An improved operating mode for a Si(Li) x-ray spectrometer

A new technique has been developed for restoring the charge to the feedback capacitor in charge sensitive preamplifiers. The method, termed transient-reset,'' was developed for use in very low noise Si(Li) X-ray spectrometers. It has proved valuable as a diagnostic tool for evaluating the noise components of the input in these systems. The technique is described and compared with the pulsed- light and transistor-reset methods. To complement the charge restoration technique, a new configuration of Si(Li) X-ray detector with a very thin aluminum entrance window has been developed. Measurements of the effective window thickness are compared with similar results obtained on gold, nickel, and ion-implanted boron contacts. 10 refs., 8 figs., 1 tab