Development and implementation of an EPICS-based timing equipment control system for SHINE beamlines and endstations

Abstract

BackgroundShanghai High Repetition rate XFEL and Extreme light facility (SHINE) employs a White Rabbit (WR)-based timing system. This timing system operates via the utilization of beamline–endstation division, which receives external reference timing signals and distributes them to each beamline and endstation via WR timing network devices, including master nodes, WR switches and slave nodes.PurposeThis study aims to develop a timing equipment control system (TECS) to address the requirements of remote monitoring and control of distributed timing equipment.MethodsBased on Experiment Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), an approach for acquiring timing equipment parameters was employed. These parameters was stored in the resident memory database though EPICS Input/Output Controller (IOC) and accessed via a user interface developed with PyDM (Python Display Manager). Archive and retrieval of timing equipment parameters were implemented in the Archiver Appliance historical archiving system. Finally, test environment was set up in laboratory to verify the validity and reliability of this TECS.Results & ConclusionsThis control system underwent testing exhibits its effective functionalities, including real-time monitoring equipment parameters, as well as remote control of equipment signal delay and pulse width. These capabilities are essential in meeting the requirements of SHINE beamlines and endstations.

Keywords

• shine
• timing system
• white rabbit
• epics
• snmp