Low-cost programmable pulse generator for particle telescope calibration

In this paper we present a new calibration system for particle telescopes i ncluding multipulse generator and digital controller. The calibration syste m generates synchronized pulses of variable height for every detector chann el on the telescope. The control system is based on a commercial microcontr oller linked to a personal computer through an RS-232 bidirectional line. T he aim of the device is to perform laboratory calibration of multi-detector telescopes prior to calibration at accelerator. This task includes evaluat ion of linearity and resolution of each detector channel, as well as coinci dence logic. The heights of the pulses sent to the detectors are obtained b y Monte Carlo simulation of telescope response to a particle flux of any de sired geometry and composition. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights r eserved.