NIST researchers are developing advanced FPGA-based measurement systems for quantum technologies and metrology. The systems aim to revolutionize precision measurements of phase noise, spectral purity, and related quantities, making them more accessible to non-experts.
Key developments include:
1. Digital phase and amplitude noise measurement systems (DPANMS) that maximize data utilization and averaging rates, enabling unprecedented measurement speeds of up to 250k FFT/s.
2. Digital measurement and control systems for optical physics experiments with sub-microsecond latency and MHz bandwidth, suitable for locking optical cavities, phase-locked loops, and optical frequency combs.
3. Multi-channel, all-digital FPGA-based time-difference measurement systems for clock metrology and ensemble time scale implementation, offering improved performance and reliability over analog systems.
The research aims to implement these systems entirely in the digital domain using FPGAs, minimizing environmental noise and enabling more stable, deterministic processing. The developments have the potential to significantly advance quantum technologies and metrology applications.
Source: https://www.nist.gov/programs-projects/field-programmable-gate-array-fpga-designs-metrology
Keywords: Metrology, FPGA, ADC, FPGA-based, Clock metrology
