Control system technology for particle accelerators

Control systems for particle accelerators are being designed around open-architecture systems, which allows easy upgrading, high-speed networks and high-speed processors. Mitsubishi Electric is applying realtime Unix operating systems, fiber-distributed data interface (FDDI), shared memory networks and remote I/O systems to achieve these objectives. In the area of vacuum control systems, which requires large-scale sequence control, the corporation is employing general-purpose programmable logic controllers (PLCs) to achieve cost-effective design. Software for these applications is designed around a library of application program interfaces (APIs) that give users direct access to key system functions. (author)