CAEN
Electronic Instrumentation
UM3148
–
DT5730/DT5725 User Manual rev. 2
53
13
Firmware and Upgrades
The board hosts one FPGA on the mainboard and two FPGAs on the mezzanine (i.e. one FPGA per 4 channels). The
channel FPGAs firmware is identical. A unique file is provided that will update all the FPGAs at the same time.
ROC FPGA
MAINBOARD FPGA (Readout Cont VME interface):
FPGA Altera Cyclone EP1C20.
AMC FPGA
MEZZANINE FPGA (ADC readout/Memory Controller):
FPGA Altera Cyclone EP4CE30
The firmware is stored onto the on-board FLASH memory. Two copies of the firmware are stored in two different pages
of the FLASH, referred to as Standard (STD) and Backup (BKP). In case of default firmware, the board is delivered
equipped with the same firmware version on both pages.
At power-on, a microcontroller reads the FLASH memory and programs the module automatically loading the first
working firmware copy, that is the STD one by default.
It is possible to upgrade the board firmware via USB or Optical Link by writing the FLASH with the CAENUpgrader
software (see §
11
).
IT IS STRONGLY SUGGESTED TO OPERATE THE DIGITIZER UPON THE STD COPY OF THE FIRMWARE. UPGRADES ARE
SO RECOMMENDED ONLY ON THE STD PAGE OF THE FLASH. THE BKP COPY IS TO BE INTENDED ONLY FOR
RECOVERY USAGE. IF BOTH PAGES RESULT CORRUPTED, THE USER WILL NO LONGER BE ABLE TO UPLOAD THE
FIRMWARE VIA USB OR OPTICAL LINK AGAIN AND THE BOARD NEEDS TO BE SENT TO CAEN IN REPAIR!
In case of upgrading failure (e.g. STD FLASH page is corrupted), the user can try to reboot the board: after a power
cycle, the system programs the board automatically from the alternative FLASH page (e.g. BKP FLASH page) if this is not
corrupted as well. The user can so perform a further upgrade attempt on the STD page to restore the firmware copy.
At power-on, if the user cannot communicate with the board, it needs to be sent back to CAEN in repair (see §
14
).