Prototype development of a three-stage, high-precision, low-jitter, wide-range digital delay generator fully...

Area of Science:

• Digital electronics
• FPGA-based systems
• Precision timing instrumentation

Background:

• Accurate time delay generation is crucial for various scientific and engineering applications.
• Existing solutions often face limitations in precision, jitter, or implementation complexity.
• Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) offer a flexible platform for high-speed digital signal processing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and implement a high-precision, low-jitter Digital Delay Generator (DDG) prototype.
• To leverage FPGA internal resources for a simplified and adaptable solution.
• To characterize the performance of the DDG, particularly its delay resolution and jitter.

Main Methods:

• Developed a DDG architecture integrating an embedded Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC) and Multi-stage Time Interpolation (MTI) delay logic.
• Utilized FPGA's built-in resources for all components, including an automatically calibrated TDC.
• Analyzed factors affecting delay jitter in external trigger mode to optimize design choices.

Main Results:

• Achieved a delay resolution as fine as 20 picoseconds (ps).
• Demonstrated a low peak-to-peak jitter of 105 ps (20 ps root mean square) in externally triggered mode.
• The prototype relies solely on FPGA internal resources, simplifying implementation.

Conclusions:

• The FPGA-based DDG prototype successfully meets high-precision and low-jitter requirements.
• The innovative combination of TDC and MTI within an FPGA offers a versatile solution for precise timing control.
• This design is adaptable for various applications requiring accurate delay generation.