System Integration Guidelines - Form Factors
Overview
At Teledyne SP Devices we are proud about the unique and world-leading
combination of high sampling rate and resolution that our digitizers offer
but we recognize that other features are important as well. In a series of
brief and quick-to-read system integration guidelines we will share some
practical guidelines which are useful when selecting the right digitizer
for your needs. In this issue you can read more about the different form
factors that we offer.
PCI Express (PCIe)
PCIe boards are typically integrated into standard stationary PCs, in
compact embedded solutions, or used together with laptops through cabled
PCIe solutions. These hosts are typically relatively inexpensive but can
still support data streaming at very high rates. This is especially useful
for applications which require high throughput and/or computationally
heavy applications where for example a digitizer is used in conjunction
with a GPU hosted in the same PC.
PXI Express (PXIe)
PXIe boards are intended for integration into a chassis for modular
instrumentation. This type of system is suitable for large scale
multi-channel data acquisition and offer synchronization capabilities as
well as mechanical robustness. Clock references and trigger signals can be
distributed via the backplane in order to reduce external wiring. The PXIe
products can also operate in a Compact PCI Express (cPCIe) chassis but
then without the clock and trigger backplane capabilities.
Micro-TCA (MTCA)
MTCA.4 boards are typically used for multi-channel applications and offer
extended support for timing control and distribution via the backplane in
order to support high-precision synchronous sampling. In addition the MTCA
boards also offer 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) which allows for operation via
long-distance fiber and electrical isolation from the host. Furthermore
our latest digitizer ADQ7 supports Ethernet-based high precision
synchronization via White Rabbit. These boards are commonly adopted within
the Big science community.
USB
USB boards offer compact stand-alone operation and can easily be
integrated in existing systems. Because of their small size, robust metal
enclosure, and widely adopted USB standards these boards can often be
retrofitted into existing designs and connected to a wide range of hosts.
Analog performance can also be optimized by placing the digitizer close to
the detector so that cables can be kept short to ensure good signal
quality. Data streaming can be done at high rates and combined with data
reduction in the open FPGA if required. The USB version of ADQ7 also
provides GbE connectors and support for synchronization via White Rabbit.
10GbE
10GbE boards offer compact stand-alone operation with electrical isolation
from the host PC. This is especially interesting for long distances to
avoid ground loops. The stand-alone format makes it possible to place the
digitizer close to the detector so that cables can be kept short to ensure
good signal quality. Data streaming can be done at very high rates and can
be combined with data reduction in the open FPGA if required. The 10GbE
version of ADQ7 also provides GbE connectors and support for
synchronization via White Rabbit. The 10 GbE interface supports
point-to-point UDP.
