22.06.2012

Helmholtz funds commercialisation of a new industry standard of electronic systems

Modern accelerators are extremely complex machines; monitoring requires an extremely precise and fast technology which is able to process in parallel a large number of data sets. To solve this problem, in the past years DESY developed a new generation of control electronics for the free-electron lasers FLASH and European XFEL. After introducing this so-called low level RF system based on the new electronic standard MTCA.4, this standard created under the leadership of DESY proved to be very multifunctional. Funded by the Helmholtz Validation Funds,it is now prepared for commercialization and application in industrial enterprises and other large-scale research projects. The costs of about 4 million euros for this project are financed by the Helmholtz Association, DESY and partners from industry.

DESY´s fast control electronics has great potential for applications in industry.

When linear accelerators are operated with particles traversing only one single time, it is not possible – as with conventional storage rings – to measure a parameter for intervention and making adjustments in the next particle round. Instead, the start value for the next particle jets must be determined from the data of a particle bunch already traversing the accelerator. Therefore, DESY developed a control hardware which already acts on the following particle bunches in the same particle jet. However, it is necessary to process very quickly a wide range of data in parallel. For the RF control of the European XFEL superconducting linear collider, the developers utilized the relatively new electronics standard MTCA.4 (Micro Telecommunications Computing Architecture). With the significant participation of DESY, this standard was elaborated in a working group of PICMG (PCI Industrial Computers Manufacturers Group) and adopted in October 2011. It replaces the 30 years old VME standard which is still very common in the research sector.

On the basis of MTCA.4, DESY developed a system of control boards for analog and digital signal processing and combination. This system is able to read out up to 100 parameters in real-time with a rate of several Msps (Mega samples per second), and with an integrated management system, it can be operated and maintained by remote control. It also provides a considerable scalability and it is applicable and extendable from the smallest units up to complex gigantic systems. At the same time, the system consists of small modules which can be combined in different ways. These modules are installed in crates and maintenance and replacement is possible during operation. This flexibility in function and configuration opens up a wide range of possible applications in industry, e.g. in telecommunication, online inspection, aviation, medical technology or precision measurement technology.

DESY and seven industrial enterprises now advance the commercialization of this standard. Therefore, the already tested electronic boards and components are further developed and optimised for industrial utilisation. DESY will make available these modules on the basis of licenses. Within the framework of the validation project, the product line will be completed and extended for special industrial requirements. The implementation of this industrial process control standard will be promoted with extensive consulting offered by DESY and the involved enterprises. The project that is planned for two years will be financed with about 1.9 million euros from the Helmholtz Validation Funds, 0.7 million euros from the participating firms and 1.4 euros from DESY.