arXiv subjects

Yuvaraj Elangovan

Publications and source records attributed to Yuvaraj Elangovan.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Cosmic Muon Explorer: A Portable Detector for Cosmic Muon Flux Measurements and Outreach

In this paper, we present development of a portable cosmic muon tracker tailored for both on-site measurements of cosmic muon flux as well as for outreach activities. The tracker comprises of two 70 mm x 70 mm plastic scintillators, wavelength shifting (WLS) fibers, and Hamamatsu made Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM) S13360-2050VE. The detector uses plastic scintillator panels optically coupled to WLS fibers, which transmit scintillation light to the SiPMs. SiPM signals are routed to an electronics board equipped with op-amp amplifiers and a peak-hold circuit connected to an ESP32 microcontroller module. When muons traverse through both scintillators the light emitted is collected by the SiPMs, and thus generating signals proportional to the incident light intensity. These signals are then amplified and the pulse peak is held for 500 us. A high speed discriminator is used to generate trigger logic signals. The peak analog voltage is digitized using the onboard ADC of the ESP32 when a coincident trigger occurs. The SiPMs are powered by a High Voltage bias supply module while an onboard BMP180 module measures temperature and pressure. For real-time event tagging, a GPS module is interfaced with the ESP-32. Housed within an acrylic box measuring 100 mm x 100 mm x 100 mm the detector can be powered using a 5V 1A USB power bank. An open source mobile application was used for real-time monitoring. This versatile and cost-effective portable detector facilitates cosmic muon research in various experimental settings. Its portability and low power requirements enable on-site measurements in environments such as tunnels, caves as well as high altitudes.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2026

Memristive tabular variational autoencoder for compression of analog data in high energy physics

We present an implementation of edge AI to compress data on an in-memory analog content-addressable memory (ACAM) device. A variational autoencoder is trained on a simulated sample of energy measurements from incident high-energy electrons on a generic three-layer scintillator-based calorimeter. The encoding part is distilled into tabular format by regressing the latent space variables using decision trees, which is then programmed on a memristor-based ACAM. In real-time, the ACAM compresses 48 continuously valued incoming energies measured by the calorimeter sensors into the latent space, achieving a compression factor of 12x, which is transmitted off-detector for decompression. The performance result of the ACAM, obtained using the Structural Simulation Toolkit, the SST open source framework, gives a latency value of 24 ns and a throughput of 330M compressions per second, i.e., 3 ns between successive inputs, and an average energy consumption of 4.1 nJ per compression.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2025

Design and Implementation of a UDP-Based Command Interface for the INO ICAL Experiment

Efficient command interface is a critical requirement for experiments employing a large number of front-end DAQ modules and control servers. In the context of the INOICAL (India-based Neutrino Observatory Iron Calorimeter) experiment, this involves 28,800 Resistive Plate Chamber(RPC), charged particle detectors. The acquisition and control of these detectors are facilitated through Front End data acquisition modules known as RPC-DAQs. These modules consists of Ethernet interfaces for data and command connectivity to a server. Each module acts as a network node with a unique IP address. The collective group of hundreds of modules is controlled by a common server over a Local Area Network (LAN). UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is the most commonly used networking protocol which supports Multicast as well as Unicast, can be easily adapted to INO ICAL Experiment. A server can send commands to group of DAQs or any particular DAQ. But UDP may have the problem of packet loss and reliability. To mitigate these issues, this paper suggests a simpler approach that modifies the UDP protocol by implementing a handshaking scheme and checksum, similar to those found in more reliable protocols like TCP. The proposed solution optimizes the use of UDP as a reliable command interface in the INO ICAL experiment, ensuring seamless data acquisition and control. Also, this paper shows the performance study of the custom hybrid UDP Command Interface in the prototype ICAL experiment called Mini Iron Calorimeter (Mini ICAL) which houses 20 units of RPCs and electronics. This work not only addresses the challenges of the INO ICAL experiment but also underscores the adaptability and robustness of the proposed protocol for usage in mini-ICAL and beyond.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2025

Design and Development of Portable RPC-Based Cosmic Muon Tracker

Primary cosmic rays when interact with our atmosphere, produce a cascade of lighter secondary particles namely pion, kaon, neutrons, muons, electrons, positrons and neutrinos. Muons are one of the most abundant and easily detectable particles at the ground surface using a large variety of particle detectors. Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) of 2m x 2m in dimension were developed to be used in large scale as the active detector elements in the Iron Calorimeter (ICAL) which was planned to be built by the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO). As a spin-off of this work, a portable stack of eight, one square foot RPC detectors is developed named as Cosmic Muon Tracker (CMT). It could be used to conduct small-scale particle detector experiments as well as training Students. We will discuss design, integration, characterisation and some of the applications of this detector in this paper.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2025

TCP/IP based Remote Firmware Upgradation for INO ICAL RPC-DAQ Modules

The INO ICAL (India-based Neutrino Observatory Iron Calorimeter) experiment is an upcoming mega-science project currently in the developmental stages. This initiative employs over 28,800 Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC) based charged particle detectors used for tracking muon events. Each of these detectors incorporates an FPGA-based Digital Front End known as RPC-DAQ, with the primary objective of measuring the position and timing of particle interactions within the respective RPCs. The firmware embedded in the RPC-DAQ FPGA is designed to support this logic. The ICAL experiment is a 50-kiloton iron structure arranged in a stacked geometry where the RPCs along with their associated electronics are positioned between these iron plates. Reprogramming individual or groups of RPC-DAQs proves to be a challenging and time consuming task. To address the complexity of upgrading firmware for these typically inaccessible RPC-DAQs this paper introduces an innovative approach that utilizes the existing Ethernet interface, employed for command transmission and data acquisition to upload firmware. A customized handshaking architecture has been designed using the TCP protocol for this experiment. The firmware binary file is segmented into TCP packets and transmitted over Ethernet. The soft-core processor instantiated in the RPC-DAQ FPGA receives these firmware packets overwriting the existing firmware in the flash memory. Upon rebooting the RPC-DAQ configures the new firmware on the FPGA. The entire firmware upgrade process takes around 13 seconds to configure 10 RPC-DAQs. This paper explains the details of the architecture governing the firmware upgrade process and providing a comprehensive understanding of its mechanics.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2025

Test-Jig for production testing of RPC-DAQ modules in INO-ICAL Experiment

The INO-ICAL experiment consist of 28,800 RPCs each equipped with a Front-End FPGA-based Data Acquisition (RPC-DAQ) module for acquiring detector signals. Due to the large number of RPC-DAQs are required, an automated test system is essential. RPC-DAQ Test-Jig is an FPGA module designed to generate standard test inputs to the RPC-DAQ supporting complete functionality testing. The RPC-DAQ has multiple functions such as strip hit latching, count rate monitoring, pulse stretching, trigger generation, TDC data collection, and Ethernet communication. To effectively test each of these logics the Test-Jig uses various test patterns allowing users to verify and debug RPC-DAQ modules at a faster rate. When generating a predefined event with known data the Test-Jig architecture generates data pattern similar to that of the detector and also verifies the received data from the RPC-DAQ simultaneously. This testing methodology helps in understanding the functionalities of the RPC-DAQ logic at various conditions. The developed Test-Jig and along with its test methodologies reduces the debugging time of RPC-DAQs. This Paper discuss the architecture of the Test-Jig and some of its test methodologies in detail.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2025

CosmoLink: Portable Coincidence Detector for On-Site Muon Flux Measurement

The CosmoLink project aims to develop low cost, low power, long range and portable form factor particle detectors for experimental and educational research on Cosmic Rays. Use of these detectors distributed across locations will be used for setup small scale telescope array experiments. Each detector unit in CosmoLink project consists of two plastic scintillators kept in stacked geometry to look for coincidence induced by cosmic ray particles. The scintillators are directly coupled with Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) for efficient light guiding. Each readout channel is equipped with an amplifier, discriminator and a peak-detect-and-hold circuit. Upon successful coincidence, the peak amplitude is digitized using Analog to Digital Converter (ADC). The coincidence count and ADC data are acquired using a low cost microcontroller. Multiple detectors can be grouped together like swarms and arranged in different geometries to collect data jointly. The acquired data is wirelessly transmitted to a central server with GPS Coordinates and other sensor data.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2025

NIOS II Soft-Core Processor and Ethernet Controller Solution for RPC-DAQ in INO ICAL

This paper introduces a high-performance Soft-Core Processor based data acquisition system designed for handling Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs). The DAQ consist of FPGA-based hardware equipped with Soft-Core Processor and embedded hardwired Ethernet controllers named RPC-DAQ, offering a versatile and fast network-enabled data acquisition solution. A soft processor, NIOS, is instantiated within an Intel Cyclone IV FPGA, overseeing control, communication, and data transfer with remote processing units. These integrated RPC-DAQ units, in substantial numbers, connect to a limited set of high-end processing units via LAN switches. This paper provides a detailed account of the software implementation scheme for the NIOS processor in the RPC-DAQ system. A remarkable 28,800 RPC-DAQ units will be deployed in proximity to the RPCs, serving the proposed INO-ICAL experiment in Theni-Madurai, Tamil Nadu. The network-enabled RPC-DAQ units controlled by the soft processor offloads FPGA tasks including event data acquisition, periodic health monitoring of RPCs, command interfaces, high voltage control, and data transfer to back-end data concentrators. Communication and data transfer are executed efficiently via TCP and UDP protocols over a 100 Mbps Ethernet interface. This system provides innovative solutions to improve data acquisition and control in large-scale scientific experiments.

physics.ins-det↗