HRM-CFD User Manual
Contents
1. E E E EEE S E 8 GOON EENE EEPO O E I AA T A E N AAE NE 8 H RM CFD Programmable Constant Fraction Discriminator S Q S L sense light USER MANUAL GETTING STARTED Contact and Support For all enquiries please email support sensl com Supporting documentation can be found on the SensL website at www sensl com documentation Downloadable copies of the HRM CFD software and firmware updates can be found at www sensl com support sw Unpacking the System and Preparing for Use Contents of the package e HRM CFD Module e Power Supply with country specific adapter e USB cable Safety Considerations 1 Only use the power supply supplied with the HRM CFD module 2 The power supply should be disconnected from the mains supply when the module is not in use 3 The module is not intended for outdoor use 4 The power supply should not be opened nor should the module covers be removed at any time as there are no user adjustable components or settings except via the SensL software 5 Liquids should not be spilled on or into the module HRM CEFD Programmable Constant Fraction Discriminator S o S L sense light USER MANUAL SYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS AND SPECIFICATIONS No of channels 2 Input and output connectors SMA Output level LVTTL Input impedance 509 Input polarity Positive OR Negative Input protection Over current protected Power consumption lt 6W Power supply Mains cable provided Weight 930g Dimensions 179 x 112. 8 x 86 mm Temperature range Operating O C to 50 C Storage 20 C to 70 C Table 1 General parameters Delay line value selection Ins 1 1ns 1 5ns 1 6ns Fraction selection 15 25 35 60 Internal bandwidth 750MHz Internal amplifier gain range 0 6x 500x 8 bit resolution Time walk lt 50ps over 10 1 typical Time jitter lt 20ps FWHM typical Threshold adjustment range O 2 5V 12 bit resolution Threshold LSB 0 61mV Output pulse duration selection 8ns OR 270ns DC offset range O 2 5V 12 bit resolution Table 2 Performance parameters H RM CFD Programmable Constant Fraction Discriminator S C S L sense light USER MANUAL SIGNAL INPUTS AND OUTPUTS 2 x SMA for future development Power Connector USB Connector a Configure Power LED Channel O Channel 1 Signal IN Signal OUT Signal IN Signal OUT Activity LED Activity LED red red Figure 1 Module side panels SYSTEM DESCRIPTION Figures 2a and 2b shows simplified illustrations of how a CFD operates The input signal is split into two parts Comparator INPUT Threshold voltage OUTPUT Crossing point Attenuated signal Fraction Fraction Figure 2a Figure 2b H RM CFD Programmable Constant Fraction Discriminator S T S L sense light USER MANUAL The top section comprises of a comparator that compares the input signal to a threshold voltage This threshold voltage is set to a level that defines
3. D Get File Button This button is used to fill the configuration settings with the configuration file defined by the File drop textbox The File drop control can be used to display and select existing CFD files Upgrade Button This button is used to upgrade the module s firmware with a new version The File drop textbox defines the name of the upgrade file This file is of the form lt filename gt RPD Once the upgrade starts the progress will be indicated by the Upgrade Progress bar NB 1 This procedure must only be carried out under SensL supervision 2 The RPD file MUST be a file provided by SensL 3 The upgrade process takes several minutes to complete Once started do not attempt to cancel this process www sensl com sales sensl com 353 21 240 7110 International 1 650 641 3278 North America sense light All specifications are subject to change without notice
4. HRM CFD Programmable Constant Fraction Discriminator S C S L light USER MANUAL M sense lig 2 Channel USB Programmable CFD Module The SensL HRM CFD provides a solution for picosecond timing with ultra fast detectors This compact rugged and low power instrument features two independent chan nels each with their own 0 75GHz amplifier All settings and adjustments are programmed via USB using the SensL GUI provided which also allows automatic optimization and easy storing of parameters in non volatile memory stored during power off state The HRM CFD is fully compatible with the SensL HRM TDC High Resolution TDC Module This document provides the user with a comprehensive description of the hardware and software of the HRM CFD module CONTENTS Sa TG P carseat nse uadotnn wes anasen ote AE E E E E eas ungded otunama E A seamen T 1 Cula kee e e e erate E T E E EE E EEE T E ee ee E 2 OT 1 OOO E A EAE ie EEE E EE E EE E E EE A EENE 2 Unpacking the System and Preparing fOr US s ssessesnesnernerrerrerrerrerrrrrnrrrrrrrrrrrnrrrrrnrrnrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrne 2 OI SOS OEE A T AA A E E EAE A A EE A A ET 2 System Characternstics and Ss DSCIICATIOMNS waaunnssaasinscntnsidaanecmennnnaadaawahaedamuteateantanntaaasaiaadereewieaanecumaeaagaanmiannnn 3 IO all OS GUS E A E E E EET E E E E E E E 4 Syo SSC NOP aree r R EEE E S 4 S e e a E E E E EE E E E E E 6 SOENE SIN e E E 7 OG N ec gaat PE E ns aie E SE E tani E E S T E E S
5. SB drivers follow these steps 1 Go to www sensl com support sw and download both the HRM CFD Release Note PDF and the HRM CFD Software EXE files 2 Without the module connected to the PC run HRM CFD_Install_XPXX exe where the XPXX denotes the revision number and follow the instructions 3 Once the installer is completed power up the CFD module and connect the USB cable provided between the PC and the CFD module 4 The PC will now detect a new USB device and start the wizard 5 DO NOT let the wizard search for the drivers Direct the wizard to the USB drivers provided These drivers will be in the folder C Program Files SensL HRM CFD crivers 6 Once the USB drivers are installed run the program SensL_CFD exe in the folder C Program Files SensL HRM CFD to start the GUI The folder paths in these instructions assume the default folder for installation was used H RM CFD Programmable Constant Fraction Discriminator S C S L sense light USER MANUAL SOFTWARE DESCRIPTION sensL Technologies CFO Control Panel sensl Quit Connect About Help amp sen Report Counts FILE running Counts Stop Counts File 5 Secs W Enable chano ons Chan1 499 986 KHz CFD Configuration CFD Copy CFD Paste Store Read Jv LEDS ON CDF No zz Threshold voltage Save oss Signal Polarity ve original Signal Otfset Save 0 500 Pulse Width 270s Delayed Signal Offset Save 0 500 Fractio
6. delay to be Ins 1 1ns 1 5ns or 1 6ns Threshold Voltage The threshold voltage is programmable from O to 2 5V Type the voltage value in the Threshold Voltage text box and H RM CFD Programmable Constant Fraction Discriminator S D S L sense light USER MANUAL press the Save button Once saved this value will be used when the CFD configuration is stored Original Signal Offset The DC offset of the original input signal used for the Threshold Comparator is programmable from O to 2 5V Type the voltage value in the Original Signal Offset text box and press the Save button Once saved this value will be used when the CFD configuration is stored Delayed Signal Offset The DC offset of the delayed signal is programmable from O to 2 5V Type the voltage value in the Delayed Signal Offset text box and press the Save button Once saved this value will be used when the CFD configuration is stored Fraction Signal Offset The DC offset of the fraction signal is programmable from O to 2 5V Type the voltage value in the Fraction Signal Offset text box and press the Save button Once saved this value will be used when the CFD configuration is stored Input Amplifier GAIN The gain of the input stage is programmable Use the Input Amplifier GAIN thumbwheel to select the gain from 0 6 to 500 LEDS ON Checkbox This checkbox is used to enable or disable the modules LED indicators This is useful when the module is required to reside in a
7. le for storing the results is defined in the File drop textbox This file is of the form lt filename gt CSV The resulting file will be comma separated This allows the file to be easily imported into a spreadsheet application such as EXCEL Each entry in the file will have an accurate time stamp accurate to 10us of when the reading was taken along with the current count of each channel the change in count since the last reading and the corresponding average frequency of counts since the last reading When the file is being saved the name on this button will change to Stop Counts File This button will revert back to the name Start Counts File when the time in the text box has expired or when the Stop Counts File button is pressed CFD Configuration The CFD Configuration section is used to define the various CFD settings for each channel After changing the various parameters they can be stored in the CFD Alternatively the current settings can be read back from the module CFD No Button Use this button to toggle between the settings of CFD channels O and 1 Signal Polarity Button Use this button to specify the polarity Ve or Ve of the input signal Pulse Width Button The CFD output signal can be programmed to be a short 8ns or long 270ns pulse Use this button to select the desired pulse width Fraction Button Use this button to select the fraction to be 15 25 35 or 60 Delay Button Use this button to select the
8. n 35 Fraction Signal Offset Save 0 500 Delay 11ns input Amplifier GAIN Ps ass Files Upgrade Save File Get File File count caw 25 s0 Ws 100 Upgrade Progress ln Figure 4 The SensL CFD software GUI Quit Button Press this button to QUIT the application Help Button Press this button to display the help file About Button Press this button to display the rev of the GUI and module firmware Connect Button Press this button to connect to establish communication between the CFD module and the host computer via the USB bus If the connection is successful the LED will turn GREEN Report Textbox The Report textbox is used to display status and error messages H RM CFD Programmable Constant Fraction Discriminator S D S L sense light USER MANUAL Counts Once communication is established between the module and the host computer the software will periodically read the count rate of each module and update the count textboxes accordingly The Enable checkbox can be used to enable or disable this process Stop Start Counts File Button The name of this button at start up will be Start Counts File With the Enable checkbox true clicking on this button will command the software to start recording the counts of each channel to file Each measurement will be taken approximately once a second The number of seconds to be recorded is specified in the text box to the right of this button The name of the fi
9. region such as a dark room where the LEDS would interfere with the experiment CFD Copy Button Use this button to save the currently displayed CFD configuration data to temporary memory CFD Paste Button Use this button to overwrite the currently displayed CFD configuration data with the data stored in temporary memory The CFD Copy and CFD Paste buttons are used to easily copy the settings from one CFD to another Store Button Use this button to transfer the CFD configuration data to the module Once this is completed the CFD module will be configured as requested The data will be stored in non volatile memory so that from power up the module will automatically be configured with this data If the LEDS ON Checkbox is set during the Store process the green LED will light up Read Button Use this button to read back the configuration data in the module s non volatile memory back into the GUI When complete the current module s configuration will be displayed in the GUI If the LEDS ON Checkbox is set during the Read process the green LED will light up H RM CFD Programmable Constant Fraction Discriminator S Q S L sense light USER MANUAL Files The Files section is used to save and recall configuration settings and upgrade the modules firmware Save File Button This button is used to save the current configuration settings to a file defined by the File drop textbox The file name must be of the form lt filename gt CF
10. th a delayed CLR is used The output of the threshold comparator is used as a qualifier for the CFD output The delay before clear is selectable allowing either a short 8ns or long 270ns output pulse The configurations of the CFD parameters are programmed by a FPGA controller On power up the controller reads the configuration data from an on board EEPROM and programs the various parameters accordingly Fixed Gain Programmable Gain Amplifier Amplifier 0 06 50 Comparator Polarity Programmable Select DC Offset Enable 4 CFD Input Configuration CFD EEPROM Output Programmable Comparator P Fraction Programmable 15 25 35 or 60 DC Offset Controller Programmable Programmable USB FPGA Delay DC Offset Interface 1 1 1 1 5 or 1 6ns Programmable CFD Count Delay Sns or 270ns Configuration Bus USB Bus Figure 3 The architecture of one of the HRM CFD channels The controller can also communicate to a PC via a USB interface Using the SensL software the user can modify the parameters and store them in the EEPROM Hence the CFD parameters are non volatile Once the user is satisfied with the chosen parameters the USB connection is no longer required The controller will at power up will automatically configure the CFD with the desired settings HRM CFD Programmable Constant Fraction Discriminator S 3 A S L sense light USER MANUAL SOFTWARE INSTALLATION To install the CFD software and U
11. when a useful real signal is arriving at the input The output of this comparator serves as an enable signal to qualify the output of the bottom CFD section of the circuit The bottom section is comprised of a comparator with a delayed version of the input signal and an attenuated version of the input signal as inputs Providing suitable delays and fractions are chosen for the input signal characteristics the delayed signal will cross through the fraction signal at the same point in time regardless of the amplitude of the input signal Figure 3 shows the architecture of one of the two SensL HRM CFD channels Each channel input has a fixed x10 amplifier followed by a programmable amplifier providing an overall amplification of 0 6x to 500x This feature allows the CFD to be used on a wide range of input signal amplitudes The programmable amplifier provides positive and negative outputs The Polarity Select switch allows the CFD to cater for both positive and negative input signals The amplified signal is now fed to the threshold comparator fraction attenuator and delay network The fraction delay and threshold are all programmable via the USB bus Prior to input to the comparators these 3 signals are all passed through a programmable DC offset network These DC offset networks allows the user to raise the working values above the noise level of the system To fix the pulse width of the output rather than use an and gate a D type flip flop wi
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