The PASERO Project: parallel and serial readout systems for gas proportional synchrotron radiation X-ray detectors

Abstract A project aiming at producing more efficient position sensitive gas proportional detectors and readout systems is presented. An area detector with reduced electrode spacing and a spatial resolution of 0.5 mm and two time to digital convertors (TDC) based on ASICs were produced. The first TDC, intended for use with linear detectors, relies on time to space conversion, whereas the second one, for area detectors, uses a ring oscillator with a phase locked loop. A parallel readout system for multi-anode detectors aiming at a maximum count rate extensively uses RISC microcontrollers. An electronic simulator of linear detectors built for test purposes and a mechanical chopper used for attenuation of the X-ray beam are also briefly described.