Introduction to AIDA FMC Mini-TLU	{#mainpage}
=================================

The TLU provides different parts of a Particle Physics Beam-Test
system with the information they need to synchronize data taken with
different detectors. The detectors are also refered to as Devices
Under Test (DUT).

Functions of TLU
----------------

- Trigger.

  The TLU can combine signals from detectors in the beam-line ( often
  scintillation detectors ) to produce a trigger that is sent to the
  different DUT.  Each DUT can indicate to the TLU that it is busy and
  unable to take any further data.

- Particle Timestamping

  The arrival time of every pulse from the beam-detectors is recorded.

- Clock and Synchronization Signals.

  The TLU produces clock and synchronization signals that allow the
  internal counters of different DUT to be sychronized.

N.B. Not all the functions of the TLU may be used in a given beam-test
system. For example, it is common to only use the Trigger/Busy
function of the TLU.

Firmare Structure
-----------------

The firmware is almost exclusively written in VHDL. The top level
entitity is [top_extphy](top_extphy_struct)

The HDL-Designer package by Mentor graphics has been used to develop
some of the code, mainly the top-level structure. However, is is not
necessary to use HDL-Designer to build the firmware. In fact the VHDL
files produced by HDL-Designer can also be edited "by hand" without
using the tool.

A block diagram, generated by HDL-Designer, is [here](http://www.ohwr.org/attachments/2710/hdl_designer_test_print_2.pdf)

Building Firmware
-----------------

Instructions on building the firmware are found
[here](http://www.ohwr.org/projects/fmc-mtlu/wiki/FirmwareBuild).
