Hardware overview of the EUROGAM data acquisition system

EUROGAM is an Anglo/French gamma ray detector which will alternate between the tandem Van der Graaf accelerator at Daresbury and the Vivitron at Strasbourg. Because of the very sensitive nature of the electronics for germanium gamma ray detectors, VXIbus (VMEbus extensions for instrumentation) was chosen as the basis for data acquisition. The purpose of the EUROGAM collaboration is to jointly develop and instrument a transportable 4 pi gamma ray detector based upon an array of up to 70 high-purity germanium (Ge) detectors, each with an associated multielement bismuth germanate (BGO) escape suppression shield. Due to take data in early 1992 and to initially have 45 Ge detectors (phase 1), EUROGAM will spend one year at the SERC´s Daresbury Laboratory taking beam from the 20 MV tandem Van der Graaf accelerator. The hardware configuration for the first phase of the EUROGAM data acquisition system is described.<>