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Instrument Control Systems 2014

Instrument Control Systems 2014. NGC controller. Leander Mehrgan. ESO precursor controller. IR data acquisition system and ACE as optical controller. IRAC camera and its controller 1987. ACE controller at NTT La Silla. Sequencer programming language: Assembler.

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Instrument Control Systems 2014

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  1. Instrument Control Systems 2014 NGC controller Leander Mehrgan

  2. ESO precursor controller • IR data acquisition system and ACE as optical controller IRAC camera and its controller 1987 ACE controller at NTT La Silla Sequencer programming language: Assembler

  3. IRACE, InfraRed Array Control Electronics In 1994 the Infrared Detector Group started with the development of the IRACE controller.

  4. IRACE, InfraRed Array Control Electronics In 1994 the Infrared Detector Group started with the development of the IRACE controller. IRACE Giga board for data transfer with one Gigabit per second

  5. IRACE, InfraRed Array Control Electronics First light with ISAAC in 1998. From 1998 to 2008 IRACE was the ESO standard controller for InfraRedapplication. This controller was based on Transputer processors. gigabit fiber for data low speed fiber for command

  6. FIERA, Fast Imager Electronic Readout Assembly In 1995 the Optical Detector Team (ODT) started with the development of the FIERA controller. clock board 4 channel video board Communication board

  7. FIERA, Fast Imager Electronic Readout Assembly From 1998 to 2008 FIERA was the ESO standard controller for Optical application. This controller was based on DSP processors. FIERA 16 output video channels for NAOS chip

  8. FIERA and IRACE are still used by many instruments at ESO telescopes Using IRACE controller Using FIERA controller NACO CONICA CRIRESS X-SHOOTER FORS SOFI GIRAFFE X-SHOOTER EMMI HAWK-I ISAAC UVES VINCI VIMOS FINITO SINFONI VISTA VISIR OmegaCAM IRIS PRIMA

  9. ESO detector controller • Both controller have been extremely successful. • but various limitations, e.g.: • mass (OmegaCAM: ¼ ton), volume, heat dissipation • obsolete components • voltage range and swing • speed, number of channels • 2 successes (= 2 costs) • Therefore …. • Make new design, taking advantage of new technologies • Do it as a joint IR+ODT effort, merging all past experience

  10. NGC, New General detector Controller • Both development teams, FIERA and IRACE, merged into one team, the NGC. • In 2004 the NGC team started with a new design. • Features of the NGC: • No parallel bus system, only high speed serial links • Central element on each board is a Xilinx FPGA • Digital parts, like RAMs, FIFOs, and the sequencer are fully implemented in the FPGA • Data and commands time multiplexed transferring

  11. Different type of NGCs • SCI-NGC: the scientific NGC, which is used for all type of detectors • AO-NGC: used to readout the e2v CCD220 detector with a very compact, high speed integrated controller. • The same back-end interface is used for both NGC types. Core of the SCI-NGC WFS camera (AO-NGC)

  12. Different type of housing • The NGC provides different type of housing: Compact (no water cooling) Fanless housing (needed for GRAVITY and MATISSE) Six-slot (with water cooling)

  13. NGC interface to other systems The NGC controller provides a direct interface to the SPARTA and VxWorks based Power PC systems. Needed for GRAVITY, GRAAL, GALACSI instruments NGC DCS GUI NGC RTD SPARTA RTD

  14. NGC, New General detector Controller The NGC controller is a modular, customizable system AQ-32ch module 10 MHz Backplane FEB module Transition module Visible NIR MID-IR Visible WFS

  15. Video interface board NGC, New General detector Controller • Just like “Lego” blocks we can combine different modules to cover our needs. Basic interface board Power supply cable Power supply box Video board-10MHz Basic board Fiber cable A system like this has been using to readout the SAPHIRA detector of the GRAVITY instrument PCIexpress LLCU

  16. NGC, New General detector Controller • Just like “Lego” blocks we can combine different modules to cover our needs. MUSE I MUSE II MUSE IV MUSE III MUSE NGC system readouts 24 CCD detectors simultaneously

  17. Status of the NGC • NGC systems are already being used by many instruments • Since 2012 also operational at the telescopes. GALACSI / GRAAL SAPHIRA MATISSE VISIR MID-IR NIR AO MID-IR NGC NIR WFS AQUARIUS NIR GRAVITY MUSE SPHERE NIR Visible Visible Visible WFS

  18. Summary • ESO has a long history of developing and maintaining its own controller, one of the reasons behind NGC success • The NGC is now in routine operation at the VLT and has reached a very high level of maturity • It is very adaptable and continues to meet all instrumentation needs • With the SCI-NGC and AO-NGC combinations, ESO is able to readout any type of detector • Having the NGC as a uniform controller platform at the observatory, we have an extremely useful and maintenance friendly systems on the mountain. • With further development the NGC will meet the requirements of detectors for the ELT

  19. Thank you very much for your attention

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