Histogramming data acquisition system for an (e,2e) coincidence experiment

A four-dimensional histogramming data acquisition system has been developed for use on an 80386 IBM-compatible computer. The method has a large data storage capacity providing good experimental resolution and system flexibility. A custom-built analog-to-digital board generates a memory address in hardware from the incoming data which permit the use of a simple and elegant histogramming algorithm. The system is used to collect and analyze data from (e,2e) experiments. Results from coplanar symmetric (e,2e) experiments on argon, at an incident energy of 3 keV, are presented to demonstrate the performance of the instrument. The method is applicable to experiments where data from several sources have to be combined and then histogrammed in real time.