Low Cost front-end readout electronic for instrumentation used in Neutron experiments.

In the field of material characterization, the neutron scattering technique is found to be useful in so many applications. This technique requires a position sensitive neutron detector (PSND) and their front-end readouts (FER) electronic to detect the position of neutron interactions. Normally, the PSND is designed for specific applications and has unique technical specifications. Therefore, it requires a customised electronic FER to match its specifications. Furthermore, a large active area requires a large number of FER electronic and, therefore, there is, also, an increased development cost. This paper presents a simple and low-cost design for FER electronic which consists of an eight channels preamplifier-shaper suitable for instrumentation used in neutron experiments. This FER was built entirely with low-noise FET-input operational amplifier (Op-amp) and passive components. The development cost is around U.S. $50/channel. Results have shown that it is capable of accepting a wide dynamic range input charge (20 to 600 fC) with an excellent output linearity (nonlinearity < 1%). It has a good equivalent noise charge (ENC) with a performance average of 2113 e- and is less sensitive to input capacitance variation (24 e-/pF)

Noise measurement in amplifying system for radiation detectors

Electronic noise is a critical parameter especially for electronic devices which deal with low level input signals such as preamplifier-shaper chains in nuclear instrumentation. It degrades the capability of the amplifying system as a radiation measurement device in terms of detection level, energy resolution and event measurement. In this paper, we propose an experimental approach to noise measurement in amplifying systems for radiation detectors. The experimental results are verified with theoretical computation and validated with an established experimental method. The results are in good agreement with theoretical and established methods

Stimulus generation technique for code simulation of FPGA based gamma spectroscopy system

The aim of this study is to develop a software that can systematically generate stimulus required for code simulation (functional and timing) of new digital processors in gamma spectroscopy system. Software must be able to produce stimulus that emulate ADC data of charge sensitive amplifier (CSA) output signal. Signal parameters such as pulse shape, amplitude, pulse width and count rate should be adjustable while allowing options such as pulse pile-up and random pulse events. To fulfill this objective, a pulse generator software PulseGEN has been developed. The software GUI is designed to operate in two modes, Single/Pile-Up Mode and Continuous Random Mode. Its ADC module simulates real-time ADC sampling. The output can be saved as input stimulus to test various functions of digital processors such as pulse height measurements, pile-up detection and correction, as well as random pulse detection and measurement that is similar to the actual real-time measurement. PulseGEN results have been compared and verified against commercial charge sensitive amplifier with NaI detector and NIM pulser

Knowledge based helpdesk system in Nuclear Malaysia

Knowledge based (K-based) Helpdesk system is a knowledge oriented web based system that provides support to business process of the technical service providers.It is a multi- centric system which focuses on end-users, technical workers and higher level management through utilization of knowledge which resides and grows within the system. The objectives of the system are to be a user-friendly, capture technical knowledge for efficient performance and educating users for self reliance.These were achieved through the improvement of the helpdesk business process and better management of technical knowledge. This system has been tested and implemented in Information Technology Center (IT), Engineering Division (BKJ) and Instrumentation and Automation Center (IAC) at the Malaysian Nuclear Agency (Nuclear Malaysia). Higher levels of user satisfaction and faster growth in technical knowledge repository have been recorded in the system.This paper describes the helpdesk system in the perspective of management of its technical knowledge contributing to strengthening organizational knowledge asset of Nuclear Malaysia as national nuclear research institution

Automatic label removal from digitized weld radiographs

This paper presents a methodology to remove labels automatically from digitized weld radiographs as part of the automatic weld defect detection process. An algorithm was developed to detect and remove labels printed onto weld radiographs before weld extraction algorithm or defect detection algorithm is applied. Normality test was used to determine if the intensity profile parallel to the weld contains label pixels. Thresholding followed by region filling operations were carried out to remove the labels. The algorithm was tested on 50 weld radiographs with labels and the labels on 90% of these images were successfully removed