M. Barros Marin

The Versatile Transceiver: towards production readiness

Detectors involved in the upgrade programme of the LHC will need high-speed optical links to transfer readout and control data. The link front-end will be based on a radiation tolerant opto-electronic module, the Versatile Transceiver (VTRx), developed under the Versatile Link project. In this contribution we present a test system and protocol to be used to verify the compliance of the VTRx modules to the specifications, and a Versatile Link demonstrator based on the VTRx and the Gigabit Link Interface Board. Finally, we introduce the Small Footprint VTRx which is being designed for the CMS Tracker upgrade.

Test bench development for the radiation Hard GBTX ASIC

This paper presents the development of the GBTX radiation hard ASIC test bench. Developed for the LHC accelerator upgrade programs, the GBTX implements a bidirectional 4.8 Gb/s link between the radiation hard on-detector custom electronics and the off-detector systems. The test bench was used for functional testing of the GBTX and to evaluate its performance in a radiation environment, by conducting Total Ionizing Dose and Single-Event Upsets tests campaigns.

The Gigabit Link Interface Board (GLIB) ecosystem

The Gigabit Link Interface Board (GLIB) project is an FPGA-based platform for users of high-speed optical links in high energy physics experiments. The major hardware component of the platform is the GLIB Advanced Mezzanine Card (AMC). Additionally to the AMC, auxiliary components are developed that enhance GLIB platforms I/O bandwidth and compatibility with legacy and future triggering and/or data acquisition interfaces. This article focuses on the development of the auxiliary components that together with the GLIB AMC offer a complete solution for beam/irradiation tests of detector modules and evaluation of optical links.

The FC7 AMC for generic DAQ & control applications in CMS

The FC7 is a flexible, μTCA compatible Advanced Mezzanine Card (AMC) for generic data acquisition/control applications. Built around the Xilinx Kintex-7 FPGA, the FC7 provides developers with a platform which has access to a large array of configurable I/O, primarily delivered from on-board FPGA Mezzanine Card (FMC) sockets. Targeting users of high-speed optical links in high energy physics experiments, the board is capable of driving and receiving links up to 10 Gbps. This paper presents test results from the first set of pre-production prototypes and reports on FC7 uses and applications towards upgrades in CMS.

Metrics and methods for TTC-PON system characterization

A new generation FPGA-based Timing, Trigger and Control (TTC) system based on emerging Passive Optical Network (PON) technology is being investigated to potentially replace the existing off-detector TTC system used by the LHC experiments. The new system must deliver trigger and data with low and deterministic latency as well as a recovered bunch clock with picosecond-level jitter. This new topology offers major improvements over its predecessor: bi-directionality as well as higher capacity. This paper focuses on the figures of merit used to characterize the TTC-PON system both downstream and upstream, on the techniques used to extract them and on the impact of these first results in optimizing the architecture.

Clock and timing distribution in the LHCb upgraded detector and readout system

The LHCb experiment is upgrading part of its detector and the entire readout system towards a full 40 MHz readout system in order to run between five and ten times its initial design luminosity and increase its trigger efficiency. In this paper, the new timing, trigger and control distribution system for such an upgrade is reviewed with particular attention given to the distribution of the clock and timing information across the entire readout system, up to the FE and the on-detector electronics. Current ideas are here presented in terms of reliability, jitter, complexity and implementation.

First results with the Gigabit Link Interface Board (GLIB)

We have designed and built an FPGA-based platform for users of high speed optical links in high energy physics experiments. The Gigabit Link Interface Board (GLIB) serves both as a platform for the evaluation of optical links in the laboratory as well as a triggering and/or data acquisition system in beam or irradiation tests of detector modules. The GLIB is a double width Advanced Mezzanine Card (AMC) that is used either stand-alone or inside a micro Telecommunications Computing Architecture (μTCA) crate. This paper presents the first results with the GLIB prototype delivered in 2011.

A software package for the full GBTX lifecycle

This work presents the software environment surrounding the GBTX. The GBTX is a high speed bidirectional ASIC, implementing radiation hard optical links for high-energy physics experiments. Having more than 300 8-bit configuration registers, it poses challenges addressed by a wide variety of software components. This paper focuses on the software used for characterization as well as radiation and production testing of the GBTX. It also highlights tools made available to the designers and users, enabling them to create customized configurations. The paper shows how storing data for the full GBTX lifecycle is planned to ensure a good quality tracking of their devices.

A GLIB-based uTCA demonstration system for HEP experiments

The Gigabit Link Interface Board (GLIB) project is an FPGA-based platform for users of high-speed optical links in high energy physics (HEP) experiments. The project delivers hardware, firmware/software and documentation as well as provides user support. These resources facilitate the development of evaluation platforms of optical links in the laboratory as well as triggering and/or data acquisition systems in beam or irradiation tests of detector modules. This article focuses on the demonstration of a triggering and data acquisition setup for HEP experiments using hardware and firmware/software resources provided by the GLIB project.

The Giga Bit Transceiver based Expandable Front-End (GEFE)—a new radiation tolerant acquisition system for beam instrumentation

The Giga Bit Transceiver based Expandable Front-End (GEFE) is a multi-purpose FPGA-based radiation tolerant card. It is foreseen to be the new standard FMC carrier for digital front-end applications in the CERN BE-BI group. Its intended use ranges from fast data acquisition systems to slow control installed close to the beamlines, in a radioactive environment exposed to total ionizing doses of up to 750 Gy. This paper introduces the architecture of the GEFE, its features as well as examples of its application in different setups.