R5560

The R5560 is a 2U, 19″ rack-mount 128 Channels 14-bit 125MS/s Open FPGA Digitizer Family, designed to attain programmable data processing capabilities.

The R5560 is designed for the readout of large arrays of detectors (PMTs, segmented HPGe, ³He tubes, …) using a customizable platform. In fact, it is possible to take advantage of the powerful SoC mounted onboard to write a custom pulse processing algorithm on the open FPGA as well as build a middleware/software that fits the needs of the application of interest.

The board can manage simultaneously a large number of digital (LVDS, NIM, TTL) and analog signals, allowing to  implement many functionalities required by physics experiments: signal digitization, complex trigger logic, Pulse Height Analysis with MCA capabilities, Time Tagging, Pulse Shape Discrimination, etc.

It is an optimal solution for large experiments, usually requiring fast digitization of analog signals and usage of several digital lines to interface with external systems. The board  supports multi-board synchronization through a single CAT5e cable, with the possibility scale up to thousands of channels.  Moreover, the rack-mount form factor simplifies the experimental setup in case of multi-board systems, where an effective space management is often a constraint. The usage of differential inputs on RJ45 connectors optimizes the cost for the installation, reducing the cabling cost.

SCI-Compiler software, the CAEN block-diagram-based firmware generator and compiler, helps in programming the FPGA to develop intensive real-time data processing. A free and open-source demo readout software is available to manage the standard pulse height analysis firmware implementing energy measurements using a trapezoidal filter.

Applications includes:

Developed in collaboration with Nuclear Instruments.