The course aims to provide students with a basic knowledge of some digital selection and data acquisition techniques used in the fexperimental physics. At the end of the course, the student will be able to analyze the problems related to the design of a data acquisition system, to identify and evaluate potential technical solutions and, in the case of small-scale experiments, to complete their realization.
Course Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of C / C ++ and unix shell. The reference is the course "Computer Methods for Physics" at first year in physics. Knowledge, even very limited, of analog and / or digital electronics, even if not necessary, may be helpful.
Teaching Methods
The course has a strong experimental imprint and includes both lectures and laboratory exercises aimed to the realization of projects related to the program. Lectures are conducted through OpenOffice slides, which constitute the basic teaching material. The laboratory part includes both the development of programs in linux environment and the use of dedicated hardware for the implementation of data acquisition systems.
Assessment Methods
Oral exam where the student will present his/her own project developed on the basis of the topics covered in the laboratory and agreed in advance with the teachers. Connections will be requested with the rest of the course programme in order to assess the ability to integrate the knowledge acquired during the course.
Texts
Openoffice slides that will be made available on the Kiro platform along with the rest of the teaching material.
Contents
The course includes an introductory part on the fundamental concepts concerning selection and data acquisition systems and on the basis of basics of electronics. Then the focus move to software techniques used in the field, such as: memory and queue management, network communication models (sockets), interprocess communication tools and parallel programming (multithread). Finally few technologies currently used in experimental physics will be introduced both theoretically and practically: Arduino microcontrollers, graphic processors (GPUs) and reprogrammable integrated circuits (FPGAs).
Course Language
Italian
More information
Corso English Friendly. The students who can benefit from more inclusive teaching methods (see https://portale.unipv.it/it/didattica/servizi-lo-studente/modalita-didattiche-inclusive) can utilize the material and follow the videolectures available on KIRO. They should also get in touch with the professor to schedule online meetings and, if possible, group activities.
