Electronics and DAQ for the Magnetized mini-ICAL Detector at IICHEP

Magnetized iron calorimeter (ICAL) detector built using Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs), which are interleaved between the iron plates, is proposed by India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO), to study atmospheric neutrinos [1]. Ten layers of RPCs are deployed in the mini-ICAL which is an 85-ton magnetized detector stack with 20 RPCs in 10 layers. The mini-ICAL is being used for prototyping data acquisition electronics, its integration with the magnetized detector, back-end software, etc. The analog front-end Amplifier-Discriminator, digital front-end RPC-DAQ and bipolar HV unit to bias RPC are embedded with the RPC. The RPC-DAQ mainly generates pre-triggers, acquires event data on a final trigger and monitors the health of RPC. A central trigger system generates the final trigger by processing the pre-trigger signals. The relative arrival time offsets of the final trigger at each of the RPC-DAQs are measured and event timer stamp clocks are synchronized by the Calibration and Auxiliary Unit (CAU) housed next to the trigger system. All the RPC-DAQ nodes are connected to back-end servers over LAN for control, data collection and monitoring. The back-end server manages the overall run control and detector health monitoring. The data concentrator server collects data from all the digital front-ends (DFEs) and the event builder server builds events based on event time stamps. The overall design is motivated by modularity, flexibility, reduced cost and power, and the use of open-source software. This paper will highlight the design details and performance of prototype electronics.