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TDC1011: I need information how to use the analog front end TDC1011?

Luis Hernandez2
Prodigy 20 points
Part Number: TDC1011
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: TIDA-00322, TDC1000, TDC1000-C2000EVM, TUSS4470, TDC7200


I am creating a novel ultrasonic device, I will be using the TDC1011 analog front end AFE which is capable of producing 4mhz. This AFE produces the wave (pulse) and catch the echo coming back thorough the the same piezo sensor. My questions are:

1. This AFE required a clock generator. Can use any clock generator sold by IT, if yes, which one?.

2. Can the sample and data rate be adjusted on this AFE?

3. How fast my controller (in MHZ) like arduino or the IT MCU controller need to be in order to catch or read  the signal coming from the AFE?.

4. what would the data transfer rate of the AFE going to the controller like a MCU or arduino?

5. How can I increase the pulse (intensity) generated by the AFE so I can have a more intense ultrasound wave from the piezo? not sure if the 3 or 5v will be enough to produce the intensity needed or maybe the desire intensity I am looking for is not needed since the echo coming back to the piezo can be amplified by the AFE?. Please any comment would be appreciated.  

6. once the tdc1011 convert the signal to digital I am assuming I will get all the signal in digital form at the desired sample rate but will I also get the time of flight once the AFE stop?

  • 0
    TI__Mastermind 27940 points

    Hi Luis,

    Answering your questions:

    1. The clock generator you select depends on the frequency you need, and the TX_FREQ_DIV (clock divider) you prefer to use. The simplest option is to use an 8MHz clock generator, and use a TX_FREQ_DIV of 2 to create the 4MHz signal for your transducer. You can either use a crystal oscillator or generate an uninterrupted 8MHz PWM signal from your MCU.

    2. The TDC1011 AFE is all analog, so there is no ability to adjust sample/data rate.

    3. The speed of your MCU to capture the START and STOP depends on the time-of-flight step resolution you require. Most ultrasonic applications tend to use timer captures or ADCs at 1MSPS (1us sample rate) or higher.

    4. All your MCU needs to do is capture the low-to-high digital toggle of the START and STOP pins at the system required sample rate.

    5. If a 3.3 or 5V transducer driver signal is not enough, you can use a pre-driver circuit, such as the one found in here ( http://www.ti.com/tool/TIDA-00322 ), to generate a driver signal up to 30V.

    6. The delta between the low-to-high transition of the START pulse, and the low-to-high transition of the STOP pulse will give you the time-of-flight value.

    You can find more FAQ information on the TDC10xx here: https://e2e.ti.com/support/sensors/f/1023/t/724028?-FAQ-TDC1000-Everything-You-Need-to-Know-for-Ultrasonic-ToF-Liquid-Coupled-Collateral-Tools-Designs-FAQ-

  • 0 in reply to Akeem Whitehead
    Prodigy 20 points

    Great, you answered almost everything I needed to know. Thank you,appreciated it..

    1. It looks like the TIDA-00322 is not for sale. Do you have a full system like this that can be purchased?

    2. If I decided to use the TDC1011, what alternative I can use so it can use high power voltage?

    3. I want to be able to read the digital output so not only the time of flight. I want to be able to process the full echo wave coming from the sensor and apply wavelet and compress sensing procesing. Not sure if I will be able to do this with the tdc1011. any comments.

    4. How can I connect to the TIDA-00322 from PC using visual studio (C sharp) and serial port, if it possible?..

  • 0 in reply to Luis Hernandez2
    TI__Mastermind 27940 points

    Hi Luis,

    Responding to your questions:

    1. The only evaluation tool available for the TDC1000 is the TDC1000-C2000EVM; however, this does not include the pre-driver circuit to drive the transducer above 5V.

    2. For transducers operating above 1MHz, the TDC10xx is your only option. If you are able to use a transducer at 1MHz or lower, the TUSS4470 is available as an alternative to the TDC1011 to drive transducers up to 36V.

    3. The TDC1011 only provides the start and stop pulses for you to calculate the actual time of flight on an external microcontroller. The TDC7200 is digital stop watch IC is available to compute the time of flight for you, such that you read the time of flight result from the TDC7200 through SPI. This device was designed specifically to be paired with the TDC10xx to read the incoming START and STOP pulses.

    4. The TDC1000-C2000EVM GUI installer includes source code to implement a COM serial port connection to the TDC1000-C2000EVM hardware. You can re-purpose this code to create a C# based GUI.