White-Rabbit-enabled Data Acquisition System

This work examines the feasibility of using Ethernet-based time transfer methods based on White Rabbit technology to discipline all the clock domains of a networked data acquisition system (DAQ). Existing systems provide synchronization capabilities, albeit the performance achieved is often not accurate enough for scientific infrastructures and Smart Grid applications requiring frequency coherent and simultaneous trigger of ADC devices across the facility. White Rabbit networks are known for their sub-nanosecond accuracy attained with fiberoptic Ethernet links. By integrating a data acquisition solution into White Rabbit nodes and distributing over long distances, we show that it is possible to tag the acquired data in a deterministic manner similarly to what is done in a local DAQ. This result can be the first step towards a multi-device, remotely operated synchronized data acquisition system for the aforementioned fields of application being capable of building distributed DAQ systems scattered across tens of kilometers with an accuracy equivalent to that of a locally deployed DAQ.