@misc{10481/111805,
year = {2020},
month = {11},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10481/111805},
abstract = {This article presents the Zynq-embedded node for the Cherenkov telescope array (ZEN-CTA) node, a programmable system-on-chip (SoC) with White Rabbit (WR)-synchronization capability. It targets a solution for the uniform clock and trigger time-stamping module of the small-sized telescopes in the CTA. This module is tasked as a distributed acquisition device with a focus on obtaining time stamps for candidate Cherenkov events, which could be generated at potentially high rates from very-high-energy gamma rays and their subsequent distribution over Ethernet. In this context, the customized design of the ZEN-CTA node is examined thoroughly, including its generic implementation aspects and its main functional blocks. The design of the WR-assisted time-to-digital converters (TDCs) for time-stamping analog triggers is presented in detail alongside the implementation of an upgraded high-speed data path (1 Gb/s) for the WR-compatible Ethernet interfaces of the node. The new data path will feature a direct memory access engine for direct software transmissions and a hardware description language (HDL) coprocessor for high-speed forwarding. Next, the time-stamping accuracy of the WR-enhanced TDCs will be characterized alongside the forwarding efficiency of the new data path. Finally, conclusions are drawn, and the main contributions of this research are enumerated, a potential deployment within the CTA infrastructure to support the acquisition of Cherenkov light is considered, and additional use cases are mentioned.},
organization = {Amiga-6 Project Grant AYA2015-65973-C3-2-R},
organization = {Amiga-7 Project Grant RTI2018-096228-B-C3},
publisher = {Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers},
keywords = {Camera},
keywords = {Cherenkov},
keywords = {Cherenkov telescope array (CTA)},
title = {A White Rabbit-Synchronized Accurate Time-Stamping Solution for the Small-Sized Cameras of the Cherenkov Telescope Array},
doi = {10.1109/TIM.2020.3013343},
author = {Sánchez Garrido, Jorge and Jurado Caballero, Antonio and Jiménez-López, Miguel and Arnim, Balzer and Prokoph, Heike and Stephan, Maurice and Berge, David and Rodríguez Álvarez, Manuel and Díaz Alonso, Antonio Javier},
}