Accelerating <scp>Garfield++</scp> with CUDA

Abstract Garfield++ is extensively used within the gaseous detector community for comprehensive detector simulations, supporting the full experimental life cycle from design to operation and calibration. The emergence of micro-pattern gaseous detectors has necessitated computationally intensive microscopic avalanche simulations. The acceleration of one of Garfield++ 's most demanding algorithms, AvalancheMicroscopic , by porting it to graphics processing units using NVIDIA's CUDA framework is described. The modifications are integrated into the Garfield ++ codebase and are accessible to end users with only minor adjustments to their existing code. Benchmark results demonstrate substantial speed-up, especially for high-gain avalanches involving thousands of electrons, thereby enabling more efficient and detailed detector simulations.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Instrumentation
Published
2025-12-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/20/12/p12019
Primary Topic
Particle Detector Development and Performance
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Accelerating Garfield++ with CUDA

K. Nikolopoulos, M. Slater, T. J. Neep
Journal of Instrumentation
Particle Detector Development and Performance
article

Accelerating Garfield++ with CUDA

K. Nikolopoulos, M. Slater, T. J. Neep
article en

Abstract

Abstract Garfield++ is extensively used within the gaseous detector community for comprehensive detector simulations, supporting the full experimental life cycle from design to operation and calibration. The emergence of micro-pattern gaseous detectors has necessitated computationally intensive microscopic avalanche simulations. The acceleration of one of Garfield++ 's most demanding algorithms, AvalancheMicroscopic , by porting it to graphics processing units using NVIDIA's CUDA framework is described. The modifications are integrated into the Garfield ++ codebase and are accessible to end users with only minor adjustments to their existing code. Benchmark results demonstrate substantial speed-up, especially for high-gain avalanches involving thousands of electrons, thereby enabling more efficient and detailed detector simulations.

Journal of InstrumentationVol. 20(12)
Universität Hamburg (DE), University of Birmingham (GB)
Openalex Percentile: Top 82%
Particle Detector Development and Performance
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