6U VME 6023 Crate Series

NEMbox/NIMbox Programmable NIM Module
NEMbox (Nuclear Electronics Miniature Box) is a programmable Logic / DAQ module, powered
either in a NIM crate (NIMbox version) or with a commercial 6V output AC/DC transformer
(NEMbox version). It is well suited for scientific and educational purposes.
NEMbox and NIMbox consist of a FPGA main and carrier board and up to 4 I/O Submodules, VHDL
modules as well as interface software featuring "LogicPool", a very new and unique way for the
user to build up his specific setup by graphically wiring prebuilt functional modules, for example
with Labview. A user defined wiring configuration can be saved on an EPROM chip so that the
module does not need to be reprogrammed in case of power failure or system reset. All
communication with the module as well as programming is done via a USB-2 interface.
Programmable as coincidence, fan in / fan out, scaler, logic, discriminator, ADC, TDC, etc.,
NEMbox/NIMbox finds many applications in trigger logic and data acquisition, and allows to cut
costs because one single unit can replace the functionality of several non programmable NIM
modules.
Hardware
Main FPGA board with USB, 100 MHz clock, 4 slots, EEPROM for saving user configurations
4 submodules choosen by the customer
Software
Labview examples:
NEMbox, the “Desk” version, front and
rear view.
A) Digital I/O (DIO) port #1 is
programmed as NIM input with 50 Ohm
termination and is connected to digital
I/O port #2, which is programmed as
NIM output without termination, and
digital I/O Port #3, which is
programmed as TTL output. In general:
right-connected DIO = input
left-connected DIO = output
B) Discriminator #1, programmed with
threshold at –100mV and an hysteresis
of 30mV, is connected to an internal
inverter (NIM negative signal logic:
TRUE is under the threshold, FALSE is
above) whose output is connected to
digital I/O port #2 (NIM open, non
terminated).
C) Discriminator #1, programmed with a
threshold of 200mV and an hysteresis of
Left: open NIMbox (custom version) with 30mV, is connected to Gate Generator
DL706 main board and 4 submodules #1. Output gates with 0 ns artificial
plugged in. Right: NIMbox rear side with delay and a length of 100 x 10ns (=
USB port and NIM connector 1us) go to digital I/O port #2 (TTL).
10ns is the internal clock period.
D) Two discriminators are put in
coincidence and a NIM veto signal is
present too. A gate is then generated.
Inputs left, output right.
USB 2.0 driver
Labview VIs
Direct programming for advanced users
NIMbox, the NIM version.
Standard versions
Item
DL706
DL701
Description
NIMbox main board in NIM mechanics, to be outfitted with 4 submodules
NEMbox main board with a 6V transformer, to be outfitted with 4 submodules
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