Detectors and front-end electronics for nuclear physics research at IUAC

We review the developmental activities in the field of radiation detectors and coupled instrumentation/electronics at IUAC (formerly NSC). The facility focuses on nuclear reaction and structure studies around the Coulomb barrier using ion beams from the accelerator. To execute these experiments, IUAC has a detector development program for preparing detector systems based on position sensitive fast timing proportional/avalanche counters, particle identification detectors such as segmented ionization chambers, hybrid gas-silicon telescopes, segmented and resistive position sensitive silicon detectors, and scintillators for light-charged particle, neutron and γ-ray detection, and germanium detectors for high resolution γ-ray spectroscopy. This is further exalted by a strong front-end electronics development program for detector signal processing. Different types of stand-alone and multi-channel low noise preamplifiers (charge sensitive and fast timing), spectroscopy amplifiers, discriminators, logic units, etc. have been developed. Customized high resolution analog to digital converters, trigger generator cum event identifier module for handling trigger signals for multi-detector arrays, crate controllers, synchronizing and time stamping units have been developed in CAMAC as well as VME standards for the data acquisition system. This nuclear instrumentation has been routinely used to perform experiments of fusion and fusion-fission dynamics, and nuclear spectroscopy using the facilities of recoil mass spectrometers, scattering chamber, neutron and gamma detector arrays etc. New detector systems are being planned and developed for these facilities as well as for the future international facilities such as NUSTAR. This article describes an overview of detector instrumentation activities.