New FPGA based hardware implementation for JET gamma-ray camera upgrade

• Published in: Fusion engineering and design Vol. 128; pp. 188 - 192
• Main Authors: Fernandes, A., Pereira, R.C., Santos, B., Bielecki, J., Boltruczyk, G., Broslawski, A., Carvalho, P.F., Dias, R., Figueiredo, J., Giacomelli, L., Gosk, M., Kiptily, V., Korolczuk, S., Murari, A., Nocente, M., Rigamonti, D., Sousa, J., Tardocchi, M., Urban, A., Zychor, I., Correia, C.M.B.A., Gonçalves, B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01-03-2018; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: ATCA; Atoms & subatomic particles; Deuterium; Diagnostic systems; Field programmable gate arrays; Fluxes; FPGA; Fusion; Gamma rays; Gamma-ray spectroscopy; Nuclear fusion; Photon counters; Plasmas; Real time; Real-time processing; Scintillation counters; Signal processing; Tritium; Upgrading; Real-time processing; Gamma-ray spectroscopy; Nuclear fusion; FPGA; ATCA
• ISSN: 0920-3796; 1873-7196
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fusengdes.2018.02.038

•The GCU project aims at insztalling 19 new scintillators in JET Gamma-Camera.•FPGA codes need to be rebuilt to cope with the new signals.•Dedicated codes were designed fitted to the new signal shape.•Code tested during installation of the 19 detectors in Camera.•Results obtained with algorithms at FPGA are presented.
The Gamma-Ray Camera Upgrade (GCU) project aims at installing a new set of 19 scintillators with multi-pixel photon counter (MPPC) embedded, capable to meet the high fluxes expected during deuterium-tritium plasmas while improving the diagnostic spectroscopic capabilities. GCU will benefit from the Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (ATCA)-based Data Acquisition System (DAQ), successfully installed and commissioned during the JET-EP2 enhancement. However, to cope with the new GCU detector signals, the DAQ Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) codes need to be rebuilt. This work presents the FPGA code upgrade for Gamma Camera (GC) DAQ, capable to sustain the expected fast response of new detectors, while exploiting the full capabilities of the DAQ. Dedicated codes were designed, capable to acquire the new signals at full rate, and simultaneously processing them in real-time through suitable algorithms, fitted to the new signals shape. First results of real-time processing codes applied to data from detector prototypes are presented.