Elsys AG has released the AE-Amp broadband preamplifier for AE sensors from a range of manufacturers.
The two-channel AE-Amp offers four different gain levels from 0dB to 60dB, which can be set either manually or via the USB interface. The bandwidth is adapted to common AE applications. A high-pass filter removes the signal components below 25kHz. The upper bandwidth is between 1MHz and 2.5MHz, which makes the amplifier ideal for seismic measurements.
The AE-Amp supports all passive AE sensors from various manufacturers. In addition, different power supply for active sensors is available. A programmable current source of 1mA – 50mA can be used for JFET or ICP / IEPE sensors. Optionally, a constant voltage of 28V can be switched on.
For using AE sensors also as actuators, the amplifier path can be bridged and high voltage pulses up to 500V can be applied to the sensor via a pulse input.
The AE-Amp is a modular amplifier, which can be installed as a rack-mountable module in the AE-Amp-BU-20 19in rack. Up to ten amplifiers can be mounted in one rack unit.
The AE-Amp-BU-20 also provides the ability to route high voltage pulses from a high voltage source to individual input channels. This can be used, for example, for tomography measurements, which include the acoustic travel times between various sensors.