1st Edition

Applications of Field-Programmable Gate Arrays in Scientific Research

    170 Pages 2 Color & 91 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    170 Pages 2 Color & 91 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    Focusing on resource awareness in field-programmable gate array (FPGA) design, Applications of Field-Programmable Gate Arrays in Scientific Research covers the principle of FPGAs and their functionality. It explores a host of applications, ranging from small one-chip laboratory systems to large-scale applications in "big science."

    The book first describes various FPGA resources, including logic elements, RAM, multipliers, microprocessors, and content-addressable memory. It then presents principles and methods for controlling resources, such as process sequencing, location constraints, and intellectual property cores. The remainder of the book illustrates examples of applications in high-energy physics, space, and radiobiology. Throughout the text, the authors remind designers to pay attention to resources at the planning, design, and implementation stages of an FPGA application, in order to reduce the use of limited silicon resources and thereby reduce system cost.

    Supplying practical know-how on an array of FPGA application examples, this book provides an accessible overview of the use of FPGAs in data acquisition, signal processing, and transmission. It shows how FPGAs are employed in laboratory applications and how they are flexible, low-cost alternatives to commercial data acquisition systems.

    Web Resource

    A supporting website at http://scipp.ucsc.edu/~hartmut/FPGA offers more details on FPGA programming and usage. The site contains design elements of the case studies from the book, including VHDL code, detailed schematics of selected projects, photographs, and screen shots.

    Introduction
    What is an FPGA?
    Digital and analog signal processing
    FPGA costs
    FPGA versus ASIC

    Understanding FPGA Resources
    General-purpose resources
    Special-purpose resources
    The company- or family-specific resources

    Several Principles and Methods of Resource Usage Control
    Reusing silicon resources by process sequencing
    Finding algorithms with less computation
    Using dedicated resources
    Minimizing supporting resources
    Remaining in control of the compilers
    Guideline on pipeline staging
    Using good libraries

    Examples of an FPGA in Daily Design Jobs
    LED illumination
    Simple sequence control with counters
    Histogram booking
    Temperature digitization of TMP03/04 devices
    Silicon serial number (DS2401) readout

    The ADC + FPGA Structure
    Preparing signals for the ADC
    Topics on averages
    Simple digital filters
    Simple data compression schemes

    Examples of FPGA in Front-End Electronics
    TDC in an FPGA based on multiple-phase clocks
    TDC in an FPGA based on delay chains
    Common timing reference distribution
    ADC implemented with an FPGA
    DAC implemented with an FPGA
    Zero-suppression and time stamp assignment
    Pipeline versus FIFO
    Clock-command combined carrier coding (C5)
    Parasitic event building
    Digital phase follower
    Multichannel deserialization

    Examples of an FPGA in Advanced Trigger Systems
    Trigger primitive creation
    Unrolling nested-loops, doublet finding
    Unrolling nested-loops, triplet finding
    Track fitter

    Examples of an FPGA Computation
    Pedestal and RMS
    Centre of gravity method of pulse time calculation
    Lookup table usage
    The enclosed loop microsequencer (ELMS)

    Radiation Issues
    Radiation effects
    FPGA applications with radiation issues
    SEE rates
    Special advantages and vulnerability of FPGAs in space
    Mitigation of SEU

    Time-over-Threshold: The Embedded Particle-Tracking Silicon Microscope (EPTSM)
    EPTSM system
    Time-over-threshold (TOT): analog ASIC PMFE
    Parallel-to-serial conversion
    FPGA function

    Appendix

    Index

    References appear at the end of each chapter.

    Biography

    Hartmut F.-W. Sadrozinski is a research physicist and adjunct professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A senior fellow of the IEEE, Dr. Sadrozinski has been working on the application of silicon sensors and front-end electronics in elementary particle physics and astrophysics for over 30 years. He is currently involved in the use of silicon sensors to support hadron therapy. He earned his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

    Jinyuan Wu is an electronics engineer in the Particle Physics Division of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Dr. Wu is a frequent lecturer at international workshops and IEEE conferences. He earned his Ph.D. in experimental high energy physics from Pennsylvania State University.