An Eight-Channel 4.5-ps Precision Timestamps-Based Time Interval Counter in FPGA Chip

Szplet, R.; Kwiatkowski, P.; Jachna, Z.; Różyc, K.

doi:10.1109/tim.2016.2564038

Cited by 39 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Sherman's SDR results were post-processed using an averaging interval of τ ≈ 10 3 s. Therefore, their results are not comparable to ours (see Section V-C for details). Table III lists the standard deviations σ of multiple TIC implementations capable of 1 PPS measurement, mostly taken from a comparison published by Szplet et al [19]. The performance of our SDR system is comparable to that of FPGA-borne solutions (same order of magnitude).…”

Section: Comparison With Dmtd Tic and Sdr Systemsmentioning

confidence: 94%

High-Precision Measurement of Sine and Pulse Reference Signals Using Software-Defined Radio

Andrich

Ihlow

Bauer

et al. 2018

IEEE Trans. Instrum. Meas.

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This paper addresses simultaneous, high-precision measurement and analysis of generic reference signals by using inexpensive commercial off-the-shelf Software Defined Radio hardware. Sine reference signals are digitally down-converted to baseband for the analysis of phase deviations. Hereby, we compare the precision of the fixed-point hardware Digital Signal Processing chain with a custom Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) x86 floating-point implementation. Pulse reference signals are analyzed by a software trigger that precisely locates the time where the slope passes a certain threshold. The measurement system is implemented and verified using the Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) N210 by Ettus Research LLC. Applying standard 10 MHz and 1 PPS reference signals for testing, a measurement precision (standard deviation) of 0.36 ps and 16.6 ps is obtained, respectively. In connection with standard PC hardware, the system allows long-term acquisition and storage of measurement data over several weeks. A comparison is given to the Dual Mixer Time Difference (DMTD) and Time Interval Counter (TIC), which are state-of-the-art measurement methods for sine and pulse signal analysis, respectively. Furthermore, we show that our proposed USRP-based approach outperforms measurements with a high-grade Digital Sampling Oscilloscope.

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Section: Comparison With Dmtd Tic and Sdr Systemsmentioning

confidence: 94%

High-Precision Measurement of Sine and Pulse Reference Signals Using Software-Defined Radio

Andrich

Ihlow

Bauer

et al. 2018

IEEE Trans. Instrum. Meas.

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“…Hamamatsu HH11870, which provides a pulse of amplitude 2.2 V and width 9 ns for each detected photon, with a pulse pair resolution of 18 ns) can be directly fed to a digital input of a slave and counted by the local FPGA, since the time resolution is smaller than the input pulses duration. The time resolution can be further improved to the 100 ps level by using a Vernier delay line within the FPGA 16 . However, in such situation the delay line can suffer from possible instabilities of the power supply, which can arise if other outputs of the FPGA are concurrently used.…”

Section: A Focus On the Slave Module Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

A scalable hardware and software control apparatus for experiments with hybrid quantum systems

Perego

Pomponio

Detti

et al. 2018

Review of Scientific Instruments

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Modern experiments with fundamental quantum systems -like ultracold atoms, trapped ions, single photons -are managed by a control system formed by a number of input/output electronic channels governed by a computer. In hybrid quantum systems, where two or more quantum systems are combined and made to interact, establishing an efficient control system is particularly challenging due to the higher complexity, especially when each single quantum system is characterized by a different timescale. Here we present a new control apparatus specifically designed to efficiently manage hybrid quantum systems. The apparatus is formed by a network of fast communicating Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), the action of which is administrated by a software. Both hardware and software share the same tree-like structure, which ensures a full scalability of the control apparatus. In the hardware, a master board acts on a number of slave boards, each of which is equipped with an FPGA that locally drives analog and digital input/output channels and radiofrequency (RF) outputs up to 400 MHz. The software is designed to be a general platform for managing both commercial and home-made instruments in a user-friendly and intuitive Graphical User Interface (GUI). The architecture ensures that complex control protocols can be carried out, such as performing of concurrent commands loops by acting on different channels, the generation of multi-variable error functions and the implementation of self-optimization procedures. Although designed for managing experiments with hybrid quantum systems, in particular with atom-ion mixtures, this control apparatus can in principle be used in any experiment in atomic, molecular, and optical physics.

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“…The generator was placed in a climatic chamber PL-2J (ESPEC). The short TIs between START and STOP pulses (≤ 10 µs) were measured using a DSA90804A oscilloscope (Keysight) [25] and the longer ones with the use of a newly developed precise time interval counter with a precision even as low as 3 ps [26]. Both the TIG and the counter were driven by two separate rubidium generators FS725 (Stanford Research Systems).…”

Section: Test Setupmentioning

confidence: 99%

5 ps Jitter Programmable Time Interval/Frequency Generator

Kwiatkowski

Różyc

Sawicki

et al. 2017

Metrology and Measurement Systems

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A new time interval/frequency generator with a jitter below 5 ps is described. The time interval generation mechanism is based on a phase shifting method with the use of a precise DDS synthesizer. The output pulses are produced in a Spartan-6 FPGA device, manufactured by Xilinx in 45 nm CMOS technology. Thorough tests of the phase shifting in a selected synthesizer are performed. The time interval resolution as low as 0.3 ps is achieved. However, the final resolution is limited to 500 ps to maximize precision. The designed device can be used as a source of high precision reference time intervals or a highly stable square wave signal of frequency up to 50 MHz.

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An Eight-Channel 4.5-ps Precision Timestamps-Based Time Interval Counter in FPGA Chip

Cited by 39 publications

References 34 publications

High-Precision Measurement of Sine and Pulse Reference Signals Using Software-Defined Radio

High-Precision Measurement of Sine and Pulse Reference Signals Using Software-Defined Radio

A scalable hardware and software control apparatus for experiments with hybrid quantum systems

5 ps Jitter Programmable Time Interval/Frequency Generator

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