Speaker
Dr
Robert Frazier
(University of Bristol)
Description
This paper describes two aspects of the current R&D programme towards upgrades of the CMS trigger and detector readout systems. We show that the adoption of modern hardware and software components, in non-traditional architectures, can bring improvements in cost, reliability and flexibility.
Firstly, as the CMS experiment moves away from VME-based electronics to telecoms-oriented architectures such as ATCA and μTCA, a new mechanism is needed to configure, control, and perform local DAQ functions for upgraded trigger and readout hardware. We present the "IPbus" protocol, and a supporting suite of firmware and software modules, that provides such a mechanism. The IPbus suite allows simple, highly-scalable control and readout of hardware via packets sent over gigabit Ethernet. The software also includes user-facing APIs to replace the existing VME Hardware Access Library (HAL) currently in use within the CMS experiment.
Secondly, we propose a novel approach to the upgrade of the CMS L1 calorimeter trigger: a time-multiplexed trigger system. This system comprises nodes responsible for processing all data in a given bunch-crossing, replacing the existing conventional architecture of several parallel nodes that process regional data in parallel. This architecture is enabled by the latest generation of FPGAs with substantial IO capabilities, radically reduces the data-sharing necessary in conventional trigger designs, and brings the possibility of new trigger algorithms that can examine detector data in a more holistic manner.
Author
Dr
Robert Frazier
(University of Bristol)
Co-authors
Dr
Andrew Rose
(Imperial College, London)
Dr
Dave Newbold
(University of Bristol)
Dr
Greg Iles
(Imperial College, London)
