US 8,543,356 B2Granted

Low cost multi-channel data acquisition system

AssigneeNational Institute of Standards and Technology

InventorsAlan Lee Migdall, Serery Polykov, Sae Woo Nam

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Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide an inexpensive and fast pulse characterization platform capable of real time operation, suitable for acquisition of single-photon data. Embodiments of the present invention include both a digital multi-channel data acquisition instrument and an analog pulse acquisition instrument suitable for a wide range of applications in physics laboratories. An FPGA performs multi-channel acquisition in real time, time stamps single events, and determines if the events fit a predetermined signature, which causes the events to be categorized as a coincidence. The indications of coincidences are then communicated to a host computer for further processing as desired.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A system for multi-channel acquisition, comprising:

at least one host processor having at least one user interface, said host processor configured to accept user input to define signature events and user selected time intervals;
more than two acquisition channels, each of said more than two acquisition channels configured to detect similar or dissimilar events defined by a user as said signature events;
a user configurable processor comprising at least one field programmable gate array (FPGA) device to rapidly reconfigure sets of said acquisition channels from which input is received;
the user configurable processor configured to correlate said signature events detected by each of said more than two acquisition channels to identify coincidences occurring within said user selected time intervals, each of said more than two acquisition channels configured to detect one or multiple signature events one after another or simultaneously without requiring a fixed delay to be added to any of said more than two acquisitions channels;
wherein said user configurable processor further includes a processing component configured to identify said coincidences by
identifying a plurality predetermined sequences of events within said coincidences,
identifying a plurality predetermined time bins, and
associating said one or more predetermined sequences of events within said coincidences with one or more of said plurality of time bins to identify overlapping subsets of signature events within two or more coincidences;
a memory component which stores data about coincidences and said signature events on which said coincidences are based and wherein the user configurable processor correlates said signature events to detect multiple types of coincidences with overlapping signature events that occur within said user defined time interval;
a multi-coincidence detector configured to identify a user defined subset of signature events from one or more coincidences and report the identification of said user defined subset of signature events to said host processor;
and
wherein each of said more than two acquisition channels further includes at least one trigger component operatively coupled with an internal clock configured using field programmable gate array circuitry.

9 more elements

A system for multi-channel acquisition, comprising:

a host processor;
an exciter, configured and disposed to excite a physical system with electromagnetic energy, thereby causing the physical system to emit photons;
a plurality of sensors, each sensor configured to generate a pulse signal upon detection of a photon corresponding to a single event of the physical system;
a user configurable processor, the user configurable processor comprising:
a plurality of acquisition channels, each channel configured to detect the pulse signals from one of the plurality of sensors one after another or simultaneously without requiring a fixed delay to be added to any of said plurality of acquisition channels;
at least one field programmable gate array (FPGA) to rapidly reconfigure sets of said acquisition channels from which input is received;
a time stamp module, the time stamp module configured to generate time bins and assign to the appropriate time bin each of the pulse signals corresponding to the plurality of single events on each of the acquisition channels;
a multi-coincidence detector, configured to generate a signal if a detected pattern of single events on the plurality of acquisition channels within said time bins coincides with a specified pattern of single events;
a parameter memory configured to store data about coincidences and said specified pattern of single events;
and
a communications bus configured to allow data communication between the host processor and the user configurable processor.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/354,516Filed 15 Jan 2009 · us provisional application
Priority: 24 Jan 2008
Published: US 2011/0178774 A121 Jul 2011
Granted: 24 Sep 2013
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

H03K 19/21
Characterised by logic function, e.g. AND, OR, NOR, NOT circuits: eXCLUSIVE-OR circuits, i.e. giving output if input signal exists at only one…
G01S 7/41
Of systems according to group G01S13/00: using analysis of echo signal for target characterisation; Target signature; Target cross-section
H04J 3/0644
Clock or time synchronisation among nodes; Internode synchronisation: external master-clock
H03K
Pulse technique

Family

Application61/023,282Us provisional application · filed 24 Jan 2008
US 2011/0178774 A1Pre-grant publication · published 21 Jul 2011
US 8,543,356 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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