Development of a MicroTCA Carrier Hub for CMS at HL-LHC

Abstract

We are developing a Micro TCA Carrier Hub card which provides timing, control and data acquisition functions in a Micro TCA crate for HL-LHC readout electronics. This module may be mounted in the primary or redundant MCH slot in a Micro TCA crate, and distributes low-jitter LHC RF clock and encoded fast timing signals to up to 12 AMC modules. In addition, it receives buffer status signals and DAQ data at up to 600 MBytes/sec from each AMC. The prototype module is built on a commercial MCH base board with a custom mezzanine board stack. The latest Xilinx® Virtex®-6 FPGA are used to provide a clear upgrade path. Prototype modules have been developed for a CMS HCAL test beam in summer 2010. We describe the specifications of the module, its application in a Micro TCA system beyond CMS HCAL, and our experience in commissioning the module for the test beam.