial *29


24 V
8 200 V dc 30 Spare Bus
9 Spare 31 Spare
*10 +6 V 32 Spare
*11


6 V *33 117 V ac (Hot)
12 Reserved Bus *34 Power Return Ground
13 Spare 35 Reset (Scaler)
14 Spare 36 Gate
15 Reserved 37 Reset (Auxiliary)
*16 +12 V 38 Coaxial
*17


12 V 39 Coaxial
18 Spare Bus 40 Coaxial
19 Reserved Bus *41 117 V ac (Neutral)
20 Spare *42 High-Quality Ground
21 Spare G Ground Guide Pin
22 Reserved
Pins marked (*) are installed and wired in ORTEC’s Model 4001A and
4001C Modular System Bins.
Bin/Module Connector Pin Assignments for Standard
Nuclear Instrument Modules per DOE/ER-0457T

4