Open Source VHDL/Verilog Test and Measurement Software

The Red Pitaya is a commercial, affordable FPGA board with fast analog inputs and outputs. This makes it useful for quantum optics experiments, in particular as a digital feedback controller for analog systems. Based on the open source software provided by the board manufacturer, PyRPL (Python RedPitaya Lockbox) implements many devices that are needed for optics experiments with the Red Pitaya. PyRPL implements various digital signal processing (DSP) modules (see features below). It allows to arbitrarily interconnect the available DSP modules and retrieve signal values on timescales below 1 ms. The graphical user interface (GUI) provides a realtime display of the various measurement instruments and allows the easy configuration of DSP signal chains and feedback controllers. At the highest abstraction level, arbitrary feedback sequences can be defined to fulfill tasks as complex as approaching and locking a resonance of a high-finesse Fabry-Perot cavity (tested up to finesse=100,000).

Module 1: durchblicker: embedded Logicanalyzer with direct output on VGA-monitor

Oscilloscope components, including 100MHz quad A/D, VHDL code for Xilinx FPGA, and driver for Octave or Matlab.

Gwyscope is a low cost, open hardware, Digital Signal Processor (DSP) suitable for Scanning Probe Microscopy measurements, focusing on demonstrating the concept of adaptive scanning, general XYZ data acquisition and statistical data processing on the controller level. More details can be found in: M. Valtr et al., Scanning Probe Microscopy controller with advanced sampling support, HardwareX, Volume 15, e00451 https://www.hardware-x.com/article/S2468-0672(23)00058-5/fulltext It is based on a low cost FPGA board Red Pitaya and additional high bit depth AD and DA converters. When put together with the AFM scanning hardware (sensor, scanner and their amplifiers) and user interface software it can serve as a standalone SPM system. Otherwise, it can serve as a sub-module for a custom built SPM system, e.g. providing the feedback loop mechanism only. Finally, it can be used as a board for developing advanced sampling techniques, which was the primary goal.

Oscilloscope using a VGA monitor and a cpld

VSYML is an automated symbolic simulator for VHDL designs.

GIAnT (Generic Implementation ANalysis Toolkit) is a platform for physical analysis of (embedded) devices. Primarily designed for hardware security analyses, it is built around an FPGA-based board for fault injection and side-channel analysis. This project has been supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research BMBF (grant 01IS10026A, Project EXSET).