Analog signal measurement system and gamma ray detector with targeted automated gamma spectroscopy

A gamma detector with the capability to conduct targeted automated gamma spectroscopy comprising:

• a. a gamma ray sensing detector that converts a gamma ray into an analog signal;
• d. one or more single channel analyzer units that are in communication with the gamma ray sensing detector, each of the single channel analyzer units comprising a programmable upper level discriminator and a programmable lower level discriminator that define a programmable gamma ray energy window, wherein the each of the one or more single channel analyzer units receives the analog signal from the amplifier and generates digital signal pulses upon determining that the analog signal from the amplifier is within the programmable energy window;
• e. one or more resettable counters that are in communication with the one or more single channel analyzer units, wherein the resettable counters receive and count the digital signal pulses from the one or more single channel analyzer units for gamma ray counts;
• and
• f. a computing device that programmatically controls the programmable gain of the photomultiplier tube, programmatically controls the upper level discriminator and the lower level discriminator of the each of the one or more single channel analyzer units, and calculates gamma count rates based on the gamma ray counts retrieved from the one or more resettable counters.

A single channel analyzer comprising:

• i. a dynamically programmable lower level discriminator configured to generate output data for analog signals greater than a programmable level,
• ii. an dynamically programmable upper level discriminator configured to generate output data for the analog signals less than a programmable level,
• iii. a logic device configured to generate output data for programmable combinations of the output data from the lower and upper level discriminators,
• wherein the computing device analyzes the counts and programmatically controls the lower level discriminator and the upper level discriminator with a temporally, or spatially, or both temporally and spatially determined series of programmable levels.