Time-synchronized Network Architecture for Data Acquisition

Data acquisition in Nuclear Physics, and in particular for the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), requires unprecedented flexibility in collecting data from detectors served by modern sampling analog- to-digital converters (ADC). Work is needed to develop architecture which will synchronize time to a precision as good as 10 ns to support ADC clock synchronization, trigger formation, and event building. The heterogenous and distributed DAQ topology presents new challenges in synchronization of the different elements of this event-driven architecture. New DAQ architecture will be developed based on on Local Area Network (LAN), IEEE 1588 Precision Clock Synchronization Protocol, and Synchronous Ethernet. The proof of principle of the proposed solutions will be provided with the digitizers that SkuTek Instrumentation has developed for the underground experiment LUX at DUSEL. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: Future applications will include Nuclear Physics, astrophysics, Homeland Security, and education. Public will benefit through electronics which will allow building distributed DAQ systems which are more flexible and cheaper than current solutions.