A 2.9 ps equivalent resolution interpolating time counter based on multiple independent coding lines

Abstract

We present the design, operation and test results of a time counter that has an equivalent resolution of 2.9 ps, a measurement uncertainty at the level of 6 ps, and a measurement range of 10 s. The time counter has been implemented in a general-purpose reprogrammable device Spartan-6 (Xilinx). To obtain both high precision and wide measurement range the counting of periods of a reference clock is combined with a two-stage interpolation within a single period of the clock signal. The interpolation involves a four-phase clock in the first interpolation stage (FIS) and an equivalent coding line (ECL) in the second interpolation stage (SIS). The ECL is created as a compound of independent discrete time coding lines (TCL). The number of TCLs used to create the virtual ECL has an effect on its resolution. We tested ECLs made from up to 16 TCLs, but the idea may be extended to a larger number of lines. In the presented time counter the coarse resolution of the counting method equal to 2 ns (period of the 500 MHz reference clock) is firstly improved fourfold in the FIS and next even more than 400 times in the SIS. The proposed solution allows us to overcome the technological limitation in achievable resolution and improve the precision of conversion of integrated interpolators based on tapped delay lines.