Test procedure

General guidelines for tests concerning the Mini-EUSO instrument.

Initial set-up

  • Check all sub-systems are connected correctly and that the grounding is proper

  • Document the state of the instrument (preferably with pictures)

  • Keep a log of tests carried out in addition to the log files provided by the CPU, although these should also be saved (there is a section dedicated to integration and testing on the Mini-EUSO wiki)

  • Before starting tests run mecontrol -help, this calls InputParser::PrintHelpMsg() function to see all available commands

  • Read the usage documentation pages to understand the operation of the instrument and what these commands do

  • Start by running mecontrol -db to run a debug program of the main subsystems and check everything is working as expected, this calls the RunInstrument::DebugMode() function

  • Make sure to use the mecontrol -comment "..." command to add a comment to both the filename and the CpuFileHeader

Connecting to Zynq

  • The mecontrol software automatically switches on the Zynq and waits for it to boot when performing an acquisition. However, in the past there have been some issues which require a Zynq reboot, for which the commands mecontrol -lvps off -subsystem zynq and mecontrol -lvps on -subsystem zynq can be used

  • If there are problems with the automatic connection of the Zynq by the mecontrol software, try rebooting the Zynq and checking for ping 192.168.7.10 to return with 0% packet loss before trying the mecontrol software again.

Tests with HV

Always take care when using the HV that the instrument is in proper darkness (black box) and that all LEDs are disabled or removed

  • Once satisfied that the grounding is correct and the instrument is in proper darkness, start by switching the HV on to < 300 V using, for example, mecontrol -hvswitch on -hv all -dv 1000 to ramp up the HV dynode voltage. The cathode voltage is always set to the 900 V mode (other modes are 0 V and 750 V). This is done with ZynqManager::HvpsTurnOn().

  • The status can be further checked using the mecontrol -check_status command (RunInstrument::CheckStatus())

  • The HVPS status returns 9 numbers, corresponding to each EC unit:

    • 0: the EC unit is off

    • 1: the EC unit is on, but status is undefined (can be switched down)

    • 2: the EC unit is on, but not at the correct voltage (switched down)

    • 3: the EC unit is switched on and at the correct voltage

  • For the engineering model, only one EC is connected and thus the unconnected ECs will return undefined results

  • When the HV is behaving as expected with simple status checks, it is suitable to proceed with raising the HV dynode voltage to the desired level

  • To take an acquisition with the HV on use, for example:

    mecontrol -log -hv all -dv 3000 -asicdac 500 -zynq periodic

    • The asic dac must be set when taking an acquisition, otherwise, the value in the configuration file will be used by default

    • This is the ASIC threshold setting, and should correspond to the single photoelectron plateau of the S-curve

  • To take an S-curve with the HV on run:

    mecontrol -log -hv all -dv 3000 -scurve

    • There is no need to specify the asicdac for an S-curve, all thresholds will be scanned

  • Ensure the HV is switched off before exposing the instrument to high light levels by checking that the mecontrol -check_status returns:

    HVPS status: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

NB: If EC units are not connected, their status will be undefined and can return non-zero values. In this case use the EC by EC commands described here.