A DSP based fast data acquisition and processing system for the spectroscopic diagnostic on the H-1NF heliac

This thesis describes the development of a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) based fast data acquisition and processing system for the plasma spectroscopy diagnostic on H-1NF at the Australian National University. The system consists of a custom -designed interface, a DSP card as the main processing unit, and a PC as a host for the DSP card. Currently, two fast data acquisition channels are provided, however, the interface section in the system can easily be expanded to handle multi -channel spectroscopy data.

The paper begins with a brief introduction to the scope of the Master's project,the H-1NF device and its auxiliary systems, and relevant background information about the project. T his is followed by an overview of the DSP based system. The design and development of both the hardware and the software in the project arepresented. Emphasis is placed on the hardware design of the interface, the implementation of the control logic on the interface, and the software development to handle the interactions between the DSP card, the PC and the interface. Some examples of the developed code are given to further illustrate these interactions. The algorithm used to deriye the ion temperature and the ion flow velocity of an argon plasma from the spectroscopy data is also discussed. Agroup of typical experimental data processed by the DSP based system is given. The thesis ends with a summary of the achievements. of the project, and discussions about the possible expansion/improvements of the system in the future.