RE: Opinion on timing system for synchrotron beamlines

[Mark Rivers <rivers@cars.uchicago.edu>]

At the APS I would say that as far as I know no beamlines rely on accurate timestamps from the accelerator timing system.   The timestamps that the beamlines are using are based on NTP timing, so are probably good to a few ms?

What the beamlines do use are hardware timing signals that allow experiments to synchronize to the ring electron bunch structure.  There is one signal that is a pulse at the ring frequency (orbital period) and another that gives a pulse for each bunch in the ring.  These are used to synchronize lasers, fast shutters, fast detectors, etc.

Mark


-----Original Message-----
From: tech-talk-bounces@aps.anl.gov [mailto:tech-talk-bounces@aps.anl.gov] On Behalf Of Márcio Paduan Donadio
Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2016 1:27 PM
To: tech-talk@aps.anl.gov
Cc: Márcio Paduan Donadio
Subject: Opinion on timing system for synchrotron beamlines


     I'd like to know your experience regarding integration of the 
accelerator timing system with the beamlines:
     - Which accelerator events are useful for the beamlines' control 
system.
     - Do the beamlines use a global and very precise timestamp sent 
from the accelerator timing system? What is the time precision?
     - Do you think that a PTP system is sufficient for timestamping 
experiments in beamlines?
     - What is the EPICS role regarding such a timing system?

     Thank you,

-- 
Márcio Paduan Donadio
Engenheiro de Computação - Software de Operação das Linhas de Luz
Laboratório Nacional de Luz Síncrotron - (LNLS)
Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais (CNPEM)
+ 55 (19) 3512-3520 - marcio.donadio@lnls.br
www.lnls.cnpem.br