A timing discriminator for space flight applications

A timing discriminator design for space flight delay line image systems is presented. This discriminator processes delay line signal pulses having a few ns width and recovers event timing centroids with an accuracy better than 100 ps full width at half maximum. For space flight use, it is important to minimize parts count and power consumption. Because it is difficult or impossible to adjust equipment on orbit, it is very desirable to eliminate all adjustments, yet provide generous timing margins against component aging or drift. The discriminator described here uses a simple linear passive network to produce the required internal waveforms. Performance data are reported for the first flight implementation of this design. © 1998 American Institute of Physics. @S0034-6748~98!03608-9#