High Resolution Time Interval Generation Technology And Application

Time interval generation technology is widely used in time measurement,aerospace,biomedicine,particle physics experiments and other fields.With the development of technology,the time interval resolution of signal generation is more and more demanding.There is an inseparable relationship between time interval generation technology and time interval measurement technology.On the one hand,the generated high-resolution interval signal can effectively verify the resolution index of the interval measuring instrument;on the other hand,the high-resolution interval measuring instrument can also measure and correct the output error of the interval signal generator.In this paper,a time interval generation system with a resolution of picosecond level is designed based on multistage time interpolation method,and the calibration of the time interval measuring instrument is completed by using this system.The main research contents include:1.Study the principle of high-resolution time interval signal generation,compare the pros and cons of different signal generation technologies,and combine actual needs to give a project plan,which has a wide adjustable range while ensuring the high-resolution foundation.2.Completed the modular design of the hardware system,including the low-jitter phase-locked clock module,the logic control module with FPGA as the main body,the time interpolation circuit module,the system temperature acquisition module and the variable pulse width signal generation module.FPGA not only accepts the commands of the host computer to complete the control of the system,but also plays a role in expanding the range of output interval signals.3.Completes the design of digital system and control software,the system realizes the information exchange with the upper computer through the way of serial communication.The system control software has a friendly operation interface,which can easily adjust the time interval of the output signal.4.Research the error source of the output signal,analyze the influence of noise on the time jitter of the output signal,and establish a jitter model.Analyze the nonlinearity of the system,fit the nonlinear curve through a suitable model and correct it.Establish a delay drift model,optimize the design and improve output drift on this basis.5.Apply the time interval signal generation system to a high-resolution time measuring instrument to complete the test and verification of the instrument’s resolution index.Finally,the time interval resolution of the signal generated by the designed time interval generator is as high as 2ps,and the maximum delay range is as high as 50 ms,which meets the design requirements.