Holger Schlarb

RTM RF Backplane for MicroTCA.4 crates

We developed a new Rear Transition Module (RTM) Backplane for MicroTCA.4 crates that is compliant with the PICMG standard and is an optional crate extension. The RTM Backplane provides multiple links for high-precision clock and RF signals to analog μRTM cards. Usage of an RTM Backplane allows to significantly simplify the cable management, and therefore to increase the reliability of electronic controls when multiple analog RF front-ends are required. In addition, the RTM backplane allows also to add so called extended RTM (eRTM) and RTM Power Modules (RTM-PM) to a 12-slot MicroTCA crate. Up to four 6 HP wide eRTMs and two RTM-PMs can be installed behind the front PM and MCH modules. An eRTM attached to the MCH via Zone 3 connector is used for analog signal management on the RTM backplane. This eRTM allows also installing a powerful CPU to extend the processing capacity of the MTCA.4 crate. Remaining three eRTMs provide additional space for analog and digital electronics that may not fit on the standard RTM cards. The RTM-PMs deliver managed low-noise (separated from front crate PMs) analog bipolar power (+VV, -VV) for the μRTMs and an unipolar power for the eRTMs. This extends functionality of the MicroTCA.4 crate and offers unique performance improvement for analog front-end electronics. This paper covers a new concept of the RTM Backplane, a new implementation for the real-time LLRF control system and performance evaluation of designed prototype.

RF-backplane management for the MicroTCA.4 control system

To transport low-noise Radio Frequency (RF) signals within a MicroTCA.4 Crate a new RTM backplane is invented as an optional extension to the 9U crate standard. The RTM backplane is equipped with links for high precision RF and Clock signals for the μRTM, therefore it is also called an RFBackplane. In combination with this backplane new extended RTMs (eRTM) and RTM Power Modules (RTM-PM) can be operated. Up to four 6 HP wide eRTMs can be installed behind the front Power Modules and the MCH Modules. The RTMPMs deliver managed low-noise separated analog bipolar power (+VV, -VV) for the RTMs and unipolar power for the eRTMs. This paper covers one of the eRTMs which is a Backplane Management module for the rear side (MCH-RTM-BM) designed to manage these new features. The MCH-RTM-BM will manage the RTM backplane connectivity for up to 12 μRTMs, 3 eRTMs and 2 RTM-PMs. For this purpose the MCH-RTM-BM is working together with the already existing NAT-MCH-PHYS. In addition the MCH-RTM-BM is connected to the eRTMs via LVDS links. These links can be user defined and are managed with a User Logic on the Backplane Management Module. This User Logic consists of a microcontroller with an FPGA.

Mitigating Noise Sources in MTCA.4 Electronics for High Precision Measurements

The RF field detection instrumentation plays a crucial role in modern accelerator performance. The most critical section is the transition from the analog signal processing to the digitalization. In this paper we present state of the art performance of COTS components and limitations imposed by crate-oriented solutions. We give recipes on how to optimize performance and present some of the recent results.