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Muon telescope

muonTelescope·muon3·reference_documentation/next_generation/nextgen_review/hardware/muon_telescope_v7/muon_telescope.kicad_pcb

Muon telescope PCB layout, top view — open source FPGA board by muonTelescope
Simulate this board

About the Muon telescope PCB

Muon telescope is an open source FPGA PCB design by muonTelescope, published on GitHub under the CERN-OHL-S-2.0 license. It is a 4-layer board measuring 108 × 86 mm, with 107 components from 44 distinct parts.

Its main chip is the iCE40UP5K-SG48ITR, from the FPGA family. Other key parts include the DAC7578, BME280, W25Q128JVSIQ, TPS61170 and AMS1117-3.3. By type, the board carries 39 resistors, 35 capacitors, 15 ICs, 10 connectors, 5 diodes and 2 inductors.

It belongs with the science & space designs in this gallery.

From the project

Upadted clean sheet design

Generated 2026-06-11. Four hierarchical sheets implementing the simulated TIA front-end design (see the accompanying simulation report): 4× SiPM → OPA858 TIA → TLV3601 → iCE40UP5K-SG48, TPS61170 HV boost + π filter + DAC trim + ADC readback, DAC7578 thresholds, BME280, W25Q128 config flash, TCXO, GNSS-module and nRF9151-carrier headers.

Open muontelescopev10/muontelescope.kicadpro. The schematic files are written in the 20250114 s-expression format with generator_version 9.0 — the exact format the KiCad 10.0 release ships its own demo projects in. KiCad 10 opens it natively (the official…

Main components on the Muon telescope

iCE40UP5K-SG48ITRDAC7578BME280W25Q128JVSIQTPS61170AMS1117-3.3XC6206P122 1.2VOPA858TLV3601

Muon telescope bill of materials (BOM)

107 components, 44 distinct parts — part numbers from the project's BOM.

QtyPartRefs
1
iCE40UP5K-SG48ITR
U3
1
DAC7578
U4
1
BME280
U5
1
W25Q128JVSIQ
U6
1
TPS61170
U10
1
AMS1117-3.3
U11
1
XC6206P122 1.2V
U12
4
OPA858
U101, U111, U121, U131
4
TLV3601
U102, U112, U122, U132
1
TCXO 25MHz 3.3V
X1
1
VSYS IN 3.5-5V
J1
1
U.FL CH0
J2
1
U.FL CH1
J3
1
U.FL CH2
J4
1
U.FL CH3
J5
1
GNSS LC76G module
J6
1
nRF9151 carrier A
J7
1
nRF9151 carrier B
J8
1
NTC0 10k SiPM
J9
1
NTC1 10k SiPM
J10
Show 24 more
QtyPartRefs
4
BAV99
D2, D3, D4, D5
1
SS510B
D10
1
10uH 2A
L1
1
100uH
L2
2
1uF 50V
C10, C11
1
2.2uF 50V
C12
1
10nF
C13
2
10uF
C20, C21
5
1uF
C22, C105, C115, C125, C135
16
100nF
C30, C31, C32, C33, C102, C103, C104, C112 +8
4
100nF 50V
C101, C111, C121, C131
4
2.2pF C0G
C106, C116, C126, C136
9
1kΩ
R10, R103, R104, R113, R114, R123, R124, R133 +1
1
270kΩ
R11
3
10kΩ
R12, R32, R33
5
100kΩ
R13, R101, R111, R121, R131
1
1MΩ
R14
1
62kΩ
R15
3
4.7kΩ
R16, R30, R31
1
0Ω link
R20
3
100Ω LED
R35, R36, R37
4
10Ω
R102, R112, R122, R132
4
33Ω
R105, R115, R125, R135
4
2kΩ 1%
R106, R116, R126, R136

Muon telescope design files

The KiCad project lives in the muonTelescope/muon3 repository on GitHub; these links point at the commit this page was built from.

Muon telescope: common questions

What microcontroller does the Muon telescope use?

The Muon telescope is built around the iCE40UP5K-SG48ITR, from the FPGA family.

How big is the Muon telescope PCB?

The Muon telescope measures 108 × 86 mm, has 4 copper layers and is 1.6 mm thick.

How many components are on the Muon telescope?

107 components, from 44 distinct parts, with part numbers taken from the project's own BOM. The full bill of materials is listed on this page.

Where can I download the Muon telescope design files?

From the muonTelescope/muon3 repository on GitHub, which has the KiCad layout, the schematic and the BOM; the links under Design files point to each one.

Can I use the Muon telescope design in my own project?

Yes, under the terms of its CERN-OHL-S-2.0 license, which muonTelescope chose for the repository.

Can I test firmware for the Muon telescope without the hardware?

Yes. HardLabs builds a simulation of the board from its netlist and BOM, so you can run and debug FPGA firmware against it before you order a PCB.

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