Method for Determining an Arrival Time of a Digitized Signal Pulse Representing a Physical Measurement Quantity, Evaluation Unit, Device, Evaluation System and Radiation Detection System

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This patent describes a method and system for accurately determining the arrival time of digital signal pulses that represent a physical measurement, such as those generated by detectors in physics experiments. The invention classifies the shape of the rising edge of each signal pulse (linear, non-linear without an inflection point, or S-shaped non-linear) and applies an optimized calculation formula for each type. This approach allows fast, resource-efficient, and highly accurate timing determination using just the first few sampled digital points from a pulse. The method can be implemented in FPGA or ASIC modules, enabling real-time, multi-channel signal processing with low power consumption and high timing resolution.

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• Radiation detection systems using photodetectors, straw tubes, silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs), or gas detectors in particle physics experiments
• Medical imaging equipment such as PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scanners for improved time-of-flight measurements
• Industrial or scientific setups requiring precise time measurement of physical events, e.g., neutron or gamma detection systems
• Upgrade of large-scale multi-channel detector systems with low power and high accuracy timing modules
• Development of real-time data acquisition platforms for research physics facilities and nuclear instrumentation
• Digital signal processing in experiments requiring synchronization or timing of fast pulses, such as in collider experiments or astrophysics detectors

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Provides highly accurate timing (sub-100 picoseconds) even at moderate sampling rates, improving spatial and event resolution
• Requires very low computational resources, making it suitable for real-time applications and implementation in FPGAs or ASICs
• Reduces power consumption per channel, enabling scalable, large multi-channel systems
• Automatically adapts to various pulse shapes produced by different detector types, enhancing universal applicability
• Simplifies hardware design by using a unified algorithmic structure for different pulse shapes, needing only minor parameter adjustments
• Minimizes timing errors associated with digital sampling, outperforming conventional methods especially at lower data rates
• Supports automatic or user-configurable operation, facilitating use in dynamic experimental environments

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Patent Abstract

The invention relates to a method for determining an arrival time (tm) of a digitised signal pulse (P) representing a physical measured variable, in which the shape of the rising edge (F) of the signal pulse (P) is determined, the shape being selected from the group comprising - an at least substantially linear gradient, - a non-linear gradient without an inflection point (pi) and - an S-shaped non-linear gradient having at least one inflection point (pi). In all three cases, a difference between the time (t1) of the first sampling point (s1) of the signal pulse (P) and the arrival time (tm) of the signal pulse (P) is calculated by means of the equation (I), the arrival time (tm) of the signal pulse (P) being calculated taking the value obtained for Δt into consideration. The invention also relates to an evaluation unit and a device for determining an arrival time of signal pulses representing a physical measured variable, an evaluation system and a beam detection system.