A simple dynamic time-over-threshold circuit for high-resolution amplitude measurement

The dynamic time-over-threshold (dToT) method is a timing-based readout technique for pulse-height measurement of radiation detectors. After the leading-edge detection, the discriminator threshold is raised to allow precise pulse-height estimation over a wide dynamic range. A particularly simple circuit implementation of dToT is presented that delivers excellent amplitude resolution with minimal complexity. Experiments show that the resolution is sufficient to read out high-performance scintillators such as LaBr3:Ce without degrading their intrinsic energy resolution.