We report on the design and test results of a prototype processor for the CMS
Level-1 trigger that performs 3-D track reconstruction and measurement from
data recorded by the cathode strip chambers of the endcap muon system. The
tracking algorithms are written in C++ using a class library we developed that
facilitates automatic conversion to Verilog. The code is synthesized into
firmware for field-programmable gate-arrays from the Xilinx Virtex-II series. A
second-generation prototype has been developed and is currently under test. It
performs regional track-finding in a 60 degree azimuthal sector and accepts 3
GB/s of input data synchronously with the 40 MHz beam crossing frequency. The
latency of the track-finding algorithms is expected to be 250 ns, including
geometrical alignment correction of incoming track segments and a final
momentum assignment based on the muon trajectory in the non-uniform magnetic
field in the CMS endcaps.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, proceedings for the conference on Computing in
High Energy and Nuclear Physics, March 24-28 2003, La Jolla, Californi