A 96-channel FPGA-based time-to-digital converter

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Abstract

We describe an FPGA-based, 96-channel, time-to-digital converter (TDC) intended for use with the Central Outer Tracker (COT) [1] in the CDF Experiment [2] at the Fermilab Tevatron. The COT system is digitized and read out by 315 TDC cards, each serving 96 wires of the chamber. The TDC is physically configured as a 9U VME card. The functionality is almost entirely programmed in firmware in two Altera Stratix FPGA’s. The special capabilities of this device are the availability of 840 MHz LVDS inputs, multiple phase-locked clock modules, and abundant memory. The TDC system operates with an input resolution of 1.2 ns, a minimum input pulse width of 4.8 ns and a minimum separation of 4.8 ns between pulses. Each input can accept up to 7 hits per collision. The time-to-digital conversion is done by first sampling each of the 96 inputs in 1.2-ns bins and filling a circular memory; the memory addresses of logical transitions (edges) in the input data are then translated into the time of arrival and width of the COT pulses. Memory pipelines with a depth of 5.5 μs allow deadtime-less operation in the first-level trigger; the data are multiple-buffered to diminish deadtime in the second-level trigger. The complete process of edge-detection and filling of buffers for readout takes 12 μs. The TDC VME interface allows a 64-bit Chain Block Transfer of multiple boards in a crate with transfer-rates up to 47 Mbytes/sec. The TDC also contains a separately-programmed data path that produces prompt trigger data every Tevatron crossing. The trigger bits are clocked onto the P3 VME backplane connector with a 22-ns clock for transmission to the trigger. The full TDC design and multi-card test results are described. The physical simplicity ensures low-maintenance; the functionality being in firmware allows reprogramming for other applications.

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