FPGA implementation of a DCDS processor

Abstract

An experimental digital correlated double sampler (DCDS) video processor has been implemented in a Xilinx Artix FPGA. It uses an Opal Kelly XEM7010-A50 module that comes with an integrated USB2 interface for easy interfac-ing to a data acquisition PC. The FPGA has been coupled to a dual 16-bit 20Msps ADC and video preamplifiers. A synthetic CCD video waveform was provided by a high speed DAC also under FPGA control. VHDL-defined hardware implemented the differential averager algorithm which has been shown to give the optimal signal to noise ratio over a wide range of readout speeds. Hardware developed in this project is intended for eventual integration into a Xilinx Zynq-based system that combines the functionality of both a CCD controller and Linux-based data acquisition system.