Bipolar pulsed reset for AC coupled charge-sensitive preamplifiers

A new type of charge restoration is described for use particularly in germanium gamma-ray spectrometers for accelerator and space physics applications. A bipolar pulsed reset technique is applied to these applications for the first time. This technique overcomes the problems introduced by the need here to AC couple detectors and the fact that very large energy depositions occur due to charged particles present in substantial fluxes, particularly in space. The circuit is described and experimental results are presented and discussed.