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Gigabit Data Acquisition Platform for High Energy Physics--Tempest Microsystems, 3525 Del Mar Heights Road, #395, San Diego, CA  92130; 858-794-7383

Mr. Michael Majaver, Principal Investigator, michael@tempestinc.com 

Ms. Julie Ludington, Business Official, Julie@tempestinc.com 

DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-00ER83110

Amount:  $700,000

Future High Energy Physics experiments, such as the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment at the European Center for Nuclear Physics, will generate data at the rate of tens of Terabytes per second.  This project addresses the need for specialized networking components in the data acquisition system.  A scalable, gigabit-speed data acquisition platform (GDAP) will be linked to the most recent advances in software and hardware technology.  This platform will be a key component of the Compact Muon Solenoid detector data acquisition system scheduled for pre-production in 2003.  Phase I incorporated a number of key software and hardware features in the platform and successful operation was verified.  Ten modules were fabricated and delivered.  The  platform is currently being tested at CERN and the evolution path has been defined.  Phase II will develop a scaled down data collection system based on the module with expanded gigabit networking support options.  This system would provide the basis for a full scale implementation of the GDAP as well as testing of many data acquisition concepts that have only been simulated previously.

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: With the emergence of broadband Intranet and Internet services and high resolution imaging technologies, the need for efficient distribution and processing of image data is increasing.  Potential applications beyond High Energy Physics include telemedicine, High Definition Television, and video distribution over Metropolitan Area Networks.