Suitability study of a histogramming software architecture in the data acquisition system of position sensitive X-ray detectors

We describe here an approach, based on software algorithms and techniques for the histogramming of raw data, to the position encoding in X-ray detectors. This runs on a standard platform and uses a commercial data acquisition board. We also describe the hardware and software set-up, and the results of the tests carried out in order to show its suitability. The results show that: it is possible to achieve a throughput, for a sustained mean event rate, in excess of 3 MHz; the Linux operating system, with an appropriate driver development, is a suitable option, and; it is possible to reach acceptable event throughput, whilst increasing flexibility and reducing the overall cost of the data acquisition system.