sensl HRM-TDC User Manual

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

High Resolution Time-to-Digital Converter Module

Document Overview

This document provides the user with a comprehensive description of the hardware and software of the HRMTDC module, including system description, the various timing modes, software GUI and DLL drivers. The document is split up into the following sections:

GETTING STARTED

This section provides instructions for unpacking the HRM-TDC and a brief overview.

SYSTEM DESCRIPTION

This section gives a description of the system hardware, the various ports and communication channels, the internal

processor, and the specic timing features.

SENSL INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENT (SIE)

The SIE is a user interface for setting up and controlling the HRM-TDC module. While the interface provides an extensive range of operating modes and measurement processes, including graphical presentation, it does not fully cover all features available in the HRM-TDC module. This section of the User Manual includes instructions for the installation of the necessary software, and detailed description of each part of the SIE and how to set up and use it.

APPENDIX

The HRM-TDC DLL provides a set of functions that will allow full control of the HRM-TDC for all features. For complex experiments that require control beyond the scope of the SIE, it is expected that the user will write their own real-time application utilizing the various functions in this DLL. The Appendix of the User Manual covers Registers, low level DLL functions, high level DLL functions, DLL error reporting and examples, as well as help and examples for resolving time-tag values,an explanation of the correlation function used and the Labview drivers provided.

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Contents > Getting Started

Contents

Document Overview .................................................................................................................................. 1

Glossary ..................................................................................................................................................... 5

Getting Started .......................................................................................................................................... 6

Contact & Support ................................................................................................................................. 6

Unpacking the System and Preparing for Use ........................................................................................ 6

Safety Considerations ............................................................................................................................ 6

System Installation Procedures .............................................................................................................. 6

Signal Inputs and Outputs ..................................................................................................................... 8

I/O Port Connector Pin Allocation .......................................................................................................... 8

HRM-TDC System Description ................................................................................................................. 9

Block Diagram ....................................................................................................................................... 9

Memory ........................................................................................................................................ 9

Time-to-Digital Converter Module ................................................................................................. 9

High Speed USB 2.0 Interface ...................................................................................................... 9

16-Bit General Purpose I/O Port ................................................................................................... 10

System Processor and Controller .................................................................................................. 10

System Processor and Controller Detailed Description ........................................................................... 10

Command Interpreter.................................................................................................................... 10

DMA to USB Fast Transfer Interface .............................................................................................. 11

Time-Bin and Time-Tag Controller ................................................................................................. 11

Data Router Module ...................................................................................................................... 11

Address Router Module ................................................................................................................ 11

Dual Port Memory Arbiter ............................................................................................................. 11

HRM-TDC Specic Feature Overview .................................................................................................... 12

HISTOGRAM ................................................................................................................................ 13

FIFO ............................................................................................................................................. 13

Histogram – Single-stop (“TCSPC” MODE) ............................................................................................ 14

Histogram – Multi-stop (“Multiscaler/Counter”) ....................................................................................... 15

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Contents > Getting Started

FIFO – Single-stop (“TCSPC - with Macro-Time”) ................................................................................... 16

FIFO – Multi-stop (“FIFO - Time Tagging”) .............................................................................................. 17

SensL Integrated Environment (SIE) ........................................................................................................ 18

System Requirements ............................................................................................................................ 18

Installation ............................................................................................................................................. 18

Using the SensL Integrated Environment (SIE) ....................................................................................... 19

Main Page .................................................................................................................................... 19

Module Information ....................................................................................................................... 19

“HISTOGRAM –TCSPC” (Histogram Single-stop) .......................................................................... 20

“HISTOGRAM – Multi-scaler” (Histogram Multi-stop) .................................................................... 22

“FIFO – TCSPC with MACRO time” (FIFO Single-stop) .................................................................. 23

“FIFO – Time Tagging” (FIFO – Multi-stop) ..................................................................................... 26

Correlation .................................................................................................................................... 30

Appendix ................................................................................................................................................... 32

HRM-TDC Registers and Low Level DLL Functions ............................................................................... 32

Initialization Low Level Drivers ....................................................................................................... 32

ARR – Address Route Register ..................................................................................................... 33

DRR – Data Route Register ........................................................................................................... 35

LAL, LAH – Load Address LO/HI Register ..................................................................................... 36

LFL, LFH – Load Fill Value LO/HI Register ..................................................................................... 37

UAL, UAH – Load Address LO/HI Register ................................................................................... 37

MBR – Mode Bits Register ............................................................................................................ 38

ESR – Edge Sensitivity Register .................................................................................................... 39

RRR – Routing Reset Register ....................................................................................................... 40

MCL, MCH – Memory Count LO/HI Register ................................................................................ 40

FSR – Frequency Select Register .................................................................................................. 41

IDR – I/O Direction Register .......................................................................................................... 41

IVR – I/O Value Register ................................................................................................................ 41

BCL, BCH – Bin Count LO/HI Register ......................................................................................... 42

UCL, UCH – USB Count HI/LO Register ....................................................................................... 42

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Contents > Getting Started

HRS, HRM-TDC Status Register ................................................................................................... 43

PCR – Product Code Register ...................................................................................................... 44

SRR – Software Revision Register ................................................................................................. 44

MIR – Module ID 1, 2, 3, 4 Register .............................................................................................. 44

WCH – Write Count HI Register .................................................................................................... 45

WCL – Write Count LO Register .................................................................................................... 45

Non-Register Specic Low Level Drivers ....................................................................................... 46

High Level DLL Functions ...................................................................................................................... 48

DLL Error Reporting ............................................................................................................................... 56

DLL Application Examples ..................................................................................................................... 57

Resolving Free Running FIFO Time-Tag Values ...................................................................................... 66

Free Running Algorithm Explained ................................................................................................. 66

Resync Algorithm Explained .......................................................................................................... 68

Correlation Function Algorithm ............................................................................................................... 70

Labview Driver details ............................................................................................................................ 71

HRM-TDC LabView Driver VI List .................................................................................................. 71

Sample LabView Application ......................................................................................................... 84

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Glossary > Getting Started

Glossary

Here are words and phrases used in this user manual in relation to the HRM-TDC module.

SIE - SensL Integrated Environment - the GUI that runs on the SensL DLL and provides an example

program allowing the user to make measurements with the HRM-TDC.

LSB - Least Signicant Bit: The right most bit in a binary integer, and in the case of the HRM-TDC

it determines the minimum timing resolution possible.

Histogram - The use of consecutive memory locations to store counts that represent points on a graph.

Each memory location represents a time range that can be specied via software, down to

the LSB value of the HRM-TDC (27ps).

FIFO - First In, First Out: in the HRM-TDC, timing data can be stored in memory before being

downloaded to the PC. FIFO is analogous to putting the data into a queue in memory,

whereby the rst loaded in, will also be the rst downloaded to the PC.

TCSPC - Time Correlated Single Photon Counting: A technique used to study properties of molecules

by exciting with a laser source and measuring the subsequent relaxation time through the acquisition of lifetime curves.

Time bin - The time interval covered by one memory location in one of the HRM-TDC’s Histogram

modes.

Time Tag - The timing value recorded between a START of a STOP signal, in one of the HRM-TDC’s

FIFO modes.

Curve - The data resulting from one of the HRM-TDCs histogramming modes.

Micro time - The timing value between a START signal and any given STOP signal in FIFO single-stop

(TCSPC) mode. In the FIFO multi-stop (time-tagging) mode, it refers to the value of the highresolution TDC when the event occured.

Macro time - The time elapsed since the experiment began in FIFO single-stop (TCSPC) mode. In FIFO

multi-stop (time-tagging) mode, it refers to the the coarse timer that, used in conjunction with the micro-time, allows the user to determine the absolute time of the event.

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Getting Started > Contact & Support

Getting Started

CONTACT & 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 SensL HRM-TDC software and release note can be found at

www.sensl.com/support/sw/

UNPACKING THE SYSTEM AND PREPARING FOR USE

Unpack the contents and identify each of the components.

• HRM-TDC Module

• Power Supply, with country specic connector

• USB cable

SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS

1. Only use the power supply supplied with the HRM-TDC 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 Integrated Environment Software.

5. Liquids should not be spilled on or into the module.

SYSTEM INSTALLATION PROCEDURES

For software driver and SensL Integrated Environment installation instructions see the SIE User Guide on page 18 of this document.

Please follow the instructions carefully and ensure you have installed the QuickUSB drivers as instructed.

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Getting Started > System Installation Procedures

SYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS AND SPECIFICATIONS

Dimensions 164mm (L) x 96mm (W) x 34 mm (H)

Weight 680g

Power +5V @ 0.65 A

Temperature Operating: 0°C to +50°C

Storage: -20°C to +70°C

Specications

Number of channels per module 4 Time channels per curve 1 to 4,194,304 Number of curves in memory 1 to 4,194,304 Input voltage range LVTTL (5V TTL tolerant) START/STOP channels input impedance 51kW Minimum input pulse width 6ns Minimum Time/Channel 27ps Histogram/channel depth 65,535 or 4,294,967,295 bits (16 or 32 bits) Dead time 190ns Saturated count rate 4.5MHz Usable count rate 9MHz * Burst rate timing Up to 100MHz (Mode dependent) Macro Timing resolution Down to 5ns Memory size 8Mbytes Memory format Dual ported linear or dual ported FIFO (mode

dependent)

Readout during operation Fully dual-ported memory (no stop start operation

required) Multi detector operation Up to 4 Multi module operation Number depends on USB capability of PC I/O control 16 fully programmable I/O ports Software SensL Integrated Environment (SIE) and DLL

drivers PC Interface High speed USB 2.0

* Useful count rate is maximum count rate without loss of greater than 50%

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Getting Started > Signal Inputs And Outputs

SIGNAL INPUTS AND OUTPUTS

L K

ABCD

JIEFGH

Figure 1 HRM-TDC ports and connectors labelled

A Channel 0 Start Input (SMA LVTTL*) B Channel 0 Stop Input (SMA LVTTL*)

C Channel 1 Start Input (SMA LVTTL*) D Channel 1 Stop Input (SMA LVTTL*)

E Channel 2 Start Input (SMA LVTTL*) F Channel 2 Stop Input (SMA LVTTL*)

G Channel 3 Start Input (SMA LVTTL*) H Channel 3 Stop Input (SMA LVTTL*)

I USB connector J LEMO power supply connector (for SensL PSU use only)

K 26-way I/O port connector L Programmable Clock output (SMA LVTTL 50W)

* 5V TTL tolerant

I/O PORT CONNECTOR PIN ALLOCATION

Pins 1 to 16: I/O ports 0 to 15 respectively Pin 17: Test clock signal ENABLE (LO to disable test clocks) Pin 18 to 22: Test clock signals (outputs) Pin 23, 24: +5v Pin 25, 26: Ground

HRM-TDC

Data

Control

Start 0

Stop 0

High Speed 2.0

USB Interface

Time to Digital

Converter Module

Time to Digital

Converter Module

Time to Digital

Converter Module

Time to Digital

Converter Module

Memory

(8 MB)

16-bit General

Purpose

I/O Port LVTTL

System Processor

and

Controller (FPGA)

Start 1

Stop 1

Start 2

Stop 2

Start 3

Stop 3

USER MANUAL

> Hrm-tdc System Description > Block Diagram

HRM-TDC System Description

BLOCK DIAGRAM

The HRM-TDC system consists of 4 ‘time-to-digital’ modules (each having a START and a STOP input), 16 I/O ports, a high speed USB interface, memory storage and an FPGA based processor, as depicted in Fig. 2. The purpose of each element is as follows:

Memory

The memory module is an HRM-TDC format plug-in mezzanine board providing 8 Mbytes of memory.

Time-to-Digital Converter Module

This module is the front end of the system and is responsible for resolving the timing between the START and STOP inputs of each of up to four channels. Each channel is controlled by the FPGA and can be programmed to start and stop on either LO-HI or HI-LO transitions.

Figure 2 An overview of the HRM-TDC operation

High Speed USB 2.0 Interface

The USB interface is used to command/congure the HRM-TDC as well as download, in real-time, timing data to the

host computer. This USB interface implements high speed USB 2.0 protocol allowing real time continuous logging of timing data up to rates of 4.5MHz without data loss.

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Hrm-tdc System Description > System Processor And Controller Detailed Description

16-Bit General Purpose I/O Port

This general purpose I/O port is used to allow multi-dimensional curve readings. The position of curve data, within

the system memory, can be dened by these ports. These ports can be set directly by outside control lines (inputs)

or by software to drive outside equipment (outputs).

System Processor and Controller

The ‘System Processor/Controller’ is responsible for implementing all the functionality of the HRM-TDC module. This module decodes commands from the USB and executes the timing function accordingly. All results are saved in memory as either time-bins for curve measurements or time-tags for continuous recording. In this latter mode

the memory is congured as a large FIFO to allow continuous downloading of time-tag data up to rates of 4.5MHz.

SYSTEM PROCESSOR AND CONTROLLER DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figure 3 Overview of the system processor and controller

Command Interpreter

This module is responsible for receiving a set of commands from the host computer and controlling the system

accordingly. HRM-TDC is a fully programmable system with a wide range of parameters that can be user dened.

The Command Interpreter is responsible for setting these parameters and starting the execution of a particular task.

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Hrm-tdc System Description > System Processor And Controller Detailed Description

DMA to USB Fast Transfer Interface

The system memory is dual ported between the USB and the Time-Bin/Time-Tag controller. This module controls the reading of data from memory to the USB interface by means of high speed DMA block transfers. The Command Interpreter initializes this module with a start address and block data count. When commanded to start, this module interfaces with the Dual Port Memory Arbiter to read the pre-programmed data block. The rate of this process is such that data can be transferred from the memory to the USB port as fast as required. This allows the USB 2.0 high speed interface to operate at full speed without loss of data.

Time-Bin and Time-Tag Controller

This module is responsible for carrying out the particular Time-Tag or Time-Bin process as dened by the Command

Interpreter. This module communicates with the Timing Modules and saves the results of the measurements in the dual ported memory. The format of these results is determined by the mode of operation. In time-bin mode, this module will use the time information from the Timing Modules to determine the particular bin to be incremented. In time-tag mode this module will treat the memory as a large FIFO, saving time-tag data in consecutive locations. The format of the time-tag data is determined by the Data Router Module.

Data Router Module

The Data Router Module is a complex programmable multiplexer that allows any of a wide range of inputs to be routed to any of the 32 memory data bits. In time-bin mode this module is bypassed to allow the Time-Bin and Time-Tag Controller to directly access the memory for the purpose of incrementing time-bins. In Time-Tag mode this module determines the format of the time-tag data. The Command Interpreter presets the routing of this module

to dene which bits of the time-tag are Time-Tag data (both Micro and Macro) from the Time-Bin and Time-Tag

Controller and I/O data from external equipments.

Address Router Module

The Address Router Module is a complex programmable multiplexer that allows any of a wide range of inputs, plus an internal address counter, to be routed to any of the memory address lines. In time-tag mode this module will normally be programmed to present the internal address counter bits as the memory address. The internal address counter automatically increments after each memory write, creating a FIFO type interface. In time-bin mode the Command Interpreter presets the routing of this module to a mix of the address counter, time-tag data and I/O data. Routing the time-tag data to the address will create a range of consecutive bins separated by the time resolution of

the LSB. The address counter bits can be used to dene the base address of a particular curve whilst the I/O data

can be used by external equipments to move the curve for multi-dimensional measurements.

Dual Port Memory Arbiter

This module controls the data transfers to/from system memory to the USB and Time-Bin/Time-Tag Controller. Each port presents an address, direction (R/W) and request signal. This module detects the particular request, carries out the memory access and directs the data to/from the requesting port at the requested address.

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Hrm-tdc System Description > Hrm-tdc Specic Feature Overview

HRM-TDC TYPICAL APPLICATION

Figure 4 Example application using the HRM-TDC

Note: Figure 4 shows a typical application setup utilizing a wide range of the HRM-TDC features. In this example the experiment is a TCSPC application where a LASER is stimulated by a clock and the time before a photon is detected

is measured. The LASER is continually pulsed at a xed frequency (typically 50MHz). The LASER output will affect a

setup resulting in a photon arriving at the APD Detector such as the SensL PCDMiniSL. It is assumed that the rate of photons arriving at the APD is far less than the rate of the LASER pulses. As a photon is not guaranteed for each cycle of the LASER, the system will use the photon event as the start of the TCSPC process and a delayed version

of the LASER pulse as the stop signal. This technique avoids countless dead cycles and simplies the associated

electronics required for recording the events.

The HRM-TDC module measures and records the time delay between clock and photon from the experiment and uploads the results, in real time, to the host computer via the USB interface. In some cases the experiment will involve multiple TCSPC curve measurements as the experiment changes the settings of external equipment. The programmable I/O of the HRM-TDC module is used to cater for such applications. The external equipment, such as a microscope, can indicate its X,Y movement to the HRM-TDC module allowing multiple curves to be measured. Alternatively, the HRM-TDC module can be programmed as outputs to control the external equipment and cause the actual X,Y positioning of the equipment.

HRM-TDC SPECIFIC FEATURE OVERVIEW

The exibility of the HRM-TDC allows it to be used in a variety of modes. The following are examples of how the SIE

software utilizes the START and STOP signals in different ways to cater for different applications.

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Hrm-tdc System Description > Hrm-tdc Specic Feature Overview

HISTOGRAM

Histogram modes use consecutive memory locations to store counts that represent points on a graph. These memory locations or time bins are incremented based on the value of a time measurement. Each memory location represents a time range equal to the resolution of the timer. Within the HISTOGRAM category there are two distinct modes of operation, single-stop and multi-stop.

Single-stop histogram

Following a START event, the rst stop event is measured and the corresponding time bin is incremented. This is repeated to build up a histogram (curve) in memory showing the distribution of 1st events following a start input. This mode is also referred to as “TCSPC” mode due to its application in Time Correlated Single Photon Counting.

Multi-stop histogram

Following a START event, all stop events are measured and their corresponding time bins incremented. The next START input will reset the timer and the following events processed again. This is repeated to build up a histogram in memory showing the distribution of STOP events following a START input. This mode is also referred to as “Multiscaler/Counter” mode.

FIFO

FIFO modes continually record the timing of events and save the results in consecutive locations in memory. When

the last location in memory is lled, if not commanded to stop, the module continues to record data starting at the

beginning of memory again. The host PC, via the USB interface, keeps up in time with the module, reading the data

from memory to a le in the host computer. Hence the memory can be regarded as a very large FIFO. Providing the host PC can keep up with the module, timing data can be recorded indenitely. Within the FIFO category there are

two distinct modes of operation, single-stop and multi-stop.

Single-stop FIFO

In this mode the module carries out the single-stop histogram process as described previously. However, along with the single-stop measurement, the information stored in the FIFO also has a MACRO time that denes what time during the experiment the timing measurement was made. This mode is also referred to as “TCSPC with Macro time”.

Multi-stop FIFO

This mode is also referred to as “FIFO time tagging” and offers 2 options:

Free Running:

Using this option the process is started with a single start pulse. The module will then ll the memory with time tags dening the time of each stop event with relation to the initial single start pulse. Any further Start inputs will

be ignored.

Resync:

This option uses a 250KHz clock output from the module as the Start input. The clock continuously resynchronizes the module to eliminate long term drift between channels. This is the preferred method when it is required to compare the data from more than one channel.

HRM-TDC

Fig.1c

USER MANUAL

> Hrm-tdc System Description > Histogram – Single-stop (“tcspc” Mode)

HISTOGRAM – SINGLE-STOP (“TCSPC” MODE)

Figure 5

Histogram modes use consecutive memory locations to store counts that represent successive timing values (Fig.5a). These memory locations or “time bins” are incremented based on the result of a time measurement between a

START and the rst STOP received. In this single-stop mode, this is repeated to build up a histogram in memory showing the distribution of rst events (STOPs) following a START input. This process is illustrated in Fig.5b and

Fig.5c, and an example GUI data plot is shown in Fig.5d. Data is saved to the PC in .CSV format. This mode is also referred to as ‘TCSPC’ in the SIE, due to its application in Time Correlated Single Photon Counting.

Note: In this mode the START of each channel will be the event and the STOP will be a delayed version of the LASER clock. On receipt of an event the timing value will be read and then the timing module will immediately be reset. The reset will clear the channel ready for the next event. Each time-stamp from the timing module will be used as an address to increment a memory location (time-bin). The resolution of the bins and the position of the curve in

memory will be dened by the highly exible Address Routing Module. The timing value, address counter and I/O bits can all be routed to the memory address lines. This exibility allows many options, from a simple single curve to multiple curves dened by the address counter and external control from the I/O port.

Min Time Bin Size: 27ps Max Time Bin Size: 143ms Max No. Time Bins: 4,194,304 Time Bin Depth: 65,536 or 4,294,967,296 Max Count Rate: 4.5Mcps Max Image Size: 2048 x 4096

HRM-TDC

Fig.2b

USER MANUAL

> Hrm-tdc System Description > Histogram – Multi-stop (“multiscaler/counter”)

HISTOGRAM – MULTI-STOP (“MULTISCALER/COUNTER”)

Figure 6

In this mode, multiple STOP events following a single START event are recorded and their corresponding time bins in the histogram incremented (Fig.6a). The following START input will reset the timer and the following STOP events will be again recorded until another START is received. The process is illustrated in Fig.6b and Fig.6c. This is repeated to build up a histogram in memory. Data is saved in .CSV format. The GUI will display a plot similar to that in Fig.5d. This mode is also referred to as “Multiscaler/Counter” in the SIE. Please note that FIFO is not employed in this mode.

The Td (dead time) parameter is applicable in histogram multi-stop mode and limits the maximum frequency achievable. Tm is the minimum time between any start and a subsequent stop.

Note: In this mode the START signal is a low frequency clock (less than 7 MHz). The STOP signals will be the events.

Unlike the single-stop mode, the 27ps timing module is not reset after the rst event. Due to the long clock period it

will be possible for the same channel to receive a number of events per clock cycle. Hence, in this mode the time-

bins will ll up to plot the occurrence of events over the period of the clock cycle. Each new START signal will reset

the 27ps timing module. This allows the system to build up a plot of all the events within the START pulse cycle.

Once again the exibility of the Address Routing Register provides a wide range of options from single to multiple

curves.

Min Time Bin Size: 27ps Max Time Bin Size: 143ms Max No. Time Bins: 4,194,304 Time Bin Depth: 65,536 or 4,294,967,296 Max Count Rate: 4.5Mcps Max Image Size: 2048 x 4096

HRM-TDC

Fig.3c

Fig.3d

USER MANUAL

> Hrm-tdc System Description > Fifo – Single-stop (“tcspc - With Macro-time”)

FIFO – SINGLE-STOP (“TCSPC - WITH MACRO-TIME”)

c) d)

Figure 7

FIFO modes continually record the timing of events and save the results in consecutive locations in memory as

shown in Fig.7a. When the last location in memory is lled, if not commanded to STOP, the module continues to

record data starting at the beginning of memory again. The host PC, via the USB interface, keeps up in time with the

module, reading the data from memory to a le in the host computer. Hence the memory can be regarded as a very large FIFO. Providing the host PC can keep up with the module, timing data can be recorded indenitely.

In this mode the module carries out the Single-STOP process as described previously and illustrated in Fig.7b and Fig.7c. However, along with the timing of the Single-STOP event, a MACRO time (the time during the experiment that this measurement is made) is also recorded. Both times are recorded in the FIFO. An example of the data recorded is shown in Fig.5d. Data is saved in .CSV format. This mode is also referred to as ‘TCSPC (with Macro Time)’ in the SIE, due to its application in Time Correlated Single Photon Counting.

Note: In this mode the START of each channel will be the event and the STOP will be a delayed version of the LASER clock. On receipt of an event the timing value will be read and the MICRO time will be immediately reset. The reset will clear the channel ready for the next event. All subsequent STOP pulses will be ignored until a new START pulse arrives. Each time-stamp will be a 32-bit word giving the time since the last START (MICRO-time Tt1 or Tt2 in Fig.7c)

and the value of a free running clock dening the time within the experiment (MACRO-time Tc). Due to the highly exible Data Routing Module the resolution and number of bits for the micro time, macro time and channel ID bits is

selectable using the USB selection registers. When this process begins, 32-bit timing values will be inserted into the

shared memory. The memory will be congured as a large FIFO interfacing to the USB interface. Suitable handshake

signals are implemented allowing continuous transfer of time-tags from the FIFO to the PC via the USB port. With

counts of up to 4.5MHz this process can run indenitely without loss of data.

HRM-TDC

Fig.4b

Fig.4c

USER MANUAL

> Hrm-tdc System Description > Fifo – Multi-stop (“fo - Time Tagging”)

FIFO – MULTI-STOP (“FIFO - TIME TAGGING”)

Figure 8

In this mode the process is started with a single START pulse. The module will then ll the memory with time tags dening the time of each STOP event with relation to the initial single START pulse. Any further START inputs will be

ignored. This mode is illustrated in Fig.8a and Fig.8c and is also referred to as ‘Time Tagging’. Data is saved as a

.CSV le. A typical data le is shown in Fig.8b.

There is a further ‘Re-Sync’ option within this mode that uses a 250KHz clock output from the module as the START input. The clock continuously re-synchronizes the module to eliminate long term drift between channels. This is the preferred method when it is required to compare the data from more than one channel.

Note: In this mode all STOP events will be time-stamped and saved to memory. Each time-tag will be comprised of two 32-bit words. These two words will provide timing value, with a resolution of 27ps, and the channel ID.

The memory will be congured as a large FIFO interfacing to the USB interface. Suitable handshake signals are

implemented allowing continuous transfer of these time-tags from the FIFO to the PC via the USB port. Hence, in

this mode, continuous time tagging to the host PC can be achieved indenitely.

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Sensl Integrated Environment (sie) > System Requirements

SensL Integrated Environment (SIE)

The SIE communicates with the module via a low level DLL. This DLL has been designed to provide a set of functions that will allow full control of the HRM-TDC for all features. For complex experiments that require control beyond the scope of the SIE, it is expected that the user will write their own real-time application utilizing the various function in this DLL. For details of the DLL functions, see the Appendix in this document.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

• Windows XP SP2 operating system

• 1 GByte of RAM

• At least one spare High Speed USB 2.0 port

• .NET Framework installed (included)

• JAVA runtime environment installed (included)

• Microsoft Visual C++ runtime components (included)

INSTALLATION

To install the TDC software and USB drivers, follow these steps:

• Go to www.sensl.com/support/sw/ and download both the ‘Release Note’ PDF and the ‘HRM-TDC

Software’ EXE les.

• Run the HRM-TDC_Install_XpXX.exe (where the XpXX is the revision number) le and follow the

instructions. After the GUI and DLLs are installed, you will be prompted to install QuickUSB drivers which are necessary for communication with the TDC.

• Now power up the HRM-TDC module and connect the USB cable.

• The PC will recognize that new hardware has been added. Depending on the operating system the drivers may be located automatically, or it may be necessary to select them manually by directing the PC to the

directory c:\Program Files\SensL\HRM-TDC\QuickUSB* where the necessary le will be located.

• The PC is ready to launch the TDC software. It can be found in the directory C:\Program Files\SensL\ HRM-TDC *

* This assumes you have used the default directory settings for your installation.

HRM-TDC

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> Sensl Integrated Environment (sie) > Using The Sensl Integrated Environment (sie)

USING THE SENSL INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENT (SIE)

Main Page

When the SIE software is launched it will search the USB for available HRM-TDC modules and initialize them ready for use. Once this has been carried out the main SIE page will appear as shown in Figure 9. A list of available devices will be shown. To inspect and select the various operating modes available, right click on the module name and then select the particular mode you require (see Fig. 9).

Figure 9 SIE Main Page screen

Module Information

This page displays the conguration information unique to this module. This information includes the module ID

number and the various measurement modes. This page also allows the user to upgrade the internal FPGA image.

To upgrade the FPGA image the user must rst click on the Update FPGA button. This will launch the Update Wizard as shown in Figure 10. Use the Browse button to nd the RPD le for upgrading. Finally click the Update Device

button to start the upgrade.

WARNING:

USB communication must be maintained during this process. Do NOT disconnect the USB cable during the update.

HRM-TDC

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Updating the FPGA should only be carried out if you are instructed to do so by SensL. This procedure requires a

valid RPD le as provided by SensL.

Failure to carry out this process correctly may render the module inoperable resulting in the need to return it to SensL

for reconguration.

Figure 10 SIE Module Information screen

“HISTOGRAM –TCSPC” (Histogram Single-stop)

When this page is launched the top half will display a graph page. Left click on this graph to reveal the conguration settings. The size of the conguration and graph area can be adjusted by dragging the partition to suite. Figure 11 show this page with the partition adjusted to reveal the entire conguration controls.

Programmable Clock Output

The Programmable Clock Output is made available for all modes and is used to set the frequency and duty cycle of the internal programmable clock. This clock is available at an SMA output for test purposes. This clock is provided for testing and diagnostics. The clock will exhibit a level of jitter that would not be suitable for accurate measurements as part of an experiment.

External Clock Period

This should be set to the period of the external LASER clock.

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Reverse Plot

Due to the method of TCSPC measurement, where the start and stop events are reversed, it is sometimes useful to plot the curves with the TIME axis reversed. Selecting this option will reverse the time axis for the plot.

Show Time Bins as Bars

Selecting this option will result in the graphical output being displayed as histogram bars rather than as a single best

t line as shown in Fig 11.

Microtime LSB

The smallest bin width is 27ps. In some cases it may not be necessary to be this accurate. Selecting the LSB of the

microtime denes the bin resolution. Bit 0 is the highest resolution of 27ps. Bit 1 will set the bin width to 54ps (2 x

27) bit 2 will set the bin width to 108ps (4 x 27) and so forth.

The choice of bin width is application specic. Should the experiment not require such accuracy it may be better

to select a lower resolution than 27ps. This will give the added advantage of allowing a wider time range over the available memory and/or more room for multiple curves.

Channel Enable and Edge Selection

These check boxes allow the individual channels to be enabled/disabled and the sensitivity of the START/STOP

inputs to be specied.

Note: Press the Apply changes button to set your selected conguration.

Figure 11 SIE Histogram TCSPC screen

HRM-TDC

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Graphical Presentation

Once the conguration is selected, the conguration page can be removed by clicking on the X tab to display the

graph section only (see Figure 12).

To start processing, click on the green right arrow at the top of the page. This can be done numerous times to display multiple traces on the same graph. Fig 11 shows the result of a simple TCSPC experiment. The right hand side of the display shows the traces. In this case two traces are displayed both from channel0. These traces can be

saved to le or cleared by selecting them with the relevant checkbox and using the save and clear buttons.

Once the processing has been stopped, the graph can be analyzed.

To zoom in, hold right mouse button down and size selection box over area of interest.

To zoom out, sweep mouse from right to left with right mouse button held down.

To measure between points, click on the graph with right button and left button to position the two cursors. The position of these two cursors and their X and Y differences will be displayed at the top of the graph (see Fig 12).

Figure 12 SIE Histogram - TCSPC, graph section only

“HISTOGRAM – Multi-scaler” (Histogram Multi-stop)

When in this mode the conguration setup and operation is identical to the HISTOGRAM-TCSPC mode. In TCSPC mode the system repeatedly plots the time of the rst event after a LASER pulse. In Multi-scaler/Counter mode the

operation is very different. The start event is a slow clock of less than 7MHz. The system records and saves all stop

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events in their respective time bins. Each start event will reset the timer and a new set of stop events will be added to the existing array of time bins. This process will result in a histogram being built up of all the events following the start. This is particularly useful for plotting pulse shapes, decay curves etc.

“FIFO – TCSPC with MACRO time” (FIFO Single-stop)

This page is a graphical demonstration of the TCSPC with MACRO time feature of the HRM-TDC module. The HRMTDC allows the user to carry out TCSPC and save time tags. These time tags consist of the TCSPC measurement

plus a MACRO time dening at what time during the experiment the measurement was made. For normal operation, this feature would use data streaming that would allow the user to continually record time-tags indenitely to a PC le. This mode of the SIE records for a given period or until the HRM-TDC memory is full.

Programmable Clock Output

The Programmable Clock Output is made available for all modes and is used to set the frequency and duty cycle of the internal programmable clock. This clock is available at an SMA output for test purposes. This clock is provided mainly for testing and diagnostics. The clock will exhibit a level of jitter that would not be suitable for accurate measurements as part of an experiment.

Recording Length

The recording length should be set to the desired period over which the TCSPC measurements are to be taken. Note that the processing will stop prematurely if the Maximum Event Count is reached.

Maximum Event Count

This denes the maximum number of events to be stored before recording stops. This value is used to ensure the

storage data size does not exceed the capacity of the system.

External Clock Period

This should be set to the period of the external LASER clock.

Reverse Plot

Macro and Micro Time Conguration Selection

These elds allow the user to select the number of MACRO and MICRO bits and resolution to appear in the 32-bit

time tag word. As bit counts and resolution are changed the resulting roll over times and resolution values will be automatically displayed in the boxes to the right hand side. If the user attempts to input an illegal value the relevant text boxes will turn red.

HRM-TDC

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Channel Enable and Edge Selection

These check boxes allow the individual channels to be enabled/disabled and the START/STOP inputs sensitivity to

be specied.

Note: Press Apply changes button to set your selected conguration.

Data Recording

Once the conguration is selected, the mode is now ready for recoding data. In FIFO – TCSPC mode two forms of

data recording are available, Graphical Presentation and Streaming TCSPC Time Tags.

Graphical Presentation

In this mode recording is carried out at the module until the recording length or the maximum event count is reached. To start processing, click on the green right arrow at the top of the page. Figure 13 shows the result of a simple experiment. The right hand side of the display will show which channels are active. In this example only channel 0 is active.

After starting the experiment the module will run for the Recording Length or until the memory is full. Once the process has stopped the top graph will display a plot of the event frequency over time. The user can now use the cursors to select a time period of the top graph. When this is done the software will automatically plot the TCSPC curve for the time tags over that particular period.

The user can, at any time, save these curves and run the experiment again. Fig 13 shows an example of this mode of operation. The user can, for each run, save a particular TCSPC curve or set of curves and compare it with other curves at different MACRO time ranges and/or runs.

Once the processing has been stopped, the graphs can be analyzed.

To zoom in, hold right mouse button down and size selection box over area of interest.

To zoom out, sweep mouse from right o left with right mouse button held down.

To measure between points click on graph with right button and left button to position two cursors. The position of these two cursors and their X and Y differences will be displayed at the top of the graph (see Fig 13).

This mode of operation is particularly useful for carrying out preliminary tests to determine the best conguration, before carrying out a full experiment using continuous streaming of results to a PC le.

Streaming TCSPC Time Tags

Once the conguration is selected, the user can now select a path and le name for saving the data. It is recommended that the le name have a sufx of CSV. Doing this will allow the le to be easily viewed using a

spreadsheet package. Once this is done the process can be started by clicking the Start button. Clicking the

Start button will start the module streaming all time tags to the chosen le until the recording time is reached, the

maximum event count is reached or the process is manually stopped.

After the process is stopped the le will be available for viewing. Figure 14 shows a section of a typical output le.

As can be seen in Fig 14, four columns are used to dene the tag number, channel ID, macro time and micro

time.

The example experiment used the test waveform set to 1MHz with a 50% duty cycle. This signal was fed directly into both the start and stop inputs of channel 0. The start was set to trigger on the LO-HI transition and the stop

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was set o trigger on the HI-LO transition. As can be seen in Fig 14, the time-tags are repeating every 200 counts of the MACRO time. As the resolution of the MACRO time was set to 5ns, this represents a repetition rate of 1ms (200 x 5 ns). The TCSPC time is typically 18712. As the resolution of the MICRO time was set to 27ps, this represents a TCSPC MICRO time of ~505ns (18712 x 27ps). The value of 505ns rather than the theoretical value of 500ns is due to the jitter of the clock and the quality of the cabling.

Figure 13 SIE showing the “FIFO - TCSPC with Macro Time” screen

HRM-TDC

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Figure 14 Typical output data from streaming TCSPC Time Tags

“FIFO – Time Tagging” (FIFO – Multi-stop)

This page is used to continuously stream event time tags, as shown in Fig. 15. This mode offers 2 methods that are selected by the value of the programmable clock. If the programmable clock is set to 1280 HI and 1280 LO then the Resync option is selected. Any other clock value will select the Free Running option.

Free Running:

Once the conguration is selected, the user can start the module recording. The module will wait for the rst

single start pulse and then start recording every stop event until the recording time is reached, the maximum

event count is reached or the process is manually stopped. The rst start pulse will begin recording. All following

stop events will be stamped and saved. Any following start pulses during the process will be ignored. Hence, all

events, after the initial start signal, can be saved indenitely.

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Resync:

Using this method, the user must feed the programmable clock output to the Start input of any channel being

used. Once the conguration is selected, the user can start the module recording. The module will wait for the rst Start pulse and then start recording every stop event until the recording time is reached, the maximum event

count is reached or the process is manually stopped.

Programmable Clock Output

Free Running:

The Programmable Clock Output is made available for all modes and is used to set the frequency and duty cycle of the internal programmable clock. This clock is available an SMA output for test purposes. This clock is provided for testing and diagnostics only. The clock will exhibit a level of jitter that would not be suitable for accurate measurements as part of an experiment.

Resync:

With the clock programmed to 1280 HI, 1280 LO (FSR register set to 0xFFFF) the module will operate in Resync.

Figure 15 SIE screen for FIFO - Time Tagging

HRM-TDC

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Recording Length

The recording length should be set to the desired period over which the TCSPC measurements are to be taken.

Maximum Event Count

This denes the maximum number of events to be stored before recording stops. This value is used to ensure the

storage data size does not exceed the capacity of the system.

Timer LSB

This is used to select the resolution of the time tag. Selecting bit 0 will give the time tag a resolution of 27ps. Bit 1 will set the resolution to 54ps (2 x 27), bit 2 will set the resolution to 108ps (4 x 27) and so forth.

Channel Enable and Edge Selection

These check boxes allow the individual channels to be enabled/disabled and the START/STOP inputs sensitivity to

be specied.

Note: Press the Apply changes button to set your selected conguration.

Data Recording

Once the conguration is selected, the mode is now ready for recoding data. In FIFO – Time Tagging mode two

forms of data recording are available, Graphical Presentation and Streaming FIFO Time Tags.

Graphical Presentation

In this mode recording is carried out at the module until the recording length or the maximum event count is reached. To start processing, click on the green right arrow at the top of the page. The right hand side of the display will show which channels are active. On completion the graph will display a plot of event density (frequency) over time.

Streaming FIFO Time Tags

spreadsheet package. Once this is done the process can be started by clicking the Start button. Clicking the

Start button will start the module streaming all time tags to the chosen le until the recording time is reached, the maximum event count is reached or the process is manually stopped. In this mode there is no TCSPC. The rst start pulse will begin recording. All following stop events will be stamped and saved in the target PC le. Hence, all events, after the initial start signal, can be saved to le indenitely.

After the process is stopped the le will be available for viewing. The format of the output le will differ depending

on whether the mode used the Free Running or Resync option. Figure 16 shows a section of a typical output

le for both options.

As can be seen in Fig. 16, four columns are used to dene the tag number, channel ID, macro time and micro

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time.

The time tag for this mode consists of 2 x 32-bit words. The rst word is a micro time that has a resolution down

to 27ps. Using the Free Running option this timer will roll over at the count of 5308415 (Hex 50FFFF). Using the Resync option this timer will roll over every 4 microseconds. In both cases the MACRO counter is a count of how many times the MICRO counter has rolled over.

Note: The LSB value of 27ps is not an exact value. This value is a simplied (rounded up) value that is suitable for

all other modes. The true LSB value is 26.9851ps. As this mode involves the continuous running of the MICRO clock for very long periods it is recommended that the value of 26.9851 is used to avoid a cumulative error occurring over long periods of time.

Figure 16 Data from Free Running mode Data from Resync mode

Example: If the MACRO time value is 28 and the MICRO time is 11232 then the absolute time of the tag from the start pulse is:

Free Running

((28 x 5308416) + 11232) x 26.9851ps = 4011250921ps. Note: 5308416 = Hex 510000.

Resync

(28 x 4000000) + (11232 x 26.9851) = 112303097 ps. Note: Rollover is every 4000000 ps.

HRM-TDC

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Correlation

The Correlation feature allows the user to carry out cross and auto correlation on FIFO-TCSPC streams for both the TCSPC values and the MACRO times. The correlation screen is shown in Fig. 17.

In Correlation mode the conguration setup is identical to FIFO-TCSPC mode. However, channel select is restricted

to a maximum of two channels. A single channel selected will result in auto-correlation on that input. Two channels

will result in cross-correlation on the two channels. Further correlation specic settings are as follows:

Target Data Set

Use these two mutually exclusive radio buttons to select correlation on the MICRO (TCSPC) or MACRO time.

Bin Size/Resolution

This setting determines the bin size to be used for the correlation function. Increasing this value will direct the correlation function to group greater numbers of consecutive time tags into software bins. These bins are then used for phase sweeping the streams to create the correlation curve.

Maximum Lag

This denes the maximum number of bins to be used for carrying out the correlation algorithm.

Graphical Presentation

Once the conguration is selected, the mode is now ready for recording data. In this mode recording is carried out

at the module until the recording length or the maximum event count is reached. To start processing, click on the green right arrow at the top of the page.

After starting the experiment the module will run for the Recording Length, the maximum event count is reached or until the memory is full. Once the process has stopped the top graph will display a plot of the event frequency over

time. The bottom graph will display the correlation curve as specied by the conguration parameters. For details of

the correlation algorithm see the Appendix in this document.

HRM-TDC

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Figure 17 SIE Correlation screen

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Hrm-tdc Registers And Low Level Dll Functions

Appendix

HRM-TDC REGISTERS AND LOW LEVEL DLL FUNCTIONS

The control and setup of the HRM-TDC is carried out by a series of commands to a set of conguration registers

within the module. To simplify the control of these registers, a set of low level drivers, in a DLL, is available. The low level drivers will return an HRM_STATUS of value HRM_OK or HRM_ERROR.

For standard ‘C’ programming the user must use the DLL HRMTimeAPI.DLL

For LabVIEW the user must use the modied version of the DLL providid called HRMTimeALI_LV.DLL

In both cases a copy of the relevant DLL MUST reside in the same folder as the application.

Initialization Low Level Drivers

Before the user can read/write to these conguration registers communication must be established with the module.

To do this the following low level driver functions must be used.

Driver - HRM_GetDLLVersion

HRM_API const char* WINAPI HRM_GetDLLVersion(void)

This function returns a pointer to a text string describing the revision level of the drivers.

Driver - HRM_SetCongurationPath

HRM_API void WINAPI HRM_SetCongurationPath(char* path)

path: Pointer to text string dening path.

This function is used to dene the path where the conguration data for the module resides.

Driver - HRM_RefreshConnectedModuleList

HRM_API bool HRM_RefreshConnectedModuleList(void)

This function can be called at any time to determine if the list of connected modules has changed. This can be used to periodically poll the USB bus to determine if modules have been connected or disconnected.

Driver - HRM_GetConnectedModuleCount(void)

HRM_API UINT WINAPI HRM_GetConnectedModuleCount(void)

This function is used to determine how many HRM-TDC modules are currently connected to the USB bus.

Driver - HRM_GetConnectedModuleList

HRM_API void WINAPI HRM_GetConnectedModuleList(HANDLE* handleList)

handleList: Pointer to array of HRM-TDC handles for initialization.

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> Appendix > Hrm-tdc Registers And Low Level Dll Functions

This function initializes an array of HRM-TDC handles to allow communication with all HRM-TDC modules present on the USB bus. The size of the array must be greater or equal to the number of modules detected using the function HRM_GetConnectedModuleCount.

Driver - HRM_CloseModule

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_CloseModule(HANDLE handle)

On completion of the application, this function must be called to release the handle and close the session.

Example:

int moduleCount;

HANDLE handleArr[20];

HRM_RefreshConnectedModuleList();

moduleCount = HRM_GetConnectedModuleCount();

if(moduleCount)

{

HRM_GetConnectedModuleList(handleArr);

APPLICATION CODE HERE

HRM_CloseModule(handleArr);

}

else

printf(“No HRM-TDC modules detected”);

In this example the APPLICATION CODE can address up to ‘moduleCount’ HRM-TDC modules.

Now that communication with the module has been established the conguration registers can be programmed

using the associated low level driver.

ARR – Address Route Register

The method of time-binning is based on using the received time-tag data and discrete I/O inputs to form the address in memory for time-bin processing. In its simplest form, a time-tag could be used as the address bus so that each

time-bin is separated by the resolution of the least signicant bit. On receipt of a time-tag the system outputs the

time-tag as an address and then increments that location (time-bin). In the HRM-TDC system further data bits are included in the address selection to allow multiple curve plotting based on multiple channel inputs and discrete

inputs for X, Y array plotting. To allow maximum exibility the AAR register can dene any bit to be placed in any

HRM-TDC

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> Appendix > Hrm-tdc Registers And Low Level Dll Functions

position within the address bus for the shared memory.

Understanding the ARR is critical as it is the controller that denes the resolution, curve count and array size of all

measurements.

Before programming the ARR the user must rst assert an RRR (Route Register Reset) command to initialize the

system. Once this is done the ARR is then programmed by sending 27 consecutive writes. The address bus of the

memory is 27 bits (A26-A0). Starting with A0, each write denes the bit number of the ‘Address Option Bits’ to be

routed to that particular address bit. The ‘Address Option Bits’ are as follows:

AOB[24.. 0] TagData

AOB[51..25] Address Counter

AOB[67..52] 16-bit I/O Data

AOB[79..68] Pixel Counter

AOB[91..80] Line Counter

AOB[92] Fix to logic 0

TagData

This is the time-tag data as received by the Pico-Second Timing Interface. Bits 23,24 dene on which channel the time-tag was received – 00, 01, 10 or 11. The bits 22 down to 0 dene the time with bit 0 being the LSB

(LSB = 26.9851ps).

Address Counter

These bits provide a 27-bit counter that can be routed to the address bus. This counter can be pre-loaded with a given value. After each write to memory this counter will be automatically incremented. This counter would be most used when the system is in time-tag mode. Here the system reads time-tags and stores them in consecutive locations in memory. These bits are also available to be used in Time-bin mode. However, in this case the address is not incremented. Instead the address counter bits are used purely as an offset address in memory for saving curves.

16-Bit I/O Data

The value of the 16 I/O data bits can be routed to any address line. This would be useful for plotting X, Y curves. For example, the I/O could be used as 8-bit X and 8-bit Y inputs allowing a 256 x 256 array of curves to be plotted.

Pixel Counter/Line Counter/Frame Reset

The 16-bit I/O method of X,Y plotting is limited to 256 x 256 arrays. An alternative method that allows larger arrays is to use 2 discrete inputs to clock counters that in turn can be used as the address in memory. The HRM-TDC module provides a 12-bit Pixel Counter and a 12-bit Line Counter. The Pixel Counter is incremented by clock inputs to IODATA(0) and the line counter is incremented by clock inputs to IODATA(1). If these bits are routed to the address lines then the user can command the HRM-TDC module to move from one curve to the next by clocking the IODAT(0) and IOADAT(1) lines. This allows arrays of up to 4096 x 4096.

The contents of the LINE and PIXEL counters are cleared when:

1. A write is sent to the Routing Reset Register (RRR)

2. A LO-HI transition is detected on the IODATA(2) port.

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The IODATA(2) can be used as a Frame Reset clock input for synchronizing an X,Y pixel image with an external instrument such as a microscope.

Fix to logic 0

Selecting this bit will drive the particular address line low. This is used for driving the chip select line of a single memory card. If two memory cards are used then the chip select should be an address counter bit.

Example:

WRITE: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8, 23,24, 25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41

This would set up the system recording 4 curves, one from each channel. Each curve would consist of 256 bins (8 bits) with a bin size of 54ps. This reduced resolution is due to bit 1 (second bit) of the time-tag being routed to address bit 0. The channel bits 23, 24 will move each channel event to a different curve. The base start address

of these curves will be dened by the pre-programmed value of the Address Counter.

Driver - HRM_SetAddressRouteRegister

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_SetAddressRouteRegister(HANDLE handle, BYTE* arrData)

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

arrData: Array of bytes to write to the address route register.

Note:

The arrData bytes must be padded with 0 values after each routing value. Therefore, for the example, the arrData array must be set to:

1,0,2,0,3,0,4,0,5,0,6,0,7,0,8,0,23,0,24,0,25,0,26,0,27,0,28,0,29,0,

30,0,31,0,32,0,33,0,34,0,35,0,36,0,37,0,38,0,39,0,40,0,41,0

DRR – Data Route Register

When the HRM-TDC system is in time-tag mode it will continually save time-stamps to memory. Each time-stamp will always be 32-bits, however the format of the time-stamp is programmable using the DRR. To allow maximum

exibility the DRR register can dene any ‘Data Option Bit’ bit to be placed in any position within the 32-bit time-tag.

Before programming the DRR the user must rst assert an RRR (Route Register Reset) command to initialize the

system. Once this is done the DRR is then programmed by sending 32 consecutive writes. Starting with D0, each

write denes the bit number of the ‘Data Option Bits’ to be routed to that particular data bit within the time-tag. The

‘Data Option Bits’ are as follows:

DOB[24.. 0] TagData

DOB[56..25] Macro Counter

DOB[57] Fix to logic 0

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> Appendix > Hrm-tdc Registers And Low Level Dll Functions

TagData

This is the time-tag data as received by the Pico-Second Timing Interface. Bits 23,24 dene the channel the time-tag was received on – 00, 01, 10 or 11. The bits 22 down to 0 dene the time with bit 0 being the LSB

(LSB = 26.9851ps).

Macro Counter

When time-tag recording the user may, along with the TCSPC time, wish to record the chronological time that the event occurred. A 32-bit Macro Time Counter is made available that is cleared at the start of time-tag processing and will increment every 5ns. The user can select a range of these bits to provide a macro time to time-stamp each time-tag.

Example:

WRITE: 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7 26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47 23,24

This would set up the time-tag as follows:

D[7..0] = TCSPC time (LSB = 26.9851ps)

D[29..8] = 22-bit Macro time with LSB resolution of 5ns

D[31..30] = 2-bit channel code 00, 01, 10, 11 for channels 0 to 3.

Driver - HRM_SetDataRouteRegister

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_SetDataRouteRegister(HANDLE handle, BYTE* drrData)

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

drrData: Array of bytes to write to the data route register.

Note:

The drrData bytes must be padded with 0 values after each routing value. Therefore, for the example, the drrData array must be set to:

0,0,1,0,2,0,3,0,4,0,5,0,6,0,7,0,26,0,27,0,28,0,29,0,30,0,31,0,32,0,33,0,34,0,

35,0,36,0,37,0,38,0,39,0,40,0,41,0,42,0,43,0,44,0,45,0,46,0,47,0,23,0,24,0

LAL, LAH – Load Address LO/HI Register

These two registers are used to initialize the ‘Address Counter’ (see ARR register) to a pre-dened value. The order of loading the initialization address must be LAL followed by LAH. The LAL command will dene the least signicant 16 bits (A15 down to A0) of the counter. The least signicant 11 bits of the LAH command will dene counter bits

A26 down to A16. On completion of the LAH command the ‘Address Register’ will be loaded with the new value.

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Driver - HRM_SetAddressRegister

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_SetAddressRegister(HANDLE handle, ULONG arData)

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

arData: 32-bit address to set LAH, LAL to.

LFL, LFH – Load Fill Value LO/HI Register

The user can command the HRM-TDC module to ll a range of memory with a given value. The value used for this command is dened using these 2 commands. The initialization value is a 32-bit value. The most signicant 16 bits is dened by LFH and the least signicant 16 bits is dened bits LFL.

Driver - HRM_SetFillValueRegister

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_SetFillValueRegister(HANDLE handle, ULONG fvrData)

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

arData: 32-bit value to set LFH, LFL to.

UAL, UAH – Load Address LO/HI Register

These two registers are used to initialize the USB address counter. The block DMA transfers from memory to the

USB start at the address dened by these two commands. On completion of each USB transfer the USB address

counter is automatically incremented. This address is a 32-bit ‘long word’ address. All USB block transfers are carried out in long words (4 bytes at a time). The order of loading the initialization address must be UAL followed by

UAH. The UAL command will dene the least signicant 16 bits (A15 down to A0) of the counter. The least signicant 10 bits of the UAH command will dene counter bits A25 down to A16. On completion of the UAH command the

‘Address Register’ will be loaded with the new value.

UAL:

D15 D14 D13 D12 D11 D10 D09 D08 D07 D06 D05 D04 D03 D02 D01 D00 A15 A14 A13 A12 A11 A10 A9 A8 A7 A6 A5 A4 A3 A2 A1 A0

UAH:

D15 D14 D13 D12 D11 D10 D09 D08 D07 D06 D05 D04 D03 D02 D01 D00

Nu Nu Nu Nu Nu Nu A25 A24 A23 A22 A21 A20 A19 A18 A17 A16

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Driver - HRM_SetUSBAddressRegister

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_SetUSBAddressRegister(HANDLE handle, ULONG uarData)

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

uarData: 32-bit address to set UAH, UAL to.

MBR – Mode Bits Register

This register denes a number of settings for the HRM-TDC module as follows:

D15 D14 D13 D12 D11 D10 D09 D08 D07 D06 D05 D04 D03 D02 D01 D00 Rmd Mem Nu Nu Nu Nu Nu Nu Nu BCe Rvd Rvd Size Md2 Md1 Md0

Md[2..0] These bits dene in which mode the HRM-TDC module will operate.

000 = Fill ‘n’ memory locations with the LFL,LFH value.

The value of ‘n’ is dened by the MCL,MCH registers.

The start address is dened by the LAL,LAH registers.

001 = Run in TIME-TAG with TCSPC mode.

010 = Run in TIME-TAG continuous mode.

011 = Run in TIME-BIN with TCSPC mode.

100 = Run in TIME-BIN continuous mode.

All other Md[] combinations are reserved. Power-up default = 000.

Size

In TIME-BIN mode the bin size can be set for 16 bits or 32 bits. If ‘Size’ is set to ‘1’ the bin size will be 16 bits.

With ‘Size’ set to ‘0’ the bin size will be 32 bits. Note that when the size is 16 bits the memory address dened by the ARR (Address Route Register) is a 16-bit word address. In all other cases the ARR shall dene a 32-bit

long words address.

Power-up default = 1

Rvd

Bits reserved. Must be set to ‘1’.

BCe

With this bit set to ‘1’ the BINCNT (BCH, BCL) feature is enabled. If this bit is ‘0’ then the effect of the BCH

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> Appendix > Hrm-tdc Registers And Low Level Dll Functions

and BCL is disabled.

Mem

This bit, when set to ‘1’, will start the high speed USB memory or time-tag transfer processor. Taking this bit to ‘0’, at any time, will immediately put the processor into reset.

Rmd

This bit, when set to ‘1’ will start the mode processor. The mode of operation is dened by the Md bits. Taking

this bit to ‘0’, at any time, will immediately put the processor into reset.

Driver - HRM_SetModeBitsRegister

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_SetModeBitsRegister(HANDLE handle, USHORT mbrData)

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

mbrData: 16-bit value to write to the MBR.

ESR – Edge Sensitivity Register

All start and stop inputs can be programmed to produce an event on either a +Ve or -Ve transition. This register

denes the edge sensitivity for each input as follows:

D15 D14 D13 D12 D11 D10 D09 D08 D07 D06 D05 D04 D03 D02 D01 D00 FN3 FP3 SN3 SP3 FN2 FP2 SN2 SP2 FN1 FP1 SN1 SP1 FN0 FP0 SN0 SP0

SP3, SP2, SP1, SP0 = Set to ‘1’ for start event of corresponding channel on positive edge.

SN3, SN2, SN1, SN0 = Set to ‘1’ for start event of corresponding channel on negative edge.

FP3, FP2, FP1, FP0 = Set to ‘1’ for end event of corresponding channel on positive edge.

FN3, FN2, FN1, FN0 = Set to ‘1’ for end event of corresponding channel on negative edge.

Note:

The positive and negative settings must never both be set to ‘1’. Only one edge is allowed. To disable an input, set both the negative and positive bits to ‘0’.

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Driver - HRM_SetEdgeSensitivityRegister

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_SetEdgeSensitivityRegister(HANDLE handle, USHORT esrData)

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

esrData: 16-bit value to write to the ESR.

RRR – Routing Reset Register

A write to this register:

Resets the ARR and DRR registers ready for programming

Clears the WCH and WCL registers

Clears the LINE and PIXEL counters.

Clears the Memory Wrap Error bit in the status register

Driver - HRM_SetRoutingResetRegister

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_SetRoutingResetRegister(HANDLE handle, USHORT rrrData)

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

rrrData: Don’t care

MCL, MCH – Memory Count LO/HI Register

When the system is commanded to initialize the memory, these registers will dene the block size of 32-bit memory locations to be written to with the value dened by the Load Fill Value registers. When the system is put into Time- Tag or TCSPC Time-Tag mode, these registers will dene the number of 32-bit memory locations to be stored as

time-tag data before halting. If these registers are set to 0 the time-tag processor will run until commanded to stop by resetting the state machine.

For further details see MBR (Md bits = 000).

Driver - HRM_SetMemoryCountRegister

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_SetMemoryCountRegister(HANDLE handle, ULONG mcrData)

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

mcrData: Number of 32-bit locations to process

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FSR – Frequency Select Register

The HRM-TDC module provides a programmable frequency output. This register denes the number of 5ns cycles required to complete the HI and LO parts of the cycle. The most signicant 8 bits of the FSR denes the HI time and the least signicant 8 bits denes the LO time. However, there is an offset of 1 such that:

Setting this value to 0x0000 would result in an output waveform 5ns low followed by 5ns high.

Setting this value to 0x0309 would result in an output waveform 20ns HI, 50ns LO.

When in FIFO Time-Tagging mode, setting the FSR to the value of 0xFFFF will force the module to operate in

Resync and the output frequency will be xed to 250KHz.

Driver - HRM_SetFrequencySelectionRegister

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_SetFrequencySelectionRegister(HANDLE handle,USHORT fsrData)

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

fsrData: Value to write to the FSR

IDR – I/O Direction Register

The 16-bit I/O signals of the HRM-TDC can be programmed to be inputs or outputs. The value of this register

denes the direction of each I/O bit. Setting a bit in this register to ‘1’ will program the corresponding I/O bit as an

output. Setting a bit in this register to ‘0’ will program the corresponding I/O bit as an input.

Driver - HRM_SetIODirectionRegister

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_SetIODirectionRegister(HANDLE handle, USHORT iodrData)

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

iodrData: Value to write to the IDR

IVR – I/O Value Register

Writing to this register sets any I/O bit, enabled as an output, to the value of its corresponding bit.

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Driver - HRM_SetIOValueRegister

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_SetIOValueRegister(HANDLE handle, USHORT iovrData)

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

iovrData: Value to write to the IVR

BCL, BCH – Bin Count LO/HI Register

These registers dene the maximum number bins that can occur during the period of the TCSPC clock. This count

can be calculated as:

Bin Count = MOD(Clock Period/Resolution) + 1

Resolution = 26.9851ps.

The Bin Count is a 23-bit number. BCL denes the least signicant 16 bits and BCH denes the most signicant 7 bits. It is important that this value is correctly set for both Time-Binning and Time-Tagging.

Note: This feature is disabled if bit 6 of the mode register is clear.

Driver - HRM_SetBinCountRegister

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_SetBinCountRegister(HANDLE handle, ULONG bcrData)

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

bcrData: 32-bit value to write to the BCH, BCL registers

UCL, UCH – USB Count HI/LO Register

These registers dene the number of 32-bit words to be read from the USB high-speed interface.

Driver - HRM_SetUSBCountRegister

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_SetUSBCountRegister(HANDLE handle, ULONG ucrData)

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

ucrData: Number of 32-bit words to be read from the USB high-speed interface

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> Appendix > Hrm-tdc Registers And Low Level Dll Functions

HRS, HRM-TDC Status Register

Reading this register will report the status of the HRM-TDC module as follows:

D15 D14 D13 D12 D11 D10 D09 D08 D07 D06 D05 D04 D03 D02 D01 D00

MC MT2 MT1 MT0 CH1 CH0 RSY 0 0 0 0 OV ME FC HS TP

TP: If set to ‘1’, the TCSPC time-tag/time-bin processor is active.

HS: If set to ‘1’, the memory high-speed data transfer processor to the USB port will be active.

FC: If set to ‘1’ the FPGA conguration processor is active.

ME: If set to ‘1’ indicates that a TIME-TAG memory WRAP-ROUND error has occurred.

OV: This bit will be cleared when the state machine is reset.

OV will go to ‘1’ if, during processing, the 32-bit 5ns resolution macro timer wraps-round from maximum

back to 0.

RSY: If set to ‘1’ the module is set such that, when in FIFO Time-Tagging mode, it will operate in Resync (FSR is set to 0xFFFF).

CH: These two bits dene the module type 1, 2 or 4 channels.

CH1 CH0 TYPE

0 0 1 Channel 0 1 2 Channel 1 0 3 Channel 1 1 4 Channel

MT: These three bits dene the memory card type/size being used:

MT2 MT1 MT0 SIZE

0 0 0 Reserved 0 0 1 Reserved 0 1 0 Reserved 0 1 1 Reserved 1 0 0 32 Mbytes 1 0 1 16 Mbytes 1 1 0 8 Mbytes 1 1 1 No card installed

MC: If set to ‘1’, only one card of MT type is installed. If ‘0’, two cards of MT type are installed.

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Driver - HRM_GetStatusRegister

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_GetStatusRegister(HANDLE handle, USHORT *srData)

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

srData: Pointer for saving current 16-bit HRS value

PCR – Product Code Register

Reading from this register will report the PRODUCT code. The LS byte will report the product ID and the MS byte

denes any variants from the standard product. For a standard HRM-TDC module this value should read 0x0001.

Low Level Driver

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_GetProductCodeRegister(HANDLE handle, USHORT *pcrData)

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

pcrData: Pointer for saving current 16-bit PCR value

SRR – Software Revision Register

Reading from this register will report the current rev of the FPGA code.

Low Level Driver

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_GetSoftwareRevisionRegister(HANDLE handle, USHORT *srrData)

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

srrData: Pointer for saving current 16-bit SRR value

MIR – Module ID 1, 2, 3, 4 Register

Reading from these four registers will report the contents of the ‘on-board’ serial ID chip. The contents of the serial

ID chip is comprised of 64 bits. The MSB of ID-1 will be the rst bit returned from the ID chip. The LSB of ID-4 will

be the last bit returned from the ID chip.

HRM-TDC

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Driver - HRM_GetModuleIDRegister

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_GetModuleIDRegister(HANDLE handle, BYTE *midData)

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

midData: Pointer for saving text string of the HRM-TDC module ID

WCH – Write Count HI Register

When operating in time-tag mode, this register will contain the number of 1K (1024 bytes) blocks of data that have been written to memory by the time-tag processor. When the time-tag processor is running, this register should be used to track the memory for continuous download of data.

Note: This register automatically wraps around at the maximum address as dened by the memory conguration

bits in the status register.

Driver - HRM_GetWriteCountRegister

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_GetWriteCountRegister(HANDLE handle, ULONG *wrrData)

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

wrrData: Pointer for saving current 32-bit value of WCH and WCL registers

WCL – Write Count LO Register

When operating in time-tag mode, this register will contain the residual bytes (0-1023 bytes) that have been written to memory by the time-tag processor. The value of the WCH and WCL are not locked. The WCH should be used for tracking the memory data. Once the time-tagging has been stopped the WCL register should be used to download any remaining data.

Driver – HRM_GetWriteCountRegister

See WCH register

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Non-Register Specic Low Level Drivers

Driver - HRM_InitMemory

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_InitMemory( HANDLE handle, ULONG addr, ULONG len,

ULONG llData)

Fill a block of memory with a specic bit pattern.

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

addr: 32-bit starting address

len: Number of 32-bit locations to ll

llData: 32-bit value to ll the memory with

Driver - HRM_ReadMemory

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_ReadMemory( HANDLE handle, USHORT modeMask, ULONG addr, ULONG len, BYTE *buf)

Read a block of data from a given location in memory.

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

modeMask: Mask to dene desired state of mode register bits when executing the function

addr: 32-bit starting address

len: Number of 32-bit locations to read

buf: Pointer to buffer for storing the data

Driver - HRM_ReadFIFOMemory

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_ReadFIFOMemory( HANDLE handle, USHORT modeMask, ULONG addr, ULONG len, BYTE *buf)

Read a block of data from a given location in memory when card is operating in FIFO mode.

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

modeMask: Mask to dene desired state of mode register bits when executing the function

addr: 32-bit starting address len: Number of 32-bit locations to read buf: Pointer to buffer for storing the data

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Driver - HRM_GetMemorySize

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_GetMemorySize( HANDLE handle, ULONG *size)

Gets the memory size of the module in bytes.

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

size: Pointer to location for storing number of memory bytes.

HRM-TDC

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> Appendix > High Level Dll Functions

HIGH LEVEL DLL FUNCTIONS

The HRM-TDC DLL (HRMTimeAPI.DLL) contains a set of high level drivers designed to allow the user to easily

stream date from the module to memory or le. These drivers are as follows:

Driver - HRM_StartHistogramFSM

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_StartHistogramFSM( HANDLE handle, USHORT tcspc, USHORT microlsb)

Setup the module in histogram mode and start it running.

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

tcspc: Value 1 for TCSPC histogram mode. Value 0 for multiscalar/averaging mode.

microlsb: Time-bin resolution. 0=27ps, 1=54ps, 2=108ps etc.

HRM_STATUS returned equal to HRM_OK if success

Driver - HRM_StreamTCSPC2File

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_StreamTCSPC2File( HANDLE handle, BYTE* outfname, ULONG recordinglength, ULONG esr, USHORT microbits, USHORT microlsb, USHORT macrobits, USHORT macrolsb)

Stream FIFO date to le (TCSPC with MACRO mode).

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

outfname: File name for storing data

recordinglength: Time in msec to stream data to le

esr: Module ESR register value for dening channels and edge sensitivity

microbits: Number of micro TCSPC measurement bits to use

microlsb: TCSPC resolution. 0=27ps, 1=54ps, 2=108ps etc.

macrobits: Number of MACRO bits to use

macrolsb: MACRO time resolution. 0=5ns, 1=10ns, 2=20ns etc.

HRM_STATUS returned equal to HRM_OK if success

HRM-TDC

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> Appendix > High Level Dll Functions

Data format

Each time-tag value will be a 32 bit unsigned value.

The 2 LSBs, C1 and C0, will dene the channel the time-tag was received on.

C1 C0 Channel

0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 2 1 1 3

The remaining 30 bits are shared between the MICRO and MACRO bits.

Note:

The total of the MICRO and MACRO bits must add up to 30. If this is not true the function will return an error.

Driver - HRM_StreamTCSPC2FMem

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_StreamTCSPC2Mem( HANDLE handle, BYTE *buf, ULONG bufsize, ULONG recordinglength, ULONG esr, USHORT microbits, USHORT microlsb, USHORT macrobits, USHORT macrolsb, ULONG *recordedbytes)

Stream FIFO date to memory buffer (TCSPC with MACRO mode).

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

buf: Pointer to memory buffer

bufsize: Memory buffer size in bytes. Recording stops if this is reached.

recordinglength: Time in msec to stream data to buffer (while buffer not full)

esr: Module ESR register value for dening channels and edge sensitivity

microbits: Number of micro TCSPC measurement bits to use

microlsb: TCSPC resolution. 0=27ps, 1=54ps, 2=108ps etc.

macrobits: Number of MACRO bits to use

macrolsb: MACRO time resolution. 0=5ns, 1=10ns, 2=20ns etc.

recordedbytes: Pointer to location for storing total number of bytes saved to buffer

HRM_STATUS returned equal to HRM_OK if success

HRM-TDC

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> Appendix > High Level Dll Functions

Data format

See HRM_StreamTCSPC2File

Driver - HRM_StreamTimeTags2File

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_StreamTimeTags2File( HANDLE handle, BYTE *outfname, ULONG recordinglength, ULONG esr, USHORT microlsb)

Stream FIFO date to le (FIFO Time-Tagging mode).

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

outfname: File name for storing data

recordinglength: Time in msec to stream data to le

esr: Module ESR register value for dening channels and edge sensitivity

microlsb: Micro resolution. 0=27ps, 1=54ps, 2=108ps etc.

HRM_STATUS returned equal to HRM_OK if success

Data format

Each time-tag consists of two 32-bit unsigned values.

1st word

The 2 LSBs, C1 and C0, will dene the channel the time-tag was received on.

C1 C0 Channel

0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 2 1 1 3

The remaining bits are reserved for the MICRO time.

HRM-TDC

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> Appendix > High Level Dll Functions

2nd word

Free Running:

The second word is a free running 32-bit counter with an LSB of 5ns. The MICRO counter is a 23 bit counter with an LSB value of 26.9851ps. This counter rolls over at a value of 0x50FFFF. By comparing the previous MACRO time with the current MACRO time the number of roll overs, if any, of the MICRO counter can be determined.

This allows the time-tag values to be resolved indenately.

For details of the MICRO counter and how this is achieved see article in appendix.

Resync:

The second word is a 40MHz (25ns LSB) counter synchronized to the 250KHz START clock. By comparing the previous MACRO time with the current MACRO time the number of roll overs, if any, of the MICRO counter can

be determined. This allows the time-tag values to be resolved indenately.

For details of the MICRO counter and how this is achieved see article in appendix.

Driver - HRM_StreamTimeTags2Mem

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_StreamTimeTags2Mem( HANDLE handle, BYTE *buf, ULONG bufsize, ULONG recordinglength, ULONG esr, USHORT microlsb, ULONG *recordedbytes)

Stream FIFO date to memory buffer (FIFO Time-Tagging mode).

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

buf: Pointer to memory buffer

bufsize: Memory buffer size in bytes. Recording stops if this is reached.

recordinglength: Time in msec to stream data to buffer (while buffer not full)

esr: Module ESR register value for dening channels and edge sensitivity

microlsb: TCSPC resolution. 0=27ps, 1=54ps, 2=108ps etc.

recordedbytes: Pointer to location for storing total number of bytes saved to buffer

HRM_STATUS returned equal to HRM_OK if success

Data format

See HRM_StreamTimeTags2File

HRM-TDC

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> Appendix > High Level Dll Functions

Driver - HRM_GetTimeTagGap

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_GetTimeTagGap( ULONG pMacro, ULONG pMicro, ULONG cMacro, ULONG cMicro, BYTE *channel, double *gap)

Calculates the gap between the previous FIFO time-tag and the current time-tag and saves it in picoseconds. This function is for FREE RUNNING mode only.

pMacro: 32-bit MACRO value of previous time-tag

pMicro: 32-bit MICRO value of previous time-tag

cMacro: 32-bit MACRO value of current time-tag

cMicro: 32-bit MICRO value of current time-tag

channel: Storage location for channel ID (0, 1, 2 or 3)

gap: Storage location for calculated gap value in picoseconds

HRM_STATUS returned TRUE if error

Note:

All four input parameters, pMacro, pMicro, cMacro and cMicro, are data values as read directly from a FIFO TimeTagging RAW buffer or le.

Driver - HRM_GetFifoTCSPCinfo

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_GetFifoTCSPCinfo( ULONG tag, ULONG microBits, ULONG microLSB, ULONG macroLSB, BYTE *channel, double *micro, double *macro)

Get the channel ID, and the macro and micro times from the FIFO TCSPC 32-bit time-tag.

The macro time is returned in nanoseconds and the micro time is returned in picoseconds.

tag: 32-bit time-tag

microBits: Number of micro bits in time-tag (0 to 23).

microLSB: LSB of micro time (0 to 22)

macroLSB: LSB of micro time (0 to 31)

channel: Storage location for channel ID (0, 1, 2 or 3)

micro: Storage location for micro time in picoseconds

macro: Storage location for macro time in nanoseconds

HRM_STATUS returned equal to HRM_OK if success

HRM-TDC

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> Appendix > High Level Dll Functions

Driver - HRM_CorrelateTimeBins

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_CorrelateTimeBins( HANDLE handle, ULONG *x, ULONG lx, ULONG *y, ULONG ly, ULONG maxlag, double *corr

Carries out a correlation algorithm on two sets of Time Bins.

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

x: Pointer to an array of time bin values

lx: Number of bins in x array

y: Pointer to an array of time bin values

ly: Number of bins in y array

maxlag: Total number of bins to be used as the lag time

corr: Pointer to array for storing the correlation results

HRM_STATUS returned equal to HRM_OK if success

Note: For autocorrelation the user must input the same set of time bins for x and y.

For details of the correlation algorithm used see article in appendix.

Driver - HRM_RunFifoTimeTagging

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_RunFifoTimeTagging( HANDLE handle, USHORT ESRreg, USHORT microlsb USHORT mode)

Starts running the FIFO time tagging mode. Once this has been executed the function HRM_GetFifoData can be used to continuously download the data.

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

ESRreg: Module ESR register value for dening channels and edge sensitivity

microlsb: Resolution. 0=27ps, 1=54ps, 2=108ps etc.

mode: 1 = FIFO_FREE_RUNNING or 2 = FIFO_RESYNC

HRM_STATUS returned equal to HRM_OK if success

HRM-TDC

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> Appendix > High Level Dll Functions

Driver - HRM_RunFifoTCSPC

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_RunFifoTCSPC( HANDLE handle, USHORT ESRreg, USHORT microbits, USHORT microlsb, USHORT macrolsb)

Starts running the FIFO TCSPC mode. Once this has been executed the function HRM_GetFifoData can be used to continuously download the data.

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

ESRreg: Module ESR register value for dening channels and edge sensitivity

microbits: Number of micro TCSPC bits in time-tag (max value = 23)

microlsb: TCSPC resolution. 0=27ps, 1=54ps, 2=108ps etc.

macrolsb: Macro time resolution. 0=5ns, 1=10ns, 2=20ns etc.

HRM_STATUS returned equal to HRM_OK if success.

Note: Each time tag consists of 1 x 32-bit word. The least signicant 2 bits are reserved for the channel ID leaving

30 bits to be shared between the macro and micro time.

Driver - HRM_GetFifoData

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_GetFifoData(HANDLE handle,

USHORT mode, ULONG max, ULONG *size, ULONG *buffer)

Once the module is running in FIFO time tagging or FIFO TCSPC mode (see HRM_RunFifoTimeTagging and HRM_RunFifoTCSPC) this function can be used to continuosly download the data from the FIFO. This function

will download all the data available up to a specied max count from the FIFO and save it in the buffer. The actuaI

number of 32-bit values read from the FIFO will be stored in the location pointed at by ‘size’. This function keeps a pointer that is updated as data is downloaded from the FIFO. Hence, consecutive calls to this function will read the data in sequence as it is stored in the FIFO. This function allows the user to continuosly download the FIFO data in blocks allowing processing of the data between each call.

Note:

• The data transferred will be rounded to a number of 256 x 32-bit elements. Therefore the minimum data transfer is 256 x 32-bit elements. The minimum allowable value of max is 256.

• The amount of processing time available between each call is dependant on the hit rate at the module input(s).

handle: HRM-TDC module handle

mode: 0 = FIFO_TCSPC or 1 = FIFO_FREE_RUNNING or 2 = FIFO_RESYNC

max: Maximum elements to store

size: Pointer to location for storing actual number of elements read from the FIFO

buffer: Pointer to 32-bit buffer for storing the data

HRM_STATUS returned equal to HRM_OK if success

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > High Level Dll Functions

Driver - HRM_ConvertRAWtoCSV

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_ConvertRAWtoCSV( USHORT mode, USHORT mocroBits, BYTE *rawFile, BYTE *csvFile)

Converts a previously generated RAW binary le into a CSV le for importing into a spreadsheet or TEXT editor.

mode: FIFO_TCSPC, FIFO_FREE_RUNNING or FIFO_RESYNC

microBits: Number of micro bits. Only applicable for FIFO_TCSPC mode.

rawFile: Name of RAW binary le

csvFile: Name of le to store TEXT formatted data

HRM_STATUS returned equal to HRM_OK if success

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Dll Error Reporting

DLL ERROR REPORTING

All DLL functions return TRUE on error and FALSE on success. When a DLL function encounters an error it also updates a global ERROR word describing the reason for the error. This error can be inspected at any time by calling the function HRM_GetLastError( ).

Driver - HRM_GetLastError

HRM_STATUS WINAPI HRM_GetLastError( HRM_STATUS newVal)

This function returns the last error that was encountered by the DLL functions.

newVal: Value to update the ERROR word with after returning the current value.

Note:

For normal operation the value of newVal should be set to one of two values:

0 HRM_OK : Clear error after reading value

9999 HRM_NO_CHANGE : Do not change error value

The possible values returned by this function are as follows:

0 HRM_OK :No error

1 HRM_ERROR :Function error

2 HRM_NO_LICENSE :License error

3 HRM_OPEN_USB :Could not open USB module

4 HRM_CLOSE_USB :Could not close USB module

5 HRM_INV_HANDLE :Invalid HANDLE

6 HRM_RAW_FILE :Could not open RAW le

7 HRM_OUTPUT_FILE :Could not open O/P le

8 HRM_INV_PARAMETER :Invalid function parameter

9 HRM_WRITE_COMMAND :Error writing command

10 HRM_READ_COMMAND :Error reading command

11 HRM_READ_DATA :Error reading data block

12 HRM_FIFO_OVERFLOW :FIFO has overowed

13 HRM_BUFFER_FULL :Memory buffer full

14 HRM_TIMEOUT :Timeout error

15 HRM_NO_MODULE_FOUND :Could not detect module

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Dll Application Examples

DLL APPLICATION EXAMPLES

Streaming Time-Tags to le

Description

The following example streams Time-Tags to a binary le and then creates a TEXT le from the RAW binary le. If

there is no additional argument (argc = 1) then streaming will be carried out in FIFO Time-Tagging mode. If there is an additional argument (argc > 1) then streaming will be carried out in FIFO TCSPC with MACRO time mode.

Source Code

#include <stdio.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include <windows.h> #include “HRM-TDCAPI.h”

typedef unsigned char Ubyte; /* Unsigned byte */ typedef char Sbyte; /* Signed byte */ typedef unsigned short Uword; /* Unsigned 16 bits */ typedef short Sword; /* Signed 16 bits */ typedef unsigned int Ulong; /* Unsigned 32 bits */ typedef int Slong; /* Signed 32 bits */ typedef double Sdoub; /* Double */

void main(Sword argc, Sbyte *argv[]) {

HANDLE hdl[10]; HRM_STATUS error; FILE *, *fo; Sbyte ch; Sword i, ag; Ulong moduleCount, ttag[2], pMAC, pMIC, cMAC, cMIC, Num; Sdoub gapT, Tot, mac, mic;

error = HRM_OK; pMAC = 0; pMIC = 0;

 = NULL;

fo = NULL;

Detect the number of HRM-TDC modules */

HRM_RefreshConnectedModuleList(); moduleCount = HRM_GetConnectedModuleCount();

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Dll Application Examples

If a module is present connect to the rst module.

If no module set error and reason in last error report. */

if(moduleCount) HRM_GetConnectedModuleList(hdl); else { HRM_GetLastError(HRM_OPEN_USB); error = HRM_ERROR; }

If no argument do FIFO Time_tagging for 1ms on channel 0. If an argument then do FIFO TCSPC with macro time. */

if(error == HRM_OK && argc == 1) error = HRM_StreamTimeTags2File(hdl[0],”FIFO.RAW”,1,0x0009, 0); else if(error == HRM_OK) error = HRM_StreamTCSPC2File(hdl[0],”FIFO.RAW”,1,0x0009,13,0,17,0);

Open the RAW le and create a TXT le

if(error == HRM_OK) {

 = fopen(“FIFO.RAW”, “r+b”); fo = fopen(“FIFO.TXT”, “w+t”);

}

If le open error, set error and reason in last error report.

if(error == HRM_OK && ( == NULL || fo == NULL)) { HRM_GetLastError(HRM_OUTPUT_FILE); error = HRM_ERROR; }

If an argument then read the TCSPC time-tags, get the macro and

micro values in ns and ps and put to the TXT le

for(Num=1, ag=1; ag && error == HRM_OK && argc != 1; Num++) { if((fread(ttag, 4, 1, )) == 0)

ag = 0;

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Dll Application Examples

else { HRM_GetFifoTCSPCinfo(ttag[0], 13, 0, 0, &ch, &mic, &mac); fprintf(fo, “%ld\t%d\t%.0f\t\t%.0f\n”, Num, ch, mac, mic); } } /*

If no argument then read the FIFO time-tags, convert them into ps gap

times and and put to the TXT le

for(Num=1, Tot=0, ag=1; ag && error == HRM_OK && argc == 1; Num++) { if((fread(ttag, 4, 2, )) == 0)

ag = 0;

else { cMAC = ttag[1]; cMIC = ttag[0]; HRM_GetTimeTagGap(pMAC, pMIC, cMAC, cMIC, &ch, &gapT);

Tot = (gapT + Tot);

fprintf(fo, “%ld\t%.0f\t%.0f\n”, Num, Tot, gapT); pMAC = cMAC; pMIC = cMIC; } } /*

Close the les and report any error

if( != NULL)

fclose();

if(fo != NULL) fclose(fo);

if(error == HRM_OK) printf(“Done”); else { error = HRM_GetLastError(HRM_OK); printf(“Failed: Error code = %d”, error); } }

Histogram Example

Description

The following example sets up the module in TCSPC or Multi-scalar Histogram mode. This console-based

application allows input parameters to dene setup information as follows:

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Dll Application Examples

Histogram.exe <tcspc> <channels> <time> <clock_period>

<tcspc> A single char 1 or 0. 1 = tcspc mode, 0 = multi-scalar mode

<channels> 4 chars of value 1 or 0 dening if channel is enabled or disabled

0001 = Channel 0 only, 1000 = Channel 3 only, 1111 = All channels enabled

<time> Time in msec to run the histogram mode

<clock_period> Period of programmable clock in ns.

This value should be set to a value divisible by 10

Example:

Histogram.exe 1 0101 2000 1000

TCSPC mode, channels 2 and 0 enabled, run for 2 seconds, frequency = 1MHz

This program assumes that the programmable clock output is connected to all START and STOP inputs of all channels.

The time-bin size, as set in the mode bits register, is set to 32 bits. For this example assume that there is 8Mbytes of memory formatted as 2 Mbytes of 32-bit time-bins.

The function HRM_StartHistogramFSM( ) uses the AAR register to route the channel ID bits to the most signicant address lines. This automatically splits the memory into 4 blocks, 1 for each channel. The histogram for channel 0 will start at 32-word address 0. The histogram for channel 1 will start at 32-word address 0x80000. The histogram

Figure 18

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Dll Application Examples

for channel 2 will start at 32-word address 0x100000. The histogram for channel 3 will start at 32-word address

0x180000. The resolution of the timing is xed at 27ps per bin.

The edge sensitivity register sets an enabled channel to START on the LO-HI edge of the clock and STOP on the HILO edge. After the histogram is run for <time> milliseconds the histogram is stopped and all the memory is read to a buffer. This program then uses the clock period to calculate the address of the time-bins corresponding to ~20ns

before the STOP (HI-LO transition of the clock). It then reads to le a range of time-bins that nishes ~20ns after the STOP. This is done to save the time-bins where the histogram resides whilst keeping the le size to a minimum. As

the STOP signals are from a clock the resulting histogram will be a narrow peak. The width of this peak will represent the amount of noise/jitter on the clock.

The screen shot shows a section of the output le (Histogram.csv) using EXCEL. The right hand side shows the 4 columns of time-tag values. The graph is a simple EXCEL representation of this data.

Source Code

#include <stdio.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include <windows.h> #include “HRM-TDCAPI.h”

#dene CH0_ADDR 0 #dene CH1_ADDR CH0_ADDR+0x80000 #dene CH2_ADDR CH1_ADDR+0x80000 #dene CH3_ADDR CH2_ADDR+0x80000

Ulong buer [0x200000];

void main(Sword argc, Sbyte *argv[]) {

HRM_STATUS error; Uword tcspc, delay, chann; Uword period, clock; Ulong moduleCount, oset, range, i; HANDLE hdl[10]; FILE *;

Initialise variables and clear error report */

error = HRM_OK; tcspc = 0;

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Dll Application Examples

delay = 0; chann = 0; period = 2000;

 = NULL;

HRM_GetLastError(HRM_OK);

Set error if too few input parameters and set reason in last error. */

if(argc < 4) { HRM_GetLastError(HRM_INV_PARAMETER); error = HRM_ERROR; }

If dene frequency then read period in ns and ensure

not greater than maximum allowable value of 2500. */

if(argc > 4) period = (Uword)atoi(argv[4]); if(period > 2500) period = 2500;

Read from ~20ns before 1/2 cycle to ~20ns after.

Form the oset in the memory where reading is to start.

This is ~ 20ns before half period of clock. Then set the range for reading results of 40ns. */

clock = (Uword)(period / 2); i = (Ulong)clock; if (i >= 20) i = (Ulong)(i - 20);

oset = (Ulong)(i * 1000 / 27);

range = (Ulong)(40 * 1000 / 27);

Form the programmable clock value. Upper byte and lower byte

are set to 1/2 period in 5ns per bit - 1.

clock = (Uword)(clock / 5); if(clock) clock--; clock = (Uword)((clock << 8) | clock); /*

1. Set the ag for TCSPC or MULTI-SCALAR mode

2. Read in the time in ms for running the histogram.

3. Form the 4 channel edge enables based on the input parameter.

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Dll Application Examples

if(error == HRM_OK) { tcspc = (Uword)(argv[1][0] & 1); delay = (Sword)atoi(argv[3]); if(argv[2][0] == ‘1’)

chann |= 0x9000;

if(argv[2][1] == ‘1’)

chann |= 0x0900;

if(argv[2][2] == ‘1’)

chann |= 0x0090;

if(argv[2][3] == ‘1’)

chann |= 0x0009;

}

Detect the number of HRM-TDC modules */

if(error == HRM_OK) { HRM_RefreshConnectedModuleList(); moduleCount = (Ulong)HRM_GetConnectedModuleCount(); }

If a module is present connect to the rst module.

If no module, set error and reason in last error report. */

if(error == HRM_OK) { if(moduleCount)

HRM_GetConnectedModuleList(hdl); else { HRM_GetLastError(HRM_OPEN_USB); error = HRM_ERROR; } }

/* Set the clock frequency.

if(error == HRM_OK)

error = HRM_SetFrequencySelectionRegister(hdl[0], clock);

Set the channel edge enables. */

if(error == HRM_OK) error = HRM_SetEdgeSensitivityRegister(hdl[0], chann);

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Dll Application Examples

Clear the memory. */

if(error == HRM_OK) error = HRM_InitMemory(hdl[0], 0, 0x200000, 0); /*

Start the histogram running. */

if(error == HRM_OK) error = HRM_StartHistogramFSM(hdl[0], tcspc, 0); /*

Run the histogram for the programmed time in ms. */

if(error == HRM_OK) for(i = GetTickCount(); (Uword)(GetTickCount() - i) < delay;);

Stop the histogram process. */

if(error == HRM_OK) error = HRM_SetModeBitsRegister(hdl[0], 0x0030);

Read all the memory into the buer.

if(error == HRM_OK)

error = HRM_ReadMemory(hdl[0], 0x0030, 0, 0x200000, buer);

Open the le and set the headings.

if(error == HRM_OK) {

 = fopen(“HISTOGRAM.csv”, “w+t”); fprintf(, “Chan 0,Chan 1,Chan 2,Chan 3\n”);

}

/* For each channel read all the time-bins from 20ns before to 20ns

after the 1/2 clock cycle and save then in the le.

for(i=0; i!=range && error == HRM_OK; i++) {

fprintf(, “%ld,%ld,%ld,%ld\n”, buer[i+CH0_ADDR+oset], buer[i+CH1_ADDR+oset], buer[i+CH2_ADDR+oset], buer[i+CH3_ADDR+oset]);

} /*

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Dll Application Examples

Close the le and print error code if failed.

if()

fclose();

if(error == HRM_OK) printf(“Done”); else { error = HRM_GetLastError(HRM_OK); printf(“Failed: Error code = %d”, error); } }

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Resolving Free Running Fifo Time-tag Values

RESOLVING FREE RUNNING FIFO TIME-TAG VALUES

Free Running Algorithm Explained

When the module operates in Free Running FIFO Time-Tagging mode, resolving the time-tag values can be quite

complicated. A FIFO time-tag consists of two 32-bit unsigned values. The rst word reports the MICRO time and

channel number. The second word, called the MACRO time, is a 32 bit free running counter value with an LSB of 5ns.

The MICRO counter is a 23 bit counter with an LSB value of 26.9851ps. This counter rolls over at a value of 0x50FFFF. The time for a complete rollover of the MACRO counter is ~21.5 seconds. So, assuming that the intervals between consecutive time-tags is not greater than ~21.5 seconds each time-tag interval can be calculated as follows:

1. Calculate MACRO change dMACRO

If previous MACRO value is less than current MACRO value then

dMACRO = cMACRO – pMACRO

If previous value (pMACRO) is greater than current (cMACRO) then counter has rolled over so

dMACRO = 0x100000000 – pMACRO + cMACRO

2. Calculate complete MICRO rollover time rMICRO

Complete rollover time for MICRO:

rMICRO = 0x510000 * 26.9851ps = 143248136.6016ps

3. Calculate number of complete MICRO rollovers nMICRO

nMICRO = (dMACRO x 5000) / rMICRO (x 5000 to convert dMACRO into ps)

4. Calculate change in MICRO counter dMICRO

If previous value (pMICRO) is less than current value (cMICRO) then

dMICRO = cMICRO – pMICRO

If previous value (pMICRO) is greater than current (cMACRO) then counter has rolled over so

dMICRO = 0x510000 – pMICRO + cMICRO

5. Calculate total time between time-tags dTIME

dTIME = (nMICRO x rMICRO) + (dMICRO x 26.9851) ps

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Resolving Free Running Fifo Time-tag Values

Software Implementation in ‘C’

int iMACRO; double pMICRO, cMICRO, pMACRO, cMACRO; double rMICRO, dMICRO, dMACRO, dTIME;

•

/* Remove channel ID bits from MICRO values and Convert to doubles. */

pMACRO = (double)PreviousMacroValue; pMICRO = (double)(PreviousMicroValue >> 2); cMACRO = (double)CurrentMacroValue; cMICRO = (double)(CurrentMicroValue >> 2);

/* Calculate the MICRO counter rollover time */

rMICRO = 0x510000 * 26.9851;

/* Calculate the number of MICRO counter rollovers */

if(cMACRO >= pMACRO)

dMACRO = (cMACRO - pMACRO) * 5000.0 / rMICRO;

else

dMACRO = (cMACRO + 0xFFFFFFFF – pMACRO + 1) * 5000.0 / rMICRO;

/* Cast rollover count to get dMACRO as a whole number then convert count into picoseconds. */

iMACRO = (int)dMACRO; dMACRO = (double)iMACRO; dMACRO = dMACRO * rMICRO;

/* Calculate the change in MICRO counter in picoseconds */

if(cMICRO > pMICRO)

dMICRO = (cMICRO - pMICRO) * 26.9851;

else

dMICRO = (cMICRO + 0x510000 – pMICRO) * 26.9851;

/* Calculate the change in time from previous to current time-tag */

dTIME = dMICRO + dMACRO;

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Resolving Free Running Fifo Time-tag Values

RESOLVING RESYNC FIFO TIME-TAG VALUES

Resync Algorithm Explained

When the module operates in Resync FIFO Time-Tagging mode, resolving the time-tag values can be quite

complicated. A FIFO time-tag consists of two 32-bit unsigned values. The rst word reports the MICRO time and

channel number. The second word, called the MACRO time, is a 32 bit counter value with an LSB of 25ns that is synchronized to the 250KHz START clock.

The MICRO counter has an LSB value of 26.9851ps. This counter is reset to 0 on every cycle of the 250KHz START clock. So each time-tag value can be calculated as follows:

1. Calculate offset between MACRO and MICRO timers

The rst time tag is used to calculate the MACRO offset ‘MACoffset’ as follows:

MACROoffset = FirstMACRO – ((FirstMICRO * 26.9851) / 25000) (25000ps = 25ns)

The gives the count of the MACRO when the rst 4us (250KHz) frame started.

2. Calculate the current 4ms frame

FrameNo = (MACRO – MACROoffset) / 160 (160 x 25ns = 4us – 250KHz)

3. Calculate the remainder of MACRO counts

Remainder = REM of (MACRO – MACROoffset) / 160

4. Now adjust the FrameNo based on possible boundary conditions

If (Remainder < 60 and MICRO > 100000) If MACRO is just past boundary and MICRO

FrameNo = FrameNo – 1; is large then Rollover hasn’t occurred yet.

If (Remainder > 110 and MICRO < 40000) If MACRO is near end of boundary and MACRO

FrameNo = FrameNo + 1; is small the ROLLOVER has already occurred.

5. Now calculate the time in picoseconds

Time = (FrameNo x 4000000) + (MICRO x 26.9851)

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Resolving Free Running Fifo Time-tag Values

Software Implementation in ‘C’

long MACOFF, MACRO, MICRO, FRACT; double dv1, dv2, dTIME;

Calculate the MACRO oset count.

dv1 = (double)(FirstMicroValue >> 2); dv1 = (double)(dv1 * 26.9851); dv1 = (double)(dv1 / 25000.0); MACOFF = (long)dv1; MACOFF = (long)(FirstMacroValue – MACOFF);

•

Remove oset and calculate the MACRO and the fraction of frame.

dv1 = (double)(MacroValue – MACOFF); dv1 /= 160.0; MACRO = (long)dv1;

dv2 = oor(dv1);

dv2 = (double)(dv1 - dv2); dv2 = (double)(dv2 * 160.0); FRACT = (long)dv2;

/* Increment or decrement the MACRO based on boundary positions. If MACRO is just past boundary and MICRO is large then ROLLOVER hasn’t occurred yet. If MACRO is near end of boundary and MACRO is small the ROLLOVER has already occurred. */

MICRO = MicroValue >> 2;

if(FRACT < 60 && MicroValue > 100000)

MACRO--;

if(FRACT > 110 && MicroValue < 40000)

MACRO++;

/* Calculate the time in picoseconds. */

dv1 = (double)MACRO; dv2 = (double)MicroValue;

dTIME = (dv1 * 4000000) + (dv2 * 26.9851);

HRM-TDC

[(x(i)−mx)∗( y(i−d)−my) ]

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Correlation Function Algorithm

CORRELATION FUNCTION ALGORITHM

In correlation mode the system will carry out a single sweep of software bins with all the bins initially set to 0. On completion the system will calculate the correlation between two inputs (cross correlation) or correlation on a single input (auto correlation) and save the result. The number of time-bins to be used for the calculation and the resolution of the bin is programmable. The results will comprise of a number of values equal to the number of time-bins used

for the calculation. The position of each value represents the level of phase shift between the input streams. The rst

value corresponds to a shift of 0, the second a shift of ‘T’ etc, where ‘T’ is the resolution of the time-bin. The value of each result represents the level of correlation at that particular phase.

Cross/ Auto correlation is a standard method of estimating the degree to which two series are correlated. Consider

two series x(i) and y(i) where i=0,1,2...N-1. The cross correlation r at delay d is dened as

∑

r =

(x(i) − m x)

∑

(y(i − d) − my)

∑

Where mx and my are the means of the corresponding series. If the above is computed for all delays d=0,1,2,...N-1 then it results in a cross correlation series of twice the length as the original series.

∑

r(d) =

There is the issue of what to do when the index into the series is less than 0 or greater than or equal to the number of points. (i-d < 0 or i-d >= N) The most common approaches are to either ignore these points or assuming the series x and y are zero for i < 0 and i >= N. In many signal processing applications the series is assumed to be circular in which case the out of range indexes are “wrapped” back within range, ie: x(-1) = x(N-1), x(N+5) = x(5) etc

The range of delays d and thus the length of the cross correlation series can be less than N, for example the aim may be to test correlation at short delays only. The denominator in the expression above serves to normalize the

correlation coefcients such that -1 <= r(d) <= 1, the bounds indicating maximum correlation and 0 indicating no

correlation. A high negative correlation indicates a high correlation but of the inverse of one of the series.

(x(i) − m x)

∑

(y(i − d) − my)

∑

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Labview Driver Details

LABVIEW DRIVER DETAILS

The HRM-TDC Labview driver has been designed to allow the construction of a wide variety of custom applications

based on the HRM-TDC module. The library contains VI wrappers for all functions dened in the HRM-TDC API

DLL. The following naming convention has been used: the VI wrapper for HRM-TDC API DLL function HRM_XXXX is HRM_XXXX.vi.

For LabVIEW the user must use the modied version of the DLL providid called HRMTimeALI_LV.DLL

In both cases a copy of the relevant DLL MUST reside in the same folder as the application.

HRM-TDC LabView Driver VI List

HRM_GetDLLVersion.vi

HRMTime API DLL Version Returns the HRMTime API

DLL version

HRM_SetCongurationPath.vi

Conguration path Path to the folder where the HRMTime

feature les are located

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Labview Driver Details

HRM_RefreshConnectedModuleList.vi

HRM_GetConnectedModuleCount.vi

Connected module count Returns the number of connected modules detected by the previous HRM_ RefreshConnectedModuleList call

HRM_GetConnectedModuleList.vi

Handle list

Numeric Holds the list of handles for the connected

moduled detected by the previous HRM_RefreshConnectedModuleList call

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Labview Driver Details

HRM_CloseModule.vi

Handle The module handle

HRM_SetAddressRouteRegister.vi

Address routing data

Numeric Data to be written to the address route

Handle Module handle

HRM_SetDataRouteRegister.vi

Handle Module handle

Data route routing data

Numeric Data to be written to the Data Route Register

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Labview Driver Details

HRM_SetAddressRegister.vi

Address Data to be written to the Address Register

Handle Module handle

HRM_SetFillValueRegister.vi

Handle Module handle

Fill value Memory ll value

HRM_SetUSBAddressRegister.vi

Handle Module handle

USB Address USB block transfer address

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Labview Driver Details

HRM_SetModeBitsRegister.vi

Handle Module handle

Mode bits data Mode bits data

HRM_SetEdgeSensitivityRegister.vi

Handle Module handle

Edge sensitivity Edge sensitivity data

HRM_SetRoutingResetRegister.vi

Handle Module handle

Routing reset Routing reset data

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Labview Driver Details

HRM_SetMemoryCountRegister.vi

Handle Module handle

Memory count Memory count

HRM_SetUSBCountRegister.vi

Handle Module handle USB count USB count data

HRM_SetFrequencySelectionRegister.vi

Handle Module handle

Frequency selection Frequency selection data

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Labview Driver Details

HRM_SetIODirectionRegister.vi

Handle Module handle

IO direction GPIO direction data

HRM_SetIOValueRegister.vi

Handle Module handle

IO value IO value data

HRM_SetBinCountRegister.vi

Handle Module handle

Bin Count Bin Count

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Labview Driver Details

HRM_GetStatusRegister.vi

Handle Module handle

Status Status data

HRM_GetSoftwareRevisionRegister.vi

Handle Module handle

FPGA revision FPGA revision

HRM_GetWriteCountRegister.vi

Handle Module handle Write count Write count

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Labview Driver Details

HRM_GetModuleIDRegister.vi

Handle Module handle

Module ID

Numeric Module serial number

HRM_InitMemory.vi

Handle Module handle

Start address Start address

Length Block length

Fill data Fill data

HRM_ReadMemory.vi

Handle Module handle

Mode mask Mode bits mask

Start address Read start address

Length Read block size

Buffer Read buffer

Numeric

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Labview Driver Details

HRM_ReadFIFOMemory.vi

Handle Module handle

Mode mask Mode bits mask

Start address Read start address

Length Read block size

Buf Read buffer

Numeric

HRM_RequestStop.vi

Handle Module handle

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Labview Driver Details

HRM_StreamTCSPC2Mem.vi

Handle Module handle

Buffer size Read buffer size

Recording length Recording time in ms

Micro bits Number of microtime bits

Micro LSB Microtime least signicant bit

Macro bits Number of macrotime bits

Macro LSB Macrotime least signicant bit

Edge selection Edge selection data

Recorded byte count Number of recorded bytes

Buffer

Numeric Read buffer

HRM_StreamTCSPC2File.vi

Handle Module handle

Recording length Recording time in ms

Micro bits Number of microtime bits

Micro LSB Microtime least signicant bit

Macro bits Number of macrotime bits

Macro LSB Macrotime least signicant bit

File name Output lename

Edge selection Edge selection data

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Labview Driver Details

HRM_ConvertRawTCSPCFile2CSV.vi

Raw input le Input (raw) lename

CSV output le Output (CSV) lename

Microtime bits Number of microtime bits (must match the value used in the HRM_

StreamTCSPC2File call)

Microtime lsb Microtime least signicant bit (must

match value used for the HRM_StreamTCSPC2File call)

Macrotime bits Number of macrotime bits (must match the value used for the HRM_

StreamTCSPC2File call)

Macrotime lsb Macrotime least signicant bit (must

match value used for the HRM_StreamTCSPC2File call)

HRM_StreamTimeTags2Mem.vi

Handle Module handle

Buffer size Read buffer size

Recording length Recording time in ms

Edge selection Edge selection data

Microtime lsb Microtime least signicant bit

Number of recorded bytes Number of recorded bytes

Buffer

Numeric Read buffer

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Labview Driver Details

HRM_StreamTimeTags2File.vi

Handle Module handle

Output le Output lename

Recording length Recording time in ms

Edge selection Edge selection data

Microtime lsb Microtime least signicant bit

HRM_ConvertRawContTTagsFile2CSV.vi

Input le Input (raw) lename

Output le Output (CSV) lename

Microtime lsb Microtime least signicant bit (must match the

value used for the HRM_StramTimeTags2File call)

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Labview Driver Details

Sample LabView Application

Test_TCSPC.vi

This is a sample application demonstrating the TCSPC stream-to-le functionality.

HRM-TDC

USER MANUAL

> Appendix > Labview Driver Details

Rev. 3.0, December 2017

All specications are subject to change without notice

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