Signal processing, readout and noise

The electronic readout and processing of detector signals, generated by radiation in detectors, is today by far the most common form of signal acquisition in particle physics. In this chapter typical procedures for electronic readout of detectors are discussed with special attention to small, noise-prone signals. An overview is given of standard techniques for signal processing, like amplification, pulse shaping, discrimination and digitization where also the new developments in microelectronics are discussed. In applications with high data rates, as at modern accelerator experiments or also in (X-ray) image processing, deadtimes can occur which are discussed in a dedicated section. Similarly, there is a section on wave guide properties of signal cable. Often the signals are so small, in particular those of semiconductor detectors, that electronic noise and its suppression play an important role.