Detailed schematics of the board are available here: ACM Schematics. To view the Revision A schematics, click on any document on the page, and when the relevant schematic loads, replace “edg.uchicago.edu/~bogdan/DAMIC_ACM/doc/…” with “edg.uchicago.edu/~bogdan/DAMIC_ACM/doc/docA/…” in the browser address bar.

To power the ACM board, we use the VME8004X from CAEN, which provides all necessary voltages except for ±15V and -30V. These must be added manually by connecting the V1 and V2 outputs on the backside of the VME. The input voltages are defined in the table below:

There exists an outdated user manual; please use it with care: User Guide

To start the ACM board, it is important to follow this order:

Turn on the VME crate.

Turn on the external supplies (HMP 2030).

To shut down the ACM board:

Turn off the HMP2030.

Turn off the VME crate.

The ACM is driven by a two-stage software system:

cdaq: Sets up the ACM as a server station.

ldaq: Manages communication between the server and your workstation.

For download and installation, see the chapter Software Installation and Test.

The ACM always creates a temporary version of the BCF and SEQ files. This ensures that if certain values are changed using a command, the original files remain intact.

Execute the following steps:

• Navigate to the directory: /ccd-cdaq
• Run: ./start_daq.sh

Start Python scripts:

• python start_imagebuilders.py
• python ./start_client.py (Use screen -ls to check if image_builder.ACMDecoder and ccdmanager are present.)

Execute commands:

1. ./sendrun.py –to 'CCDID' 'daq.connect()'
2. ./sendrun.py –to 'CCDID' 'daq.init_ccd(“.bcf file”, “.seq file”)'
3. ./sendrun.py –to 'CCDID' 'daq.daemon.send_command(“EHV”)'
4. ./sendrun.py –to 'CCDID' 'daq.load_current_sequencer()'
5. ./sendrun.py –to 'CCDID' 'daq.startup_ccd()'

These steps are part of the start_module.py script.

Erase/Purge CCD

• daq.ops.erase_CCD(highP=9., delay=2)
• daq.ops.epurge_CCD(lowP=-9., delay=1)

Image Acquisition

• daq.set_run(“testimages”, user=“simon”, comment=“test”, run_dir=“images”)
• daq.prepare_image(fname=“img”, level=2)
• daq.only_take_image(level=2)

Trace Acquisition

• daq.take_trace(fname=“trace”, ch=channel)

To shut down CDAQ:

• Run screen -ls to check active clients.
• Use ./shutdown_client.py 'CCDID'(Verify shutdown with screen -ls.)
• If unsuccessful, use screen -r ID to force shutdown.
• Close the Tmux session using Ctrl+C & Ctrl+D.

The CCDID is assigned by the board. For example, board number 105 has the ID ccd105 (For Rev A, it’s 1). The ID is determined by the board's IP, which is based on its Chip ID. The default IP for Rev B is 192.168.105.5.

To synchronize multiple ACMs, a synchronization board is used. Communication between ACMs and the synchronization board is managed by the cdaq software, but ACMs must be set up correctly:

• Assign one ACM as the master and others as slaves. (Master = Red LED, Slave = Green LED.)
• Send the ESS command to the master board, enabling it to communicate with the sync board.
• Assign all ACMs to the same pool (otherwise, commands will be chained instead of handled simultaneously).
• Send the CEX command to the pool so they listen to the sync board’s clock. (Yellow LED next to the Ethernet connection indicates an internal clock; off means external.)
• Send commands to the pool; the software will handle the rest.

If the external clock is disconnected, it will automatically switch to the internal clock (not recommended). It will keep searching for an external clock and switch back once reconnected.

Master/Slave Commands:

• DSS+EXS = Slave board (Green LED)
• ESS+EXS = Master board (Red LED)

Note: Different cable lengths can cause issues.

Before installing the ACM software, auxiliary software must be installed. Files are located in /Home/ACM.

Mosquitto broker

• Install: sudo apt install mosquitto

tmux

• Install: sudo apt install tmux

Before installing cdaq and ldaq, the firmware must be uploaded. Firmware is located at:

• /home/damic/Files/ACM/ACM_Firmware

To upload firmware, use Quartus: Located at: /intelFPGA_pro/24.2/quartus/bin

1. Open Quartus and navigate to Tools → Programmer.
2. Select USB-Blaster 2-1.4 and press Start.
3. To allow USB Blaster communication, add the following rule to /etc/udev/rules.d/99-usb-blaster.rules:
4. SUBSYSTEM==“usb”, ATTRS{idVendor}==“09fb”, ATTRS{idProduct}==“6001”, GROUP=“usb”

Reload rules:

• sudo udevadm control –reload-rules
• sudo udevadm trigger

After shutting down the ACM board, firmware must be re-uploaded. A permanent installation using a .pof file is possible.

After this you can download the files from ccd-cdaq and ldaq. Make sure that you choose the correct version for Rev A. Go to the directory /path/to/ccd-cdaq and untar the file. For the installation follow the guide in the README file. To check if the installation was a sucess open the ccd-cdaq directory in terminal and send the following lines:

1. cd experiment
2. cp example.ini default.ini
3. cp example_ccd_clients.json ccd_clients.json
4. cd ..
5. ./start_daq.sh

now a tmux window sould appear, in the bottom shel type:

• python scripts/example.py

Now you should see command moving around. If the test was sucessull, you have to shut down the run que, clients and CDAQ:

• delqueue.py

wait for this process to finish

• ./shutdown_client.py fake1 -f
• ./shutdown_client.py fake2 -f

shutdown the CDAQ

• ./shutdown_daq.py
• close the tmux sessioin using ctrl+c,ctrl+d or exit

Now for the ldaq software follow also the README file.

Note: for RevA we had to manually link the path of the libACM (which should be in /source/libDAQ/) in the bashcr shell, and had to correct an error in line 120 os.mkdirs(tmppath, exist_ok=True) needs to be corrected to os.makedirs(tmppath, exist_ok=True). Otherwise the clients will fail to initialize with DAQ type ACM.

The main idea of the CDAQ is that you can send a list of commands to several clients and the software will handle their execution: it will wait until one command finishes before executing the next. This is accomplished via a 'queue'. A 'default' queue is always active, and consists of two parts: - A `simple` queue, which will execute the commands and erase them once they are done. - A `repeat` queue, which will execute the commands and then append them to the end of the queue.

Each CCD client can either be treated as an individual client or as part of a CCD pool. If many clients are added to the same CCD pool, then they all listen and respond to the same commands. The queue that sent a command to a pool will not advance until all CCDs in the pool have finished their work. The general command structure is:

./sendrun.py –to 'CCDID' 'CMD'

Take note of the quotation marks around the CMD, they are indeed needed (we send a string). The CCDID is set by the board for example board number 105 has the ID ccd105. All daq functions can be found in the acmpy.py file. Some function are calling ops/aqs functions, they are second level function and there corresponding files (operation/..) can be found in a subdirectory, where the acmpy.py is located.

Find below the most commonly used commands:

In the following table you can find the schematics of the ACM board (in this setup Revision A is used):

• +3.3 → GND 170 Ohm
• +5.0 → GND: 480 kOhm
• +12 → GND: 4.36 kOhm
• -12 → GND: 490 kOhm
• -15 → GND 285 Ohm
• +15 → GND 500 kOhm
• -30 → GND 825 kOhm

Fuse continuity test

• +3.3V → ok
• +5V → ok
• +15V → ok
• -15V → ok
• -30V → ok

Output Fuse test from top to bottom including the back side resistors (measuring between capacitors and resistors)

• 100 Ohm
• 100 Ohm
• 1 kOhm
• 1 kOhm
• 1 kOhm
• 1 kOhm

Voltage connections to the VME back-plane inputs of the ACM.