Advanced System-on-Chip Field-Programmable-Gate-Array-Powered Data Acquisition System for Pixel Detectors

Abstract

Particle detector systems require data acquisition systems (DAQs) as their back-end. This paper presents a new edge-computing DAQ that is capable of handling multiple pixel detectors simultaneously and was designed for particle-tracking experiments. The system was designed for the ROC4SENS readout chip, but its control logic can be adapted for other pixel detectors. The DAQ was based on a system-on-chip FPGA (SoC FPGA), which includes an embedded microprocessor running a fully functional Linux system. An application using a client–server architecture was developed to facilitate remote control and data visualization. The comprehensive DAQ is very compact, thus reducing the typical hardware load in particle tracking experiments, especially during the obligatory characterization of particle telescopes.