FPGA-based multi-channel data acquisition system for Superheated Emulsion Detectors

A 10-channel Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)-based Data Acquisition (DAQ) system is developed for Superheated Emulsion Detectors (SEDs). The key features of the acquisition system are 12-bit resolution, a sampling rate of 500 KS/s/ch, triggered acquisition, user-programmable threshold, simultaneous acquisition and pre-post trigger adjustment. The indigenously developed compact DAQ unit consists of Analog Signal Processing modules, Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) boards and an FPGA board. The system is standalone, portable and interfaced to PC through UART. A data acquisition software is developed using LabVIEW for data logging and online representation. The DAQ unit is tested with a superheated emulsion detector. A capacitive diaphragm sensor is used to convert the acoustic pulses into electrical signals. The manuscript describes the design, hardware and software architecture, implementation and test results of the DAQ system.