FPGA Implementation of Image Ordering and Packing Algorithm for TuMag Camera

Abstract

The TuMag instrument is a Tunable Magnetograph that has been designed to measure the magnetic field of the sun. This instrument and others will be connected to a telescope that will be sent into the stratosphere using a balloon for an uninterrupted observation of the sun for four days in the summer of 2022. The TuMag camera is a new development for implementing the image detector of the instrument. It is based on the GPIXEL GSENSE400-BSI scientific CMOS image sensor and an FPGA device in charge of controlling the image sensor, configuring it and grabbing images. FPGA device consists of an array of Configurable Logic Blocks. However, the sensor does not supply the image data in a row-by-column format. This task has to be done in the FPGA that controls the sensor because the frame grabber has a significant workload with the control of all the instruments, the telescope, the refrigeration, the navigation, and so on. This work describes the FPGA implementation of Image Ordering and Packing algorithm for TuMag Camera concerning the real-time ordering of the images before grabbing and sending to the Data Processing Unit.