ATCA-based ATLAS FTK input interface system

TL;DR

This paper presents the design and implementation of the ATCA-based input interface system for the ATLAS FTK, detailing data clustering, organization, and system operation experiences in high-energy physics trigger processing.

Contribution

It introduces a novel ATCA-based architecture for the FTK input interface, including clustering, data sharing, and full system integration for high-energy physics experiments.

Findings

Successful clustering reduces data volume

Effective data sharing among boards demonstrated

Operational insights from full-chain testing provided

Abstract

The first stage of the ATLAS Fast TracKer (FTK) is an ATCA-based input interface system, where hits from the entire silicon tracker are clustered and organized into overlapping eta-phi trigger towers before being sent to the tracking engines. First, FTK Input Mezzanine cards receive hit data and perform clustering to reduce data volume. Then, the ATCA-based Data Formatter system will organize the trigger tower data, sharing data among boards over full mesh backplanes and optic fibers. The board and system level design concepts and implementation details, as well as the operation experiences from the FTK full-chain testing, will be presented.