Mouser Electronics (Mansfield, TX) is now stocking the TDC7201 time-to-digital converter from Texas Instruments (TI). The TDC7201 is designed for use with ultrasonic, laser, and radar range finding equipment using time-of-flight (TOF) technique. Laser-based TOF applications demand picosecond accuracy plus the ability to measure very short durations. Features include:
- 2 built-in time-to-digital converters (TDCs) that can be used to measure distance down to 4 cm and up to several kilometers using a simple architecture, which eliminates the need to use FPGAs or processors.
- The ability to function as a stopwatch.
- Measures the TOF between a START pulse and up to five STOP pulses.
- This ability to measure simultaneously and individually on two pairs of pins using two built-in TDCs offers high flexibility in time measurement design.
- A measurement range of 0.25 ns to 8 ms and accuracy of 28 ps.
- A single shot resolution of 55 ps, (equivalent to 0.825 cm).
- Suitability in TOF laser-range-finding applications, including surveying, navigation, drones, and robotics, as well as collision avoidance in autonomous vehicles.
The TDC7201 is supported by the TDC7201-ZAX-EVM evaluation module. The TDC7201-ZAX-EVM is a BoosterPack plug-in module for the MSP430F5529 LaunchPad and includes two pairs of SMA connectors for START and STOP inputs plus a user-friendly graphic user interface (GUI) to modify the registers, display time of flight, and export data in CSV format.
For more information, visit http://www.mouser.com.
