Speaker
Description
In the field of contemporary trigger and data acquisition (DAQ) systems, the utilization of programmable logic devices highlights the benefits of adaptable, reusable mixed-signal platforms, commonly referred to as open FPGA boards. These platforms support the direct incorporation of application-specific processing routines into firmware, making them highly attractive for a wide array of use cases. Nonetheless, traditional hardware description languages such as VHDL or Verilog often pose a significant barrier to entry for designing custom logic and readout solutions. We introduce an intuitive visual programming environment equipped with a library of IP cores specifically designed for nuclear physics workflows. This environment enables users to construct trigger schemes by linking functional blocks. Sci-Compiler includes virtual modules like scalers, counters, TDCs, energy computation blocks, and Pulse Shape Discrimination units. By simplifying algorithm integration, Sci-Compiler automatically builds all necessary firmware elements and supporting libraries required for the end-to-end acquisition pipeline—from sensor output to data archiving. This shifts the focus toward application-level development and removes the necessity for deep FPGA design expertise. The ecosystem supports a variety of open FPGA boards—with or without onboard ADCs—ranging from single-channel setups to 128-channel systems and sampling capabilities up to 5 GSPS.
Index Terms—Spectroscopy, Digital Signal Processing, FPGA, parallel computing
