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HIGHLAND TECHNOLOGY

Model P400

Benchtop Digital Delay/

Pulse Generator

Technical Manual

Summary of Contents for P400

Page 1: ...HIGHLAND TECHNOLOGY Model P400 Benchtop Digital Delay Pulse Generator Technical Manual ...

Page 2: ...y made to this manual which are incorporated in later editions Highland Technology Inc may make changes and improvements to the product s and or programs described in this publication at any time without notice The P400 has finite failure rates associated with its hardware firmware design and documentation Do not use the product in applications where a failure or defect in the instrument may resul...

Page 3: ...3 2 Block Diagram and Basic Functions 8 4 Quick Start Pulse Train Example 11 5 Operating Instructions 14 5 1 Front and Rear Panel Overview 14 5 2 Help Mode 17 5 3 Menu Navigation 17 5 4 Gate Menu 18 5 5 Trigger Menu 19 5 6 Channel T0 Menu 20 5 7 Channel A through D Menus 21 5 8 Auxiliary Menu 22 5 9 Store and Recall Menus 23 5 10 Power Up States 25 5 11 High Voltage Option 25 ...

Page 4: ...2 7 1 P400 Commands 32 7 2 Remote Error Codes 48 7 3 Command Strings 50 7 4 RS 232 Interface 51 7 5 Ethernet Interface 52 7 5 1 DHCP Mode Configuration 52 7 5 2 Static Mode Configuration 53 7 5 3 Connecting the P400 to the Network 53 8 Versions Options and Accessories 55 9 Index 56 ...

Page 5: ... Menu 24 Figure 13 High Voltage Option Block Diagram 26 Figure 14 Pulse width as a function of output 26 Figure 15 Duty Cycle 27 Figure 16 Pulse rise and fall times 27 Figure 17 Typical 50 volt output pulse 28 Figure 18 Typical Output Waveforms 29 Figure 19 10 V Pulse with High Impedance Termination 30 Figure 20 RS 232 Connector Pin Out 51 Table of Tables Table 1 P400 Specifications 3 Table 2 Fron...

Page 6: ...pushbutton Any of these five trigger sources can be gated by an external signal Each of the four channels can be programmed to trigger on the leading or trailing edge of any other channel or on the leading edge of the trigger Channel timings can be specified as an initial delay and pulse width or as a pair of leading and trailing edge delays In both modes the resolution is one picosecond and the t...

Page 7: ...input Do not apply more than 0 to 5 volts to the GATE or CLOCK connectors The high speed semiconductors used in the P400 are necessarily static sensitive Use standard antistatic precautions when using the P400 During powerup and powerdown it is possible that the P400 may create undesired outputs at the T0 A B C D or GATE outputs Do not use the P400 in situations where such outputs may result in co...

Page 8: ...former adaptor remote command and manual pushbutton TRIGGER RATE 10 MHz maximum EXTERNAL TRIGGER INPUT Programmable threshold 2 4 to 4 6 V Programmable slope Programmable termination 50 Ω or 1 MΩ Minimum pulse width 2 ns at 0 to 2 V 25 ns in burst mode LINE TRIGGER INPUT 3 24 VRMS using external AC adaptor DDS TRIGGER RATE 0 01 Hz to 10 MHz in 0 01 Hz steps PULSE OUTPUTS A TO D AND T0 VOH programm...

Page 9: ... timebase jitter max either edge from external trigger or any other output GATE INPUT VIH 3 5 V min 6 V max VIL 0 5 V min 1 5V max Programmable active high low GATE OUTPUT VIH 5 V typ VIL 0 V typ 50 Ω source impedance programmable active high low 10 MHZ CLOCK INPUT VIH 3 5 V min 6 V max VIL 0 5 V min 1 2 V max 0 7 V min hysteresis 10 MHZ CLOCK OUTPUT VOH 5 V typ VOL 0 V typ 50 Ω source impedance D...

Page 10: ...elow 2 ns per second of delay Optional OCXO Initial calibration 0 1 PPM Drift 1 PPM year Temperature coefficient below 3 6 ppb C Jitter below 400 ps per second of delay Either oscillator can be phase locked to an external 10 MHz source PACKAGING 8 W x 12 L x 4 5 H exclusive of external power module Weight 8 lbs POWER 100 to 240 VAC 47 to 63 Hz 60 W max using AC adaptor furnished Operable from 24 V...

Page 11: ...l transformer isolated 5 to 50 V programmable high voltage pulse outputs 10BASE T Ethernet Ovenized oscillator timebase OCXO Single dual rackmount adaptors OEM versions CONFORMANCE Designed to meet UL FCC CE requirements ...

Page 12: ...ay each channel s output is asserted transitioning from VL to VH or VH to VL depending on the output polarity Channel timing is relative to the leading edge of T0 not to the trigger pulse When the last channel is deasserted the T0 output falls transitioning from VH to VL At this point end of delay EOD is declared and the internal EOD signal is asserted for approximately 50 ns During this time all ...

Page 13: ...P400 will typically externally trigger above 13 MHz 3 2 Block Diagram and Basic Functions Figure 2 Block Diagram The P400 contains the following logic blocks and functions TRIGGER MULTIPLEXER This circuit selects one of four possible trigger sources internal external input AC line input or manual single shot The internal trigger source is derived from the programmable DDS frequency synthesizer The...

Page 14: ... to long delays The 10 MHz clock can be locked to an external 10 MHz clock through the CLOCK connector on the back panel 50 MHZ OSCILLATOR This oscillator provides the coarse 20 ns granularity component of all delays A DSP based phase lock system locks the 50 MHz oscillator to the internal crystal controlled 10 MHz clock making the oscillator as accurate as the clock while preserving phase coheren...

Page 15: ...age regulators generate the required internal voltages from the 24 VDC input on the back panel These regulators are typically powered by the external AC powered universal input switching power supply furnished with each unit ...

Page 16: ...g at 1 00 KHz Channels A B C and D produce sequential 100 microsecond positive pulses with baselines of 0 volts and pulse height 4 volts into a high impedance load 3 Connect an oscilloscope to the P400 with the T0 pulse applied to scope Channel 1 and trigger on the rising edge of this signal 4 Connect available additional scope channels to P400 outputs A B C and D Set the scope to 100 µsec cm hori...

Page 17: ...lds then use the spinner knob to vary parameters and observe the effects on the scope display Note that if you change pulse delay or width such as to make the trailing edge of the pulse exceed 500 µs after trigger the T0 pulse width will extend to track the Channel A falling edge demonstrating that the P400 timing cycle runs until all channels are done Push the TRIG button and pan the cursor to th...

Page 18: ...ecause the unit is receiving triggers before the previous timing cycle is completed Push the HELP button then scroll through the Help text using the spinner knob While in Help mode you can press any other button to jump to the section of text that explains that function Press HELP again to return to normal mode ...

Page 19: ...Figure 4 and described in Table 2 START STOP STORE RECALL HELP AUX CLR ENTER 0 7 9 8 4 6 5 1 3 2 RUN REMOTE RATE POWER HIGHLANDTECHNOLOGY MODEL P400 DIGITAL DELAY GENERATOR GATE TRIG T0 A B C D sec milli micro nano pico 2 1 3 4 5 8 9 12 13 18 19 20 17 14 16 15 6 7 11 10 Figure 4 Front Panel ...

Page 20: ...ecall P400 configurations 9 Channel Connectors Outputs of the T0 A B C and D channels 10 POWER Button This button turns the P400 on and off 11 Scroll Keys Provide navigation through the menus 12 Spinner Knob Rotating this knob changes menu items Pressing and rotating the knob allows movement through a menu 13 AUX Menu Key This key displays the auxiliary menu 14 ENTER Key Accepts numeric values 15 ...

Page 21: ...figures the 10MHz clock connector as a high impedance input or a low impedance output 4 10 MHz Clock Input Output BNC connector 5 DDS Output Sine wave output from the internal DDS frequency synthesizer 6 Line Trigger Input 6 to 24 VAC input for triggering the P400 synchronous to the AC line 7 RS 232 DB9 Connector Provides for remote serial control 8 Location for Ethernet option connector if instal...

Page 22: ...within any menu there are only four lines visible in the display actual page lengths vary One may scroll up and down to see the entirety of any menu page There are two kinds of user settable fields Numeric and non numeric Non numeric items are altered by positioning the cursor anywhere within the field and rotating the spinner to make selections To alter numeric values locate the cursor beneath th...

Page 23: ...d to be an input an active input level selectable as TTL HIGH or LOW enables triggers The four user selectable gate modes are 1 The GATE connector is an output and goes TTL high when triggers are enabled It will for example pulse high during the active segment of a burst mode trigger cycle 2 Gate is an output as in mode 1 but is active low 3 Gate is an input which if TTL high enables triggering It...

Page 24: ...any trigger menu items and press START only after all desired trigger setups have been edited When internal trigger mode is selected the P400 is triggered by the internal DDS generator at the rate shown in Line 4 FRQ Line 5 PER is set by the P400 to display the period corresponding to the trigger frequency in Line 4 When external mode is selected the P400 accepts a trigger applied to the trigger c...

Page 25: ...f the P400 is triggered at a constant rate the output would appear to be a burst of four pulses followed by a gap corresponding to 16 missed triggers The BURST REP PERIOD item Line 7 displays the time interval between bursts when internal triggering is used this is equivalent to PER M Note When using the P400 in burst mode with an external trigger source the trigger source must have a minimum puls...

Page 26: ... shown Press the appropriate button on the front panel to select the desired channel menu VH is the selected channel s output s high level and VL is the low level If polarity is set as positive and the channel is quiescent non triggered output voltage level is VL and the active pulse level is VH If polarity is set to negative the output is inverted i e VH is the quiescent state and VL is the activ...

Page 27: ...negative provided no edges are programmed to occur before T0 Negative time settings are only meaningful if the channel is set relative to another channel A D The P400 does not permit circular or illogical timings and dependencies 5 8 Auxiliary Menu ET1 OCX HV1 TCX Fi r m war e 23410 C Ser i al 123456 1 Opt Cal dat e 03 13 2003 Di spl ay br i ght 50 Scr een saver never Rem ot e m ode RS 232 Baud r ...

Page 28: ...ither the standard RS232 communication mode or other optional communication interfaces if installed If RS232 is slected the baud rate is selected by the user in Line 8 If the Ethernet option is installed Lines 9 through 13 display the mac address the host name the internet protocol address the subnet mask and the gateway address For details of these items see Section 7 To save Ethernet settings an...

Page 29: ...as the configuration is erased It is not necessary to erase a memory location before storing a new configuration WARNING The P400 will automatically overwrite the old menu configuration when STORE is pressed USED UNUSED 0 t o 30 RECALL LOC 0 USED ENTER t o RECALL 1 2 3 4 Set by user Set by P400 Figure 12 Recall Menu Press the RECALL key to display the Recall menu Use this menu to recall a previous...

Page 30: ...ails 5 11 High Voltage Option P400 DDGs may be furnished with the P450 high voltage option This adds five rear panel BNC connectors which produce transformer isolated high voltage pulses corresponding to the T0 A B C and D pulses If the high voltage option is installed the AUX menu will include five user programmable variables which set the voltage levels of each of the five HV outputs The levels ...

Page 31: ...ously at 50 volts out the duty cycle and pulse widths are inherently limited Pulse widths are also limited by transformer core saturation MAX PULSE WIDTH VS OUTPUT VOLTAGE 0 00E 00 2 00E 07 4 00E 07 6 00E 07 8 00E 07 1 00E 06 1 20E 06 1 40E 06 1 60E 06 1 80E 06 5 10 20 30 40 50 Output Voltage Max Pulse Width Figure 14 Pulse width as a function of output ...

Page 32: ...t so these limits do not depend on other channels The drivers are current limited and will not be damaged if programmed beyond these limits TYPICAL RISE AND FALL TIMES 0 00E 00 1 00E 09 2 00E 09 3 00E 09 4 00E 09 5 00E 09 6 00E 09 7 00E 09 5 10 20 30 40 50 Output Voltage Time in seconds Tr Tf Figure 16 Pulse rise and fall times Figure 16 shows typical rise and fall times at various voltages again ...

Page 33: ...re positive pulses but are isolated so can be inverted by external wiring Cleanest negative pulses will result from adding a coaxial crossover swapping inner and outer conductors some distance from either the P400 or the load If any ringing is observed slipping a ferrite core or EMI suppressor over the cable near the crossover will usually improve pulse shapes ...

Page 34: ...termination The lower trace is an ECL level pulse with the voltage at the load swinging from 0 8 to 2 volts this channel was programmed for VH of 1 6 volts and VH of 4 0 volts Figure 18 Typical Output Waveforms Using the P400 with high impedance unterminated loads can have unintended consequences The waveform shown in Figure 19 is a 0 to 10 volt pulse driving a length of coaxial cable into a high ...

Page 35: ...30 P400 output stage To avoid this situation do not set the P400 output to swing more than 5 00 volts while driving high impedance loads Figure 19 10 V Pulse with High Impedance Termination ...

Page 36: ...sured on a type 11801 sampling oscilloscope At longer delays the oscilloscope jitter increases to unusable levels so longer delays were measured by using the scope to characterize the jitter between two independent P400s programmed to generate slightly different delays The delay increase beginning around 10 milliseconds is a result of the phase noise of the TCXO timebase internal to the P400 The O...

Page 37: ...rchy In situations where two commands are issued without changing levels a semicolon separates the commands The colon preceding the first command in a SCPI message instructs the parser in the instrument to reset itself to the root level in the hierarchy Commas separate parameters such as numeric extended numeric discrete and Boolean Unless specifically noted all commands have a query form usually ...

Page 38: ...le Clear the Burst Counter BUR CCL CR LF reply OK CR LF Example Query Burst Counter value BUR CCL CR LF reply 31251 CR LF BURst MODe Command BUR MOD enable CR LF Response OK CR LF Query BUR MOD CR LF Response enable CR LF Description Enables or disables the burst mode The possible values for enable are shown below ON Enable burst mode OFF Disable burst mode Example Enable the Burst Mode BUR MOD ON...

Page 39: ...BUR PUL 32000 CR LF reply OK CR LF Example Query Burst Pulse value BUR PUL CR LF reply 32000 CR LF BURst TRIGger Command BUR TRIG trig CR LF Response OK CR LF Query BUR TRIG CR LF Response trig CR LF Description Sets the number of triggers m per burst cycle trig can be set from BURst PULse 1 to 65535 Example Set the Burst Trigger value to 65 000 BUR TRIG 65000 CR LF reply OK CR LF Example Query Bu...

Page 40: ... CR LF CHANnel NEGative Command CHAN NEG a CR LF Response OK CR LF Query CHAN NEG a CR LF Response NEGative CR LF Description Sets the channel s output polarity to negative The channel s output starts at VH and transitions to VL after the delay time At the end of the width time the channel s output transitions from VL to VH The possible values for a are shown below A Channel A Output Polarity B Ch...

Page 41: ...tput C Channel C Output D Channel D Output CHANnel ON Command CHAN ON a CR LF Response OK CR LF Query CHAN ON a CR LF Response ON CR LF Description Enables the channel s output The possible values for a are shown below A Channel A Output B Channel B Output C Channel C Output D Channel D Output Example Set Channel A OFF CHAN OFF A CR LF reply OK CR LF Example Query Channel A ON or OFF CHAN OFF A CR...

Page 42: ...olarity B Channel B Output Polarity C Channel C Output Polarity D Channel D Output Polarity Example Query Channel A Polarity CHAN POS A CR LF reply POSitive CR LF CHANnel Rise Fall Command CHAN RF a CR LF Response OK CR LF Query CHAN RF a CR LF Response RF CR LF Description Sets the channel s timing mode to Rise Fall The possible values for a are shown below A Channel A Timing Mode B Channel B Tim...

Page 43: ...annel A VH B Channel B VH C Channel C VH D Channel D VH volts can be from 4 30 to 11 80 in 0 10 increments VH must be set at least 0 20 above VL It is not necessary to include the sign for zero or positive values The query response will always include the sign Example Set Channel A VHI to 5 00V CHAN VHI A 5 0 CR LF reply OK CR LF Example Query Channel A VHI value CHAN VHI A CR LF reply 5 0 CR LF ...

Page 44: ... 4 10 in 0 10 increments VL must be set at least 0 20 below VH It is not necessary to include the sign for zero or positive values The query response will always include the sign Example Set Channel A VLO to 2 50V CHAN VLO A 2 5 CR LF reply OK CR LF Example Query Channel A VLO value CHAN VLO A CR LF reply 2 5 CR LF CLear Status Command CLS CR LF Response OK CR LF Query None Response None Descripti...

Page 45: ...ode 1 GATE MOD 1 CR LF reply OK CR LF Example Query Gate Mode GATE MOD CR LF reply 1 CR LF MEMory CLEar Command MEM CLE n CR LF Response OK CR LF Query MEM CLE n CR LF Response status CR LF Description Erases the configuration in location n n can be set from 0 to 30 Allow three seconds for the unit to clear the configuration before sending another command status may be USED or UNUSED Example Clear...

Page 46: ...nds for command to finish execution before sending another command MEMory REStore Command MEM RES CR LF Response OK CR LF Query MEM RES CR LF Response status CR LF Description Restores the unit s configuration prior to the last MEM REC command Allow three seconds for the unit to restore the configuration before sending another command If a MEM REC command was not sent before this command is sent t...

Page 47: ...figuration at location 0 MEM STO 0 CR LF reply OK CR LF Example Query memory location 0 MEM STO 0 CR LF reply USED CR LF Note Wait 3 seconds for command to finish execution before sending another command ReSeT Command RST CR LF Response OK CR LF Query None Response None Description This command clears the input serial buffer Example RST CR LF reply OK CR LF STArt Command STA CR LF Response OK CR L...

Page 48: ...43 STOp Command STO CR LF Response OK CR LF Query None Response None Description Sending this command is the same as pressing the STOP button Example STO CR LF reply OK CR LF ...

Page 49: ...ing edge delay can be set from 999 999999999999 to 999 999999999999 in one picosecond increments It is not necessary to include the sign for zero or positive values The possible values for units are shown below The default value is seconds PS or E 12 for picoseconds NS or E 9 for nanoseconds US or E 6 for microseconds MS or E 3 for milliseconds The query response is always in seconds and includes ...

Page 50: ...ng edge When Channel n s mode is set to Delay Width only the leading edge can be set relative to a Channel m edge The unit will return 33 CR LF when trying to set Channel n s trailing edge In Rising Falling mode both Channel n s edges can be set relative to a Channel m edge Example Set channel B relative to the falling edge of channel A TIME RELT3 2 CR LF reply OK CR LF Example Query TIME RELT3 CR...

Page 51: ...eply OK CR LF Example Query the unit for the trigger source TRIG FREQ CR LF reply 001 000 000 000 000 CR LF TRIGger INPUT POLarity Command TRIG INPUT POL pol CR LF Response OK CR LF Query TRIG INPUT POL CR LF Response pol CR LF Description Sets the trigger input polarity to rising positive or falling negative edge The possible values for pol are shown below POS Trigger starts on the rising edge NE...

Page 52: ...LF Example Query the unit for the trigger termination source TRIG INPUT TERM CR LF reply 50OHM CR LF TRIGger INPUT VOLTage Command TRIG INPUT VOLT volts CR LF Response OK CR LF Query TRIG INPUT VOLT CR LF Response volts CR LF Description Sets the trigger voltage level volts can be set from 2 40 to 4 60 in 0 10 increments It is not necessary to include the sign for zero or positive values The query...

Page 53: ...er Example Set the trigger source to internal trigger TRIG SOUR INT CR LF reply OK CR LF WAIt Command WAI CR LF Response OK CR LF Query None Response None Description This command clears the input serial buffer Example WAI CR LF reply OK CR LF 7 2 Remote Error Codes Error codes are returned when a command or query sent to the P400 is incorrect incomplete or otherwise not accepted The formatting fo...

Page 54: ...QUERY FORM A query was either not allowed with the command or in the wrong position 29 QUERY MODE REQUIRED or PARAMETERS NOT ALLOWED IN QUERY MODE 2A CHANNEL NO RANGE ERROR The requested channel is out of range for the command 2B TABLE MISSING The sub table or default table could not be determined 2C PARAMETER MISMATCH ERROR The parameter format did not match that required for the command 30 NUMER...

Page 55: ... P400 with only a single CR LF command terminator For strings in which the command level is the same for all commands a single semi colon separates the commands If the command level changes for a command in the string then the command must be preceded by a colon The P400 replies to command strings with a string of responses followed by a single CR LF command terminator See Table 6 for examples of ...

Page 56: ...e OK OK OK CR LF 7 4 RS 232 Interface The P400 standard configuration includes a nine pin RS 232 connector for remote operation Select RS 232 mode on the Auxiliary menu by scrolling down to Remote mode and turning the spinner knob until RS 232 is shown A standard serial cable non null modem can be used to connect the P400 to a host computer Only TX RX and GND are required for proper operation For ...

Page 57: ...cates through port 2000 in both DHCP and static IP modes 7 5 1 DHCP Mode Configuration To configure the P400 for DHCP mode follow these steps Press the AUX button to display the Auxiliary menu Move the cursor down the menu using the scroll keys or spinner knob until IP aaa bbb ccc ddd is shown Set the first three digits of the IP address to 0 and press the ENTER key Move the cursor with the right ...

Page 58: ...4 and 5 for the remaining fields of the IP address Move the cursor until SM qqq rrr sss ttt is shown Enter the subnet mask in the same manner as the IP address Move the cursor until GW www xxx yyy zzz is shown Enter the gateway address Move the cursor to Update network and turn the spinner knob until YES is shown Press the ENTER key 7 5 3 Connecting the P400 to the Network When the network configu...

Page 59: ...DHCP mode type telnet followed by the hostname 2000 as indicated on the Auxiliary menu A telnet session will open and you can begin sending commands to the P400 The P400 commands are explained in earlier in this chapter ...

Page 60: ...AGE Output 50 volts P450 HV1 NOW The Highland Model J720 Electrical to Optical Converter is available to convert P400 output channels to 850 nm fiber optic signals A companion receiver the J730 is also offered Optional accessories include an external trigger source AC line adaptor dual or single 19 inch rack mount shelves and a replacement AC line power supply The latest P400 application notes cur...

Page 61: ... input voltage 2 menu 18 Help mode 13 17 High impedance loads 30 high voltage option 26 Hit Flip Flop 8 9 Inputs 4 buttons 15 line 1 16 20 49 maximum voltage 2 remote 1 16 33 Interface Ethernet 53 front panel 14 rear panel 16 RS 232 52 Jitter 5 32 Manual trigger 1 Menu Auxiliary 23 Channel 21 Gate 18 keys 15 17 Recall 24 Store 24 T0 20 Trigger 19 Microprocessor 10 Modes 18 OCXO 9 Operation basic 1...

Page 62: ...RECall 42 MEMory REStore 42 MEMory STOre 43 ReSeT 43 STArt non SCPI 43 STOp non SCPI 44 TIME DELay 45 TIME RELative To 46 TRIGger EXECute 46 TRIGger FREQuency 47 TRIGger INPUT POLarity 47 TRIGger INPUT TERMination 48 TRIGger INPUT VOLTage 48 TRIGger Source 49 WAIt 49 Error Codes 49 Ethernet 6 16 24 53 interfaces 5 RS 232 52 RS 232 16 SCPI 33 Size 3 Specifications 3 Spinner knob 15 17 TCXO 9 Telnet...

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