LOW CURRENT MEASUREMENTS AT ALBA

High accuracy low current readout is an extensively demanded technique in 3rd generation synchrotrons. Whether reading from scintillation excited large-area photodiodes for beam position measurement or out of gold meshes or isolated metallic coated surfaces in draincurrent based intensity monitors, low current measurement devices comprise an ubiquitous need both for diagnostics and data acquisition in today's photon labs. In order to tackle the problem of measuring from various sources of different nature and magnitude synchronously, while remaining flexible at the same time, ALBA has started a project to develop a 4 independent channel electrometer. It is based on transimpedance amplifiers and integrates high resolution ADC converters and an Ethernet communication port. Each channel has independently configurable range, offset and low pass filter cut-off frequency settings and the main unit has external I/O to synchronize the data acquisition with the rest of the control system.