A method to correct differential nonlinearities in subranging analog-to-digital converters used for digital gamma-ray spectroscopy

TL;DR

This paper investigates how differential nonlinearities in subranging ADCs affect gamma-ray spectra and introduces an effective offline correction method, especially beneficial for systems with high dynamic range.

Contribution

It presents a new offline correction algorithm for DNL errors in subranging ADCs used in gamma-ray spectroscopy, improving spectral accuracy.

Findings

DNL effects increase with larger dynamic range.

The correction algorithm significantly improves spectral quality.

The method is especially effective for high dynamic range systems.

Abstract

The influence on $\gamma$-ray spectra of differential nonlinearities (DNL) in subranging, pipelined analog-to-digital converts (ADCs) used for digital $\gamma$-ray spectroscopy was investigated. The influence of the DNL error on the $\gamma$-ray spectra, depending on the input count-rate and the dynamic range has been investigated systematically. It turned out, that the DNL becomes more significant in $\gamma$-ray spectra with larger dynamic range of the spectroscopy system. An event-by-event offline correction algorithm was developed and tested extensively. This correction algorithm works especially well for high dynamic ranges.