nir-vana innovation network

A Latvian company has strong scientific background with more than 40 years of studies in high-performance and high-accuracy event time measurement system development. The company has developed time interval measurement system that is based on Digital Signal Processing (DSP).

DSP is the use of digital processing, such as by computers or more specialized digital signal processors, to perform a wide variety of signal processing operations. The digital signals processed in this manner are a sequence of numbers that represent samples of a continuous variable in a domain such as time, space, or frequency. The DSP-based event timing technology offers a radically new concept of event timing measurement which has come into use in 1990-ies as an alternative for traditional techniques.

According to this concept, a specific analogue signal with limited duration and constant shape is generated at the instant determined by input event (Picture 1). The signal is digitised and digitally processed to estimate its position relatively to the time-scale presented by a numbered sequence of sampling pulses. The estimate represents sought value of event time. In this case the common-used DSP facilities results in considerable simpler specialised hardware than other high-tech timing devices. The offered technology is oriented to achieve the best relation between precision and measurement rate. It allows achieving precision comparable with precision of the best Event Timers in the world at much higher measurement rate.

The feasibility of the technology for the first time was demonstrated in multifunctional digital signal analyser “DASP-Lab System” marked off by the European IT Prize. The technology is used for customised designs of high-precision Event Timer Systems for Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR), Gravimetry, light detection and ranging system ( LiDAR) and Altimetry systems. It can be relatively easy adaptable for other applications where Picosecond precise time tagging/ Time Of Flight(ToF) measurement are required.

There are successful examples of the technology application for Event Timer system design and manufacturing for Satellite Laser Ranging (see picture below) provided by International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS)*. Technology has been recognized by the society of scientists worldwide and has been added to official ILRS website as one of the few ToF measuring devices used for application in Laser Ranging Stations around the globe.

Company currantly seeks industry partners for co-development of existing technology and/or manufacturing under exclusive licence.
*http://ilrs.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Advantages & innovations

The new DSP concept used in the offered event timing system allows essential improving the event timing performance - increasing the measurement rate up to 20 MHz and precision up to 3-5 picoseconds. At the same time this technology allows considerable reducing of hardware complexity and to achieve a relatively easy adjustable solution that results in attractive price/performance ratio for the end products. The conventional technologies used for the same purposes of time interval measurements provide much lower price/performance ratio due to much more complicated and more expensive (in several times) technical realization.

Stage of development

Already on the market

Partner sought

Company seeks industry partners for commercial agreement with technical assistance within co-development of existing technology and/or manufacture agreement within manufacturing under exclusive licence. Type of partner sought: Companies from high-tech electronic industry. Specific area of activity of the partner: Producers/developers of high-tech devices and measurement/testing systems. Task to be performed for partner within commercial agreement with technical assistance: Providing specs for current industry needs, implementation of the existing technology, integration in new applications, testing technology in new fields. Task to be performed for partner within manufacturing agreement: manufacturing the tested and developed technology under exclusive licence.