Remote updating and debugging multi-FPGA based on XVC internet protocol

Background: Silicon pixel detector for synchrotron radiation is a new device designed for the technical need of X-ray detection of Beijing advanced light source. The entire detector is placed in a radiation environment, and the multiple frontend readout boards are placed in sealed cooling containers, thus the traditional Universal serial bus-joint test action group (USB-JTAG) cables can no longer be used. Purpose: This study aims to design and implement remote updating and debugging multi-Field programmable gate array (multi-FPGA) for the detector without opening the cooling container. Methods: In this study, a network based ARM microcontroller was used to accept configuration files via network and generate JTAG sequence to FPGA by means of Xilinx visual cable (XVC) protocol. Results: The remote updating and debugging of multi-FPGA were realized. Conclusion: This method improves the reliability of remote updating and debugging of FPGAs and is easy to extend with less extra circuits. (authors)