A Flexible Data Acquisition System Architecture for the Nab Experiment

TL;DR

This paper presents a flexible, reconfigurable data acquisition system for the Nab experiment, capable of high-speed data processing and adaptable trigger logic to support precise measurements in neutron beta decay research.

Contribution

The development of a versatile data acquisition system using PXIe hardware and LabVIEW that can be reconfigured in situ for the Nab experiment's specific needs.

Findings

Achieved L1 trigger identification at 1 MHz

Read out data at approximately 400 MB/s during commissioning

System handled roughly 6 kHz L2 triggers efficiently

Abstract

The Nab experiment will measure the electron-neutrino correlation and Fierz interference term in free neutron beta decay to test the Standard Model and probe Beyond the Standard Model Physics. Using National Instrument's PXIe-5171 Reconfigurable Oscilloscope module, we have developed a data acquisition system that is not only capable of meeting Nab's specifications, but flexible enough to be adapted in situ as the experimental environment dictates. The L1 and L2 trigger logic can be reconfigured to optimize the system for coincidence event detection at runtime through configuration files and LabVIEW controls. This system is capable of identifying L1 triggers at at least $1$ MHz, while reading out a peak signal rate of approximately $2$ GB/s. During commissioning, the system ran at a sustained readout rate of $400$ MB/s of signal data originating from roughly $6$ kHz L2 triggers, well within the peak performance of the system.