High speed nuclear and particle physics data acquisition instrumentation, especially CAMAC (Computer Assisted Measurement and Control and FASTCAMAC found in small and medium sized experiments, have not been able to effectively exploit the economies and speeds occurring in a rapidly evolving PC-driven marketplace. A link to the very high speed peripheral component interchange (PCI) bus supported by nearly all the new processors found in this marketplace is needed. This need will be met by designing an interface called a "PCI to CAMAC Bridge" which will enable CAMAC and FASTCAMAC modules to pass data to processors supporting the PCI bus at rates up to 20 times that of existing systems. Phase I will develop the design criterion of a "PCI to CAMAC Bridge" by considering the software and hardware techniques available for high speed PCI bus transfers. Bridge architectures will be developed for various applications and specific products defined for Phase II and III development.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The ability to use commercial components in the data acquisition portion of particle physics experiments should result in significant economies for the physics community. Products using the PCI to CAMAC bridge will enhance the ability of CAMAC and FASTCAMAC to be coupled to the PCI bus providing better performance, scalability and upgradability in physics instrumentation systems.
