Ndigo6G ‒ User Guide

The Ndigo6G-12 offers 6400 Msps sample rate, 12 bit resolution and a greatly improved readout rate of up to 5200 MB/s.

The unit is a combined ADC/TDC board for the acquisition of pulses in time-of-flight applications. It builds on the established platform of the Ndigo5G-10 but takes it to the next level both in performance and flexibility.

The Ndigo6G-12 was specifically designed for time-of-flight applications like LIDAR or TOF mass spectrometry. A measurement precision of 5 ps (RMS) is achievable for unipolar pulses. In addition, information on the pulse shape, such as area or amplitude, is recorded.

Four channels with 1600 Msps at 12 bit resolution can be acquired independently. Alternatively, the four channels can be combined into two channels or into a single channel. This way, either a higher temporal resolution up to 6400 Msps or a larger dynamic range can be achieved via multiple-sampling modes.

This User Guide documents the hardware and functionality of the Ndigo6G-12 board, as well as the driver programming API provided by the Ndigo6G-12 driver.

Features

  • 12 bit dynamic range

  • Up to 6400 Msps sample rate (in 1-channel mode) for increased resolution in time domain.

  • Up to four ADC channels for your individual measurement setups.

  • Four TDC channels with a resolution of 13 ps.

  • Two digital control inputs for effective gating and triggering.

  • PCIe3 x8 interface for simple and fast data transfer to most PCs.

  • Unlimited multihit capabilities.

  • Common start and common stop capabilities.

  • Continuous ADC readout rate of approx. 5200 MB/s.

  • Zero suppression, significantly reducing PCIe load.

  • Internal 10 MHz clock with a time base of 10 ppb or the ability to use an external 10 MHz clock.

Board overview

Optimized for

TOF applications

ADC channels

4

TDC channels

4

Digital control channels

2

Connectors

10 \(\times\) LEMO 00

Sample rate

6400 Msps (1-Channel Mode)
3200 Msps (2-Channel Mode)
1600 Msps (4-Channel Mode)

Resolution

12 bit

Maximum bandwidth

TBD

TDC bin size

13 ps

TDC double pulse resolution

typically 5 ns

Multihit

unlimited

Dead time between groups

none

Readout rate

5200 MByte/s (ADC)
30 MHits/s (all TDC channels)
11.6 MHits/s (single TDC channel)

Timestamp range

106 d

Readout interface

PCIe3 x8

Time base

10 ppb (internal) or external 10 MHz clock

On-board calibration data storage

yes

Adjustable trigger windows

yes

Possibility for overlapping events

yes

Easy-to-use Windows C-API

yes

In-system firmware updates

yes

Contents