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Welcome

This is the wiki of pyBAR – the Bonn ATLAS Readout in Python and C++

Support

To subscribe to the pyBAR mailing list, click here. Please ask questions on the pyBAR mailing list (subscription required) or file a new bug report / feature request here.

Download

To clone the master branch

 git clone https://github.com/SiLab-Bonn/pyBAR 

and

 git clone https://github.com/SiLab-Bonn/pyBAR -b branch_name

to clone a specific branch/release where branch_name is the name of the branch (e.g. master, 2.0.1).

Installation

Have a look at the README. If there are still questions left or you have no experience with python we recommend our Step-by-step Installation Guide.

Usage

To prepare pyBAR for the first run, edit configuration.yaml. By default, the pyBAR run scripts are using the settings from the configuration.yaml file in pybar folder. The configuration.yaml contains all the necesary information about the hardware setup, the FEI4 flavor and configuration, and the data output folder.

• Change dut and dut_configuration parameter according to your setup. dut_mio.yaml is compatible with the FEI4 Single Chip Adapter Card (default) and the Burn-in Card (Quad Module Adapter Card). Specify the adapter card in dut_mio.yaml. Change dut to dut_mio_gpac.yaml and dut_configuration to dut_configuration_mio_gpac.yaml for GPAC support.
• Change the fe_flavor parameter according to the FEI4 flavor you are using (fei4a or fei4b). The initial configuration will be chosen accordingly.
• Change fe_configuration. If left blank (default), the configuration from the last run with status FINISHED will be used. If no configuration is available, a configuration will be created. Enter a number to use the configuration file from the run with the given run number. Or enter a specific path to a configuration file (use quotes).
• Change the module_id parameter to put all module data into a specific subfolder (data output folder). A subfolder with the given name will be created inside the folder where the configuration.yaml is located.

The run scripts are placed in the scans folder.
Each file has a prefix according to what it does: “test_” for tests, “scan_” for measurements, and “tune_” for scans which are changing the configuration.
A “run” is when executing one of these files. Runs are numbered starting from 1.
Configuration files can be selected by the run number (fe_configuration parameter in configuration.yaml).
A run script can be executed from the console by calling the python script from the scans folder, e.g.:

 python scan_digital.py 

Another way is to execute a run script from an integrated development environment (IDE). How to setup an IDE (e.g. Eclipse) is described here.
A third way is to use the pyBAR run manager. An example is given here.

Further Information on Usage

You will find more in-depth information in the User Guide.
Please also note the examples in the examples folder.

Development

Please contact the pyBAR developers if you want to contribute or fork this repository and submit a pull request.

Policy for Commit Messages

The following codes should be used for commit messages. The commit message should have one of the following letter codes at the beginning of the first line followed by a colon.

API: an (incompatible) API change
BLD: change related to build environment
BUG: bug fix
PRJ: add/update project related files
DEP: deprecate something, or remove a deprecated object
DEV: development tool or utility
DOC: documentation
ENH: enhancement
MAINT: maintenance commit (refactoring, typos, etc.)
REV: revert an earlier commit
STY: style fix
TST: addition or modification of tests
REL: related to release
GIT: git related (name changes, …)
REG: regression, a bug that was introduced without implementing a new features that is related to the bug

Host Software

Please obey the Python coding conventions and style recommendations posted here (PEP 8 — Style Guide for Python Code).

FPGA

The firmware is based on Basil framework. Some parts of the firmware that were developed in early stages of pyBAR have been added to the Basil framework.
The firmware can be build with Xilinx ISE Design Suite. A project file (.xise) is available in the repository (click here).

Simulation

RTL simulation of the FPGA modules is provided by the Basil framework. Examples on how to use the simulator are in the Basil repository.
Full simulation of the pyBAR readout (FPGA) and a FEI4 will be provided in the near future.

Hardware

Documentation of the USBpix hardware is available here and here. The Single Chip Adapter Card, Burn-in Card (aka “BIC” or 4-Chip Adapter Card) and the General Purpose Adapter Card (GPAC) are supported.
Please note: the regulators on the BIC are not yet supported by Basil.
Please read this document on how to power the Single Chip Card (SCC) externally.

Status LEDs

LED 5 (System and SRAM FIFO status):

• flashing at 1Hz: OK
• flashing at 3Hz: TLU connected to RJ45 jack (auto sensing)
• off: DCM not locked
• on: SRAM FIFO full

LED 1-4 (RX FIFO status):

• flashing at 1Hz: OK
• flashing at 3Hz: RX decoder error counter >0
• off: no RX sync
• on: RX FIFO overflow || RX FIFO full

USBpix Ports

• RJ45 Jack / TLU Port
  Connect the EUDET TLU here.

• LEMO Connectors
  Note: all inputs and outputs are using 3.3V CMOS logic levels
  RX0: External Trigger Input (also Trigger Input for TDC)
  RX1: Trigger Veto Input
  RX2: TDC Input
  TX0: Command (to FE) Busy
  TX1: Trigger Busy
  TX2: Loop-through TLU Trigger (from TLU Port)

• Pin Header P9
  Not used.

License

Host Software

The host software is distributed under the BSD 3-Clause (“BSD New” or “BSD Simplified”) License.

FPGA Software

The FPGA software is distributed under the GNU Lesser General Public License, version 3.0 (LGPLv3).