Characterization and radiation testing of the Harris HS9008RH flash analogue to digital converter

Abstract Results from tests characterizing the performance and radiation hardness of the HS9008RH flash analog to digital convertor (FADC) are presented. These tests were performed primarily to evaluate the suitability of this device for use in the GEM Central Tracker at the SSC experiment. Basic performance characteristics and susceptibility of these characteristics to radiation were examined. Performance test results indicate that the device integral nonlinearity is sampling rate dependent and worsens rapidly above a sampling rate of 15 megasamples per second (MSPS). No degradation in performance of the device was observed after its exposure of up to 81 Mrad of 1.25 MeV γ radiation from a 60 Co source. Exposure of the device to a reactor fast neutron fluence ( E > 100 keV) of 5 × 10 14 /cm 2 resulted in no significant observed performance degradation as well.