MOST DOE-FUNDED RESEARCH FACILITIES REQUIRE A CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF HIGH-SPEED DATA ACQUISITION AND CONTROL SYSTEMS INORDER TO PROCEED WITH THEIR HIGH-ENERGY PHYSICS RESEARCH.

MOST DOE-FUNDED RESEARCH FACILITIES REQUIRE A CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF HIGH-SPEED DATA ACQUISITION AND CONTROL SYSTEMS INORDER TO PROCEED WITH THEIR HIGH-ENERGY PHYSICS RESEARCH. LARGE MULTI-CRATE FASTBUS SYSTEMS ARE BEGINNING TO PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN EXTREMELY HIGH-SPEED DATA ACQUISITION APPLICATIONS. THESE FASTBUS SYSTEMS REQUIRE AT LEAST ONE CABLE SEGMENT INTERFACED TO EACH CRATE VIA A SEGMENT INTERCONNECT. THE FASTBUS CABLE SEGMENT IS A HIGHLY FLEXIBLE PARALLEL COMMUNICATION PATH THAT HAS BECOME AN EXPENSIVE, CRITICAL LINK TO ALL MULTI-CRATE SYSTEMS. TO DATE, A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF EFFORT HAS GONE INTO FASTBUS CRATE SEGMENT INTERFACE DEVELOPMENT; HOWEVER, THE FASTBUS CABLE SEGEMENT HAS BEEN DEVELOPED TO A LESSER EXTENT. SOME OF THE MAJOR CONCERNS OF THE HIGH-ENERGY PHYSICS COMMUNITY AS WELL AS THE MANUFACTURERS OF FASTBUS PRODUCTS ARE THE HIGH COST, AVAILABILITY, AND PERFORMANCE OF THE CABLE SEGMENT DRIVERS. THIS PROPOSAL DESCRIBES THE PHASE I FEASIBILITY INVESTIGATION OF ALTERNATIVE FASTBUS CABLE SEGMENT TRANSCEIVER INTERFACES. IF FEASIBILITY IS SHOWN, THE CABLE SEGMENT INTERFACE PRODUCED UNDER PHASE III WILL INCORPORATE A LOWER COST, ENHANCED DRIVER/RECEIVER APPROACH ON A FASTBUS AUXILIARY CARD. THIS WILL OFFER THE FASTBUS SYSTEM DESIGNER INCREASED FLEXIBILITY BY PERMITTING THE USE OF A PARTICULAR CABLE SEGMENT TRANSCEIVER INTERFACE FOR A SPECIFIC APPLICATION. THE FASTBUS CABLE SEGMENT AND THE CURRENT METHODS OF DRIVING IT WILL BE STUDIED IN DETAIL, CONCEPTUAL DESIGNS OF INTERFACE ALTERNATIVE METHODS WILL BE UNDERTAKEN AND BREADBOARDED WHERE APPROPRIATE. AN APPROPRIATE. AN APPROPRIATE FASTBUS CABLE SEGMENT INTERFACEWILL BE RECOMMENDED FOR PHASE II R&D FUNDING BASED ON COST, PERFORMANCE AND FLEXIBILITY.