Trigger Timing Modules

Trigger Timing Modules (TTMs) are used to control the timing of the front-end readout electronics and to control the Halny FADC modules. TTMs are in turn driven by the central data-acquisition (CDAQ) system. In addition to distributing timing signals TTMs are used to transmit slow control and monitoring information to and from the front-end electronics. These signals pass through the CORE system, which provides buffering, fanout and level translation. The TTM system consists of nine modules: one master and eight slaves. The two types of modules use the same hardware but achieve different functionality through differently configured field-programmable gate-array logic. The master TTM receives timing control signals from a timing distributer module (TDM), supplied from CDAQ, and retransmits these signals to the slave TTMs. Each slave TTM handles the interaction with one repeater DOCK via a point-to-point LVDS link. TTMs are also used to send signals to each FADC in FADC crates. RS 485 (differential TTL) is used for the communication between TTMs and FADCs.