An averaging mode time-to-amplitude converter with picosecond resolution

Author

Koskinen, Markku ; Kostamovaara, Juha

Author_Institution

Noptel Ltd., Oulu, Finland

Volume

42

Issue

4

fYear

1993

fDate

8/1/1993 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

866

Lastpage

870

Abstract

A time-to-amplitude converter (TAC) meant to be employed in pulsed time-of-flight (TOF) laser rangefinding and capable of operating at a very high pulse repetition rate (PRR) is described. It is based on a precise time interval between the emitted light pulses and measures the phase difference of the logic-level pulse trains formed by timing pulses derived from the transmitted and received light pulses. The fast part of the TAC is constructed by means of ECL 100 K circuits. Test results indicate that the TAC is well suited for fast, millimeter-level resolution applications, and a full width at half maximum (FWHM) resolution of 1.0 ps is achieved with a 5-MHz pulse repetition rate and 0.1-Hz-10-kHz measurement bandwidth

Keywords

convertors; counting circuits; laser ranging; signal processing equipment; time measurement; 0.1 Hz to 10 kHz; 5 MHz; ECL 100 K circuits; averaging mode time-to-amplitude converter; logic-level pulse trains; phase difference; picosecond resolution; precise time interval; pulsed time of flight laser rangefinder; time interval measurement; time-to-amplitude converter; timing pulses; Accuracy; Calibration; Frequency; Hardware; Isolators; Measurement standards; Microwave theory and techniques; Reflection; Scattering parameters; Wideband;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Instrumentation and Measurement, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9456

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/19.234500

Filename

234500