MULTI-ANODE TIME TO DIGITAL CONVERTER

A method and apparatus for extending the dynamic range of a data acquisition device. A system of multiple anode detectors are used to increase the dynamic range of a time-to-digital converter. Multiple anodes enable the system to determine characteristics of a signal without distortion of the signal which normally occurs with large signals, or obscuring of the signal by noise which normally occurs with small signals. The data from the multi-anode system can be processed so that the total number of impacts of the signal on the multiple anodes are summed during selectable time frames and made available as multiple bit words. This approach combines virtually all the advantages of a transient digitizer with the advantages of a time to digital converter when acquiring signals from pulse-based detectors such as microchannel plates.