Gamma FTLAB - Microcontroller Hardware

                Implementation of the microcontroller.

                The block diagram is illustrated above. The Mega 2560  I2C bus is connected to the FTLAB PIN diodes gamma detector, to DAC 1 and DAC 2 to generate the reference voltages for the discriminators and to a LCD display. A micro SD card is linked to the microcontroller via the SPI bus. The SD card allows the system to be stand alone for long counting times. The system can be used connected to a PC to follow the measurements in real time or with the PC disconnected, in this case the SD card and small LCD display record the measured values. The interrupts line are connected to the  different discriminators outputs.

               The image above shows the implementation of the microcontroller with the small DAC, the display, the SD card controller, an additional 5V power supply and the signal conditioning electronics for the Gamma FTLAB detector. The FTLAB detector itself is located outside this metal cabinet in the lead shielded box.