A VERSATILE HIGH-SPEED BIPOLAR CHARGE-SENSITIVE PREAMPLIFIER FOR CALORIMETER APPLICATIONS

A high-speed charge-sensitive preamplifier (CSP) to be used in silicon calorimeters has been realized, The main features of this circuit are : high slew rate (larger than 500 V/mu s), low noise, large output swi ng (5 V), high dynamic range (of the order of 90 dB), and 50-Ohm outpu t drive capability, In addition, the CSP is designed to allow adaptati on of its power-versus-noise performance to different experimental con ditions, The bias current of the input device can be adjusted with an external component, in order to optimize the tradeoff between power co nsumption and noise, The power supply can be set in the 3.3-12-V range , optimizing the power dissipation over output swing ratio. The CSP wa s realized in a bipolar technology whose bipolar transistors have been previously tested before and after being subjected to irradiation, Th e results were taken into account in the design in order to achieve CS P radiation-hard performance.