A generic readout environment for prototype pixel detectors

Pixel detectors for experimental particle physics research have been implemented with a variety of readout formats and potentially generate massive amounts of data. Examples include the PSI46 device for the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment which implements an analog readout, the Fermilab FPIX2.1 device with a digital readout, and the Fermilab Vertically Integrated Pixel device. The Electronic Systems Engineering Department of the Computing Division at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory has developed a data acquisition system flexible and powerful enough to meet the various needs of these devices to support laboratory test bench as well as test beam applications. The system is called CAPTAN (Compact And Programmable daTa Acquisition Node) and is characterized by its flexibility, versatility and scalability by virtue of several key architectural features. These include a vertical bus that permits the user to stack multiple boards, a gigabit Ethernet link that permits high speed communications to the system and a core group of boards that provide specific processing and readout capabilities for the system. System software based on distributed computing techniques supports an expandable network of CAPTANs. In this paper, we describe the system architecture and give an overview of its capabilities. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.