Digital Pattern Generator - DPG1 by S-Fifteen Instruments 

1 Features 

• FPGA based 

• Designed for fast and complex experimental control co-ordinating multiple electronic, mechanical and optical components. 

• 25 digital channels (3 rows of 8 digital output + 1 digital output) 

• 4 external input lines

• Easy to implement control branches conditional on experimental input 

• 10 ns step size 

• State engine with 512 states 

• Conditional jumps with external inputs, internal counters, loop counters and software hooks 

• TTL or NIM compatible output signal through daughter board choice. 

• TTL or NIM level signal input. 

• Choice of internal or external frequency reference input 

• Eurocard rack compatible (not included) 

Applications: Sequential control of pulses/devices with conditional trigger, AMO Physics experiments 

2 General Description 

The DPG1 is a Pattern Generator that is comprised of a state engine with 512 states. These states are programmed using serial commands that write words to the device that determine the outputs based on the state of inputs, internal counters, loop counters and software hooks sent to it. The DPG1 features three rows of 8 digital output channels, which can provide TTL or NIM compatible signals through different daughter boards and 4 independent input lines that accepts TTL or NIM inputs signals.

 The ability of the DPG1 to use the external inputs, counters and software hooks allows complex pulse sequences to be programmed with very few steps. A typical application requirement e.g. a particular sequence to load an atom into a trap, checks if there is sufficient fluorescence to determine its presence, and switches to a measurement sequence. 

The device is a modular unit to be powered by a Eurocard rack system (sold separately) and does not require a driver to operate, the host and device communicate only by a serial interface.

DPG1– Data Sheet 

3 Specifications 

Table 1: Device Specifications 

Signal Inputs 

Impedance ：50 Ohm 

Input Standards ：TTL or NIM signal standard (Software selectable) 

Connector： LEMO00 size coaxial connector 

Input processing 

Internal counters： 65535 × 4 channels 

Loop counters ：65535 × 4 channels 

Software hooks ：2 

Signal Outputs 

3 rows of 8 outputs： TTL (BNC) or NIM (LEMO00) standard daughter boards. 

1 additional： NIM (LEMO00) output on the main board. 

Clock Reference 

External Reference Frequency ：10 MHz nominal (accepts 9...11 MHz) 

External Reference Amplitude： 100 mVpp min, 2.3 Vpp max 

Clock Selection ：Automatic or Manual 

Internal Clock Accuracy ：<50 ppm, temperature drift TBD 

Interface 

Host Connection： USB CDC ACM class / virtual com port (no device driver necessary)