Linearizing the Response of the NSRL Synchronous Recycling-Integrators

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) designed recycling-integrators used for the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) dosimetry feature excellent linearity. However, switching transients in the balancing source add a duty-cycle dependence to the response that manifests as a non-linearity near mid-scale and a slope-change above mid-scale. The onset of this non-linearity limits the typical usable dynamic range. Measurements during a recent run showed that at higher intensities the recycling-integrators would operate in the non-linear region enough to exceed the desired tolerance and over count the dose. This report will show how a FPGA, which implements the scalars, was used to compensate the non-linearity allowing higher dose-rates by effectively doubling the dynamic range of the dosimetry system.