A Fully Programmable White-Rabbit Node for the SKA Telescope PPS Distribution System

Abstract

Distributed data acquisition (DAQ) systems are in charge of converting different analog environment signals into digital values to perform control and monitor tasks. They require a computer network technology to share data between their different elements. One of their main issues is to match data with the specific events under study. A possible solution is to include an event synchronization technology such as Network Time Protocol (NTP), Precise Time Protocol (PTP), or White Rabbit (WR). This contribution proposes a high-performance distributed timing system based on the WR technology. We focus on the square kilometer array (SKA) project as an example of the distributed DAQ system. The SKA project has a strict timing requirements for its operation with a performance below 2 ns. This accuracy is not achievable by current standard synchronization technologies such as NTP or PTP. Under this context, the authors propose the WR zynq embedded node (WR-ZEN) platform as a candidate for the SKA’s pulse per second (PPS) distribution system. It is a new design that integrates the WR technology, thus enabling the subnanosecond accuracy. Finally, the WR-ZEN has been evaluated in different scenarios to demonstrate its timing performance in dynamic environment conditions fulfilling the SKA telescope requirements for PPS distribution.