Design studies on electronics and data acquisition of a real time diamond spectrometer for the SPARC neutron camera.

This article focuses on the development of a compact 2 × 2 chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond sensor matrix and associated electronics for the spectrometric neutron camera of the SPARC tokamak, aimed at improving neutron diagnostics through enhanced dynamic range and energy spectral analysis. Key components include a modular diamond matrix sensor, a reversible high voltage power supply to mitigate polarization effects, a fast charge pre-amplifier based on InGaP transistor technology for high bandwidth and radiation tolerance, and a data acquisition system utilizing a Xilinx RFSoC Zynq field programmable gate array (FPGA) for real-time processing. The design emphasizes scalability, robustness, and adaptability to high neutron fluxes expected in SPARC, with ongoing testing and upgrades to optimize performance for fusion plasma measurements.