Signal processing techniques for precise timing with novel gaseous detectors

The experimental requirements in current and near-future accelerators and experiments have stimulated intense interest in R&D of detectors with high precision timing capabilities, resulting in novel instrumentation. During the R&D phase, the timing information is usually extracted from the signal using the full waveform collected with fast oscilloscopes; this method produces a large amount of data and it becomes impractical when the detector has many channels. Towards practical applications, the data acquisition should be undertaken by dedicated front-end electronic units. The selected technology should retain the signal timing characteristics and consequently the timing resolution on the particle’s arrival time. We investigate the adequacy of the Leading-edge discrimination timing technique to achieve timing with a precision in the order of tens of picosecond with novel gaseous detectors. The method under investigation introduces a “time-walk” which impinges on the timing resolution. We mitigate the effect of time-walk using three different approaches; the first based on multiple Time-over-Threshold, the second based on multiple Charge-over-Threshold information and the third uses artificial Neural Network techniques. The results of this study prove the feasibility of the methods and their ability to achieve a timing resolution comparable to that obtained using the full waveforms.