Data Acquisition System for HEH Monitor

Abstract

Reliable operation of the Large Hadron Collider Beam Dumping System (LBDS) is crucial for machine safety. The LBDS is composed of pulse generators, containing HV semiconductors, which are susceptible to Single Event Burnout (SEB) - a catastrophic phenomenon for HV semiconductors - due to High Energy Hadrons (HEH). In order to better assess the HEH flux and impact, development of an HEH monitor, based on the SEB phenomenon in HV Si diodes, is ongoing. This will improve the accuracy of SEB related failure rate estimation and will help to guide mitigation measures. A low cost acquisition system for the HEH monitor has been developed. The acquisition system is based on a microcontroller Arduino Yun, which is in charge of counting the SEBs, sending the data to a MySQL® Database and store them in an internal USB or SD card as a backup. In addition, periodic ‘alive’ signals and remote control of sensitivity have been developed. The whole system has already experienced several irradiation campaigns without any malfunction.