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TIDA-01187: TIDA-01187

Part Number: TIDA-01187

In the document: LIDAR-Pulsed Time-of-Flight Reference Design Using High-Speed Data Converters you describe the hardware implementation for ToF or DSP based options. What is the advantage of the second one? Would you point me to additional material supporting the advantage of this method vs the standard ToF? do you have more experimental data supporting this methodology?

Thanks,

Jacek

  • Hi Jacek
    We are looking into your questions. Someone will provide a more detail response soon.
    Best regards,
    Jim B
  • Jacek,

    Traditional ToF systems based on Time to Digital Conversion (TDC) are generally implemented with high speed comparators and therefore are only able to capture the placement of the return pulse.  By using a high speed ADC and signal processing, we are able acheive the following benefits:

    1. Enhanced Pulse detection Performance - use of FFT or corelation algorithms improves the pulse estimation resolution and noise rejection when compared to a TDC.  In this design we showed a coherent FFT, which is able to extract the phase of one of the return pulse harmonics while rejecting noise at all other frequencies.  Use of correlation would provide a similar result.

    2. Target Identification - the signal processing mentioned above can also estimate the amplitude of the return pulse, which can be used to estimate how absorptive the target is.

    The purpose of the design was not to show the optimal DSP approach, but to show a straightforward scheme that demonstrated the advantages over a traditional TDC.

    Thanks,

    Dave

  • Thanks David,

    this sounds really interesting. I am very much familiar with FFT application of testing mixed signal devices on the ATE using DSP approach to basically retrieve amplitude / phase information from the DUT. Here the DUT would be essentially the reflective target returning the pulses. 

    Is there any literature available discussion this application? Any further info available so that I would be able to gain more background info with all the pros and cons of this approach?

    Thanks,

    Jacek

  • Jacek,

    we will contact you offline to discuss further details of your specific case.