Implementation of object oriented software engineering on LabVIEW graphical design framework for data acquisition in large volume plasma device

Abstract

The data acquisition and control system (DACS) implementation for laboratory plasma experiments is a challenging task, develops gradually over time due to the: (a) rapidly evolving requirements driven by the new findings, (b) application of new ideas to the experiments, (c) interaction of the software with the specialized hardware and (d) time scales of measurement and controls. This motivates development of software based on flexible and modular architecture for the scientific computing. We have broadly classified it as: (a) base design dealing with specialized measurement hardware and (b) application design for system testing and experimentation. The role of object oriented software engineering (OOSE) is important so that developed software components could be effectively utilized by applications. The OOSE on LabVIEW graphical programming platform is a new and evolving paradigm. A demonstration of it, is achieved in Large Volume Plasma Device (LVPD) utilizing high speed PXIe bus based instrumentation using hybrid approach of OOSE and data flow programming. The LVPD is a pulsed plasma device involved in pursuing investigations ranging from excitation of wave packets of whistler time scales, relevant to space plasmas to understanding of plasma instability and transport due to electron temperature gradient (ETG) driven turbulence, relevant for fusion plasmas. The development of DACS effectively handles high acquisition cards on PXIe bus, data streaming, high channel count system design and synchronized behavior on the backplane bus. Application development include development of applications highlighting pulsed operation and data visualization including development of oscilloscope for raw and process data visualization. This paper will discuss the requirements, object oriented design, development, testing, results and lessons learned from this initiative.