Test bench for IS-FEE

The HES-SO Valais participates in the LISA project of the European Space Agency.

For the measurement of the displacement of the test masses, CSAG has developed a digital module for a radio frequency unit that controls 4 large FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays). The ISI has been in charge of developing a test bench for this electronic equipment.

The functioning of the circuit during its development was verified on a test bench. This bench generates frames of a serial protocol to control the control module, which basically acts as a function generator. The test bench checks the periodicity of the generated signals and the shape of the other control signals from the module.

Separating the development of the test equipment from the design of the circuit is an essential requirement of this kind of application. It guarantees the independence of the different tasks and increases the security.