Hardware-agnostic framework for general-purpose data acquisition systems

Abstract

Modern data acquisition systems in physics experiments of various scales rely heavily on precise time synchronization of electronic components used for digitizing analog signals generated by detectors. Scientific collaborations often develop custom, in-house solutions designed for particular use cases that form ecosystems of compatible hardware platforms, protocols, and standards. In this work, we present and evaluate a set of gateware and software components that enable the implementation of complete data acquisition systems with synchronization, data transport, and control functionalities over multi-gigabit transceivers. The components can be organized to form a logical system structure, including the master, data concentrators, and endpoint modules, on virtually any hardware platform equipped with a Field-Programmable Gate Array with an exposed transceiver. The system allows for a rapid deployment of complete measurement systems with facilitated integration of new elements on both commercially available and custom-designed platforms