A high precision time-to-digital converter based on multi-phase clock implemented within Field-Programmable-Gate-Array

In this paper, the design of a coarse-fine interpolation Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC) is implemented in an ALTERA’s Cyclone FPGA. The carry-select chain performs as the tapped delay line. The Logic Array Block (LAB) having a propagation delay of 165 ps in the chain is synthesized as delay cell. Coarse counters triggered by the global clock count the more significant bits of the time data. This clock is also fed through the delay line, and LABs create the copies. The replicas are latched by the tested event signal, and the less significant bits are encoded from the latched binary bits. Single-shot resolution of the TDC can be 60 ps. The worst Differential Nonlinearity (DNL) is about 0.2 Least Significant Bit (LSB, 165 ps in this TDC module), and the Integral Nonlinearity (INL) is 0.6 LSB. In comparison with other architectures using the synchronous global clock to sample the taps, this architecture consumed less electric power and logic cells, and is more stable.

A LOW POWER TIME-TO-DIGITAL CONVERTER FOR ALL-DIGITAL PHASE-LOCKED LOOP

Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC) is a key block used as the phase/frequency detector in an All-Digital Phase-Locked Loop (ADPLL). Usually, it occupies a large proportion of ADPLL's total power consumption up to about 30% to 40%. In this paper, the detailed power consumption of different components in the TDC is analyzed. A Power Management Block (PMB) is presented for the TDC to reduce its power consumption. A 24-bits TDC core with the proposed PMB is implemented in HJTC 0.18 μm CMOS technology. Simulation results show that up to 84% power reduction is achieved using our proposed technique.

PULSE SHRINKING TIME-TO-DIGITAL CONVERTER FOR UWB APPLICATION

A kind of architecture of Time-to-Digital Converter(TDC) for Ultra-WideBand(UWB) application is presented. The proposed TDC is based on pulse shrinking, and implemented in a Field Programmable Gate Array(FPGA) device. The pulse shrinking is realized in a loop containing two Programmable Delay Lines(PDLs) or a two-channel PDL. One line(channel) delays the rising edge and the other line(channel) delays the falling edge of a circulating pulse. Delay resolution of PDL is converted into a digital output code under known conditions of pulse width. This delay resolution measurement mechanism is different from the conventional time interval measurement mechanism based on pulse shrinking of conversion of unknown pulse width into a digital output code. This mechanism automatically avoids the influence of unwanted pulse shrinking by any circuit element apart from the lines. The achieved relative errors for four PDLs are within 0.80%–1.60%.

Novel Optical Analog-To-Digital Converter Based on Optical Time Division Multiplexing

A novel optical analog-to-digital converter based on optical time division multiplexing(OTDM) is described which uses electrooptic sampling and time-demultiplexing together with multiple electronic analog-to-digital converter(ADC). Compared with the previous scheme, the time-division multiplexer and the time-division demultiplexer are applied in the optical analog-to-digital converter(OADC) at the same time, the design of the OADC is simplified and the performance of the OADC based on time-division demultiplexer is improved. A core optical part of the system is demonstrated with a sample rate of 10 Gs/s. The signals in three channels are demultiplexed from the optical pulses.The result proves our scheme is feasible.

Single-Stage Vernier Time-to-Digital Converter with Sub-Gate Delay Time Resolution

This paperpresents a single-stage Vernier Time-to-Digital Converter (VTDC) that utilizes the dynamic-logic phase detector. The zero dead-zone characteristic of this phase detector allows for the single-stage VTDC to deliver sub-gate delay time resolution. The single-stage VTDC has been designed in 0.13μm CMOS technology. The simulation results demonstrate a linear input-output characteristic for input dynamic range from 0 to 1.6ns with a time resolution of 25ps.

一种FPGA⁃TDC防气泡误差编码器设计

在设计基于现场可编程门阵列(FPGA)的时间数字转换器(TDC)时,时钟偏斜等因素产生的气泡误差会造成抽头延迟链(TDL)中的延迟单元失效,导致TDC的分辨率变差。提出了一种防气泡误差编码器,通过统计抽头延迟链中发生变化的抽头个数,该编码器使抽头延迟链跳变顺序按照时间顺序映射,从而消除气泡误差的影响。利用Xilinx Virtex UltraScale+FPGA对该防气泡误差编码器的有效性进行验证,使用该编码器后,基于双端采样法的抽头延迟链TDC分辨率由3.18 ps提升至1.76 ps。实验结果表明,所提出的防气泡误差编码器能够解决气泡误差导致的延迟单元失效的问题,避免分辨率的损失。

基于下变频TOF-TDC的飞秒级微波光子延时测量技术研究

提出了一种基于下变频的飞行时间-时间数字转换(TOF-TDC)原理的微波光子传输链路延时抖动测量技术,并详细地阐述了该技术的基本原理、系统构架以及参数设计等。该技术能以飞秒量级的测量精度以及大延时测量范围对信号延时抖动进行测量。环境因素导致的延时抖动严重地影响了高频模拟微波光传输相位传递,进而制约其在光控相控阵等领域中的广泛应用。所提出的延迟抖动测量技术从本质上解决了光传输链路在电子战、宽带雷达等宽带应用场合中稳相传输所遇到的一个基础性问题,具有很大的应用推广潜力。

Readout electronics of a prototype time-of-flight ion composition analyzer for space plasma

Readout electronics is developed for a prototype time-of-flight(TOF) ion composition spectrometer for in situ measurement of the mass/charge distributions of major ion species from 200 to 100 ke V/e in space plasma.By utilizing a constant fraction discriminator(CFD) and time-to-digital converter(TDC), challenging dynamic range measurements were performed with high time resolution and event rates. CFD was employed to discriminate the TOF signals from the micro-channel plate and channel electron multipliers. TDC based on the combination of counter and OR-gate delay chain was designed in a highreliability flash field programmable gate array. Owing to the non-uniformity of the delay chain, a correction algorithm based on integral nonlinearity compensation was implemented to reduce the time uncertainty. The test results showed that the electronics achieved a low timingerror of < 200 ps in the input range from 35 to 500 m V for the CFD, and a time resolution of ～550 ps with time uncertainty < 180 ps after correction and a time range of6.4 ls for the TDC. The TOF spectrum from an electron beam experiment of the impacting N_2 gas further indicated the good performance of this readout electronic.

Development of readout electronics for bunch arrival-time monitor system at SXFEL

A bunch arrival-time monitor(BAM) system,based on electro-optical intensity modulation scheme, is under study at Shanghai Soft X-ray Free Electron Laser.The aim of the study is to achieve high-precision time measurement for minimizing bunch fluctuations. A readout electronics is developed to fulfill the requirements of the BAM system. The readout electronics is mainly composed of a signal conditioning circuit, field-programmable gate array(FPGA), mezzanine card(FMC150), and powerful FPGA carrier board. The signal conditioning circuit converts the laser pulses into electrical pulse signals using a photodiode. Thereafter, it performs splitting and low-noise amplification to achieve the best voltage sampling performance of the dual-channel analog-to-digital converter(ADC) in FMC150. The FMC150 ADC daughter card includes a 14-bit 250 Msps dual-channel high-speed ADC,a clock configuration, and a management module. The powerful FPGA carrier board is a commercial high-performance Xilinx Kintex-7 FPGA evaluation board. To achieve clock and data alignment for ADC data capture at a high sampling rate, we used ISERDES, IDELAY, and dedicated carry-in resources in the Kintex-7 FPGA. This paper presents a detailed development of the readout electronics in the BAM system and its performance.

基于SMIC 180nm工艺的内插延时链型TDC芯片

在高能同步辐射光源的高分辨谱学线站系统(HEPS-B5)的核共振散射实验中,为满足测试样品对时间数字转换皮秒级的高分辨率时间测量要求,基于SMIC 180 nm工艺设计了一款内插延时链型的四通道时间数字转换器(TDC)芯片。该TDC芯片采用“粗计数”和“细计数”相结合的链状结构,通过内插延时链法来提高测量分辨率,并结合时钟计数器以实现较大的动态测量范围。为了阻止亚稳态的传递,使用两级反相器作为基本延时单元,另外通过异步先进先出(FIFO)缓冲器实现数据在不同时钟域之间的安全传递。实验测试结果表明,该TDC芯片的时间分辨率可达到56.3 ps,动态测量范围为0~262μs,能够满足核共振散射实验的高精度时间测量要求。

A time and charge measurement board for muon tomography of high-Z materials

In this paper, a versatile time and charge measurement(MQT) board for muon tomography is described in detail. For time measurement, the general-purpose timeto-digital converter(TDC) chip TDC-GP2 is employed,while for charge measurement, digitization plus numerical integration in field programmable gate array is employed.Electronic tests demonstrate that the total 32 channels of two MQT boards have a time resolution of superior than100 ps, with excellent linearity for time and charge measurement.

基于STR的两级差分的高精度低功耗TDC

随着集成电路工艺的发展和集成度的提高,电路延时显著降低,传统的时间数字转换器(TDC)的研究趋向于兼具高分辨率和高精度的电路设计。近年来,摩尔定律逐渐失效,物联网大背景下轻量化,微型化,低功耗的边缘设备得到了飞速发展,用于片上延时测量的微型化TDC的研究重点逐步转向高精度的低功耗设计。基于Xilinx Virtex-6 XC6VLX240T现场可编程门阵列(FPGA)开发平台,提出了一种以游标自定时环(vernier self timing ring,VSTR)代替直接计数法的粗测结构,和两条对称的延迟链组成的细测结构。通过边沿重合检测单元和锁存单元将粗测结构的游标STR与细测的对称延迟链结合,设计结果表明该结构量程可达到491 ns,分辨率为14.8 ps,最高精度为12.9 ps,功耗为0.068 W,说明了提出的两级差分结构具有高精度低功耗的特点。

基于数字延迟线的高分辨率TDC系统

介绍了采用数字延迟线集成电路芯片和微控制器结合组成的高性价比的时间数字化测量系统。在单通道工作模式下,系统的分辨率达到 125 ps,动态量程达到 7.2 μs。该系统被用于浅水环境的机载激光测深系统。

一种应用于TDC的低抖动延迟锁相环电路设计

本文采用双延迟线和防错锁控制结构,结合对电荷泵等关键模块版图对称性的匹配控制,设计了一种针对(Time-to-Digital Converter,TDC)应用的宽动态锁定范围、低静态相位误差延迟锁相环(Delay-Locked Loop,DLL)电路.基于TSMC 0.35μm CMOS工艺,完成了电路的仿真和流片验证.测试结果表明,DLL频率锁定范围为40MHz-200MHz;静态相位误差161ps@125MHz;在无噪声输入的理想时钟驱动下,200MHz频率点下的峰-峰值抖动最大为85.3ps,均方根抖动最大为9.44ps,可满足亚纳秒级时间分辨的TDC应用需求.

基于FPGA进位链TDC延时模型的建立与性能测试

引入飞行时间信息,可以提高正电子断层显像仪(Positron Emission Tomography,PET)系统的性能。电子学时间数字转换(TDC,Time-to-Digital Convertor)设计是其中一项关键技术。论文针对进位链(Carry Chain)TDC设计,建立了TDC的延时模型,推导了进位链TDC的延时公式。基于模型,通过调整关键信号的参数,比较了调整前后的TDC性能,在EP2C20Q240C8N芯片上实现和提升了进位链TDC的性能,最小测量间隔为69ps,测量误差小于2LSB,能够满足TOF测量时间精度的要求,并验证了模型公式的正确性。对TDC的测试方法选用高精度同轴电缆进行间接测量,解决了在缺乏ps级高精度测试设备情况下的时间精度测试问题。

基于TDC的无死区频率测量技术研究

在精密时频测控领域中,高分辨率、无死区的时间间隔和频率测量非常关键,而时间数字转换器(Time to Digital Converter,TDC)是时间频率测量的常用手段。该文研制了基于ACAM公司生产的时间数字转换芯片TDC-GP21和Altera公司FPGA芯片EP4CE6E22C8N的时间频率测量设备,实现了高分辨率的时间间隔测量,测量分辨率达到13ps。同时采用时间间隔测量模块两两组合的方式实现了无死区频率测量,创新性地采用每组3个TDC芯片,共4组搭建了时间频率测量系统,并对组内3个TDC芯片测量结果采用平均值滤波法,使频率测量稳定度达到1.1 ×10^(-11)@1 s,5.6 × 10^(-15)@10000 s,与商用K+K FXE频率计数器指标相当。本设备具有体积小、无需校准、成本低等优点,能够广泛应用到高精度时间间隔和精密频率测量领域中。

基于TDC的激光测距传感器飞行时间测量研究

激光测距传感器是通过测量传感器与目标之间激光脉冲往返飞行时间来获取待测距离值的,因此激光飞行时间的测量精度是衡量传感器性能的根本指标。采用一种专用的时间数字转换芯片TDC—GP2设计了高精度时间间隔测量模块,介绍了TDC—GP2的测时原理,给出了软硬件的实现方法。实验结果表明:该模块测量频率快,单脉冲测量精度可达100 ps以内,线性度良好,可满足不同应用中的测速和精度要求。

基于TDC的GPS驯服恒温晶振系统设计

为满足测控系统对高精度时间频率的要求,设计了一种基于时间数字转换器(TDC)的驯服恒温晶振系统。使用GPS对恒温晶振进行实时校准,获得了高精度的频率信号。通过TDC测量时差数据计算得到恒温晶振的频率准确度,其时差测量精度达到250 ps。采用优化的递推平均滤波算法对时差数据进行滤波处理,消除了GPS秒信号抖动引入的干扰,缩短了频率驯服时间,频率驯服精度优于3×10-11。

基于高速ADC的数字双混频时差测量系统

使用双混频时差法进行时间和频率测量时,模拟部分引入的噪声会干扰信号过零点的判断,降低测量精度,而使用数字信号处理技术后不再需要判断过零点,量化噪声成为系统内的主要噪声来源,可以通过数字滤波器对其进行抑制。同时有利于设计结构紧凑的系统,更易于小型化,测量速度也可以进行灵活配置。通过引入高速模数转换器、数控振荡器、低通抽取滤波器、数字鉴相器等,设计了数字双混频时差测量系统,并研制了4通道的原理样机。测试结果表明,当频率源为10 MHz的信号时,原理样机中属于同片ADC(analog-to-digital converter)的两个通道间的本底噪声约为5×10^(-14)@1 s,属于不同片ADC的两个通道间的本底噪声约为8×10^(-14)@1 s,满足原子振荡器的测量要求。并以主动型氢钟VCH-1003M为参考,使用原理样机分别对Microchip的5071A铯原子钟和SRS的FS725铷原子钟的稳定度进行测量,测量结果与Microchip的相噪分析仪53100A和5120A无显著差异。

一种结合高精度TDC的快速全数字锁相环

针对传统全数字锁相环锁相周期长、时间数字转换电路量化误差较大等问题,提出了一种在高分辨率时间数字转换器的基础上能够快速锁相的全数字锁相环.本设计提出的相调模块将量化的相位差还原成时间序列,并在状态机的控制下加入到重构信号中,从而能够在检测到相位差之后的最多两个输入参考时钟周期内使相位一次性对齐,锁相时间控制在0.72μs之内;设计的上升沿检测电路能够在重构与参考信号同频时,准确地检测两者上升沿是否同时到来并给出相应的使能信号,从而在锁相时关闭时间数字转换电路,大大降低了电路的功耗;优化了多时钟多相位的时间数字转换器粗量化的计算方法,提高了粗量化速度,增大了计数器位宽,扩大了测量范围,并且量化误差控制在0.25ns之内.最后完成了整体设计的RTL级建模及仿真,结果证明,该全数字锁相环具有锁相速度快、量化精度高、稳定性好、功耗低、输出频率便于调整等特点.