Product recommendation for generation of waveforms to control a pair of scanning mirrors

Mohamed El Haddad

Other Parts Discussed in Thread: TIPD192, DAC8803EVM, DAC8814EVM, 5-6KINTERFACE, TMDSDSK5416, DAC8803

Hello,

I have a pair of scanning galvanometer mirrors in a laser-imaging system that are controlled by periodic waveforms generated from an NI-DAQ. I need more flexibility in the generated waveform though. Ideally, I need to be able to perform waveform updates on a sample-by-sample basis as opposed to multiple periods/samples at once. I was thinking maybe generate the waveform on a microcontroller and have it drive a DAC, but the challenge is that the sample clock, provided externally, runs at 400 kHz, which means that at 8 bits/sample and 2 output channels, the minimum data rate is ~ 6.4 Mbps. Is there a TI product (EVM or something similar) that I could use to achieve this? Also, the voltage range is -/+ 10V and ideally I'd like to be able to connect to it using SMA or BNC cables.

Thanks,

Mohamed

over 5 years ago

0 Clay Uhing over 5 years ago

TI__Prodigy 280 points

Hi Mohamed,
Thanks for your question, I will forward it to some engineers who work with different ADCs/EVMs.
Best Regards,
Clay

0 Jim Brinkhurst1 over 5 years ago in reply to Clay Uhing

TI__Mastermind 43930 points

Hi Mohamed

Would the TIPD192 (1ch) , DAC8803EVM/DAC8814EVM (4ch) or similar boards provide what you need?

These are higher resolution but otherwise meet most of the requirements you have listed.

I hope this is helpful.

Best regards,

Jim B

0 Mohamed El Haddad over 5 years ago in reply to Jim Brinkhurst1

Prodigy 120 points

Hi Jim,

Thank you for your reply and recommendations. Is there a "more complete" product? As in, an EVM that has both a microcontroller/microprocessor along with a 2+ channel DAC?

To be able to use either of these, I'd need to buy a separate MCU board, setup the SPI links, and have some RTOS running on the MCU. Does TI carry any EVM that has this setup out of the box? I know this might probably sound lazy :-), but it's just a small part of a bigger project and I'm trying to find the most efficient route to do this.

0 Jim Brinkhurst1 over 5 years ago in reply to Mohamed El Haddad

TI__Mastermind 43930 points

Hi Mohamed
I'm not aware of any single board solutions from TI that have everything you need.
One potential combination would be the following:
DAC8803EVM
5-6KINTERFACE
TMDSDSK5416 TMS320C5416 DSP Starter Kit (DSK)
Best regards,
Jim B

0 Mohamed El Haddad over 5 years ago in reply to Jim Brinkhurst1

Prodigy 120 points

Thanks Jim. I will try this DAC with an MCU that I have then.

0 Mohamed El Haddad over 5 years ago in reply to Mohamed El Haddad

Prodigy 120 points

Just an update, in case someone runs into this thread: I bought the DAC8803 EVM and was able to connect it over spi with a STM32F407 (STM32F4 discovery board), and it ran without problems.

Thanks for the recommendation, Jim.

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Product recommendation for generation of waveforms to control a pair of scanning mirrors