FPGA-based low-cost synchronized fiber network for experimental setups in space

verfasst von

Tim Oberschulte, Thijs Wendrich, Holger Blume

Abstract

Custom experiment setups in physics often require control electronics to execute actions and measurements on a small time scale. When further constraints limit the experiment's environment, for example when the experiment is inside a sounding rocket, conventional network systems will not suffice those constraints because of weight, heat or budget limitations. This paper proposes a network architecture with a time resolution of less than 1 ns over a pair of plastic fibers while using low-cost commercial hardware. The plastic fibers in comparison to copper fibers have a low weight and additionally can isolate parts of the setup galvanically. Data rates of 40 Mbit/s enable the network to transfer large amounts of measurements and configuration data over the network. Proof-of-concept implementations of network endpoints and switches on small FPGAs are analyzed in terms of synchronicity, data rate and resource usage. Using commercial parts the resolution of 1 ns is reached with a standard deviation of less than 100 ps. Compared to a copper wire implementation the weight is reduced by about one order of magnitude. With its low weight at a low cost, the network is useful in space or laboratory setups which require high time resolution.

Organisationseinheit(en)

Institut für Quantenoptik
Fachgebiet Architekturen und Systeme

Typ

Artikel

Journal

Journal of Instrumentation

Band

16

ISSN

1748-0221

Publikationsdatum

15.11.2021

Publikationsstatus

Veröffentlicht

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Instrumentierung, Mathematische Physik

Elektronische Version(en)

https://arxiv.org/abs/2109.11638 (Zugang: Offen)
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/16/11/p11016 (Zugang: Geschlossen)