Ibersensor 2010, 9-11 November 2010, Lisbon, Portugal IB-119

A Low-Noise Preamplifier for Mössbauer Spectroscopy

(1) (1), (2) (2)
J. Alves , G. Evans and L. P. Ferreira
(1) (2)
Department of Physics Condensed Matter Physics Centre
Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa
Edifício C8, 1749–016 Lisbon – PORTUGAL
E-mail: gevans@fc.ul.pt

Abstract

We describe a low-noise preamplifier to be used with generic gas flow proportional detectors in a
Mössbauer spectroscopy setup. This preamplifier is responsible for providing the detector high
voltage bias, for converting the positive or negative charge pulse of the detector to a voltage signal,
for signal amplification and pulse shaping and finally, for the matching between the high impedance
detector output and the low impedance of the coaxial cables.
To test the preamplifier in a real Mössbauer spectroscopy setup a printed circuit board prototype was
made. A detailed circuit analysis and the most relevant simulation results, together with some
experimental ones, will be presented.

Keywords: low-noise preamplifier, compact preamplifier, gas flow proportional detectors, Mössbauer
spectroscopy.

Introduction amplification factor between -3 and -350 (the

This paper describes a low-noise
preamplifier to be used with generic gas flow
proportional detectors in a Mössbauer
spectroscopy setup. This preamplifier is
responsible for providing the detector high
voltage bias (up to 3 KV), for converting the
positive or negative charge pulse of the detector
-9
(up to 5x10 Coulomb) to a voltage signal [1],
for signal amplification and pulse shaping and
finally, for matching the high impedance detector
output to the low impedance of the coaxial
cables.
In Mössbauer spectroscopy the number of
photoelectrons is small, and they should be
detected individually [1]. This fact dictates that
the pulses at the preamplifier output must be as
short as possible. The easiest solution to deal
with short pulses and to minimize the noise and
maximize the linear-amplification range is to use
a combination of discrete bipolar transistors for
the input stages of the preamplifier and a low-
noise high-frequency operational amplifier for
the output stage [2,3,4]. Due to its low output
impedance, this operational amplifier can be
connected to a transmitting 50 Ω cable without
the occurrence of an appreciable loss in the
pulse amplitude.
The main characteristics of the proposed
preamplifier are: very low equivalent noise at the
-5
output, high count rate capability (1x10
Coulomb/s), fast rise time (between 10 to
60 ns), slow fall time (between 1 to 50 µs), an
output pulses are inverted) and matched
termination for the transmitting 50 Ω cables.
To test the preamplifier in a real Mössbauer
spectroscopy setup a printed circuit board
prototype was made. A detailed circuit analysis
and the most relevant simulation results,
together with some experimental ones, will be
presented.
Proposed Preamplifier
The proposed preamplifier is depicted in
Fig. 1. The general requirements for the
implemented circuit include more than just the
preamplifier function. If the proportional detector
used in the Mössbauer spectroscopy setup does
not have a high voltage bias, the input HV
should be used (but only up to 3 KV). Due to
that high voltage, ceramic capacitors should be
used in this part of the circuit and in the
preamplifier input line. The values available in
the market for these capacitors are small, the
maximum value used in our circuit was 4.7 nF.
For this reason we need to used some of them
in parallel (C1) to achieve the output signal fall
time range without significant loss of
preamplifier bandwidth. This range is obtained
with the voltage divider consisting in the
potentiometer R1 and the input resistance of the
preamplifier. The preamplifier amplification
factor takes this voltage division into account.
This circuit can also be tested without the
detector input. For that, an input line (TEST) is
Ibersensor 2010, 9-11 November 2010, Lisbon, Portugal IB-119

D4
HV C5 10n
R15 R16 (up to 3KV) R3 L1 10u C12 +12 V
R17 6.8k 10u
50M,0.5W 50M,0.5W 33M,0.5W AGND PVB
-12 V
C2 10n R7
C10 C11 3.3k C6 10u
OP2
2.2n,3kV 2.2n,3kV C13
+
10u
D3 R6 -
C4 100n
1.2k
C7 10u C9 10n
OP1
R10 1k OUTPUT
DET Q1 +
R2 22
-
Q2 R14 51
R1 200 R9
C1 R13
D2 4.7k
18.8n,3kV R4 33k
2.2k C8 10n
D1 D5
R5 200 R8
C3 56
15p L2 10u
R11 1k R18
51

R12 10k C14 4.7u TEST

Figure 1 – The proposed preamplifier.

added. The others notable features are the The major source of noise in resistors is
preamplifier voltage bias, PBV, (±12 V) and the thermal noise. This source of noise could be
2
small size of the printed circuit board. modelled as voltage source, V R(f), in series with
2
The preamplifier itself consists of two the resistor or as a current source, I R(f), in
cascaded stages. The input stage uses two parallel. Depending on the noise analysis, one
high-frequency discrete bipolar transistors of the following expressions could be used [6]:
(2N3904 and 2N3906) and serves as a current
VR2 (f ) = 4 ⋅ k ⋅ T ⋅ R (1)
to voltage converter. This stage is also
responsible for the low output noise and for part 4 ⋅ k ⋅T
I R2 (f ) =
(2)
of the preamplifier gain (9.6 dB). The diodes D1 R
and D2 at the preamplifier input prevent the where k is the Boltzmann constant and T is the
input stage transistors from breakdown in case temperature in Kelvin.
of high voltage arising at the input. The
capacitor C2 increases the gain at high V2Q1
frequencies, and its value (15 pF) was selected
experimentally.
I2Q1
* V2R6
R6
R7

As mentioned before, the preamplifier R2

V2R2 Q1

* V2Q2

should convert the positive or negative charge * * Q2

pulse of the detector to a voltage signal but the V2R4

* I2Q2

output pulses should have the opposite polarity R4 R8

of the input pulse. This is done at the

preamplifier output stage. This output stage
consists in an inverted voltage amplifier Figure 2 – Circuit equivalent for input stage noise analysis.
designed with some resistors and with a low- The simplified input-referred spectral density
noise and fast operational amplifier (LT1208 – noise of each transistor of Fig. 2 can be
two circuits are available in the package). This represented by ([5] and [6]):
voltage amplifier is responsible for a preamplifier
factor gain between -1 and -11. To match the Vin2 _ Q (f ) = VQ2 (f ) + I Q
2
(f ) ⋅ r b2 + Vrb
2
(f ) (3)
referred stages (and to reduce the size of the the first and the second term of this equation are
printed circuit board) the second operational due, respectively, to collector-current and base-
amplifier available is used as a buffer. Finally, current shot noise (the dominant noise sources)
for a transmitting 50 Ω cable, the adequate and the last term is due to the base-resistor
termination was made at the output. thermal noise. If we expand these terms, eq. (3)
The custom techniques to reduce noise are is given by:
implemented in the biasing circuitry and in the 2
printed circuit board prototype design. 2 ⋅ ( k ⋅ T ) 2 2 ⋅ q ⋅ Ic ⋅ r b
Vin2 _ Q (f ) = +
q ⋅ Ic hfe (4)
Circuit and Noise Analysis + 4 ⋅ k ⋅ T ⋅ rb
where q is the charge of the electron.
The noise of the preamplifier can be one For uncorrelated noise sources, the total
limiting factor in Mössbauer spectroscopy, thus input-referred noise spectral density is the sum
there is the need to characterize the noise of each input of referred noise voltage.
performance of the proposed circuit. For noise In a multi-stage amplifier cascade the output
analysis we need to use circuit values and so noise spectral density is given by [7]:
these two analyses will be made together.
The circuit of Fig. 2 was used to analyse the Vin2 _ 2 Vin2 _ i
2
Von (f ) = Vin2 _ 1 + + ... + (5)
noise of the input stage of the preamplifier. A12 A12 ⋅ ... ⋅ Ai2−1
Ibersensor 2010, 9-11 November 2010, Lisbon, Portugal IB-119

2
where V in_i and Ai are respectively the input-
referred noise spectral density and the gain of
the stage i. So in a multi-stage amplifier the
noise spectral density at the output is mainly
due to the first amplifier stage. This was the
principal reason for using bipolar transistors in
the input stage.
2 2
If V in_Q1(f) and V in_Q2(f) are, respectively,
the input-referred spectral density noise due to
transistors Q1 and Q2, the output noise spectral
density of the preamplifier input stage is:
V 2 2 
2  in _ R 2 (f ) + Vin _ R 4 (f ) 
Von _ in _ stg (f ) = 
 + Vin2 _ Q1(f )
  (6)
 hieQ1 
( )
+ Vin2 _ R 6 (f ) + Vin2 _ Q 2 (f ) ⋅ 
 hfe ⋅ R 6 
 Q1
To analyse the noise of the output stage of
the preamplifier the circuit shown on Fig. 3 was
used.
I2OP2-
OP1
- R10
The integrated preamplifier output noise is:
2 2
Von = (Von _ in _ stg (f ) + Von _ out _ stg (f )) ⋅ ∆f (9)
where ∆f is the preamplifier noise bandwidth.
The noise bandwidth is calculated for the brick-
wall response approach. The frequency limits
are obtained by:
π ⋅ f −3dB
fl = (10)
2
The calculated preamplifier output noise
values are presented in table 1. The parameter
 values needed to calculate those noise values
 are taken from the transistors and the
operational amplifier datasheets. As expected,
2
the output noise in mainly due to the
 preamplifier input stage contribution . This could
 be reduced for higher gain of the input stage.
The noise of the output stage of the
preamplifier could be reduced in applications
where inverted polarity is not need. In these
I2Req cases, a non inverter voltage configuration could
be used, and the first operational amplifier is not
Req = R11+R12 necessary.

+
-
Simulated and Experimental Results
+
OP2
V2OP1 I2R10

* V2OP2

*
The proposed circuit was simulated using
the Multsim simulation program. Several
simulations indicated the optimal values for the
Figure 3 – Circuit equivalent for output stage noise analysis. capacitor C1 and for the potentiometer R1. The
value of C1 affects the low frequency limit and
The simplified noise spectral density at the
the output signal fall time. The value of R1 also
output of each operational amplifier in Fig. 3 can
changes the preamplifier gain. A compromise
be represented by ([5] and [6]):
between the minimum gain, the output signal fall
2
Von _ OP
(f ) = Vin2 _ OP (f ) + I in
2
_ OP −
(f ) ⋅ R −2 time and the bandwidth are needed to define
(7) these values.
2
+ I in _ OP +
(f ) ⋅ R +2 The simulation results obtained for the
extreme values of potentiometers R1 and R12
the second and third term of this equation are
are resumed in table 1.
null if there are not resistors at the inverter and
non-inverter operational amplifier inputs. Using Table I – Preamplifier simulated performance.
superposition, and assuming all noise sources Fall Time Von
Gain
are uncorrelated, the output noise spectral [dB]
Bandwidth
[µs] [µV]
density of the preamplifier output stage is given
by: R1=200 Ω 38.0 kHz to
9.6 30.0 38.5
R12=0 Ω 24.0 MHz
V 2 (f ) + 
 in _ Op1  R1=200 Ω
30.3 30.0
38.0 kHz to
16.7
 2  R12=10 kΩ 4.5 MHz
V 2  Re q 
(f ) ⋅   + R1=0 Ω
 in _ Op 2  R10   31.1 4.0
456.4 kHz
37.1
  R12=0 Ω to 22.5 MHz
2
Von ( f ) =  I 2 ( f )  
 in _ R10  R1=0 Ω 381.6 kHz
_ out _ stg  51.0 4.0 17.8

 + I2  2  (8) R12=10 kΩ to 5.3 MHz
 in _ Re q 
( f ) ⋅ Re q

 2   Some of the simulated results are presented in

 + I in _ OP −. (f )   Figs. 4 and 5. Fig. 4 shows the working
  bandwidth for a preamplifier gain of 25.1 dB.
  The high frequency limit and, the output noise
2 are highly dependant of the output stage gain.
 hieQ1 
⋅  The transient characteristics for an input
 hfe ⋅ R 6 
 Q1  square signal are shown in Fig. 5. In this figure
Ibersensor 2010, 9-11 November 2010, Lisbon, Portugal
the preamplifier gain factor is 25.1 dB also, and
the output signal rise and fall time are,
respectively, 20 ns and 30 µs. In all the
simulations, the rise times are in the pretended
range. The output signal fall time values are
slower and sit in the range 4 to 30 µs.
Figure 4 – Simulated amplitude-frequency response.
Figure 5 – Simulated transient characteristics for an input
square signal with amplitude of 5 mV and period of 60 µs.
To test the proposed circuit a printed circuit
board prototype was made (Fig. 6). The circuit
was tested with a square input signal with
several amplitude and frequency values,
generated by a function generator (Agilent
33220A, 20 MHz). Due to practical reasons, the
amplitude of the experimental square signal at
the input is larger than the simulated ones.
Figure 6 – Experimental setup and the preamplifier
prototype.
In the first tests, the TEST input line was
used, but in the performance tests the input
signal was applied to the DET input. The signals
were measured with an oscilloscope (Tektronix
TDS1012, 100 MHz, 1 Gs/s) and with standard
IB-119
probe points (with matched terminations at both
ends). Due to that, the measured output signal
amplitude and noise level are reduced by a
factor of two.
Fig. 7 shows a more detailed photograph of
one of the experimental results for a preamplifier
gain of 23.6 dB. The output signal fall time is
9.7 µs, which is quite near of the expected one
(10 µs).
The noise visible in the input signal shown
in Fig. 7, and when the preamplifier supply
voltage was switched off, shows that the
oscilloscope output noise is of the same order of
magnitude of the output preamplifier noise.
These two sources of noise are not correlated,
and so in the measured output signal the
oscilloscope noise is added to the preamplifier
noise. This could be minimized with suitable
oscilloscope probes.
Figure 7 – Experimental transient characteristic for an input
square signal (amplitude of 40 mV and frequency of 50 kHz).
The implemented prototype board does not
support the detector high voltage bias, and so
we could not test the circuit in a Mössbauer
spectroscopy setup. To verify if the proposed
circuit was able to detect the charge pulse of a
gas flow proportional detector, we use as an
input signal the output of a commercial
preamplifier applied to a detector.
Fig. 8 is a photograph of one of the results
obtained. The gain of the proposed preamplifier
was adjusted to 15 dB. The large fall time signal
is the input signal.
This photograph shows that the output noise
of the commercial preamplifier is of the same
order of magnitude of the proposed one.
Another two conclusions can be drawn from this
experience: the proposed preamplifier is able to
discriminate small pulses from the noise level,
and its bandwidth is enough for Mössbauer
spectroscopy.
Ibersensor 2010, 9-11 November 2010, Lisbon, Portugal IB-119

Figure 8 – Experimental transient characteristics, where the

input signal to our preamplifier is the output of a commercial
preamplifier coupled to a gas flow proportional detector.

Conclusions

A low-noise preamplifier with variable gain

and output signal fall time, targeting generic gas
flow proportional detectors was presented. The
results obtained confirm the expected
performance of the preamplifier and its suitability
to the goal. After a redesign, which will include
the use of lower noise and higher bandwidth
transistors and operational amplifiers, and a
better board type, the preamplifier will be tested
in a real Mössbauer spectroscopy setup.
Due to the small number of components, the
prototype has dimensions of just 13.5 x 7.5 cm.
These dimensions could be smaller if a two
layer printed circuit board is used. Lower output
noise should be obtained with a two layer
printed circuit board and with an adequate
ground metal layer.

References

[1] - Sobir M. Irkaev, “Trends in Mössbauer Spectrometer

Designs”, Mössbauer Effect Reference and Data Journal,
Volume 28, Number 10, December 2005.
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Kovalenko and D. V. Matveev, “A Low-Noise Fast Eight-
Channel Preamplifier”, Instruments and Experimental
Techniques, Vol. 45, No. 2, pp. 207–209, 2002.
[3] – P. Horowitz and W. Hill, “The Art of Electronics”, 2nd
ed., Cambridge University Press, 1989.
[4] – “Proportional Counter Preamplifier – PEA-6”, Wissel
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