Method and system for recording multi-path nanosecond time sequence
By working in concert with an external timing pulse generator and a TDC circuit, the synchronization problem of multiple TDC circuits was solved, enabling multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording, improving the accuracy and scalability of time measurement, and allowing for the prediction of particle flight paths and distances.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202610207047.8
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2026-02-12
- Publication Date
- 2026-05-15
AI Technical Summary
Existing TDC circuits cannot maintain synchronization in multi-channel signal measurement, especially when there are more than 128 channels. The difference in crystal oscillator frequency leads to inaccurate time measurement and makes it impossible to achieve long-term nanosecond-level timing recording.
An external timing pulse generator is used to generate pulses of a fixed frequency for time measurement of different TDC circuits. A common starting point is determined by initialization pulses and continuous timing pulses, and timestamp accumulation calculation is performed based on this as a reference to ensure that the timestamps of each TDC circuit are recorded in an orderly manner.
It effectively solves the synchronization problem of multiple TDC circuits, improves the scalability of TDC circuits, ensures the orderliness and accuracy of timestamps between multiple signals, and can accurately predict the flight path and flight distance of particles.
Smart Images
Figure CN122043905A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of clock information synchronization technology, specifically to a method and system for recording multi-channel nanosecond-level timing data. Background Technology
[0002] Cosmic ray imaging, as a non-destructive and highly penetrating novel detection technology, has demonstrated unique advantages in fields such as geological exploration, cultural relic protection, and industrial inspection in recent years. The core principle of drift tube detectors or plastic scintillator detectors lies in measuring the time difference of signal arrival and combining it with the geometric position structure formed by a multi-channel detector array to achieve high-precision reconstruction of the incident and outgoing tracks of cosmic rays, thereby realizing the inversion of the internal density distribution of objects and providing three-dimensional structural imaging for large targets.
[0003] TDC circuits (time-to-digital converters) are mostly used in instruments that measure particle flight time, with units of measurement typically ranging from 50 to 100 ps. Therefore, they only have the attribute of extremely short relative measurement time and do not have the ability to perform large-scale TDC collaborative measurements, nor do they have the ability to continuously detect many signals over a long period of time.
[0004] A single TDC typically supports no more than 128 channels, and each of these 128 channels contains a unified crystal oscillator PLL synthesized frequency counter. When multiple TDCs work together, it is impossible for the counters of each TDC to remain synchronized with the counters of other TDCs. Therefore, special methods are needed to complete the timing recording of multiple TDCs at the very high number of channels (e.g., more than 128 channels), over a long period of time, concurrently, and at the nanosecond level.
[0005] While a single TDC maintains uniform time across its 128 channels, maintaining uniformity becomes impossible with more than 128 channels. Furthermore, each TDC uses its own crystal oscillator, whose frequency varies slightly from 0.1 to 100 ppm depending on the crystal's properties and quality. Therefore, for long-term measurements, it is necessary to periodically synchronize the internal clock of the TDC. Summary of the Invention
[0006] The purpose of this invention is to address the problems existing in the prior art by providing a multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording method and system, which establishes a more accurate time relationship for the multi-channel signals of cosmic ray imaging, thereby enabling the inference of the particle's flight path and distance through the accurate time relationship.
[0007] To achieve the above objectives, in one aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a very multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording method, comprising:
[0008] An external timing pulse generator produces pulses at a fixed frequency and sends them to different electronic devices used for time measurement.
[0009] After receiving the flag bit of the pulse, the electronic device used for time measurement records the flag bit in its own time series as the starting point of a time period.
[0010] Within a time period, the times of different event signals received by each electronic device used for time measurement are accumulated based on the time of the starting point to obtain the time sequence of each electronic device used for time measurement.
[0011] Furthermore, in a specific embodiment, in the multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording method described above, the pulse generated by the external timing pulse generator includes two parts: an initialization pulse and a continuous timing pulse; after all electronic devices used for time measurement receive the initialization pulse, they determine it as the common starting point for timing recording.
[0012] Furthermore, the continuous timing pulse is a series of continuous pulses with the same width. Each time the electronic device used for time measurement receives a timing pulse, it records the timing pulse as the starting point of a time period. The times of different event signals within the same time period are accumulated based on the time of the starting point.
[0013] Furthermore, in a specific embodiment, the multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording method described above, wherein the electronic device used for time measurement is a TDC circuit, each TDC circuit uses one channel to record the timestamp of the timing pulse, and other multiple channels are used to record the timestamps of different event signals.
[0014] Furthermore, in a specific embodiment, in the multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording method described above, the width of the initialization pulse is 35 μs, and the width of each timing pulse is 50 μs.
[0015] On the other hand, embodiments of the present invention provide a multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording system, including an external timing pulse generator and several TDC circuits, wherein the crystal oscillator frequencies inside different TDC circuits are slightly different; the external timing pulse generator generates pulses of a fixed frequency and sends them to different TDC circuits; each TDC circuit records the timestamp of the received timing pulse and the timestamp of different event signals, and calculates the time of different event signals within the same time period by accumulating the timestamps based on the time of the timing pulse.
[0016] Furthermore, in a specific embodiment, in the multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording system described above, the cycle counting inside the TDC circuit is at the nanosecond level, and the pulse width generated by the external timing pulse generator is at the microsecond level.
[0017] Furthermore, in a specific implementation, in the multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording system described above, each TDC circuit uses one channel to record the timestamp of the timing pulse, while the other multiple channels are used to record the timestamps of different event signals.
[0018] Furthermore, in a specific embodiment, in the multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording system described above, the pulse generated by the external timing pulse generator includes two parts: an initialization pulse and a continuous timing pulse. The initialization pulse is used to determine the starting point of timing recording for all TDC circuits, and the continuous timing pulse is used to determine the starting point for time calculation of different event signals within the same time period.
[0019] Furthermore, the continuous timing pulse is a series of consecutive pulses with the same width.
[0020] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: The multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording method and system provided by the present invention effectively solves the problem that more than 128 (multi-channel) TDC circuit signals cannot be synchronized with each other, and sorts the overall timestamps through the internal time calibration method, which significantly improves the expansion capability of the TDC circuit and maintains the order among multiple signals. Attached Figure Description
[0021] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.
[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of a multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording method in a specific embodiment of the present invention;
[0023] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the pulses generated by the external timing pulse generator in a specific embodiment of the present invention;
[0024] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of channel allocation for a single TDC in a specific embodiment of the present invention;
[0025] Figure 4 This is a recording example diagram of two sets of TDC timing sequences in a specific embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation
[0026] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and not intended to limit the invention.
[0027] Unless otherwise defined, the technical or scientific terms used in this invention shall have the ordinary meaning as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains.
[0028] The terms “comprising”, “including”, etc., as used herein indicate the presence of the steps, features, operations, or components, but do not preclude the addition of one or more other steps, features, operations, or components.
[0029] This invention focuses on establishing a multi-channel, long-duration, concurrent, nanosecond-level timing recording method and system. During the recording process, while the measurement process may not prioritize time accuracy, the emphasis is on the synchronization of time information generated by the multi-channel electronic devices used for time measurement, establishing a more accurate time relationship for the multi-channel signals. Through this accurate time relationship, the particle's flight path and distance can be deduced.
[0030] In some embodiments, the present invention provides a method for recording many-way nanosecond-level time series data, including:
[0031] An external timing pulse generator produces pulses at a fixed frequency and sends them to different electronic devices used for time measurement.
[0032] After receiving the flag bit of the pulse, the electronic device used for time measurement records the flag bit in its own time series as the starting point of a time period.
[0033] Within a time period, the times of different event signals received by each electronic device used for time measurement are accumulated based on the time of the starting point to obtain the time sequence of each electronic device used for time measurement.
[0034] In some embodiments, the electronic device used for time measurement is a TDC circuit. The present invention provides a multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording system, including an external timing pulse generator and several TDC circuits, wherein the crystal oscillator frequencies inside different TDC circuits are slightly different; the external timing pulse generator generates pulses of a fixed frequency and sends them to different TDC circuits; each TDC circuit records the timestamp of the received timing pulse and the timestamp of different event signals, and calculates the time of different event signals within the same time period by accumulating the timestamps based on the time of the timing pulse.
[0035] In some embodiments, the pulse generated by the external timing pulse generator includes two parts: an initialization pulse and a continuous timing pulse. After receiving the initialization pulse, all TDC circuits determine it as the common starting point for timing recording. The continuous timing pulse is a series of consecutive pulses with the same width. Each time a TDC circuit receives a timing pulse, it records that timing pulse as the starting point of a time period. The times of different event signals within the same time period are accumulated based on the time of that starting point.
[0036] In some embodiments, each TDC circuit uses one channel to record the timestamp of the timing pulse, while other multiple channels are used to record the timestamps of different event signals.
[0037] The present invention provides a method and system for recording multiple nanosecond-level timing data, which effectively solves the problem that more than 128 TDC circuit signals cannot be synchronized with each other, and records the overall timestamps in an orderly manner through an internal time calibration method.
[0038] Example
[0039] like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment provides a multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording system, including an external timing pulse generator and several TDC circuits. When multiple TDC circuits work together, the counter of each TDC circuit cannot be synchronized with the counters of other TDC circuits. Furthermore, each TDC circuit uses its own crystal oscillator, and the crystal oscillator frequencies of different TDC circuits vary slightly between 0.1 and 100 ppm, depending on the crystal oscillator quality. Therefore, for long-term measurements, it is necessary to periodically synchronize the internal counting clock of the TDC circuit.
[0040] In this embodiment, the time precision of each TDC circuit is 1 ns. For different TDC circuits, their own nanosecond-level event timing records will be generated, see... Figure 1 The timing records of TDC1 and TDC2 in the example on the right are shown. Each TDC circuit records the channel number and timestamp inside the TDC, and selects a certain channel as the time stamp bit.
[0041] The external timing pulse generator generates pulses at a fixed frequency and sends them to different TDC circuits. Each TDC circuit records the timestamp of the received timing pulse and the timestamp of different event signals, and calculates the time of different event signals within the same time period by accumulating the timestamps based on the timestamps.
[0042] The pulses generated by the external timing pulse generator consist of two parts: an initialization pulse and continuous timing pulses. The initialization pulse is used to determine the starting point of timing records for all TDC circuits, while the continuous timing pulses are used to determine the starting point for time calculations of different event signals within the same time period. For example... Figure 1 The pulse signals shown in the figure have C0 as the starting point of the initialization clock, C0-C1 as the duration of the initialization pulse, and C1-C2, C2-C3, etc. as the duration of the continuous timing pulses.
[0043] like Figure 2 As shown, in this embodiment, when the timing pulse distribution system receives a computer instruction, it issues an initialization clock start pulse with a pulse width of 35µs, followed by a series of 50µs timing pulses. When all TDC circuits simultaneously receive the 35µs initialization pulse, they determine it as the time start point, using this time recording point as the zero point. Subsequently, every 50µs, all TDC circuits simultaneously receive a timing pulse, which is then recorded as the start point of a time cycle.
[0044] In this embodiment, each TDC circuit uses one channel to record the timestamp of the timing pulse, while other multiple channels are used to record the timestamps of different event signals. For example... Figure 3 As shown, this embodiment uses a single TDC with 37 channels. Channels T1-T36 are used to record the timestamps of different event signals, and channel T37 is selected to record the timestamp of the timing pulse. That is to say, channel T37 records the time stamp bit of the timing pulse distribution.
[0045] The following is combined Figure 4 The method for recording many nanosecond-level timing data in this embodiment is illustrated using two sets of TDC timing data.
[0046] Figure 4 The image shows two sets of timing data, TDC1 and TDC2. Each TDC records the channel number and timestamp within the TDC. Channel T37 records the time stamp for the timing pulse distribution.
[0047] When TDC1 and TDC2 simultaneously receive an initialization pulse with a pulse width of 35µs, they determine the time start point as 0µs, using this time recording point as the zero point. Subsequently, they will simultaneously receive consecutive timing pulses with a pulse width of 50µs. Each timing pulse is used to determine the time calculation start point for different event signals within the same time period.
[0048] Specifically, see Figure 4In TDC1, channel T07's timestamp is 1094735, occurring 0µs after the time start point and before the start of the first time cycle recorded using a timing pulse. The timestamp for channel T37, corresponding to the time start point, is 1069827. Therefore, 1094735 - 1069827 = 24908 represents the time difference between the event signal recorded by channel T07 and the time start point, which is in the nanosecond range, equivalent to 24.908µs. Since all TDC circuits use the same time start point as the zero point, the time sequence corresponding to channel T07 of TDC1 is 24.908µs.
[0049] Figure 4 In TDC2, channel T35's timestamp occurs after the start of the first time cycle recorded using a timing pulse and before the start of the second time cycle recorded using a timing pulse. Its timestamp value is 1115372. Channel T37, which records the first time cycle using a timing pulse, has a timestamp value of 1108573. The time series corresponding to channel T37 at this point is 50 µs. Therefore, 1115372 - 1108573 = 6799 represents the time difference between the event signal recorded by channel T35 and the start of the first time cycle recorded using a timing pulse. This value is in the nanosecond range, equivalent to 6.799 µs. Since the time series corresponding to channel T37 at this point is 50 µs (i.e., the start of the first time cycle is 50 µs), the time series corresponding to channel T35 of TDC2 is 50 + 6.799 = 56.799 µs.
[0050] The time series corresponding to other channels can be obtained in the same way. The table below lists the calculation methods for several records of TDC1 and TDC2:
[0051]
[0052] The TDC counting cycle period is set to 2. 22 When the count exceeds 4,194,303, the loop count becomes 0. Observe the loop count of the value recorded in T37 during the calculation process. After the loop count is cleared, be sure to fill in the data.
[0053] The embodiments of this invention focus on establishing a multi-channel, long-duration, nanosecond-level timing recording method. During the recording process, the accuracy of time may not be taken into account during the measurement process; more attention is paid to the synchronization of the time information generated by the multi-channel TDC during the measurement process, so as to establish a more accurate time relationship for the multi-channel signals. By using the TDC circuit with the established accurate time relationship to measure the particle flight time, the particle's flight path and flight distance can be inferred.
[0054] Those skilled in the art will understand that the specific order of steps in the disclosed process is an example of an exemplary method. Based on design preferences, it should be understood that the specific order of steps in the process can be rearranged without departing from the scope of the invention. The appended methods provide elements of various steps in an exemplary order and are not intended to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy described.
[0055] Other embodiments of the invention will readily occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention that follow the general principles of the invention and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art not disclosed herein. Thus, the invention also intends to include such variations and adaptations if they fall within the scope of the claims and their equivalents.
[0056] The above embodiments are merely illustrative examples of the present invention. The present invention may also be implemented in other specific ways or forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. Therefore, the described embodiments should be considered illustrative rather than limiting in any respect. The scope of protection of the present invention should be defined by the claims, and any variations equivalent to the intent and scope of the claims should also be included within the scope of the present invention.
Claims
1. A very multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording method, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: An external timing pulse generator produces pulses at a fixed frequency and sends them to different electronic devices used for time measurement. After receiving the flag bit of the pulse, the electronic device used for time measurement records the flag bit in its own time series as the starting point of a time period. Within a time period, the times of different event signals received by each electronic device used for time measurement are accumulated based on the time of the starting point to obtain the time sequence of each electronic device used for time measurement.
2. The multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The pulse generated by the external timing pulse generator includes two parts: an initialization pulse and a continuous timing pulse. After receiving the initialization pulse, all electronic devices used for time measurement determine it as the common starting point for timing recording.
3. The multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording method as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The continuous timing pulses are a series of continuous pulses with the same width. Each time the electronic device used for time measurement receives a timing pulse, it records the timing pulse as the starting point of a time period. The times of different event signals within the same time period are accumulated based on the time of the starting point.
4. The multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The electronic device used for time measurement is a TDC circuit. Each TDC circuit uses one channel to record the timestamp of the timing pulse, and other multiple channels are used to record the timestamps of different event signals.
5. The multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording method as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The width of the initialization pulse is 35 μs, and the width of each timing pulse is 50 μs.
6. A very multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording system, characterized in that, It includes an external timing pulse generator and several TDC circuits, with slightly different crystal oscillator frequencies inside the different TDC circuits; the external timing pulse generator generates pulses of a fixed frequency and sends them to different TDC circuits; each TDC circuit records the timestamp of the received timing pulse and the timestamp of different event signals, and calculates the time of different event signals within the same time period by accumulating the timestamps based on the time of the timing pulse.
7. The multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording system as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The internal cycle count of the TDC circuit is in the nanosecond range, and the pulse width generated by the external timing pulse generator is in the microsecond range.
8. The multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording system as described in claim 6, characterized in that, Each TDC circuit uses one channel to record the timestamp of the timing pulse, while the other multiple channels are used to record the timestamps of different event signals.
9. The multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording system as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The pulses generated by the external timing pulse generator consist of two parts: an initialization pulse and a continuous timing pulse. The initialization pulse is used to determine the starting point of all TDC circuit timing records, and the continuous timing pulse is used to determine the starting point of time calculation for different event signals within the same time period.
10. The very multi-channel nanosecond-level timing recording system as described in claim 9, characterized in that, The continuous timing pulse is a series of consecutive pulses with the same width.