Robust Design of Data Acquisition System for Geophysical Applications Based on FPGA Technology

Abstract

The design of an intelligent data acquisition system is intended for use in applications such as measurement of the magnetic field of the earth, groundwater level variations, temperature, and pressure of the geophysical application. The bottleneck of the design is compatible with different sensors of the frequency characteristics of the targeted application. However, a four-channel data logging system for logging the geophysical parameters within the field is built up in this work; the design is centered with state-of-the-art technology called the field programmable gate array (FPGA) which makes the data acquisition process faster with synchronizing the digital signal processor (DSP). This work addresses the solution for a high-speed data acquisition system based on FPGA technology; an augment circuit is designed on the basis of the intention frequency and the response of the different sensors with logging ranges of data. The data logging card is designed according to the authentic requirements of a multichannel signal logging system and also hardware of the system provides the option of communication interfaces for retrieving, storing, and displaying data by integrating with a personal computer; the firmware was implemented in Xilinx ISE for FPGA and embedded C tools for DSP of the system. Therefore the system gives high-speed data acquisition, better acquisition efficiency, and enhanced design with flexibility for use with different geophysical sensors; the results show that the system evaluations meet the needs of high-speed data logging.