Far-Infrared imaging, like this Herschel (ESA) image over laid on a visable light image of Andromeda, is the driving force behind my thesis research.
The prototype circuit utilized 4 micro controllers to collect data. A discrete analog to digital converter was used to increase bit depth and data bandwidth.
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A coarse counting circuit (left bread boards) decreased timing resolution from 1 micro second down to 16 nanoseconds. The counting circuit is used to time stamp incoming pulses from a linear stage, marking when the stage has travelled a specified distance.
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Knowing when and where the stage was, it is possible to determine the velocity profile and correct for systematic errors.
Above: The fabricated PCB for the prototpe circuit.
Right: An FPGA version of the prototype circuit. Less components are required as the FPGA emulates most of the circuit in its firmware. Timing resolution was further reduce to 2.5 nanoseconds
