Timing System for the Heavy-Ion Accelerator Facility

Abstract

The timing system is an important part of the heavy-ion synchrotron. It controls the startup time of the power supply, radiofrequency and other equipment to synchronously accelerate the charged ion beam. The heavy-ion accelerator has high requirements for its timing accuracy, reliability, and stability. The design uses a new type of synchronization technology and a tree topology to increase the synchronization accuracy of the nodes to sub-nanoseconds. At the same time, it is easy to expand the number of nodes to thousands and extend the deployment range to several kilometers. TDC (Time-to-Digital Converter) is designed using a multi-phase clock interpolation method to improve the time resolution to 500ps. It reduces the failure rate of data transmission by marking the QoS level of the CM (Control Message) and adopting network protocols and algorithms. An open-source platform is used to monitor and log the entire system, providing a reliable source of data for equipment operation and fault diagnosis. Finally, through system testing and data analysis, the system and design unit meet the design requirements and highlight its overall performance.