Enhanced Channel Calibration for the Image Sensor of the TuMag Instrument

Area of Science:

• Space physics
• Astronomy
• Instrumentation engineering

Background:

• Sunrise missions observe solar magnetic fields from the stratosphere using a Tunable Magnetograph (TuMag).
• Image data transmission from the sensor to the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) requires precise channel calibration.
• A recent upgrade involved replacing the FPGA with a newer, larger model, necessitating firmware adaptation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To adapt the TuMag instrument's firmware to a new FPGA.
• To minimize channel calibration time for improved data acquisition during stratospheric solar observation missions.
• To develop a novel parallelized calibration algorithm tailored for the specific instrument and FPGA.

Main Methods:

• Firmware adaptation for a new, larger Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).
• Development and implementation of a parallelized calibration algorithm for image sensor data transmission channels.
• Custom algorithm design, specifically avoiding the Input Serial Deserializer (ISERDES) Intellectual Property (IP) due to compatibility issues.

Main Results:

• Successful firmware adaptation to the upgraded FPGA.
• Significant reduction in channel calibration time achieved through parallelization.
• Demonstrated feasibility of a custom calibration algorithm without relying on standard IP cores.

Conclusions:

• The parallelized calibration algorithm effectively leverages the enhanced logic resources of the new FPGA.
• This innovation enables faster and more efficient solar magnetic field observations from the stratosphere.
• The study highlights the importance of tailored instrumentation solutions for specific scientific missions.