Nanoseconds Timing System Based on IEEE 1588 FPGA Implementation
D. Pedretti, M. Bellato, R. Isocrate, A. Bergnoli, R. Brugnera, D., Corti, F. Dal Corso, G. Galet, A. Garfagnini, A. Giaz, I. Lippi, F. Marini,, G. Andronico, V. Antonelli, M. Baldoncini, E. Bernieri, A. Brigatti, A., Budano, M. Buscemi, S. Bussino, R. Caruso, D. Chiesa

TL;DR
This paper presents an FPGA-based implementation of IEEE 1588 PTP combined with CERN TTC for nanosecond-level clock synchronization in distributed sensor systems, improving accuracy over Ethernet LANs.
Contribution
It introduces a novel FPGA implementation that extends IEEE 1588 PTP accuracy to nanoseconds using CERN TTC, enhancing distributed timing in physics experiments.
Findings
Achieved nanosecond-level synchronization accuracy.
Validated system in point-to-point and star topologies.
Demonstrated reliable timing over CAT-5e cables.
Abstract
Clock synchronization procedures are mandatory in most physical experiments where event fragments are readout by spatially dislocated sensors and must be glued together to reconstruct key parameters (e.g. energy, interaction vertex etc.) of the process under investigation. These distributed data readout topologies rely on an accurate time information available at the frontend, where raw data are acquired and tagged with a precise timestamp prior to data buffering and central data collecting. This makes the network complexity and latency, between frontend and backend electronics, negligible within upper bounds imposed by the frontend data buffer capability. The proposed research work describes an FPGA implementation of IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP) that exploits the CERN Timing, Trigger and Control (TTC) system as a multicast messaging physical and data link layer. The hardware…
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