1. Instrument Control Systems 2014
NGC controller
Leander Mehrgan

2. ESO precursor controller
IR data acquisition system and ACE as optical controller
IRAC camera and its controller 1987
ACE controller at NTT La Silla
Sequencer programming language: Assembler

3. IRACE, InfraRed Array Control Electronics
In 1994 the Infrared Detector Group started with the development of the IRACE controller.

4. IRACE, InfraRed Array Control Electronics
In 1994 the Infrared Detector Group started with the development of the IRACE controller.
IRACE Giga board
for data transfer with one Gigabit per second

5. IRACE, InfraRed Array Control Electronics
First light with ISAAC in From 1998 to 2008 IRACE was the ESO standard controller for InfraRed application. This controller was based on Transputer processors.
gigabit fiber for data
low speed fiber for command

6. FIERA, Fast Imager Electronic Readout Assembly
In 1995 the Optical Detector Team (ODT) started with the development of the FIERA controller.
clock board
4 channel video board
Communication board

7. FIERA, Fast Imager Electronic Readout Assembly
From 1998 to 2008 FIERA was the ESO standard controller for Optical application. This controller was based on DSP processors.
FIERA 16 output video channels for NAOS chip

8. FIERA and IRACE are still used by many instruments at ESO telescopes
Using IRACE controller
Using FIERA controller
ISAAC
CONICA
CRIRESS
UVES
NACO
HAWK-I
GIRAFFE
SOFI
SINFONI
VISIR
FINITO
FORS
X-SHOOTER
EMMI
IRIS
PRIMA
VINCI
OmegaCAM
VIMOS
VISTA
X-SHOOTER

9. ESO detector controller
Both controller have been extremely successful.
but various limitations, e.g.:
mass (OmegaCAM: ¼ ton), volume, heat dissipation
obsolete components
voltage range and swing
speed, number of channels
2 successes (= 2 costs)
Therefore ….
Make new design, taking advantage of new technologies
Do it as a joint IR+ODT effort, merging all past experience

10. NGC, New General detector Controller
Both development teams, FIERA and IRACE, merged into one team, the NGC.
In 2004 the NGC team started with a new design.
Features of the NGC:
No parallel bus system, only high speed serial links
Central element on each board is a Xilinx FPGA
Digital parts, like RAMs, FIFOs, and the sequencer are fully implemented in the FPGA
Data and commands time multiplexed transferring

11. Different type of NGCs
SCI-NGC: the scientific NGC, which is used for all type of detectors
AO-NGC: used to readout the e2v CCD220 detector with a very compact, high speed integrated controller.
The same back-end interface is used for both NGC types.
Core of the
SCI-NGC
WFS camera
(AO-NGC)

12. Different type of housing
The NGC provides different type of housing:
Compact
(no water cooling)
Fanless housing
(needed for GRAVITY and MATISSE)
Six-slot
(with water cooling)

13. NGC interface to other systems
The NGC controller provides a direct interface to the SPARTA and VxWorks based Power PC systems.
Needed for GRAVITY, GRAAL, GALACSI instruments
NGC DCS GUI
NGC
RTD
SPARTA
RTD

14. NGC, New General detector Controller
The NGC controller is a modular, customizable system
AQ-32ch module
10 MHz
Backplane
FEB module
Transition module
Visible
NIR
MID-IR
Visible WFS

15. NGC, New General detector Controller
Just like “Lego” blocks we can combine different modules to cover our needs.
Basic board
Video board-10MHz
Basic interface board
Video interface board
Fiber cable
Power supply box
Power supply cable
A system like this has been using to readout
the SAPHIRA detector of the GRAVITY instrument
PCIexpress
LLCU

16. NGC, New General detector Controller
Just like “Lego” blocks we can combine different modules to cover our needs.
MUSE I
MUSE II
MUSE III
MUSE IV
MUSE NGC system readouts
24 CCD detectors simultaneously

17. Status of the NGC
NGC systems are already being used by many instruments
Since 2012 also operational at the telescopes.
GALACSI / GRAAL
VISIR
MATISSE
AQUARIUS
MID-IR
NIR AO
MID-IR
NGC
SAPHIRA
NIR WFS
GRAVITY
NIR
NIR
Visible
Visible
Visible WFS
SPHERE
MUSE

18. Summary
ESO has a long history of developing and maintaining its own controller, one of the reasons behind NGC success
The NGC is now in routine operation at the VLT and has reached a very high level of maturity
It is very adaptable and continues to meet all instrumentation needs
With the SCI-NGC and AO-NGC combinations, ESO is able to readout any type of detector
Having the NGC as a uniform controller platform at the observatory, we have an extremely useful and maintenance friendly systems on the mountain.
With further development the NGC will meet the requirements of detectors for the ELT

19. Thank you very much for your attention