Readout

Description

In Sci-Compiler, the readout components refer to the elements that enable the acquisition of data from a scientific experiment or detection system implementing all the logic necessary to transfer data from the DAQ board to the readout computer. These components perform various functions such as packet assembly, data transfer, and synchronization between multiple board.

Here some of the most common readout components:

• Digitizer: A digitizer is a component that store waveforms inside a circular buffer. The digitizer is capable of storing a certain number of samples from the input signal. The number of samples is determined by the size of the circular buffer. It is often used in conjunction with a trigger component to acquire data from a specific event or pulse. On computer side, the data is read from the circular buffer using the board SDK and the Sci-SDK library.

• List reading: List are a FIFO in which one side is available to the user designed firmware and one side is connected to the computer. The computer can read the data from the FIFO using the board SDK and the Sci-SDK library. List reading is a method of data acquisition that involves sequentially reading a set of word in the same order they have been written. User completely define the format of the word and the order in which they are read. It is often used when it is necessary to acquire data from multiple channels in a synchronized manner, such as multi-channel measurements or experiments involving sensor arrays. It is possible to multiplex multiple channels into a single list, or to use multiple lists to acquire data from multiple channels. The choice of the method depends on the specific requirements of the application.

• Custom Packet: A custom packet refers to a specific type of list in which the format used to transmit readout data from an acquisition component to a processing or storage system is defined by the user with a graphical tool to design the packet organization. This format can be custom-designed to meet the specific needs of the application or system. For example, it may include additional information such as metadata, timestamps, or channel information to enable proper interpretation of the data.

• Round robbin arbiter: A round-robin arbiter is a component that enables the sequential access to a set of resources. It is often used to implement a multi-channel readout system in which multiple channels are acquired in a sequential manner using a single list. The round-robin arbiter is used to select the channel to be acquired at a given time. The selection is performed in a sequential manner, ensuring that all channels are acquired in a round-robin fashion. The timeout parameter is used to define the maximum time that the arbiter can wait for a channel to be ready before moving to the next one. This parameter is used to ensure that the acquisition is performed in a timely manner.

• Histogram / Spectrum : A histogram is a component that enables the DAQ to calculate directly on board histograms like energy spectrum or time distributions. The histogram is a data structure that stores the number of occurrences of a given event or value. It is often used to calculate the energy spectrum of a signal by counting the number of occurrences of each energy value. Hardware calculated histograms can operate at very high rates overcoming the limitation of the data transfer bandwidth.