Arduino-Based Readout Electronics for Nuclear and Particle Physics.

Area of Science:

• * Physics instrumentation
• * Embedded systems engineering
• * Scientific data acquisition

Background:

• * Open Hardware microcontrollers, particularly Arduino, provide accessible platforms for rapid prototyping.
• * Integrating microcontrollers with custom electronics enables low-cost instrumentation for research and education.
• * Existing solutions often lack flexibility for diverse detector readouts and data logging.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To present novel detector systems based on Open Hardware microcontrollers for scientific applications.
• * To demonstrate the feasibility of using Arduino for signal processing and data acquisition in particle and radiation detection.
• * To introduce a versatile data logger for extended, remote monitoring.

Main Methods:

• * Development of a SiPMTrigger board for silicon photomultiplier coincidence readout (up to 200 kHz).
• * Implementation of the nCatcher system using Arduino Nano for proportional counter readout with pulse shape analysis (up to 5 kHz).
• * Design of a logger board with SD card and GSM/LoRa for data storage and remote communication.

Main Results:

• * The SiPMTrigger successfully performs coincidence detection for trigger or veto applications.
• * The nCatcher achieves good signal-to-noise ratio for proportional counter measurements, including thermal neutron monitoring.
• * The logger board facilitates efficient data taking and slow control in various environments.

Conclusions:

• * Open Hardware microcontrollers are powerful, low-cost tools for developing custom scientific instrumentation.
• * The presented SiPMTrigger and nCatcher systems offer practical solutions for detector readout and signal analysis.
• * Integrated data logging capabilities enhance the utility of these systems for long-term monitoring and remote experiments.