FIRST OPERATION OF DSP-BASED CONTROLLER BOARD

A DSP-based Industry Pack carrier board was used for the first time in the Control system of the high intensity proton accelerator facility. With this board we were able to meet the high requirements that had to be realized to perform the first beam tests with the UCN (Ultra Cold Neutron) kicker magnet. The carrier board operates in a VME crate independently of the IOC-CPU, controlling the equipment, like a power supply in this case. The on-board digital signal processor (DSP) monitors the power supply and also other operating conditions like the signals from the Run Permit System (MRPS). It will also produce signals to the MRPS when the equipment is ready to operate. This provides an additional level of security and reduces the workload of the IOC-CPU. These first tests proved the validity of this concept and gave confidence for the future applications, many of which are highly safety-critical