Impact and trends in embedding field programmable gate arrays and microcontrollers in scientific instrumentation

Abstract

Microcontrollers and field-programmable gate arrays have been largely leveraged in scientific instrumentation since decades. Recent advancements in the performance of these programmable digital devices, with hundreds of I/O pins, up to millions of logic cells, >10 Gb/s connectivity, and hundreds of MHz multiple clocks, have been accelerating this trend, extending the range of functions. The diversification of devices from very low-cost 8-bit microcontrollers up to 32-bit ARM-based ones and a system of chip combining programmable logic with processors make them ubiquitous in modern electronic systems, addressing diverse challenges from ultra-low power operation, with sub-µA quiescent current in sleep mode for portable and Internet of Things applications, to high-performance computing, such as in machine vision. In this Review, the main motivations (compactness, re-configurability, parallelization, low latency for sub-ns timing, and real-time control), the possible approaches of the adoption of embedded devices, and the achievable performances are discussed. Relevant examples of applications in opto-electronics, physics experiments, impedance, vibration, and temperature sensing from the recent literature are also reviewed. From this bird-eye view, key paradigms emerge, such as the blurring of boundaries between digital platforms and the pervasiveness of machine learning algorithms, significantly fostered by the possibility to be run in embedded devices for distributing intelligence in the environment.

Equitable Research Capacity Towards the Sustainable Development Goals: The Case for Open Science Hardware

“…A recent study showed that scientific equipment suppliers introduce more new-to-the-market product innovations than do other firms belonging to the same sectors and with similar characteristics, and that university demand is particularly important for explaining these differences (Bianchini et al 2019). The increased complexity of instruments (Carminati and Scandurra 2021), combined with black box designs and lack of interoperability (Hohlbein et al 2022) result in experimental settings that are extremely difficult to inspect and customize. Today, lack of access to equipment information is a barrier to innovation and collaborative work; when possible, teams dedicate already scarce research time to reverse engineering devices.…”

Measurement and Control System for Atomic Force Microscope Based on Quartz Tuning Fork Self-Induction Probe

“…Traditional desktop computers are no longer able to meet the requirements of many modern applications, which require such features as portability, low latency, parallelization, reconfigurability, networking, multi-platform compatibility, distributed processing, and low cost. In recent years, embedded systems based on microcontroller units (MCUs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) have been increasingly used in scientific instruments, especially in the AFM [ 9 ]. For example, Wong et al proposed an STM and AFM control system with an open architecture based on AT&T’s DSP32C DSP, which not only greatly simplifies the complex AFM system but also makes it possible to achieve functions that were not easy or impossible to achieve with analog electronic equipment [ 10 ].…”

Measurement and control of a superconducting quantum processor with a fully-integrated radio-frequency system on a chip

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