The DAQ systems of the DUNE Prototypes at CERN/

University of Liverpool

^* e-mail: karol.hennessy@cern.ch

Published online: 17 September 2019

Abstract

DUNE is a long baseline neutrino experiment due to take data in 2025. Two prototypes of the DUNE far detector were built to assess candidate technologies and methods in advance of the DUNE detector build. Here are described the data acquisition (DAQ) systems for both of its prototypes, Proto-DUNE single-phase (SP) and ProtoDUNE dual-phase (DP). The ProtoDUNEs also break records as the largest beam test experiments yet constructed, and are the fundamental elements of CERN’s Neutrino Platform. This renders each ProtoDUNE an experiment in its own right and the design and construction have been chosen to meet this scale. Due to the aggressive timescale, off-the-shelf electronics have been chosen to meet the demands of the experiments where possible. The ProtoDUNE-SP cryostat comprises two primary sub-detectors - a single phase liquid Argon TPC and a companion Photon Detector. The TPC has two candidate readout solutions under test in ProtoDUNE-SP – RCE (ATCAbased) and FELIX (PCIe-based). Fermilab’s artDAQ is used as the dataflow software for the single phase experiment. ProtoDUNE-DP will read out the dual-phase liquid argon detector using a microTCA solution. The timing, triggering, and compression schemes are described for both experiments, along with mechanisms for sending data offline to permanent data storage in CERN’s EOS infrastructure. This paper describes the design and implementation of the TDAQ systems as well as first measurements of their performance.