Portable Time Interval Counter with Picosecond Precision

摘要

This paper presents the design, architecture, and operation of a precision time interval and frequency counter made as a small, portable instrument with USB interface. Thanks to the use of advanced time interpolators designed in a CMOS chip, the precision (standard deviation) below 35 ps was obtained at measured time interval from 0 to 200 ms. The frequency can be measured up to 3.5 GHz. The dedicated control software creates a user-friendly and versatile graphic interface in Windows environment.