TVDC: Fast Time Converter with Nanosecond Resolution

V.A. Grigoriev¹, A.I. Klimov², V. Liapin³, E.A. Meleshko², I.E. Ostashev²,
W. Trzaska³, N.A. Tupikin²

¹MEPHI
²RRC"KI"
³University of Jyvaskyla

TVDC time digitizer is intended for determination of the coordinates of accelerated particle interactions at the ALICE experiment (LHC accelerator, CERN) and generation of TOv signal when the point of interaction is in the given area. The digitizer parameters are determined by the size of the interaction area (0.7 m), given error of measurements (+_2 cm) and working frequency of the LHC accelerator (40 MHz). Accordingly, the TVDC should meet the following requirements: range of coded time intervals: +_ 2,5 ns (5 ns); quantization step: 20 ps (for 8-bit convertion); dead time of conversion: not more than 25 ns.

[1] ALICE Technical Proposal, CERN/LHCC 95-71, LHCC/P3, 15 December 1995.