Research project
FPGA-based Time-to-Digital Converters
High-precision time measurements in the picosecond range are essential in various industrial and scientific applications. Applications range from Time-of-Flight (ToF) in LiDAR systems to Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM). The central element of such time measurements is the time-to-digital converter (TDC), which is able to capture the time difference between a start signal and one or more stop signals and convert it into a digital value.
Thanks to the in-depth knowledge at IMES of the structure and physical behavior of FPGAs, the TDCs could be optimized for each specific architecture in terms of their positioning within the FPGA and with regard to nonlinearities. Various correction algorithms also enable internal real-time calibration of the TDCs directly in the FPGA and allow for temperature-stable operation.
Team:
Prof. Dr. Paul Zbinden
IMES Institut für Mikroelektronik, Embedded Systems und SensorikProfessor für Mikroelektronik, Institutsleiter IMES
+41 58 257 45 84paul.zbinden@ost.ch
