FPGA-based Trigger System for the LUX Dark Matter Experiment

TL;DR

This paper presents an FPGA-based trigger system for the LUX dark matter detector, capable of real-time data analysis with high efficiency, enabling effective event selection and continuous underground operation since 2013.

Contribution

It introduces a novel FPGA-based trigger system for dark matter detection that achieves high efficiency and real-time processing for the LUX experiment.

Findings

>99% trigger efficiency on S2 signals

Real-time analysis with microsecond latency

Continuous reliable underground operation since 2013

Abstract

LUX is a two-phase (liquid/gas) xenon time projection chamber designed to detect nuclear recoils resulting from interactions with dark matter particles. Signals from the detector are processed with an FPGA-based digital trigger system that analyzes the incoming data in real-time, with just a few microsecond latency. The system enables first pass selection of events of interest based on their pulse shape characteristics and 3D localization of the interactions. It has been shown to be >99% efficient in triggering on S2 signals induced by only few extracted liquid electrons. It is continuously and reliably operating since its full underground deployment in early 2013. This document is an overview of the systems capabilities, its inner workings, and its performance.