[time-nuts] High rate, high precision/accuracy time interval, counter methods

[Dan Kemppainen]

Hi,

I've looked at the higher end TDC from ACAM. They claim a 40Mhz data 
rate, with burst of 200Mhz max. However it wasn't clear what the maximum 
sustained rate would really be. Answers became a little obscure when 
pressed for maximum sustained data rates. Overall the chips weren't 
horribly expensive considering what you get.

http://www.acam.de/products/time-to-digital-converters/tdc-gpx/

Do keep us posed if you come up with something that works at 20Mhz or 
30Mhz rate. I still have a possible application for something like that.

Dan


On 5/3/2016 12:00 PM, time-nuts-request at febo.com wrote:
> Message: 16
> Date: Tue, 3 May 2016 14:31:17 +0200
> From: Attila Kinali<attila at kinali.ch>
> To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement
> 	<time-nuts at febo.com>
> Subject: [time-nuts] High rate,	high precision/accuracy time interval
> 	counter methods
> Message-ID:<20160503143117.3d9c9144e22fc3b5305f4c82 at kinali.ch>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
>
> Hi,
>
> We had here a discussion about measuring events (ie time stamping
> them precisely) with high rates. As some of you know, Javier and
> his group, Bruce and me are working on a system that should give
> us something better than 10ps (my guess is that we should get close
> to 1ps) at a rate of (guestimated) 1MHz per channel. (Based on the
> excitation of a LC tank and measuring the ring-down/phase with an ADC).
>
> As it is with researches, we want the moon, and prossible even more.
> So we were talking about getting the measurement rate up even higher,
> to 10MHz and if possible 50MHz with the same precision. The above
> approche will not work above 1MHz. Using different filters it might
> be possible to get it up to maybe 10MHz, but it would be an awkward
> design at best.
>
> The only methods I am aware of (and could find) that achieve such high
> rates are those, based on (vernier) delay lines (and their equivalent
> ring oscillator ones) in ASICs. But this means that a costly ASIC needs
> to be produced.
>
> Does someone know of other methods that could achieve high measurements
> rates with better than 10ps precision/accuracy? (This question is mostly
> a hypothetical question out of interest, I don't plan to build one...yet:-)
>
> 			Attila Kinali