UW Medical Center

FPGA System for RF Power Supply Control

One of the main subsystems of the cyclotron is the RF system that is responsible for generating and regulating the RF waves that create the electric field in which the particles are accelerated. One part of the RF system, the RF power supply control (RPSC), handles command, status, and interlock signals for the many power supplies in the RF system as well as their integration into the larger cyclotron control and IO system. The RPSC is still largely original components and older style of digital logic: lots of circuit cards with bulky logic gate chips and flip-flop circuits that interface with the IO system to communicate system status and if the RF system is ready to turn the beam on. For this project, the student team worked to take all those RPSC logic circuits and replace them with an FPGA based system. A modern FPGA can easily handle the various logic circuits that govern the RPSC signals. The project had two phases: first to work to identify the best FPGA platform for this project, and second to attempt to convert all the existing digital logic circuit cards into FPGA code that will run on the selected device. The redesign with an FPGA this student team worked towards aimed to clean up the RF system complexity and provide a basis to convert more of the RF system over to an FPGA system in the future. Anticipated outcomes this student team worked towards included: - A documented state-of-the-art review on FPGA platforms along with a final recommendation on which to use for this implementation and why. - Logic maps for the signals in the RPSC that represent the programming in the FPGA for future troubleshooting needs. - Full set of circuit diagrams, schematics, signal list, and written documentation of the system designed. (if applicable) - Programmed and tested FPGA system in a 19" rack that can replace the currently 18 logic circuit cards of the RPSC.