A 16,000 Channel, 50 MHZ Time-of-Flight Analyzer for High Data Rates

A 16,000 channel time-of-flight analyzer is described. The time channels are divided into groups of 512 channels. Channel widths of 20 nsec or binary multiples thereof, up to 1280 nsec, may be independently selected for each group. The time information is stored in a 16 word derandomizing buffer capable of accepting new data every 20 nsec. The buffer empties into a computer, with 32K of core memory, which can accept a word of data every 800 nsec. For this emptying rate, losses due to buffer size will be less than 0.1% for random arrival rates up to 106 words/sec.