Optimizing a Digital DAQ at the University of Kentucky Accelerator Laboratory

The University of Kentucky Accelerator Laboratory (UKAL) acquired a new CAEN-based digital data acquisition system (DAQ) for use in the facility. In this work, the new DAQ was optimized and benchmarked so that new and more complicated experiments could be performed in the future. Initially, a 60Co source was used with an HPGe (high-purity germanium) gamma-ray detector so that the parameters for the trapezoidal filter used by the DAQ could be established. After the timings of the filter were optimized, the detector was placed at the UKAL beamline for inelastic neutron scattering measurements. Data were collected for a sample of xenon difluoride enriched to 99.9% in 136Xe. Spectra were taken at five different detection angles in order to extract lifetimes for excited states in 136Xe using the Doppler-shift attenuation method. These lifetimes were then compared with data from previous experiments that used an older analog system so that the new digital DAQ could be benchmarked against existing data.