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TDC1000-C2000EVM: Design help

ArTzy
Genius 17525 points
Part Number: TDC1000-C2000EVM
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: TUSS4470, TDC1000, TIDA-00322

Tool/software:

Hi Experts,

Customer is using TDC1000-C2000EVM evaluation module, and I also purchased the sensor (please see the attachment). Attached the sensor to the TX1 and GND (please see the attachment).
Downloaded the GUI and set all the configuration registers (please see the attachment). Connected the board to the oscilloscope, and can see the START, ECHO, and STOP signals (please see the attachment).

After completing these steps, tried to measure the level between 2 cm to 100 cm. However, the TOF changed only slightly in microseconds and did not reflect the actual increase in water level. It remains around 39 microseconds.

Questions are as follows:
1. Is this kit compatible with my application to measure this range or more?
2. Is there any step might have done wrong?
3. Is this sensor compatible with this kit,
4. should use sealed or unsealed sensor ?
5. Is the measurement method correct, or do need to immerse the sensor in the water?

Please see the attachment - sn_attachments.zip

Thank you.

Regards,
Archie A.

  • 0
    TI__Mastermind 23045 points

    Hello Archie,

    Thanks for the background and for posting to the sensors forum!

    Let me help address your questions:

    1. Is this kit compatible with my application to measure this range or more?
      1. 100cm range is very large for the voltage that the kit runs at (5V). Another potential issue is that typically 1MHz transducers are used for this type of application to get high enough resolution in relation to the speed of sound in the medium which in this case is water. The downside is that high frequency pulses will attenuate more quickly. If they are trying to achieve 100cm they will most likely need to increase the voltage in which they are driving the transducer. The TUSS4470 can be driven to a higher voltage and supports the 1MHz transducer frequency.
    2. Is there any step might have done wrong?
      1. Yes, the transducer needs to be adhered to the tank. A very strong mechanical connection to the tank is needed in order to ensure that the signal will traverse through the tank. This app note has more information on how to attached a transducer to the tank: www.ti.com/.../snaa266a.pdf
    3. Is this sensor compatible with this kit
      1. The datasheet or specs were not provided for the sensor so I cannot comment on this.
    4. Should use sealed or unsealed sensor ?
      1. Typically when sensors are attached to the outside of the tank they are unsealed. Sealed transducers are less sensitive making it harder to obtain the reflected pulse back. 
    5. Is the measurement method correct, or do need to immerse the sensor in the water?
      1. The transducer does not need to be immersed in water. It can be attached outside the tank. Another concern I had was the tank material. If the plastic tank is double walled meaning that it has an air gap between two plastic walls this type of sensing might not work. The tank would need to be solid plastic in order to ensure that the signal is not reflected by changes in the medium. Another potential problem is typically the device settings. The listening window of the device needs to be configured using the timing registers.

    I hope this helps! Let me know if there are more questions.

    Best,

    Isaac

  • 0 in reply to Isaac Lara
    TI__Genius 17525 points

    Hi Isaac,

    Thank you for you support , we have some questions :
    1. How can i change the power voltage for the kit ?
    2. what is the Max voltage to measure 100 cm or more ?
    3. In my case do you think i need this module TUSS4470 ?
    4. How to use this Module TUSS4470 is it for boosting the voltage for Kit or Sensor?

    Regards,
    Archie A.

  • 0 in reply to ArTzy
    TI__Mastermind 23045 points

    Hello Archie,

    Let me address your question:

    1. The TDC1000 would require additional circuitry in order to boost the voltage, we no longer sell a kit that is able to support this.
    2. This is dependent on a lot of different factors such as transducer frequency, tank material, transmission medium, FOV. It's not really possible to answer this question so we usually recommend users to test this out on their system.
    3. The TUSS4470 is a different ultrasonic EVM that is able to generate a larger voltage on the device so the additional circuitry to boost the output voltage would not be necessary since this is built in on the device. The larger output voltage might make it possible to achieve the 100cm requirement for the customer system.
    4. No, this is a different ultrasonic device as mentioned in the previous question.

    Here is a document that the customer can reference on the TDC1000-TDC72000 that was used for level measurement, the tank used was 88cm and the voltage was boosted to 30V in order to achieve this distance.

    Best,

    Isaac

  • 0 in reply to Isaac Lara
    TI__Genius 17525 points

    Hi Isaac,

    Thank you for your detailed response. We have following concerns:

    1- I can't see the document which you mentioned at the end of your previous message.

    2- Someone recommended the TDC1000-C2000EVM to measure level approximately 2 meters , and you mentioned that we can't only with booster, now we are confused, we bought the TDC1000-C2000EVM kit:

    1 - what is the maximum level I can measure it using this kit only without extra booster ?
    2 - is there any document to make full experiment for this max level with all configuration details for the GUI?
    3 - can you give me the full design if i want to measure the level 2 -3 meters using this kit with extra components ?

    Regards,
    Archie A.

  • 0 in reply to ArTzy
    TI__Mastermind 23045 points

    Hello Archie,

    Thanks for the response.

    1. Here is the link to the document: https://www.ti.com/lit/ug/tidu616/tidu616.pdf
    2. I am no sure who mentioned the 2 meter requirement, but the max distance is dependent on a couple of factors such as the frequency used, typically 1MHz is used for this sort of measurement which cant achieve the this kind of range at 5V excitation.
    3. We don't have a spec on what the max measurement is for the standard 5V excitation on the kit. As mentioned previously this is dependent on a lot of factors.
    4. There is no document that tests how far the measurement range is for the TDC1000-C2000EVM.
    5. The customer can look at this design https://www.ti.com/tool/TIDA-00322 in order to achieve larger distances. They may need to increase the voltage in order to reach the 2-3 meter distance but they may need to test this with their own tank/transducer.

    Best,

    Isaac

  • 0 in reply to Isaac Lara
    TI__Genius 17525 points

    Hi Isaac,

    Thank you and I hope you are doing well.

    1- i want to ask if i can add booster to the development kit which i have (TDC1000-C2000EVM) , to measure the range 2 meters , instead of buying new Kit?
    2- i have some questions if i cant to do point 1 , and i have to design TIDA-00322 :
    a- again can i measure 2-3 meter using TIDA-00322 design ?
    b- you mentioned i have to increase the voltage to get this level 2-3 meter , do you mean DC power supply which is
    20v in J4 or the 30v (VDD_30V0) from the booster ?
    c - what is the maximum voltage ?
    d - do you sell this kit ?

    Thank you for your support.

    Regards,
    Archie A.

  • 0 in reply to ArTzy
    TI__Mastermind 23045 points

    Hello Archie,

    1. i want to ask if i can add booster to the development kit which i have (TDC1000-C2000EVM) , to measure the range 2 meters , instead of buying new Kit?
      1. Yes you can add a booster to the current EVM. That would be closer to this EVM that we used to offer: https://www.ti.com/lit/ug/sniu026a/sniu026a.pdf  please focus on the BSTEVM portion of the board. Just note this board is slightly different because the TDC1000-C2000EVM does not provide some of the connections needed by the BSTEVM. I am specifically referring to some of the J4 connections. The J3 connector is the same as the TDC1000-C2000EVM you have.
    2. i have some questions if i cant to do point 1 , and i have to design TIDA-00322
      1. This is unknown since the TIDA-0322 board was not tested at 2m-3m range.
      2. The voltage that needs to be increased would not be the VDD_5V0, it is specifically the VDD_30V0. The 5V out of the TDC TX is used to drive the gate driver which then drives the transducer at 30V.
      3. I am not sure what max voltage you are referring to here but the gate drivers on this design are only rated to 35V if you need a larger voltage then then a different gate driver can be used to drive a larger voltage. The system max voltage is dependent on your transducers. If your transducer cant handle 30V then you might need a different transducer.
      4. We don't sell the TIDA-00322 board or the BSTEVM so these cannot be purchased. 

    Best,

    Isaac