Reconfigurable electronics at the IOTA interferometer

Abstract

We describe the new control system for the PICNIC near-infrared camera and the visible star tracker, implemented at the IOTA interferometer, based on the ALTERA Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD) technology. These digital components provide an adaptive interface between the control system and the cameras used at IOTA, allowing flexibility when connecting very different devices. In particular the clocking and processing circuits used for the PICNIC camera can be changed in milliseconds during normal operation. The camera can then switch between full quadrant readout mode used for alignment and diagnostics, and a N pixel readout mode used for science operation.

Files

Additional details