Development of the readout system for the K2K SciBar detector

Readout electronics for the scintillation bar tracking detector (SciBar) in the K2K neutrino oscillation experiment has been developed. SciBar has 14 336 scintillator bars in total. The deposited energy and timing of particles from neutrino interactions in the scintillator bars are measured by 64-channel multianode photo-multiplier tubes (MAPMTs). Compact custom-designed electronics to record the MAPMT signals were developed, consisting of front-end circuit boards attached to each MAPMT and back-end electronics modules sitting in a VME crate. The front-end circuit board multiplexes pulse-height information from all 64 anodes and generates a fast triggering signal. Two sets of ASICs (IDEAS VA32HDR11 and TA32CG) are employed for these functions. The bias voltages and relay of control signals are also handled on the board. The back-end electronics module controls the front-end board by providing the control, timing, and low-voltage signals. The board also digitizes the multiplexed signal from the front-end. The electronics achieves low noise of less than 0.3 photo-electrons and good linearity up to 300 (150) photo-electrons for MAPMTs at the gain of 5×10⁵ (10⁶).