Internship ResuméE5IPR1

Engineering Internship

Name: Jacob Odgaard HaustedStudents number: xxxxxxxxxField of study: Electronics (E)

5th SemesterInternship at: CERNAddress: CH-1211, Geneva 23

SwitzerlandSupervisors: Vladimir Ryjov

Kamil Nicpon

Date: 15/07/2019

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Contents1 CERN 3

2 Resumé 42.1 Organisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52.2 Work tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2.2.1 The ELMB Testbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.2.2 Radiation tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92.2.3 Update of CAN PSU Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

2.3 Daily Life at CERN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102.3.1 Workplace relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

2.4 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

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CERNIn 1951, during a UNESCO meeting in Paris, the first resolution for the establishment of

Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire was adopted and signed. The CERN acronymwas born. In the beginning, CERN was primarily focused on the studies of the atmonic nuclei,but has since then included the research of higher energy physics and the interaction betweensub-atomic particles. Since then, CERN has had numerous scientific achievements, including:

- The LHC12. The Large Hadron Collider was first started the September 10th in 2008,and it is the worlds most power particle accelerator, consiting of a 27 km ring of superconducting magnets, kept at a constant temperature of −271.3 Co. Inside the ring, twohigh energy particle beams travel in opposite directions, near the speed of light. Whenthey say near, they mean it, as the proton speed in the LHC is actually 0.999999991%that of the speed of light(3m/s less than the speed of light). On the ring, four particledetectors are placed; ATLAS, CMS, ALICE and LHCb. It is inside these detectors thetwo beams are made to collide, with a collision energy of 13 TeV. With beam energies ashigh as in the LHC, the magnetic fields guiding the beams must be scaled proportionally,and thus the currents running in the magnetic coils. At these energies, a current of 12000amps is needed to keep the particles in orbit in the LHC. Currently the High-LuminosityLHC project has begun, which is an upgrade aiming to crank up the performance of theLHC by increasing the luminosity with a factor of 10. The hopes are to increase theamount of data collected to get a better understanding of known mechanishms, such asthe Higgs Boson.

- The Higgs Boson3.The basic equations of the unified theory correctly describe the elec-troweak force and its associated force-carrying particles, namely the photon, and the Wand Z bosons, except for a major glitch. All of these particles emerge without a mass.While this is true for the photon, we know that the W and Z have mass, nearly 100 timesthat of a proton. Fortunately, theorists Robert Brout, François Englert and Peter Higgsmade a proposal that was to solve this problem. What we now call the Brout-Englert-Higgs mechanism gives a mass to the W and Z when they interact with an invisible field,now called the “Higgs field”, which pervades the univers4. For many years, no experi-ment had been able to observe the Higgs Boson in order to prove the Brout-Englert-Higgsmechanism. On the 4th of July 2012 the ATLAS and CMS experiment observed a newparticle which consisted of the Higgs boson. On the 8th October, François Englert andPeter Higgs were awarded a nobel prize for predicting the fundamental particle.

The before mentioned stems from CERN’s mission to better our fundamental understand-ing of the universe, and is only a few among many accomplishments. As listed from their

1https://home.cern/science/accelerators/large-hadron-collider2https://home.cern/science/accelerators/high-luminosity-lhc3https://home.cern/science/physics/higgs-boson4https://home.cern/science/physics/higgs-boson

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webpage5, their mission is to:

- Provide a unique range of particle accelerator facilities that enable research at the fore-front of human knowledge.

- Perform world-class research in fundamental physics.

- Unite people from all over the world to push the frontiers of science and technology, forthe benefit of all.

The Effects of CERN

CERN is a place for research and development. It pushes the boundaries of what we knowand forces us to come up with new solutions. Consequently, one of CERN’s major impactareas is innovation. One outcome as a sideproject from one of CERN’s engineers was theWorld Wide Web(WWW). Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web(WWW) in 1989.It was initially developed to meet the demand for automated information-sharing between sci-entists and universities. As the web is probably one of the most obvious innovations seen bythe world, stemming from CERN, there has been made tremendously "advances in fields suchas magnet technology, cryogenics, electronics, detector technology and statistical methods"6

based on the work done at CERN, though these may be less obvious to the public. Althoughmany scientific achievements from CERN may seem mostly relevant for the realm of research,the fundamentals of these discoveries and models can help tremendously in other fields as well7

- e.g advanced photon and lepton detection in regards to medical imaging. This aligns perfectlywith CERN’s mission to push the frontiers of science and technology, for the benefit of all.

ResuméDue to the extension of my 4th semester by half a year, I was made aware of the possibil-

ity to do our internship at CERN because of previous classmates who got a position. CERNsounded like a challenge, offering both the possibility to work with either software or hardware.As my interests within electronics has been shifting between the two, the possibility to exploreboth areas during my internship was extremely appealing to me. The application process wasrather smooth, but with a long period of waiting for answer after submitting the initial applica-tion. Afterwards, i was contacted directly from supervisors proposing their projects, of which Ichose the ELMB (Embedded Local Monitoring board) project. My decision was based on theproject descriptions, email correspondences with both project leaders and my proposed role inthe project. I started my internship the 1st of February 2019 and had decided to use some ofmy summer break on the internship, signing a 6 month contract.

5https://home.cern/about/who-we-are/our-mission6https://home.cern/news/opinion/computing/cern-effect7https://kt.cern/cern-technologies-society

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2.1 OrganisationIn 2018, CERN had 3500 MPE(staff and fellows) and 14000 MPA(users, students and as-

sociates) from around the world1. CERN works to explore the fundamental physics that makeup the universe through the use of experiments with the most famous and current main focus,being the experiments used in the LHC(Large Hadron Collider). As part of the LHC upgrade,higher radiation doses are expected. Thus the electronics must be upgraded accordingly - in-cluding the ELMB board. The organisation follows a tree structure with the naming schemeof Department - Group - Section, with the project i was assigned to being part of the EP-ESE-FE(Experimental physics - Electronic Systems for Experiments - Front End) section, illustratedon Fig 2.1.

Figure 2.1: CERN department/group/section structure - my department and section markedwith red

My section produces electronics used in the front end part of the experiments, that is closelyto the the collision of the beams. The distance to the beam creates special requirements for the

1CERN Annual Personnel Statistics 2018 - CERN-HR-STAFF-STAT-2018 - 2019-06-04

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electronics due to the radiation levels in the detectors. I have only been involved with theELMB2 project during my internship, which is a small board used in slow control applications,with common use cases as analog or digital sensors and actuators: temperature, humidity, radi-ation sensors, switches, voltage and current monitoring modules, solid state relays). It consistsof an analog, digital and CAN part, and it comes with 64 ADC input channels and is connectedvia a CAN bus. Each bus supports up to 64 ELMB’s with each NodeID being set either througha DIP switch on the board, or programmed into the MCU’s EEPROM. The ELMB is made asan all purpose board offering the users the possibility to configure and reprogram as needed.

2.2 Work tasksWhen I arrived, the development of the ELMB2 board was complete, and the first phase of

radiation tests had been completed. Due to unexplainable behaviour in regards to the effects ofTID(Total ionisation dose) of the devices under test, a new set of tests was planned. The TIDeffects is a term used to describe the effects of charges getting trapped in the different layersof transistors, which can both increase the leakage current and shift the threshold voltage. Fur-thermore, with the project development phase complete, focus was shifted towards productionwhere I did most of my work. For the production of the previous ELMB’s, a testbox was de-signed with a windows application to run it. The testbox is controlled by the PC through a ISPprogrammer and a USB to CAN gateway. The testbox was not in a working condition when Iarrived and is planned to be send to a production company alongside the ELMB2 components,which made the testbox my main task during my internship.

2.2.1 The ELMB TestboxThe ELMB testbox is made to both program, test and calibrate newly produced ELMB’s.

Each produced ELMB has a unique ID which is used to both identify boards and link them tothe results of their test and calibration runs in the testboxes. The calibration of the ELMB’saims to remove stationary errors of ADC measurements. As mentioned, the ELMB’s consistsof an analog, digital and CAN part where each part is powered separately, allowing them to betested individually. The testbox contains a "monitoring ELMB" itself, which is used to togglethe powering of each part.The sequence of actions performed is controlled by an application running on a Windows PC,connected to the testbox via an ISP and a CAN gateway. A drawing of the testbox can be seenin Figure 2.2. My main tasks for my work on the testbox were the added supportability for anew CAN gateway card and a new ISP. Both were in need of updates as the application wasoriginally written in 2002 - 2004, using an ISP with a RS232 interface and a PCI CAN gatewaycard. Both were to be updated to use a USB interface using C or C++.As a side task, I was asked to implement a version control for the testbox application. As CERNhas a private Gitlab domain. This was an obvious choice. The repo was designed to containboth the source for application and a compiled release version, which could be downloadedby users independently of the source. This definitely provided me with some much neededexperience with both git and version control in general23.

2https://gitlab.cern.ch/jhausted/elmbtest-update3Repo requires CERN lightweight account: https://account.cern.ch/account/Externals/RegisterAccount.aspx

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Figure 2.2: ELMB Testbox drawing

Updating the CAN gateway

For the new CAN gateway it was decided to use a USBcan2 module from SYStec electron-ics4. The focus was to add supportability for the new gateway, while maintaining support forthe old PCI card as well, leaving it to the user to define which one to use. The specific protocolmanagement converting messages from USB to CAN and vice versa was not part of the task, asboth manufactures provided API’s for their cards as well. The testbox application had alreadyimplemented an interface for the messages using Microsofts COM model. As such, my taskwas to implement a new local server, compiled to a ".dll", utilising the API provided by Systec.Embarking on this task, I had no experience with Microsofts COM model. Both my supervisorsgave me a lot of room and time to delve into the subject, allowing me to learn about the conceptat my own pace. In total, I spent about three weeks reading on the subject before actually start-ing to design/implement my solution. This forced me to learn more about the Windows OS,Microsofts IDL compiler, local servers and component registration and how these are identifiedfrom unique GUID’s.A brief overview of the structure I implemented can be seen from Figure 2.3. Only the depen-dent classes have been included from the application. The KVCANserver+ and KVCanScanhold the implementation for the old CAN gateway, and the STCANserver+ and STCanScanis the newly added gateway. The servers need to be registered on the PC before use, with theapplication connecting to the user specified one on application launch.

4https://www.systec-electronic.com/en/products-technologies/interfaces-gateways/sysworxx-usb-canmodul1/

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Figure 2.3: Class and relationship overview of the classes in the update of the CAN gateway

Updating the ISP

For the new ISP, the AVR ISP mkII from Olimex5 was decided to be used as this was acheap 3rd party solution, one of the only ISP’s that still uses the old 10 pin ISP connector andhas a USB connector. Like with CAN gateway, supportability for the old programmer was to bemaintained, and it would be left to the user to decide which one to use. Futhermore, as the newELMB2 did not hold the same fuse settings as the old ELMB and was planned to be availablewith different MCU options, the programmer needed to be able to distinguish between these.To add supportability for both programmers, a new structure handling the programming ofthe boards needed to be implemented in the application. With some inspiration from both thefactory- and template-method, an abstract class "CISProgrammer" was implemented, castingthe user’s input to the desired class, holding the programmer specific implementations. Forthe application to distinguish between the MCU types and ELMB types, the "ChipType" classwas designed. The ELMB type needs a user input to change, since both is offered with thesame MCU type, thus being indistinguishable from the programmer’s POV. The implementedclass structure and its relationship to the application is sketched on figure 2.4. During the taskI was given a lot of space to make implementation specific decisions on my own, and I wasencouraged to design it the way I wanted it. With no noteworthy previous experience usingeither of the methods, the task provided a lot of experience in regards to the versatility of C++classes and their strengths.

5https://www.olimex.com/Products/AVR/Programmers/AVR-ISP-MK2/open-source-hardware

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Figure 2.4: The implemented class structure for the new and old programmer

2.2.2 Radiation testsDuring my internships, two sets of radiation tests were planned. During previous tests,

some unexplainable latch ups had been seen, and these were expected to be connected to TID.Therefore 3 sets of radiation tests would be set to be done with a 60CO source - gamma radia-tion - and was performed at one of CERN’s own test facilities. Due to the low energy in gammaradiation, no SEE(Single event effects) was to be expected, focusing solely on the TID effects.Three tests at varying dose rates were performed to determine if the dose rate had an influenceon the TID effect on the board. Another four sets were sent to Ljubljana, where my contractwould end before receiving them to process. In preparation of this, one ELMB testbox wasmodified in anticipation of the increased current consumption of the irradiated boards.The test setups were designed for the previous tests, so only a reallocation of these was needed.The data collection, processing and plotting software was done by the previous student HansBinderup. The software consisted of several Python scripts, where I spent the time trying tooptimise, design and implement additional features, as requested by my supervisors. In addi-tion, since some of the components in the test setups were borrowed, minor adjustments to theprocessing software were needed. As I will be using Python next semester and had no experi-ence with it, this was a great opportunity to gain some with setting up a python environment,choosing an IDE and exploring some of the language’s strengths and weaknesses and get somegeneral experience with it.The radiation test was a nice experience, even though I do not anticipate working with the prob-lems it causes again. CERN has a lot of safety courses and education tools one must complete inorder to work in the areas used for irradiation or close by. These were greatly appreciated, andthe education tools, with the help of my supervisors, definitely aided in the work understandingand analysing the data/plots gathered from the tests.

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2.2.3 Update of CAN PSU ModuleTo power the ELMB’s, a CAN PSU crate has been designed. The crate holds a number of

CAN PSU modules, which was tasked for an update due to some components becoming obso-lete. The update consisted of finding new "commercial off the shelf" components, which wouldkeep the module completely backwards compatible. The schematics were rather detailed, andthe labelling was great to navigate between documents - a system I will use on my own in thefuture. My updated schematic can be seen from figure 2.5. To update the schematics and draw-ings I got to get some experience with Cadence Tools, a welcome experience as I will be usingthis in a course the coming semester. This task also gave me the opportunity to experiencemeetings with manufactures of some of these components, where it was arranged that that theywould provide a modified version of a PSU, for the modules specific need. Unfortunately, I didnot get to see this task through before leaving, though it would have been a nice experience tosee a product all the way through production.

Figure 2.5: CAN PSU module schematic

2.3 Daily Life at CERNThe ELMB2 project consisted of me and my two supervisors, one of which I shared office

with. As a workplace, CERN is very academically oriented which aligns with their goal asto educate people. This means that trying to learn new skills or bettering yourself in orderto complete your work tasks is greatly encouraged. Furthermore, CERN is very research anddevelopment oriented along with having a very academic orientation, the work environment is

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often comparable to that of a university - an environment I enjoy. The major diffence betweenthe environment at the university and CERN being a the importance of deadlines, e.g the LHCproduct does not wait for a single device if it is operable without.

Both my supervisors have been focused on me improving and learning and, as such, hasprovided me with tasks which would allow me to develop my skills within the subjects that Idesired. This was a pleasant experience, but it also forced me to express myself in regards towhich topics I would like to work with in our project - something which I was not very good atin the beginning.

The main CERN site at Meyrin where my office was placed is in itself a small town, withpeople living at the CERN hostel, and there is a club for everything, be it weightlifting or theYacht club. I joined the CERN powerlifting club as it was a very affordable gym subscription.There is also constantly hosted lectures during work hours, where everybody is encouraged togo if they find it interesting. GIA(Genève Intern Association) is also hosting "get-togethers"for interns in the area every week. CERN’s different internship programs have a lot of focus onintegrating newly arrived into CERN and the area, which definitely shows.

2.3.1 Workplace relationshipsWhen I started in the section, both my supervisors spent a considerable amount of time

showing me the possibilities at CERN, both during and outside working hours. Since I wasplaced in the same office as one of them, he was my go-to person to ask for help and hasalways encouraged me to ask if I had issues. Two times a day we met with the other supervisorand discussed plans over a cup of coffee. Both my supervisors have shown great interest in mywell being, both on and outside CERN, and they have provided me with lots of possibilities toexplore and experience in the Genève area.

I started my internship along with 12 other Danish students, most of them from AU. TheDanish internship coordinator arranged meetings for us so we could meet and get to know eachother. The other Danish students have been the ones I have been spending most of my timewith throughout my internship. Furthermore, the HR department of CERN arranges a meetingfor all recently arrived students, making it easy to make new relations coming here. Beingat CERN, one will experience a wide variety of nationalities and people, and will definitelyimprove one’s communication skills.

2.4 ConclusionTo summarise my internship at CERN, it has been an incredible experience. Both my su-

pervisors have provided me with a space in which questions were welcomed, and the betteringof oneself was encouraged. The tasks they have given me have definitely challenged me andforced me to gain knowledge on my own - an experience which has definitely improved myconfidence in my own work. The responsibilities I have been given have been quite significant,compared to my own expectations starting my internship. The work environment has been re-laxed, and at no point did I feel stressed - even though there has been a lot of work to do. Beingable to be so involved in a project, with your ideas being heard as an intern, was more than Ihad expected.

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Through my internship I have gained a lot of experience with both reading and writing code,and I picked up some good habits along the way, by reading code written by senior developers.This has introduced me to some common design patterns, models and a new programminglanguage. The independent work structure has forced me to solve issues on my own, set upenvironments and produce properly built release versions. I have not been working as muchwith hardware as I had anticipated, but this was mostly by my own choice, as I often prioritisedtasks involving software development.

For my internship and the tasks I have been given, I felt rather well equipped with theknowledge gained from previous semesters - aside from the radiation tests. With the broadspectrum of subjects covered in the courses at the university, it was easy to start delving intosubjects, as the baseline understanding was already there.

Lastly, the area here has lots to offer that is different from Denmark. The mountains, lake,cities in the area are all worth a visit and have definitely given me some memories for life. Aninternship at CERN offers much more than only the chance to better oneself within one’s fieldof study.

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