ION Technical Content
A DDS Clock Measurement Module
| Abstract: | This paper describes a new method for making highresolution phase measurements based on the use of phase control of a direct digital synthesizer (DDS). The technique can be implemented in the form of a small, simple USB-powered module and used to evaluate the performance of precision clocks and oscillators. Evaluation hardware, firmware and software are described that were used to validate the measurement concept, and have led to the development of a low cost module the size of a pack of cards that makes picosecondlevel clock measurements when connected to a 10 MHz reference and a PC via a standard USB serial port interface. The device operates automatically at any frequency between 5 and 15 MHz, has a resolution of 6.1 ps at 10 MHz, and can acquire data at rates of 1 and 100 points/second. It can also be used as an 11 digits/second frequency counter. The module has a noise floor of about 1.3x10-11 at one second that decreases as the averaging time down to a floor below 1x10-15, and it can track frequency changes as large as about 3x10-8 /second. |
| Published in: |
Proceedings of the 47th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting January 25 - 28, 2016 Hyatt Regency Monterey Monterey, California |
| Pages: | 60 - 67 |
| Cite this article: | Riley, W.J., "A DDS Clock Measurement Module," Proceedings of the 47th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting, Monterey, California, January 2016, pp. 60-67. https://doi.org/10.33012/2016.13146 |
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